Nahant fashion designer takes tie-dye to new level

NAHANT – His clothes and fabrics have adorned celebrities and been shown in the international capitals of fashion.But textile artist and fashion designer Carter Smith said Nahant provides all he needs to develop his craft and talents.”I’m a world-renowned designer who hides out in Nahant,” Smith joked. “But what we do here, no one else does in the world.”For the past 46 years, Smith has been experimenting with the art of Shibori or – as it’s more commonly known – tie-dye. But Smith’s work is much more involved than dropping a knotted white T-shirt in a vat of dye.In fact, visiting his home in Nahant reveals how his craft and his talents have developed.Although his original home and studio burned in 2006, his new home is decorated with murals and banners from his early work as a visual artist.His work eventually attracted the attention of clothing designers, he said. But he realized that the name on the clothing’s label never included the name of the person who designed the fabric – even if the fabric was what got people talking.So Smith taught himself how to sew, and his home contains a studio with three sewing machines, numerous spools of thread and racks of fabrics and clothing.”When I tried to find somebody to translate design into clothes, nobody knew what I was talking about,” he said. “So I had to sit down at the sewing machine.”And while his tie-dyed patterns are complex and multi-colored, his dress designs are comparatively simple.Applying another Japanese art form – this time, origami – Smith bases his designs on folding squares and rectangles.Once the dress, kimono, scarf or coat that he designs has one of approximately three or four basic forms, he will then make it unique by adding different “panels” of designed fabric. The result is a one-of-a-kind garment – he never makes the same dress twice, according to the wishes of his favorite customer in California – that combines the silk and vibrant patterns of haute couture with simple, almost mosaic construction. His clothing is offered in high-end department stores and he said that his kimonos, for instance, are sold for $7,000.He said his clients call his most popular dress pattern “the Magic Dress,” because of the effect it has on the confidence and appearance of the women who wear it.”When you put on the right piece, this connection happens that brings out a kind of inner beauty in the wearer,” he said.He said that his designs have brought out that beauty in Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary, who was a close friend, he said.But he said that he did not see that beauty too often captured in photo shoots with models from New York or Los Angeles.So Smith recently taught himself photography. That skill has led to his newest project.Fellow textile designer Uosis Juodvalkis is currently teaching Smith, along with Smith’s model and assistant Meghan Cleary, how to use digital technology to enhance existing and create new designs.”This is a tool,” Juodvalkis explained. “[Smith] does it with dyes and vats, we do it with a mouse.”The process is very different, but just as experimental, as tying up fabrics to put in a vat of dye.First Smith photographs fabrics that he has designed. Then he uploads the images to a computer, where they can tweak the colors, expand a pattern as if they were “unfolding” it and manipulate it into clothing patterns. He will then print the design directly onto fabric that will be sewn into clothing.Juodvalkis said that digital design allows the artist to continually experiment – and retain the “accidental benefits” of that experimentation – but increases the efficiency of production by offering “instant feedback.”And each piece will still be unique, Smith said.Both Juodvalkis and Smith said that artistry and individualism is essential for success in the fashion world.”Every year tie-dye has become bigger and bigger in fashion,” Smith said.”I think there’s a big trend towards things that are more artisanal and that l