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  • Writer's pictureThea Hwang
    • Jul 16

Identity is…

Identity is…, a maximalist coat made by textile artist and queer activist Sylvan, portrays identity as a multifaceted creative act. In celebration of Pride Month, the piece was displayed in the Museum of Arts and Design lobby in New York City over June 2024. Sylvan, also known as Michael Sylvan Robinson, was commissioned to design a garment representing identity as an expansive concept for theater producer and fashion icon Jordan Roth to wear to the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Gala in 2021. The result was Identity is…, as described in the exhibition notes “an extraordinary coat with a resplendent, floor-sweeping train entirely appliqued in patches of found images, text, and opulent fabrics, and further embellished with spangled trimmings, beads, and hand embroidery.”

 

Identity is… reminded me of the Red Dress (see the posts from April and May 2024). Not only do the two garments share similar silhouettes, but they both also serve as canvases for the images, textiles, and handiwork collaged on them as representations of identity. The imagery and text fragments worked onto the coat in Identity is… reflect the fluid gender identity and LGBTQIA+ experiences shared by Roth and Sylvan. Interestingly, the only words appearing on the surface and lining of the garment were words Roth had shared in discussing plans for a Met Gala garment that is both artistic and activist-rooted around gender expression. As an activist garment, Roth and Sylvan knew the coat would be read, but their intent was not for it to act as a signpost, but rather as an invitation into a conversation. In Sylvan’s practice of queer activism, with garments functioning as performance tools in public contexts, the coat and its pairing of words, images, and ornamentation are described, in the artist’s own words, as “queer activism meets decorative arts meets fashion meets street art meets art history.” 


When I saw Identity is…, I noticed the repetition of certain themes and symbols on the garment, but also that the representation of the theme or symbol each time was differentiated through a changed pattern or medium. Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and peacock feathers, whether in vibrant rainbow hues or as dramatic stand-alone eyes, stand out as repeated varied motifs. Identity may mean many different things to different people and it may also mean many things to one person, in that we are each multifaceted and have various aspects of ourselves, including different self-expressions at different times.


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