Fashion Mash-up: Maria Pinto finds her inspiration in the field of the Artifacts

  "Museums have always been part of my break," fashion designer Maria Pinto said while walking to the conservation lab of the Field Museum, where products are tested, documented, and photographed for exhibition.

These days, museums are also a part of his CV. Opening 14th September the exhibition "Fashion Collection and Field Museum: Maria Pinto" has 25 artefacts from a museum on the ground with eight of his own designs Pinto.

The exhibition is the result of a conference in 2010. John Nuveen Curator of Anthropology, Alaka Wali, Pinto came to the board of women talking. The discussion presented Pinto own drawings alongside museum objects on the body - not chosen by Pinto, because scientific reasoning, but simply because everyone was thrilled.

The discussion was a success. He Wali want something more permanent.

Two years later, Pinto goes into the conservation lab to inspect products before they are installed in the exhibition. She waved a Sudanese details ceremonial sword, his baby crocodile casing shell the weapon as if it were to handle swallow tip.

Pinto wants to present the sword next to a crocodile jacket armor Cameroon, a former Japanese glove and shield hippopotamus skin Ethiopia.

"We as designers spoiled these days," says Pinto readily available materials ", but these cultures used what they had, and have so much beauty."

Pinto with great care in the selection of each piece in the show. She dug through the museum's collections - all safely stored in a vault huge - and photographed article she loved. As part of the publishing process, storyboards as they fashion collection.

"If I had my way, we would be 300 pieces," says Pinto, his brown eyes shine. "Editing was so hard, I can not always explain what I chose -. Was he unconscious."

The display is also an armor creations Pinto -. A deep emerald green alpaca jacket with horn buttons of his Fall 2009 collection The coat of a female dress, it emulates a cavalry dress with buttons in a long series of precisely stacked vertical.

"I've always thought about what we as a kind of armor," said Pinto. "Therefore, I on the things that attracted literally armor."

"The know-how in the work of Mary's amazing, even under a microscope," says ecologist Shelley Paine, who inspects each item and keep you safe during the presentation for 10 months. "We all have this piece [Pinto], we want to run away with," she says with a smile.

While the work of Pinto is a natural choice for the History Museum, the style is very unique exposure.

"I Music [objects] are outside the context of the story was," says Pinto, "modern but not snobby."

Add dramatic low light (also a necessity sensitive to light due to artifacts) and a true fashion is: Seven groups of garments, including two cases accessories, gray custom media ("white too clinical," says Pinto).

Convincing objects include a waterproof joint intestine ("you want to wear," says Pinto), a Brazilian all of the bark and pants Pinto sheepskin shearling next hot pants Inuit displayed. This is an artifact from the contents, except in Europe, and many are exposed for the first time.

As for what she hopes the audience: "I want them to say:" This is very different from what I saw on the floor. "" And, significantly, from the fashion world. "Fashion is complete, after you do at the end of the day it is made, you move on, you can not go fast enough...." Pinto turned with relief, "That's different."

Madeline Nusser is a local freelance writer.