Power Ties No Match For Power Gown

Two young women keeping a brisk pace in the cold of a dark spring evening briefly paused to gaze upward.

“That’s cool,” said one of them, as they glimpsed a towering, feminine figure bedecked in a flowing gown of cascading neckties.

Bold patterns of paisley, stripes, dots, checks, emblems, and solid colors beckoned passersby, but so did the unexpected juxtaposition of the ultimate alpha-male symbol of authority, confidence, and business acumen — the power tie.

“When a man wears a power tie, he’s only wearing one at a time,” said the gown’s creator Brittany Solem, a New Haven-area artist specializing in costume, clothing, and set design for editorial photography shoots, window displays, and artful installations.

Solem’s latest creation can be seen in the windows of the English Building Markets at 839 Chapel St.

This stretch of Chapel Street ​“is not all about the dollar store,” said the store’s owner, Carol Chamberlin-Orr, in describing her reasons for sponsoring the artful windows.

“I like to think of her windows as a beacon. Everyone deserves a chance to see things that inspire,” said Solem.

Solem’s appropriation of the symbolism-rich ties in creating her ​“power dress” may be a brilliant feminist statement, but it also speaks to Solem’s resourcefulness and creativity. Chamberlin-Orr explained that she had purchased a lot of 500 neckties — not all power ties to be sure — and though she usually discusses and collaborates on ideas with Solem, this time, she simply asked her to ​“do something with them” before departing on a trip to Chicago.

“I let her go with this. I’m never disappointed,” said Chamberlin-Orr.

Solem creates four or five installations at the store annually, mostly with items found in the store, but not exclusively.

“Carol celebrates the arts and not all shop owners do,” said Solem. ​“If there’s an idea, she’s like, ​‘yes — I’ll get the supplies’. She sees the value in it.” One installation required 600 paint mixing sticks. Another used 700 plastic spoons to create a tree.

Chamberlin-Orr said that she alternates a more conventional merchandising approach to her windows — filling them with items she sells — with Solem’s more conceptual approach.

Mistina Hanscom, a designer-photographer at Lotta Studios, has worked with Solem both in staging creative photos and in creating art installations. She said that Solem is the type of artist that ​“pours her heart into everything she creates.” 

The two collaborated on an installation at the 2014 City-Wide Open Studios at the Goffe Street Armory, based on their professional work together.

Hanscom said that for portrait work or advertising, installations make the best kind of backgrounds. When it comes to Solem’s installation work, ​“her pieces are her words.”

Several gold frames that float behind the tie-gown at the Chapel Street store provide spatial and visual balance as part of the overall window display, but Solem’s necktie sculpture would more than hold its own as an art form in any gallery. ​“If you happen to need a vintage tie,” says Chamberlin-Orr, ​“well, they will not be available until we redesign the window, which won’t be for a while.”