CREATIVE WHIZZ KID:
CATE GOWERS
CATE GOWERS
If you couldn't express yourself
creatively, how would this impact the way you dress?
Expressing
myself
creatively has many facets and one of them is fashion, but it so
inherent in me I couldn’t imagine the kind of person I’d be without
creative
expression. I don’t think about fashion too seriously though and have a
lot of
fun wearing my clothes. The more time that I spend at my part time jobs
wearing
plain, practical clothes, the more eccentrically I will dress on my days
off; full
pink outfits, floral on floral print, crazy tights, weird layering,
bigger
jewelry. In the same way if I haven’t created art in a while, when I
come to
making something I have all of this inspiration and energy built up
ready to
flow out of me. I feel like I have this creative force and when it is
restricted, it doesn’t fizzle out but instead it builds up until it's
set free. It doesn’t grow though unless it is constantly given attention
and
love, like a child.
What inspires your style more
profoundly, internal/external influences?
My general style comes from external influences but what I wear day to day depends on
what I am feeling internally. My grandmother was a fashion designer and works in high fashion
and my mum is a graphic designer so they began my love of beautiful and
interesting things from birth. I feel inspired by a myriad of things in my
surrounding world from the very mundane to the extraordinarily complex and this
filters into the art I make and the way I dress. I like the idea of a fusion of
multiple styles and don’t feel limited to identify myself with one type of
dressing. Maybe this comes from my deep love of travel and absorbing different
cultures. After I have explored a new country I have so many images in my head
and have absorbed so much it brings new energy to the way I dress and embellish.
How would negative comments towards your
self-formed style affect you now compared to 10 years ago?
I am a lot
stronger now than I was when I was 12. At that age you've experienced so little
and are really growing into a very new form of yourself. It is harder than when
you’re 22 to know what your body is about and how you can express yourself
through clothing. But even from a young age I was always quite sure of what I
liked and not easily swayed by what those around me did or wore. I may not have
been doing or wearing what everyone else was but I could never mold to
something that didn’t feel like me, I’ve always had that strong intuition. Over
those 10 years I've finished school, travelled through 7 countries, had
multiple jobs, graduated, fallen in love, had exhibitions and made a lot of
artwork which have all influenced me and in turn the way i dress. I am more
aware of what it is to be a woman, have had more time to experiment and collect
clothes that feel good on me and have been looking at the world and people for a lot
longer. I understand a fraction more of the world and
a hell of a lot more about myself.
Do you believe in 'dressing to your body
type'?
I believe in
dressing in what makes you feel rad more than dressing to your body type. The
idea that we have to dress to our body types has negative connotations as it
encourages people, women especially, to assess what are their 'worst features'
and hide them. There are definitely silhouettes that suit different bodies but
I think it should come from your own intuition of what makes you feel the best
about yourself rather than wanting to cover up and be ashamed of a part of your
body. I like to think of getting dressed like making an artwork, it’s kind
of like a spontaneous painting where you place things next to or on top of each
other and see how they will sing. This obsession that our society has with body
assessments and being concerned constantly with attractiveness just holds us
back and gives us false ideals about where our value lies. My value is not in
the clothes that I wear, clothes are for the most part an individual
experience. It lies in what I create with my hands, how I use my mind, how I
connect with other humans and the energy I put out into the world.
Would your style alter if you suddenly
came into great fortune?
I don’t think
my style would change much and I wouldn’t start buying all the big brands just
because I could but holy shit I would buy a lot more clothes, and SHOES. I
think people can get a bit swept up into the cult of a hot brand and forget
what makes the actual piece desirable to them as an individual. I pay more
attention to texture, silhouette, colour, symbolism, comfort, print, cut and pattern
than to the actual brand. I never
leave the house without my fingers full of bling and some big earrings,
particularly in favour of sassy hoops. Oh and I do love a good trawl
through the op-shop, I don’t think that would change if my bank account was
fuller, plus its not as harsh on the environment!
