Have a look at this video, if you dare.
It is very interesting that even in contemporary liturgical textiles there seems to be a craving for a "continuity" even if that continuity is expressed in discontinuity.
I think this is a feature for this blog here.
Yet even Slabbinck are going Roman, times and seasons, times and season, but then then there is this.
But they are based in ...Belgium.
23 comments:
Is it the 1st April yet?
The worst part is they want £1700 for that graffiti chasuble! Who buys these things?!
Yes Fr some of these vestments are truly awful - and in my opinion not 'fit for purpose' - but who would have thought even a few short years ago that Slabnick would have Roman vestments in their 2011 catalogue - so maybe 'brick by brick!!
Oi! Lay off little Belgium! I think the yellow and gold vestment is rather lovely - probably the Walloon side of me - but I'm not sure that any are "fit for purpose". Even disregarding the pricetags, what corner of the market are these pitched at, exactly?
Belgium does produce some fabulous desserts and chocolates, and some rather tasty fruit beers...I hope that makes up for it. Let's not mention Jean Claude Van Damme.
I've seen a lot worse and if a priest were to celebrate a Usus Antiquior Mass in one of them, particularly in a modern church (and fashions do change, and always have done)I wouldn't be greatly offended.
I quite like them as textiles but they don't work as vestments. As hangings or altar frontals they could be successful.
There is a need to recover the Traditional Mass from its false associations of being old-fashioned and reactionary and new techniques of textile decoration offer possibilities in that direction.
He may be a fine calligrapher, but he could certainly do with a proof-reader. The red chasuble has, in nice big letters so you can't possibly miss it, the non-word "altimissi" (where what he means is "altissimi").
But who cares? It's not as if the words are there for their meaning. They're just there for decoration, to "look nice". And that precisely illustrates the problem with the whole mindset behind these vestments. It's like those people who, knowing not a word of Chinese, get a Chinese ideogram tattoo because they think it makes them look profound and spiritual.
Goodness, there's some really ugly stuff on that site. Four to five of the gothic chasubles aren't too ugly, though, and it's interesting that the "monastic" type has a series patterned like the ancient polystavrion - though it's a pity only the white one seems to have turned out with any success.
Sadly, the other thing sold by this company have a higher ratio of duds to hits.
Fr William, funny you should mention Chinese tattoos. How do they know what they mean if they don't know the language? It could be uncomplimentary or rude or worse!
But it is not a good idea to parade one's dyslexia in a situation like that.
I think the vestments were OK-ish. I liked the cream "Lumen Christi Deo Gratias" at 1.36. The designer did seem to put a lot of thought into them. The Roman vestments were elegant.
But putting an advert for bed sheeting after the clerical vestments...!?(sigh).
Gigi - ooh, yes, lets mention JCvD. Nothing like sitting on the settee with a cup of tea, switching off, and watching JCvD do all the exercise.
@Damask Rose: yes it does seem a tad unsettling to have the duvet sets paraded in quick succession to the vestments!
Almost as unsettling as JCVD - are you sure about this Damask Rose?? I'm sure he only learned to run so fast and jump so high to get away from angry scriptwriters...
I burst out laughing when it suddenly cut to "Bonjour Amour" bed linens!! Bahahaha! Oh my, I hope there are two different customers in mind, it's like something from a TV comedy show!
As bad as Slabbinck is today, they have a history before the council of good quality and even beautiful vestments. I've seen with my own eyes some of their old suff pulled out of sacristy closets (including a drop dead velvet black set) worn for special ocaisions. It just makes you want to sigh that they produce the crap they they do today whey they have the ability to do so much better. But hey, they have roman vestments in a somewhat simple, design now so maybe a shift is starting to occur! Deus vult...
Golly! I remember Brody a bit - we overlapped as students. His background is in medieval architectural history - as I recall, he did his PhD on the 19th-century restorations of Speyer Cathedral. He went on to study calligraphy after that, I think.
I like the vestments, but I don't like the apparent dig at Belgium, which is a lovely country in all sorts of ways.
"I'm sure he only learned to run so fast and jump so high to get away from angry scriptwriters..."
Aw..., lol.
Do they come with matching maniples?
@Michael1: I'm sure Father Ray was just beng playful! I've always been a bit niggled when people have digs at Belgium or are dismissive about her. I grew up holidaying in either Mum's Northern Ireland or Dad's Walloon area of Belgium; I became accustomed to hearing derisory commenets about each country.
Which ever country became the "seat" of the European Union would have come in for the red-tape and jobsworth jibes that Belgium has. It's terribly sad that Belgium's political and social infrastructures appear to be disintegrating. Most of my friends there now are actually in the Flemish regions: sadly they have no real knowledge of the French or German regions. There's still a sturdy but picturesque landscape and a tradition of hospitality and championing of the arts. I always thought it was a country built on faith. My Dad used to call it Little Europe. I hope it survives.
I rather like Belgium but as a European, with a father's family from a former part part of the UK and a mother whose family were from area of Europe that has belonged to five different countries in the last hundred, I reserve the right to be superior about other nationalities.
It is part of my national insecurity!
I can't guess Father Ray: where was your mother's family from??
Puala, now in Slovenia, formerly Jugoslavia, formerly Italy, formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
After the fall of Musollini it seemed to flicker from who had the biggest military presence so 5ish changes rather than 4
Woah! I've just looked up this city: Wikipedia diplomatically uses the phrase "rich political history"! It sounds like a fascinating place; I'm assuming there's an eclectic hotpot of traditions. I feel I should know something about it because it was home for a while to James Joyce, one of my faves. This blog is a font of knowledge! Thanks Father Ray.
Gigi,
So Joyce is one of your 'faves'. Does that mean you know what Finnegans* Wake is all about? If so, do tell.
*No apostrophe in Finnegans Wake, according to Philip Hensher, in today's Telegraph.
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