Designer Profile – Worn Again Vintage Fashion with an Art-titude with designer Bari-ann Bogatov

Vintage Indie would like to welcome you to our latest addition to our online magazine, Designer Profiles.
We hope to share with you independent designers who specialize in
dealing with vintage materials or an age old tradition of crafting. Today we are getting to know Bari-ann Bogatov of Worn Again Vintage.

Skipping the intro (a.k.a. childhood) also, allowing for a condensed version of the year prior to wORNaGAIN
vintage fashion re-design jump starting to life (a.k.a the job (a.k.a
the opportunity of a lifetime) @ POSHvintage.com).

The year, a lifelong
passion for vintage advanced from spark to raging fire and a previous
crafty sort of hobby evolved from passé tie-dye to some wonderful
modernized artistic version. With supply funding, inspiration and
encouragement from POSH Vintage’s owner, Patti Stoecker (a.k.a. a woman
far beyond any simple complimentary words I could try to summarize her
with) the almost scientific research lab approach was utilized in the
search for a modern twist to a vintage method of re-coloring fabrics.
With that came the realization that any vintage could be salvaged & that evolving beyond just dyes allowed for endless
possibilities.

My Work Space:
I am proud to have a half-ass, thrown together and disorganized system. My husband and I are in the process of moving and who knows what
the new residence will be like. So not being too set in my ways works
for me. If I could just road trip for a few years, hit vintage stores
at every stop and work out of various rented rooms I’d love it. So i
keep a ‘system’ flexible enough to alter as dictated by my
surroundings.

Pictured – Bari-ann’s Studio 

No longer a simple white vintage slip but a fresh canvas ready to be painted redesigned & recycled.Any item destined for trash, is first evaluated for its possible second life as a ‘tool of the
trade. Anything with a possibility of making an interesting print gets
a chance. This same theory goes for vintage pieces destined for a landfill
grave. If not salvageable there’s always some detail (buttons, lace,
tacky adornments) worth snipping to reuse for an upcycle on another
article of clothing. It’s now about modernizing and upcycling
anything vintage, adding an edgier-urban style.Not a ‘fashion
designer’ but a vintage fashion re-designer.

The dye process alone is more involved than people realize. The labor of experimenting with an innovative method, tediously
prepping the item for re-color and the final result — it’s
indescribable. Somewhat similar to the (now) "old school" technique of
shooting an entire roll of film, crossing your fingers and anxiously
reviewing the end result. So many disappointments, but one good shot
makes the entire procedure worth the effort as well as the heartache. The upside of dyeing is even the disappointments can go back for
another round. I’ve gone through the ‘unveiling’ and unfolded a freshly
colored vintage treasure expecting a euphoric result and been crushed. A few of those went through a "last chance" reprocess and resulted in a
favorite.

Pictured  – details in the dyeing process.
Beyond the dyeing or painting, there’s some magic that happens when allowed the chance to satisfy the
urge to run with my weird obsession with collage — having a brain that
loves piecing things together and the result is a sort of vintage
fashion version of Frankenstein’s monster.
 

About my favorite pieces:

Oddly, what gets overlooked is the last minute (accidental) detail. The
‘unfolding’ of a repurposed piece is actually an emotional moment. Did
the dye take the way intended or hoped? Almost every piece has
areas with such intricate elements — like studying the clouds and
spotting one that resembles an object or animal. That’s not a statement
meant as a boastful reflection of my work, that’s where the
unexpected happens and comes back like a gift. Of course others see mostly the big picture final result  especially
utilizing online channels to showcase or sell. Occasionally I do
throw in a close up shot, but doubt it translates as well as I wish it
should.

Currently I love my first break away from traditional tie-dyes that
was done for POSH Vintage. It helps that the vintage slip itself
was breathtaking to begin with.

First non-tie-dye dye work: a 40’s ms. New Yorker slip : photos by Karl Stoecker courtesy of POSH Vintage.)

The full piece of my work is le petite americana. The dye was basic, but
the add ons stitched by hand were a late night, sudden inspiration. It came out as edgy elegant, but still easy to wear. The subliminal and unexpected details through dyeing are what continue to floor me.

Visit Bari-ann Bogatov and her amazing line at wORNaGAINvintage Boutique – Fashions with an Art-titude