Friends!
You’re invited! I’m getting ready for several art shows of new work! I’m so excited to tell you about what you’ll see online and at the shows! OMG so many great reasons to use the (!) key on my typewriter! Ha, ha.
As usual, I love to blur the line between fashion and fine art. I want what I make to be an expressive translation of ideas that you can incorporate into your life. And this year I think I outdid myself as I explored the concepts of long legacy throughout nature, sustainability and leadership because it all led me to ... The Matriarchy! What I learned was really surprising. It was not what I first thought!
It all began with a trip to the National Arboretum on January 1. I was really amazed at the bonsai collection. The plants were hundreds of years old! The legacy aspects plats was really exciting me. Then, as the election got closer thought the year, people said, “Lola paint a political dress with women all over it.” But ugh,. on the heels of the prior year's Barbie movie in my psyche, and all that "Smash the Patriarchy" stuff, well--sorry, Barbie -- I just wasn't feeling very inspired about that exactly when our freedoms were feeling more and more restricted this year. It's so exhausting. And though I'm thrilled to have a woman running for US President (again), regardless of who wins the election, we still need more women leaders, right? We can't just depend on this one or that one or even a handful to deliver all that we need.
So I began wondering what the roots of women’s leadership really is? What did “Smash the patriarchy” mean and why is it so problematic. My work with the plant legacy began to merge with research about nurturing the planet and women’s leadership. The Matriarchy research was fascinating and it comes down to this —nurturing women in roles of leadership everyday. Nurture/Nature. It's all one thing!
I will just scratch the surface here. I'm going to explain much more in detail at the show but here I can tell you that until about 3000BCE, there were mostly Matriarchal societies. There are only a few left today unfortunately. In this societies, Mother Earth was considered the mother of all living things. Women were having babies but no one knew how it happened so the women were considered divine children of Mother Earth. Their children were also divine creators and so on. Everyone was in a clan of their mother. So Motherhood was central to everything. Nurturing all things was of highest importance. does not just mean biological abilities. More importantly, mothers are MENTORS. Creators, teachers, inventors and growers of all things, our self, each other and the planet. Nurturing is done with care to be regenerative, not exploitative. Because why would you do something to hurt your clan? There was no need for violence or greed. There was only abundance, consensus and love. Anyone can be a mother in this case, female or tapped into the female spirit. This is what our planet and our people need right now. THIS is the basis of good leadership.
When you look at the thousands of years it took to get to where we are now with society there is no immediate solution to “Smash the Patriarchy.” But if you make an effort to nurture everyday, Matriarchal concepts CAN reframe society. There are so many Matriarchal VS Patriarchal concepts to share. They defy exploitation, loneliness and scarcity. What I learned made me feel especially connected and supportive of every other woman/sister/leader and filled with excitement. When we relax into this power, there is nothing we can’t change. And that’s what this show is all about— the many symbols of Matriarchy- plants, people, animals, geometry, regeneration ideas, legacy, balance, love, and mentorship (mothering/leadership).
You know the colorful sustainable activewear I make you feel amazing and powerful just on their own so just imagine them with these Matriarchal values powering you up too! WOW!
Now-- as the year went by, somehow in the midst of all this, I began advising a sustainable fashion organization called ReFashion with its founder, Ashley Kurth-Reinhart, who’s also a fabulous sustainable jewelry designer @PalomaVintageDesigns. I focused on new brand identity but also advised on the production and strategic planning for the organization. Anyway, after an incredible show in April, we applied and accepted our work into a NY Fashion Week show on sustainability! (Honestly, this is huge for me! I have always wanted to show in NY!) Ashley and I collaborated to create unique pieces for the fashion show. During this time, I made a dress called "Rise of the Matriarchy," which you can see on in the picture above, and another outfit called Superstar, which was all about the heavens (balance is a big thing in Matriarchy too -- Heaven and Earth.) Women from 20-94 became models in my community to support this artistic work and brought these pieces alive with a unique feeling each time. Both new outfits will be on display at all the shows, plus the all-new athleisure collection, which will reflect themes of the matriarchy. They have colorful prints that reveal overlapping bonsais, colors that reflect a balance of seasons, colors of the earth, sea, sun, and sky -- to name a few. Plus, a fun cap embroidered with many combined symbols of the matriarchy together on a patch!
I can't wait to tell you much more about it all! If you’d like to make a private appointment or host a trunk show where I talk about the meanings of the collection to your audience, I’d love to collaborate with you as well.
Join me at the show in person or online. Here are the upcoming show dates.
NYC - Fashion Week - Sept 10
Private shows (scheduling 9/22nd-26th )
Facebook Live - Sept 23
Hosted home shows (Scheduling in October/Nov/Dec)
February in Florida (Ft. Myers and Naples)
I can't wait to reconnect with you soon at an event or online. Just reach out to connect. That’s leadership! It’s literally the small things we do to help each other that build into a movement!
Love to you,
Lola
Collections online:
Event information: on my “Events” page
Follow me to see the excitement of the upcoming shows!
@lolalombard_wearable_paintings
@lola_lombard_creative
Thanks again to models - Saba @renderedinc, @laamuertee, thestephanyzee@gmail.com, @RatRayRoo, @ Bananaquil, T. Lombard and @rosehillaryy.
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