Fabric Artist Marilyn Kayton Turns Her Love of Travel, History Into Wearable Art

By Melissa Borgerding
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Marilyn Kayton doesn’t buy souvenirs when she travels, at least not the plastic snow globes or key chains found in every tourist shop from Holland to Hong Kong. Instead, she buys fabric.

“Whenever I travel, I buy buttons, trim, and anything else I can make into memory clothing,” she says. Sometimes Marilyn sees a pattern for a jacket or vest emerging as she travels through a particular country. “Sometimes, I have to get everything home and lay it out on the kitchen table before the fabric talks to me.”

A kimono-style jacket inspired by a trip to Japan is currently featured in Monarch Landing’s creative arts studio.

Clothing With a Story
A former Home Economics teacher and an award-winning poet, Marilyn can’t say what first inspired her to capture her travels with fabric, but she believes her memory clothing tells the stories of the places she’s been far better than any souvenir shot glass.

“The word ‘souvenir’ comes from the French meaning ‘to see again.’” explains Marilyn. “When I put on something I’ve made, it’s as if I’m seeing it again.”

Plus, she adds, “clothing seems much more practical than buying stuff that I’m probably going to end up throwing away.”

Marilyn frequently gives lectures about her wearable art. Her memory clothing has even been featured in Storytelling magazine. In between her travels and lectures, she still finds time to make quilts and special pieces of clothing for her four grandchildren.

History in First-Person
Fabric isn’t the only medium through which Marilyn tells stories. In August, she presented her original play Five First Ladies at Monarch Landing.