If you called me a nerd, you’d be right. As a kid, I was always envious of Ltd. Commander Data from Star Trek. My family watched The Next Generation together when I was in jr. high and early high school. Data was my favorite character. If you don’t know, Data is an artificial intelligence with a human-like appearance (apart from his yellow eyes and very pale skin). Essentially, he is a really awesome robot. He can learn and read at light speed, has superhuman strength, and unwavering logic. I always thought he was so cool.
I’ve been thinking about Data a lot recently. He can do anything he wants – except for feel emotions and speak using a contraction. But, what he spends the whole seven seasons of the show doing is trying to be more human.
He learns the violin with masterful technique and holds concerts for the crew. He spends time on the holodeck in a simulated, dimly-lit small comedy club perfecting jokes to understand humor. He studies art and paints in various mediums and styles. He composes poetry – including a poem about his pet cat. He has an infinite ability to learn and an abundance of capability to execute. But, there is always something missing in his creative work.
It is not that Data needs to practice more. Technically, Data can do it all perfectly. It’s that his work doesn’t have soul. Sorry: It is that his work does not have soul. Without emotions, Data cannot be changed by the experience. Without any deeper connection, his audience is not moved either. The music performance does not resonate. The punch line is not funny. The painting does not express anything. The poem does not convey any emotion. On multiple occasions, Data states he is willing to trade all of his extraordinary abilities to gain what he is missing – to be human.
Although, sadly, we do not possess the powers of Ltd. Commander Data, we nerds in fashion can suffer from the same shortfalling. The technical comes naturally. We are so good at analyzing and mastering the craft. We spend time perfecting the art. We can make awesome clothes, but do they move people? Do they change us in the process of making them?
I’ve talked to many designers who started with a great product idea and ended up with a style they were uninspired with. Throughout product development, the design got dumbed down. Details were cut because of cost. Technical experts weighed in and recommended something that was more “standard”. The factory sewed the garment how they were used to sewing instead of the unique way the designer asked for. The final garment was technically optimized, but lacked the very essence that made it connect with customers.
This is what we have to be careful of. If we reduce the craft of fashion to only the logic behind it, we miss something important. We lose the humanity. As with any of the arts, fashion is about connection. It is emotional, expressive, and relational.
I am not diminishing the technical. It is absolutely an essential part of creating fashion that fits. As I said, I am a nerd. The technical is what got me into fashion and what excites me about it still. I could talk for hours about the shape of an armhole, or the nuances of grading bust darts, or how the stretch of a fabric gets factored into a pattern (it is not evenly all over!). What I’ve realized more and more this past year in my work, though, is that the technical needs to work together with the human in order to truly land. Technical fit without fitting the person falls flat. It feels void.
Last week, my business turned eight years old. I still think Data is cool. I want to bring Data’s level of skill, perfection, and logic to my craft. But, like Data, I want more. I want this art to be a way that I – and that this industry – learns to be more human. Hopefully, this is an area we can surpass even Data’s abilities.
Going into year nine of Alison Hoenes Design, this is my continuing mission: to help women’s slow fashion brands get their designs to production without compromising their fit, vision, or values. You could say I’m a nerd, but I want to make clothes that boldly fit how no fashion has fit before.