Lived In Series ~ Ilana Glazer
Our Lived In Series was created to capture our clothing on a series of women, all pursuing their own creative paths, to see how they live in Kordal. So many women in our lives inspire us with their drive, their talent, and their genuine sense of self. These are the women we design for. They remind us of why we want to design clothing in the first place: to create pieces that encourage comfort, ease, and the unique and honest beauty in each and every one of us.
A couple of weeks ago we had the incredible honor of photographing Ilana Glazer for the Kordal Lived in Series!
Like many of us, I was introduced to Ilana through the genius of Broad City, a show that she and pal Abbi Jacobson created and starred in. For me, Broad City captured all of the strange, hilarious and soul-stirring parts of figuring out who you are in the weird and wonderful city of New York.
So when Ilana came to our Fort Greene shop last fall, we just about lost it! We shared that this year is Kordal's ten year anniversary and it would be such an honor to feature her in our Lived in Series to mark the occasion.
In our Lived in Series, we feature women that inspire us with their drive, talent and their genuine sense of self. It's women like Ilana that remind us of why we want to design clothing in the first place.
Fast forward a few months later and Ilana is rolling up to set in Crown Heights on her bike, and yes, she's just as cool and kind as you'd expect. She's generous with her time, has everyone cracking up and looks incredible in our knits - even on a humid 90 degree day. We got a chance to talk about pregnancy and healthcare, how styling informs her characters, and finding levity amidst existential challenges. We hope you enjoy the conversation!
What have you read, watched or listened to lately that you’re loving?
P-Valley! These days I don't have the capacity to sit down and watch a lot of the newest shows. I'm overwhelmed by the endless content! But then there's, P-Valley, a show on Starz that centers around this strip club in Chucalissa, Mississippi. It is what television is supposed to be right now, which is completely authentic. You don’t know if these people have ever even acted before, but in fact they are such good actors that they’re making it seem like they are the characters. It is so genuine through and through.
The styling in Broad City is so creative and I imagine that it was such a fun part of the show! One of my favorite scenes is when you discover the bitcoin code in your light and arrive at a corporate office in a full leather “bitcoin” look. What were some of your favorite styling moments on the show and do think clothing can change your attitude or confidence?
Our genius costume designer was Staci Greenbaum.The bitcoin look is hysterical, it is so so funny! I think one of my favorite looks is from our first season, the episode called Fattest Asses where my skirt is like, almost at my pussy, so LOL when I look back at it now. I look back at Broad City now and I’m like oh my goodness, I blush! And that is one time in which I blush. It is such a privilege as an artist to be able to make your art. Coming back each season and talking about progressing the characters' style was always so much fun for me and it helped me self actualize, not just in my own style journey but also in my personal journey. We would take pieces from our actual wardrobe, Abbi and I, and give them to the characters and then force ourselves to move on in a way, and that was always so interesting.
I just shot this movie that I co-wrote with my friend Josh Rabinowitz, directed by Pamela Adlon and co-staring Michelle Buteau. I had this fucking intense experience while we were styling it. I was going for a particular mood for this character but when I saw the camera test the character looked crazy, like a caricature and not like a real person. I had to confront myself with my own fashion journey, where I’m at, where I want to be, and I had to give some of my own pieces to this character.
It was interesting, the starkness, the binary nature of me and Abbi letting go of these pieces and never wearing that kind of thing again. Because when we made Broad City, we were in our 20’s and there is something so painful about your 20’s, even though you’re having this super successful experience, you can hate parts of it. At 35 now, the parts that I’m not into, that I want to change or don't like about myself or I’m uncomfortable with, I’m not as harsh towards. I’m gentle towards those parts. But in our 20’s, during Broad City, we were so harsh towards those parts. But on the opposite side of the same coin it felt good to say goodbye and let it go.
In the horror film False Positive, you play Lucy, a pregnant woman trying to navigate the struggles of pregnancy in a condescending and patriarchal society. I know you recently had a little one and I’m a new mom myself. From your experience, how do you think women and families could be more supported during pregnancy and postpartum? And what would you like to become part of a larger and more normalized conversation?
I would like the larger and more normalized conversation to be around the almost complete lack of support around mothers, parents and families; it is a strategic move from colonization. I babysat for many years from the age of 9 to 25, I babysat babies, toddlers, children, teenagers. At 35 I had a baby and I hadn’t been exposed to babies in years, since I had babysat 10 years prior. We are strategically separated from our humanity, strategically separated from babies, toddlers, children, mothers and new parents. In order to keep the majority dehumanized, subjugated, and voter suppressed, without health care. The support begins at universal health care, which would then provide support for new parents. I was lucky enough to have a really awesome pregnancy and early postpartum because I pointedly carved out this space, pointedly saved my money, pointedly put my auto reply on 3 months in advance. My obsessive compulsive over-thinking really worked out. But on top of this personal joyous experience, I’m angry, I’m so angry. I grew up in the segregated white suburbs of Long Island, and I’ve been going through the journey of my identity and my roots since I left at 18. But what a huge milestone in my personal excavation on this front. I’m like I know babies really well, I know women and feminism and non binary and queer communities, I’m in it and talk about it and know it. Yet here I am, brand new to this experience.
In your stand up special, you exclaim at one point, The planet is burning! It’s also the title of your show. How do you find levity amidst these existential challenges?
Staying with myself and being in my own body and life. I get so swept up in the horrors of the world everyday, but then when I return to my body, my breath, my family, my friends and there is so much beauty, magic and comedy to find. I’m gaining command over that awareness and that balance, but it takes a long time and it is a legitimate practice.
Thank you so much to our creative team for making this feature come to life!
Photographer: Chelsey Mitchell @chelsymitchell
Hair Stylist: Falon Jaloi @falonjaloi
Makeup: Natalie Livingston @nataliel.makeup
Venue: High a Field @high__afield + Of the Cloth @ofthecloth.us
Woven artwork by: Carolina Jimenez @carolina___jimenez
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