{"id":43821,"date":"2021-09-30T09:49:34","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T14:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/?p=43821"},"modified":"2021-10-01T14:41:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T19:41:38","slug":"erl-aap-rocky-met-gala-quilt-dating-controversy-lost-found","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/the-bomb\/2021\/09\/30\/erl-aap-rocky-met-gala-quilt-dating-controversy-lost-found\/","title":{"rendered":"~ERL \/ A$AP Rocky \/ MET GALA QUILT \/ DATING CONTROVERSY \/ LOST & FOUND . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

the ERL \/ A$AP MET GALA QUILT is QUITE . . the ‘VERNACULAR’ – STAR !!<\/p>\n

but, NO,<\/strong> is is not ‘ANTIQUE’<\/em> – it is . . ‘VINTAGE’.<\/p>\n

AND DATES – FROM THE 1970s.<\/p>\n

so,<\/strong> a woman came forward on Instagram – to claim that it was<\/strong> she who had donated the ‘Puff’ quilt \/ used by ERL as the basis for his show-stopping . . A$AP Rocky Met Gala ‘cape’ . . to the thrift shop, where ERL found it.
\nso interesting \/ what social media makes possible.
\nsee:<\/strong> ‘A$AP Rocky’s Met Gala Quilt – Backstory’ by JOYANN JEFFREY, BUZZFEED \/ posted SEPT 26, 2021.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nIMAGE VIA Instagram @books_n_babies<\/p>\n

funny how – this story has . . . legs !!<\/p>\n

but, also in being found – some info – got lost . . or ‘confused’, esp regarding the ‘originality’ of the quilt, and its . . date.<\/p>\n

VOGUE – the ‘fashion bible’, lol \/ did not<\/strong> help by terming the quilt ‘antique’.
\nas per that BUZZFEED link above \/
\nAccording to VOGUE, “Linnetz purchased ‘the antique quilt’ from a thrift shop.”
\nwell, unless an object is over 100 years old, it is not<\/strong> antique \/ it is vintage. <\/p>\n

also, Sarah . . the IG woman who claims to have given away the quilt, says it was made by her great-grandmother . which probably also confused some people. if you take 20 years as a kind of average generational indicator \/ that still gets us back to the 1970s,
\nwhen all things DIY, but esp quilts, knitting, and crochet began to grow in popularity, leading to a new advancement of skills \/starting life in 70s as ‘hobby projects’, and leading to the full flower renaissance we see today. though there is still a heirarchy of ‘ making’. with top s designers like RAF SIMMONS making incredible hi-end sweaters with PRADA, through hand-knit ‘amateur’ hats & scarves, to the truly vernacular kid DIY projects such as puppet-making, or even . . . yarn dolls.<\/p>\n

in the textile world, it is actually quite <\/strong>solid, not much grey area \/ and, easy to date things, such as quilts – by the fabric \/ for example: woven (very antique !!), or printed \/ which in turn breaks down into early \/ such as woodblock, or roller-printed textiles (colonial times) to silkscreens, to more modern, contemporary mass production factory techniques. and any decent textile reference book, would clearly find this quilt to be of 1970 manufacture.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\ndetail ERL – A$AP Rocky MET GALA quilt \/ via full scale BUZZFEED <\/a>image<\/p>\n

another big <\/strong>clue, as to the dating <\/strong>of this quilt, would be that, although it is<\/em> ‘pieced’ \/ i.e. made up of small units of cloth sewn together to make a whole bedspread, this is not<\/strong> the case here \/ in that, in the pattern we can easily see there was enough of a big yardage of each color, that permitted the quilt-maker to cut out as many squares, to makes as many ‘Puff’ pockets, as she needed to complete the grid pattern, without resorting to an i old-fashioned ‘scrap bag’. when this quilt was made, whole textile yardage, and micro-printed yardage at that \/ reflects ‘store-bought’ yards of material, and it was cheap, and widely available – so VOGUE, you can scratch off . . ‘antique’, once – and for – all. <\/p>\n

PIECED:<\/strong><\/p>\n

the concept of ‘pieced’ <\/strong>quilts dates back to colonial times , when cloth was rare, and printed clothe even more rare \/ as it was imported from England, and therefore very very expensive. thus collecting, cutting out the remaining ‘good’ bits, and re-using these ‘pieces’ \/ from worn-out clothing – was the American pioneer way . . to make ‘sustainable’, large ‘bed’ coverings. think Amish quits, etc.<\/p>\n

and, regarding the cloth that was local, woven & home-made, hand-dyed, maybe be even \/ roller-printed, woodblock printed with a rudimentary pattern \/ was also expensive, and labor-intensive \/ and, so it was harvested as well, from older garments – saved up, as ‘scraps’ in a ‘scrap bag’ \/ to ‘piece’ into larger quilts. obviously, not – the case here. in fact, one way to date real ‘antique’ quilts, or to assess the wealth or lifestyle of the maker \/ is to examine the ‘variation’ in the different, maybe ‘red’ textiles used to innovate – to complete – a continuous, over-all pattern, obviously – not the case here.<\/p>\n

then we come to ‘feed sacks’ !!
\ndry food goods, such as flour or sugar, or animal feed, seeds, etc \/ at a little bit later time, think ‘Little House on the Prairie’, came in big multi-pound sacks made from cotton. (there was no synthetic fiber, or plastic at the time), and at some point these dry goods merchants realized if they roller-printed or woodblock printed) these cottons, that would increase their (i.e. sustainability) re-use, and also encourage the farmers’ wives to pick the brand of flour, or sugar that had pattern they coveted, and also women would gather scraps and trade, like a form of early trading cards. so that era also had ‘pieced’ quits.<\/p>\n

by the mid 1900s, ‘piecing’ – was a conceptional ‘conceit’ \/ not done through necessity, cost or
\nindustry, but as a ‘project’, as a way to follow and emulate older quilt traditions. this ‘pieced’ quilt falls under that evolution.<\/p>\n

