Americans Near Paris: New Exhibition in France Highlights Isabel and Ruben Toledo’s Work.

The museum at SCAD will present the first posthumous exhibit of Isabel Toledo’s art as part of its 20th-anniversary celebrations. “Love Letter” focuses on the collaboration between the late designer, best known for creating Michelle Obama’s Inauguration outfit, and her husband, Ruben. Christina Frank, the curator, explained that Ruben was a black-and-white artist who encouraged Isabel to bring color into his work. The exhibition reflects both those spectra. The majority of the exhibits are from the 2000s. This era is still being explored. Ruben Toledo speaks to us about Isabel and his connection to France and the definition of American fashion.

Isabel Toledo, 2008. Photo: David Handschuh / NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

The show’s title is quite poignant.

Although it’s still difficult for me to think about the future without Isabel, I want to honor her work, and SCAD is doing so. I value sharing her ideas and her philosophy. That’s my mission right now. Isabel is still my grief, and I am mourning her husband, the Toledos. They are gone, so I am their custodian. I help preserve their archive and ensure that their work is shared with the next generation.

Which aspects of the work are you most proud to show off?

I believe [the curators] chose pieces that showed how [Isabel] ‘s] engineering and smartness in construction are always super evident. They can be worn inside out, from front to back, and still, work.

Isabel has always stated that she dresses with emotion. Isabel expressed her feelings through cloth and how things were made. She loved to address everyone’s emotions, no matter how delicate or strong or aggressive or fragile. It allowed women to continue expressing their feelings and do the same for themselves. That is my favorite part. The idea of using Isabel’s quotations and some of my writings on Isabel. There are also personal notebooks, sketchbooks, and sketches. We wanted to discuss how fashion is at its peak, and good design is more than engineering. It’s also emotional and personal relationships. It feeds both the heart and the mind.

Fashion must live in the world and serve you. We distinguished between costumes and real clothes because we had the opportunity to work with outfits from a young age with our choreographers like Twyla Tharp and Bill T. Jones. Although costumes can sometimes be spectacular, they are merely costumes. Fashion must be functional; Isabel was acutely aware of this. You can’t keep it in your closet, and you should wear it often. Isabel also knew how to make those special occasions moments shine.

Ruben and Isabel Toledo with Karl Lagerfeld, 2005. Photo: Stephen Lovekin / WireImage

One thing that has been on my mind lately is the dressmaking traditions in Latin America and Spain. It seems more collaborative than couture.

Isabel was a seamstress and then a designer. She said that she was a seamstress first, then a designer. But, her idea was that she was a service, both to herself and to clients and women. It is possible to collaborate with the person wearing it and the courier. Because we are artists, we take it for granted that our vision is a reality. Even if the client states that she wants something simple so she can relax, you will still give her what she wants. Poetry is where it all begins.

Isabel’s patterns are full of poetry, which I find very inspiring.

Because Isabel’s patterns are still amazing, I decided to do ink work. I see these graphic symbols when I look at the patterns pieces. They can look like bugs or personages. Isabel was a genius. She thought of her clothes as fluid, fluid, elegant, and flowing things that follow your body. I honor her skill in pattern-making and shaping. Karl called her a Couturiere because she could make the pattern and cut the dress. Then she learned how to sew the entire cycle. Isabel believed clothes would last forever when she was making them. Isabel offered her service by allowing clients to send their clothes back to us if they needed repairs or rework. Isabel believes that whatever we make in our studio is meant to last forever and will outlive us. It’s a lovely way to look at what you create.

How does Isabel relate to couture?

