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Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion

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I recently went to this exhibition future beauty: 30 years of Japanese Fashion, the exhibition has inspired me in so many ways, looking at different materials, cuts, drapes, and different ways of viewing work, this exhibition shows at the Barbican, it celebrates works from Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto and shows young new designers too, it something worth looking at and exploring.


I came across the exhibition because the tutors had mentioned it in class, to be honest with that title and my erosion work I thought it had little to help me move forward and help me in my work, but the tutors were talking me through my work, and strongly suggested that I go. so I went.

Just quick sketches at the exhibition.


Both Rei Kawakubo designs, I like the way the garment changes from flat to person, the really nice drapes it creates, I also really like the complicated one on the left Rei says that can be worn anyway, it is really up to the wearer, this is what inspired me about this garment is that its different on every one that puts it on, the idea that it is one garment but has so many different designs when worn.


I really enjoyed this flat to garment ideas, and I thought about my own work, this idea that I was taking a plain t shirt and attaching knitted fabric to it to distort the t shirts shape so that it would be different, but in the same way as Rei has designed garments flat which look completely different from person to stand, I wanted to understand how you would understand this so I started to experiment.

Sorry I lost my Head

Hey sorry I haven't blogged in a while and it will take me a while to fill you in, but here I go.


Right so last time I spoke to you, was when I started felting, soon after this I realised it would take along time to felt whole pieces, and it would create a collection with much creativity, I then started to look at felting fabric in between, this come out with some lovely results and I started to bring a level of fashion design to my textile which was my main struggle.


We had a toile review and it was so relieving to see my garments on the stand room for development was need but I was pleased with the stage I was at.


Heres a picture of Two outfits that I designed.

Shortly after we had a formative I had a massive loss of confidence, I completely lost my head!!


My shapes need more consideration and for a week I had been looking at different ways I can master a shape for my textiles to be applied to, look at other designers that I like looking at silhouettes I like.


I also needed to find a solution for my textiles instead of wasting time, i decided to start producing textiles with effective results.

Then I came across another process called Nuno felting :O

This picture is where I cut into a blazer I then took off some of the felt to make a layered affect on the revere, this helped my felting with other fabrics problem and it also created a layered affect that I desired from the first time I started using felt with this I will develop more, maybe experiment with more layers seeing how many I can get, this is a big step in the direction of applying textile to fashion.

Then to Understand my silhouette, I wanted a structured but fluid idea, this idea is obvious but the way in which you can convey it can be subtle, this is how i found knitting, knitting with big needles can create a structure that you can see, I decided to stretch and pull the structure against a jersey dress I made, making the piece more vulnerable, relating back to the wearing down of rocks in the process of erosion.

Then when I started designing again my confidence still struck, I didnt no how to, it was hard i wanted organic shapes but how can you draw organic shapes?

So thinking about basic shapes making them slightly bigger for the body and using textiles and applying a silhouette with an organic shape by pulling and sewing on top of it, felting with silk chiffon with give me fabric with structured and stiff qualities but also with a loose and uncontrolled feel. 

This idea of applying an uncontrolled fabric is hard because there needs to be a level of control somewhere, this is where my basic silhouette shapes come in, it also feeds my concepts that erosion is a natural process and it shapes the rivers and rocks in the world.

Sorry for the lengthy Blog but needed to get you up to date

Thank you

:)

Textile Techniques

Thinking of your strengths and weakness, what is your strength and what is your weakness... this is what i was asked day one of my project.

Textiles is a strength that I have, creating new fabrics understanding what can be achieved by different fabrics.

After explaining my concept i started to think about materials which would relate and started of changing, making and sourcing fabric.

and this is what started my inspiration.

Craig Lawrence

 Craig Lawrence "new collection, using an unusually supple yarn called Kyototex. The slashed Gaga-approved knits from past seasons have been tightened for spring, with a slinky silhouette akin to a mermaid’s tail. In fact, all the dresses are inspired by a siren’s call—like a metallic-green gown with pleat-like ladder stitches or a white dress streaming with chopped yarn that literally billows up a storm in the wind”

http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/craig-lawrence-spins-yarn-to-a-sirens-call/

Craig Lawrence inspires me through his use of materials, creating mermaid like figures through the use of knitted fabrics. When thinking of knitted fabrics you would think of thick chunky knits, not something sleek and close to the body as it as seen in Craig Lawrence collection, this inspires me to use knit as a delicate fabric in my project instead of using as a chunky fabric. I could also look at the structure of wool and how this contributes to the rock formation.

Its made me think about weaving and also using rug canvas and wool to create a weird texture, and also trying to create a delicate fabric.

In this video is Craig Lawrence S/S 2011 collection


If you want any more information go to Craig Lawrence website http://www.craiglawrence.co.uk/pages/SS2011.html  

Felicty Brown

Felicity Brown a fashion designer which graduated from royal college of art, is inspirational to me because her collection has elegance wear ability and surrounds textiles, which are all things that I find inspirational.

"Wearing Felicity Brown is a sensuous, delectable, covetable experience. It makes you feel like kicking off your heels and running through a dew sodden English meadow, kicking and twirling all the way. These are the dresses girlhood dreams are made of. In a very grown up sexy way."


"Raw yet refined the collection shows the amazing attention for detail and fantastic creative talent that have marked Felicity's career to date." Vogue Italia March 2010.


"Largely inspired by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings where flamboyant and provocative women are painted wearing extravagant silk ruffles and showing off shamelessly. The dresses, using precious silks are highly structured with hand dip dyed pleats and prints. The British Fashion Council were quick to recognise Felicity's talent and have awarded her the much coveted NewGen sponsorship for SS11."

 

I like the way she has used dip dye and silk fabrics, creating this really dream like collection, inspired by an Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's which painted women in big ruffle silhouettes also his painting were very colourful, which is where Brown has got her inspiration for colour, felicity brown has inspired me through her textile techniques, I am going to explore into dip dyeing and other processes of dyeing to get the desired effect from my inspiration.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's art work.

http://lkthayer.wordpress.com/tag/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/

Felicity Browns pictures and quotes and any more information you can look her up here:

http://www.youngbritishdesigners.com/designers/newgen/felicity-brown/

Fashion Journal

Looking at the graduates last year and students that have inspired me, and now the time for me to put a print on the fashion world has come, to inspire someone, somewhere would be a great achievement for me, so the next posts are going to be about my work where it is going and how I have been inspired by different artist, designers and anything else.

The summer went quick, and I have been looking closely at rocks and water, about erosion, weathering, the shapes that are created and how the water has changed the environment we live in, how this is so calming to look at but it is so destructive.

Here are some images I took in Wales

It is here where I sat and thought about how I could translate maybe feelings, shape, texture, or destruction into my garments, that I wanted to design.

From concept to design, it is a hard process as my idea relates hardly to fashion, a designer that has always inspired me for this is Hussein Chalayan and his blurred lines between art and fashion. He designs from concept to garment is a follow through of his desirable work ethic, he never fails to amaze me. 

So this is the start a little idea to spark my fashion career

http://artandfashionfusion.blogspot.com