‘Puff’, ‘Biscuit’, or even ‘Bubble’ quilts, such as this ERL found vintage quilt \/ . . . actually have a history going all the way back to the late 1800s, Victorian times \/ when the little individual ‘pockets’ were stuffed with cotton batting filling, and again were made as a way to utilize small ‘scraps’, such as velvet, or silk from more elaborate handiwork, or expensive clothing.
\nso again . . unless it is an historic ‘stand-out’ \/ that has been carefully kept – even old, as in really old, 100 year old \/ truly antique ‘Puff’ quilts still fell very much so, under the ‘vernacular’ genre.<\/p>\n

so, back to now !!<\/strong><\/p>\n

although, it would help to know what was used to ‘fill’<\/strong> the ‘bubble’ pockets of this ERL \/ A$AP Rocky quilt \/ was it cotton batting, was it used panty hose or nylon stockings ? . . or synthetic fiberfill ?
\nit’s really not<\/strong> necessary to know, to be able to date the quilt, but it would help.<\/p>\n

that no<\/strong> one was curious enough to inspect the filling, or if they were close enough to it, as Zak Foster must have been . . to make mention of it \/ speaks volumes<\/strong> to how woefully <\/strong> uninterested, or unaware – all the ‘founding’ parties involved with the quilt were – in terms of quilt history, and quilt-making \/ in general . . .
\nbut, especially Zak Foster, the supposed quilt expert guy who repaired it, and didn’t think twice to mention – what it was stuffed with ?<\/p>\n

no matter,
\nwe know from the specific cotton cloth, the specific pattern, and especially the specific color dye used – that this was 1970s fabric.
\nfurther it was cloth made specifically – to support<\/strong> the new-found interest in quilting, and hand-made DIY projects in general, especially of the ‘vernacular’ \/ outsider genre . . which called for . . . traditional-looking, cheery small floral prints, in a range of many different colors.<\/p>\n

it also helps . . if you have<\/strong> an original \/ ‘vintage’ bolt of this kind of printed cotton – with the maker, and the actual<\/strong> date – stamped into the selvedge, or yard cloth . . border !!!
\nand, yeah.
\nof course . . . I do !! <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nthis a sampling of 1960s textile \/ it does not<\/strong> match,in sheen, brightness, nor intensity of color, nor in the size or style of – the tiny printed floral repeat.
\n~mass-produced cotton \/ textile technology – still had a way to go to match the ERL found quilt.
\ntextile source: ‘Dating Fabrics, A Color Guide 1800- 1960’, by Eileen Jahnke Trestain.
\nPublisher: American Quilter’s Society, Kentucky \/ 1998.
\nPhoto: Nancy Smith
\nCollection: Nancy Smith<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nbut, this is<\/strong> more like it !!!!<\/p>\n

this . . 1970 ‘craft’ fabric – is a dead ringer !!
\nPhoto: Nancy Smith
\nCollection: Nancy Smith<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n1970s cotton fabric such as this – was used to make . . STUFFED<\/strong> – DIY \/ Christmas ornaments !!
\nPhoto: Nancy Smith
\nCollection: Nancy Smith <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nsome more Xmas \/ hand-sewn & stuffed ornaments
\nPhoto: Nancy Smith
\nCollection: Nancy Smith<\/p>\n

talk about . . vernacular !!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nand . . other folk art projects \/ a wooden clothespin doll \/ and probably a Xmas ornament.
\nPhoto: Nancy Smith
\nCollection: Nancy Smith<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nthe cloth came with instructions, and . . . the date <\/strong>the fabric was printed.
\nPhoto: Nancy Smith
\nCollection: Nancy Smith<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n1976.
\nPhoto: Nancy Smith
\nCollection: Nancy Smith<\/p>\n

ps:<\/strong>
\nyes !!
\nall the above 1970 \/ DIY hand-sewn craft Xmas ornaments, and the wooden clothespin doll, all came from local thrift shops, including my prized . . . ‘DIY’ bolt of cotton – with the DIY ornament cut-outs & instructions, the date printed into the border selvedge.
\nand, none <\/strong>cost more than $2.50 – if that \/ including the historic DIY fabric.<\/p>\n

no wonder, I got so <\/strong>excited seeing that A$AP Rocky waltz down – the Met Gala red carpet !!!! <\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the ERL \/ A$AP MET GALA QUILT is QUITE . . the ‘VERNACULAR’ – STAR !! but, NO, is is not ‘ANTIQUE’ – it is . . ‘VINTAGE’. AND DATES – FROM THE 1970s. so, a woman came forward on Instagram – to claim that it was she who had donated the ‘Puff’ quilt \/ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43821"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43821"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43850,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43821\/revisions\/43850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}