BJÖRK certainly knows how to make an entrance. The swan dress she wore to the Oscars in 2001 is legendary for being the most original – if not esoteric – concoction ever seen on a red carpet. Never knowingly underdressed, her recent appearance on sta
ge at London’s Hammersmith Apollo did not disappoint: she wore not one but two head dresses made of enormous pompoms. At first glance, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening on her head. Is it a hat? Is it a wig? Is it an alien lifeform landed on Björk’s barnet?
In fact, they are the creation of Soren Bach, a former hairdresser who turned his scissor-wielding hands to millinery. His giant furry kaleidoscopes took Björk to new levels of fashion outrageousness, and had the effect that oversized handbags have on size-zero models: making the petite wearer appear even tinier than she really is. Strangely beautiful, all those pompoms made me want to reach out and stroke Björk’s head, the way one might console a sick child.
But Björk isn’t ill; she’s in the vanguard of the fashion avant-garde. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t see high-street knockoffs of her swan dress, but I predict Björk’s latest fashion sensation will spark a mad rush for all things round and fluffy. Pompoms are already a part of everyday fashion, from the topping on a bobble hat to the heel of tennis socks. But Björk’s visionary style encourages us to see the pompom in a fresh, rainbow hue. Björk may be in the limelight, but it’s the turn of the humble pompom to take centre stage.
Professor Wendy Dagworthy, head of fashion and textiles at the Royal College of Art, taught Soren Bach and agrees. “Pompoms are having a moment; they’ve definitely come back into fashion,” she says. “Pompoms are humorous, playful, and fun.”
Prof Dagworthy’s students are inspired by the pompom’s ability to add whimsical decoration to anything they adorn – scarves, handbags, blankets, hats, even rugs. Katherine Walker, owner of k1 Yarns in Edinburgh and Glasgow, has witnessed a remarkable resurgence in all craft.
“The interest in knitting, crochet and pompom making has just exploded in the past few years, especially with young people. We even have male students from the art and design colleges buying yarn for their projects.”
Which would be no surprise to Camberwell College of Art lecturer and artist Shane Waltener. He creates participatory installations where audience members are encouraged to weave, knot, knit, finger crochet and make pompom garlands. Shane’s inspiration? “Pompoms are a celebration of craft,” he says. “They’re irresistible to make, and each one is unique. Pompoms are balls of creative, effervescent energy and joy.”
Pompoms have inspired me, too. I have set up Pompom International, a creative project to encourage peace and social harmony through the simple and inclusive craft of making pompoms. Participants gather round a table laden with colourful yarn and scissors, make a pompom and tag it, identifying the pompom, creator and their message for peace. The pompoms are hung in a temporary gallery to be enjoyed and admired by participants and passers by. After the event, each fluffy creation goes on to be part of what will eventually be the world’s biggest collective pompom; the collection currently stands at 1,427 colourful tufts of yarn.
My goal is to take Pompom International to areas of conflict around the globe, be it arguing neighbours in Ayrshire or rock throwers in the Gaza strip. Dealing with differences is much easier with a stress-busting pompom in your hand.
For most people, these colourful tufts of yarn evoke a memory of simpler, less complicated times. I bet Björk’s love of pompoms stems from the childhood rainy day activity of winding yarn round two circular pieces of cardboard. Let’s face it, there are lots of rainy days in Iceland. For adults, taking time out to make a pompom for peace gives pause for reflection and creativity– two things our hectic modern lives seldom allow.
Pompom International events have taken place in Seville, London, New York, Manchester and Blackpool. A pompom aficionado in the USA is organising mini-Pompom International events at yarn and craft shows across the country. Plans are being finalised for a summer tour of Northern Ireland commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Peace Agreement. Later in the year a Pompom International club night is being planned for Glasgow, with DJ Hushpuppy on the decks. Pompom peacemakers can also create their own pompoms at home, download an official tag from the website, and send it to Pompom International HQ.
Pompoms are unique in that they have no political or cultural stigma, and are recognised and enjoyed equally by people from vastly different backgrounds from all corners of the globe. Pompoms have the delightful effect of bringing people of all ages and ethnicities together, and are easily created by anyone regardless of ability.
The yarn itself is a metaphor for the ties that bind us together as human beings. Pompoms, in all their whimsical fluffiness, are the unlikely yet ultimate symbol of social harmony for the 21st century.
&149 Learn to make pompoms at w
ww.pompominternational.com
A WORLD OF PUFFY BALLSPOMPOMS feature in the traditional dress of countries across the world as well as modern western culture. In Panama, women wear elaborately embroidered floaty dresses with two giant pompoms accenting the front and back bodice.
Burmese girls sport traditional black hats with dangling silver ornaments and multicoloured pompoms, and Berber women of North Africa wear colourful yarn belts with pompoms at the ends.
Surprisingly, the pompom is most popular in men’s traditional dress.
Greek costume famously includes large pompoms on each shoe. The mariachi men of Mexico blast their brass in pompom-edged sombreros, and the remote Muria tribe in the Indian state of Bastar requires men to wear a complicated head dress topped with a multi-sized rainbow of pompons.
Traditional Polish folk-dancing breeches are white wool with pompoms at the side of the knee.
Even Mussolini found a fashion opportunity for the pompom. His Alpini troops wore hats adorned with a crow’s feather and a red pompon.
Closer to home the Balmoral, a modern version of the old Highlander hat, is a woolen cap of dark blue, green and brown, topped with a red pompom – and golf enthusiasts will be familiar with the pompom head cover, protecting drivers across Scotland.
Some traditional African hairstyles are reminiscent of pompoms; grand tufts of hair are gathered in sections all over the head, resulting in a maze of partings topped with finely groomed bubbles of hair.
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen used pompoms in his collection last autumn, and milliner Philip Treacy is no stranger to the puffy balls either. His muse Isabella Blow was famously photographed in one of his pompom-topped creations.
Queen of the handbags Lulu Guinness took inspiration from the 1940’s American pompom fashion craze and designed a snazzy new bag entirely covered with fluffy bundles of fun. Even Sex And The City’s Carrie Bradshaw wore pompoms, in the form of matching necklace and bracelet.
No self-respecting celebrity would be caught on camera without one. Kate Moss, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have all been snapped wearing bobble-topped caps, and Victoria Beckham recently caused a fashion commotion in Courcheval with her white snow boots covered in fur pompoms.
Fans of Erasure have been known to turn up at concerts covered in pink pompoms. Perhaps they should check out the Los Angeles retro synth band Pom Pom Diary, or take their MP3 player out of its pompom-clad cover and listen to rap diva Missy Elliot’s latest single “Shake your pompon”.
Then turn the lights down with designer Maggie Orth’s super sensitive dimmer light switch, gently twisting the pompom for the ultimate in mood lighting.
Even Mother Nature loves the pompom. The pompom plant (Nephrolepis exaltata) is a quick-growing fern with a link to prehistoric carnivorous plants. The Great Barrier Reef is home to the soft coral Blue pompom Xenia, while Hawaii has its pompon Crab, a crustacean with front claws that resemble fluffy pompoms.
The full article contains 1417 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
