Vol. 3
Idea Vilariño
aesthetic program is dispossession
"Nothing more,
nothing less.
Only what's right
that
the perfect
Her poetry holds the stoic value of purity—adjectives are scarce, embellishments non-existent, everything seems to flow toward a sparing ideal of air and cleanliness. A quiver with very few arrows, each sharply honed.
A waistcoat doesn't serve an obvious purpose. It keeps you just warm enough, and is more of an accessory, discreet and precise. A small garment with a simple structure that is worn beneath a jacket, and often remains hidden, but when seen, it elevates the entire outfit into a much more beautiful composition . In the 17th century, King Charles II deemed it an essential piece for the proper attire of gentlemen.
In Little Women (2019), Saoirse Ronan's Jo March frequently wears velvet waistcoats over her 19th-century dresses. A chic note, and an opportunity to wear a bolder fabric without losing the sense of discretion that defines her. The costume design, by Jacqueline Durran (incidentally, the one who chose Keira Knightley’s green dress in Atonement), works because the anachronisms are always perfect. Elements from a certain time overlap with contemporary details, resulting in garments and ensembles that could only belong to that fictional world. Part of a tailor-made language. The waistcoat itself hasn’t changed much since the 17th century, and seems to glide effortlessly through the ages without losing its sense of modernity.
A small fashion dictionary says: “A waistcoat makes a nice change and is very convenient and nice.” A waistcoat is a garment that’s almost not there—it’s minimal and pure. And in that sparseness, like in Idea’s poems, its vitality and elegance unfold.
