Sugar Merchant's Suit 1935 - 1942

Curator: Here we have Henry De Wolfe’s “Sugar Merchant’s Suit,” created sometime between 1935 and 1942. It’s a drawing done in pencil, and possibly watercolor, on paper. Editor: My first thought? It looks like the architectural plans for…pants! In a slightly unsettling, diagrammatic way. I mean, you wouldn't think deconstructing clothing patterns could be so cold, would you? Curator: Well, remember that during this period, designers often leaned heavily on rationalized, almost engineering-like approaches to garment construction. It reflects the broader fascination with industrial production and efficiency that marked the interwar years. Editor: So, you are suggesting it's not so much about sugar as it is about the means of its production? Is he implying the suit *is* the factory? Curator: Potentially. De Wolfe seems to be referencing the mechanics of a particular trade. What’s interesting to me is how the inscription becomes part of the piece, functioning almost like a construction manual rather than simply providing context. Editor: Absolutely. It’s like we’re given access to the secret language of garment-making, almost as if to mimic a Masonic ritual—exclusive, precise, a code. And maybe the cold precision allows the artist to stand a bit distanced and impersonal to a job he found quite hard. Curator: It does prompt us to think about who a "Sugar Merchant" might have been during this time and what this carefully designed suit might signify in relation to their social standing or professional identity. Clothing always carries social meaning. Editor: And it is quite loaded...I mean it even hints a little at the kind of psychological tailoring each person demands when shaping our personal “presentation”, our self-image. You wear it and at the same time, you are also building your new persona out of it...or at least giving yourself that impression. Curator: Yes, exactly. "Sugar Merchant’s Suit," even as a plan, highlights the power structures inherent in the fashion system and how clothing acts as both a marker and a perpetuator of economic status. It becomes more than a technical diagram; it's a social commentary. Editor: In its almost sterile beauty, there's a subtle indictment against the human cost often hidden behind industrial perfection and commercial gloss. It gets under the skin, really, makes you question how clothing intersects with who we are and who we want the world to believe we are.