We were fortunate to have amazing friends such as Bill [Cunningham], Juan Ramos, and Antonio Lopez [creative Director and illustrator], who helped us learn about fashion and couture. Juan commented on Isabel’s clothes that they were like …. old-fashioned couture. You see today in couture what wasn’t there when we first visited Paris. There were no couture shows, and you saw beautiful couture clothes, but you didn’t see the same. It was just Isabel in a beautiful gown, and you couldn’t understand why. It was not about proclaiming to the world that this brand is such-and-such. It wasn’t about branding. The dress made the woman feel beautiful, and it moved beautifully. She looked amazing. There were many secrets to the dress. The pocket was hidden in the seam. She slumped in it because of its construction. Or the way it moved. Isabel fell for these magic tricks because that was what she was already doing. Juan also saw the simplicity of her previous work. This [helped us stay focused] because our friends, up until that point, we’re like, “You have to wear snappier clothes. You have to make things stand out more.” But Isabel was such quiet talent. She was naturally inclined to create something mysteriously and secretly brilliant. It’s almost like she doesn’t know why but it just captures. She was that kind of person.

Isabel and Ruben Toledo, with fans he painted, 2006. Photo: Joe Schildhorn / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

How do you relate to France?

In the late 1980s, we started to exhibit in Paris to make some money. New York’s business was really bad in 1987 and 1988. The budget was cut first when New York business became difficult. It was like Little Rascals, as we worked in a tiny hotel room until the morning before. Bill Cunningham was the one who showed us where to stay at a reasonable price. Suzanne Bartsch lived next to us because she was there for Love Ball and the whole crew. It was, as you can see, a hotel full of misfits.

It was a wild, beautiful, almost dorm-like fashion show in its first years. Before RuPaul had his TV show, I recall that RuPaul was part of the crew. We were shown in tiny cafes or little dungeons under restaurants and wine cellars. Although our shows were tiny and the audience was small, they were amazing people, like Bettina Graziani, who was Givenchy’s muse. We then started selling to Galeries Lafayette and Colette.

Before we did this, we had never been to Europe. This opened up a new perspective on fashion and how they view it as a culture. It was an amazing fusion, and it opened up intellectually for us to see how other people perceive fashion. Then we could leap by presenting fashion as pure art.

What was your experience in Paris?

Many French would respond, “You’re not an American designer. You’re a Spanish one.” But Isabel was so fond of industry. She loved sewing machines and mass production. And she loved patterns that were so clever, like puzzle pieces.

Isabel’s work is American.

The word serviceability is what I always refer to. Isabel and I greatly appreciated the army surplus, work clothes, and their utility. Add poetic fantasy to it, and you have a whole new territory. The American casualness, sloppiness, and acceptance of mistakes are refreshing. We get everything wrong, so we invent the wrong. We’re open to it, and that creates new friction. The American way of living life is inspiring. Even when you feel down, there is the idea that you can tap dance your way into the future. Everybody puts on a brighter, better face. We don’t have much historical background because we are busy inventing it. That’s a beautiful view of life. You don’t allow the past to drag you down. Instead, it would help if you made the next chapter. I believe that American fashion and design have this optimism that anything is possible.

Barak Obama and Michelle Obama, in Isabel Toledo, at the Inauguration, 2009. Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Isabel’s clothes are both timeless and current. How do the show’s pieces reflect the 2000s?

This is why this period is so interesting. We were finally reaching financial stability. It took us a long time to be able to work with exquisite textiles at a higher price than we were able to afford. I believe that American society was spending more on clothing during this time. It was like an uphill climb. The lushness of things increased every season, and clients were expecting more exquisite treatments. It was an opportunity to spend more time creating truly wonderful stuff than ever before. Isabel was always interested in this kind of thing, even though it was a T-shirt dress ….. The idea was that we would now be using luxurious textiles and layering lace. Isabel would make the corsetry for the inside of a dress just as beautifully as the dress it would be fitted onto. Because there was a client who wanted it, she was able to put in that same amount of effort and energy.

What other information do you want visitors to take away from the “Love Letter”?

It is important to share that Isabel was a fearless creator who was conscious of her ability to be of service. She was a courageous woman in all aspects. She was brave about her talents and how she approached the world, and, for that reason, she gave women empowerment. That is what I love about her. This allowed me to witness her grow in fashion and general. It was amazing. I wish that all visitors to SCAD feel the same, that there is empowerment and nurturing when things are done in love. It is a ripple effect that reaches out to the audience. Your audience feels a ripple effect, and she was aware of this. She was.