Written Wrinkles
Self-published essay that questions the fine line between folds, creases and wrinkles
and society’s perception of them. Their language as
one that goes against the normative language of the dominant fashion system.
To iron or not to iron, that’s the question.
Wrinkles,
deemed unworthy by their hallmark of passing time
Creases alike,
read as indents of indecency
Folds, however, not as much,
since their existence is considered intentional
an utterance of fine appearance,
an aesthetic statement
I imagine you don’t particularly mind words, do you? Why is it then that most likely you do tend to mind wrinkles and creases? After all, they can be seen as words written by your body moving through space, navigating through life. They might manifest when and where you least expect them to, but isn’t that the beauty of it all? To be able to be bewildered by the stubbornness of the fabric you wear, whether that’s the fabric of your skin or that of your garments. Yet to this day it’s still a matter of each to their own, each on opposite sides of a spectrum.
words - - - - - - - - wrinkles/creases
However, there is one thing both do have in common: from the moment something is written (whether on paper or on fabric) it’s considered (as) old. The curse of faded glory, obsolete from the moment it sees the light of day. The novelty has - quite literally - worn off. The ink dried, the fabric crumpled. And although folds may appear as fixed and crinkled as well, they don’t seem to bear the same kind of burden words and wrinkles/creases do. Then is it all a matter of the right intention? But what does that even entail, the ‘right’ intention? Folds welcomed because they were intended to show up, as opposed to wrinkles and creases, discarded as unwanted witnesses of wear?
How to go about these visual manifestations of life almost seems to become a question of morality. I could ask you whether you would consider ironing your skin? Which, at first you might think of as an absurd question, I myself did too. However, isn’t plastic surgery in a way a form of ironing? And isn’t there just as well a certain degree of moral etiquette involved when it comes to such an intervention, similar to the non-intervention of the non-ironer?
How to go about these visual manifestations of life almost seems to become a question of morality. I could ask you whether you would consider ironing your skin? Which, at first you might think of as an absurd question, I myself did too. However, isn’t plastic surgery in a way a form of ironing? And isn’t there just as well a certain degree of moral etiquette involved when it comes to such an intervention, similar to the non-intervention of the non-ironer?
To iron your clothes
praised as the moral thing to do
Non-ironed garments
connoted as scruffy and nonchalant
To iron your skin
criticised for being superficial
Non-ironed skin
embraced as the order of nature
or seen as a sign of decay (*)
(*) after all, ageing still is very much gender biased,
older men as silver foxes vs older women as expired
I’m not here trying to proclaim one is morally superior to the other. Far from it. However, what I do hope to incite, is for you to perhaps reconsider your thoughts on wrinkles and creases prior to reading this text. For you to be able to make up your own mind on the matter, instead of being spurred on by what is (morally) expected of you. Decency and status is not to be read from the existence or non-existence of wrinkles nor of creases. There’s nothing wrong with reaching for the magic of an iron (whether for skin or garment) as long as YOU are at the center of your decision and not some external expectancy of you.
For the literature loveluster. . .
On the value of wornness:
“Creases, Crumples and Folds” in The Fashion Studies Journal (2020) – Ellen Sampson
On the link between ironing and fashion:
Fashion Victim: iron (2008) – R.G. Herder
On the crease as a tactile, existential, and artistic phenomenon:
“Crease” in Phenomenology & Practice (2022) – Maria Gil Ulldemolins & Kris Pint
On the nature of folds:
“(Two)fold” in FASHION(non)SENSE (2022) – Wonne Scrayen
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