Patch Work: A Life Amongst Clothes

Wilcox, senior curator of fashion at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, debuts with a fascinating memoir of her life and passion for clothing. Raised by a seamstress mother, Wilcox was destined for a career in fashion, and her appreciation for all things cloth is evident in her attention to details in garments: Japanese silks are “pleated into rills like the delicate underside of a field mushroom,” and Frida Kahlo is described as wearing, in a self-portait, “a long green skirt with frothy white flounce that hides her legs and a loose blouse with a band of red embroidery around the neck.” Wilcox eschews linear chronology to create a textual mood board that flits dreamily from intimate childhood memories and poignant remembrances of her father (“Every time he sat down a puff of dust would sigh out from the feather cushions”) to penetrating character studies of style and design figures including Alexander McQueen and Kahlo. (On McQueen, she posits he expressed himself emotionally through the cut and drape of his designs.) The author’s enthusiasm is apparent throughout, and where she really shines is in her poignant memories about family members and friends. This intricate work enchants. (Jan.)