Today I gave my presentation on my personal philosophy. The presentation features designers that I think my work relates to and why, and discusses the subjects around fashion that are beginning to
shape my personal philosophy.
Former
model, Ulyana Sergeenko has turned from being an avid Moscow-based buyer of
haute couture, into a couturier herself. She
uses local Russian artisans to adorn her glamorous gowns with traditional
details and techniques. At a preview a couple of days before her latest show,
Sergeenko was keen to point out the hand-painted beaded fringe suspended from
the back of a silk gown, or how the wool appliqué blue cornflowers employ a
special technique normally used for carpet making. I
really like how her collections are often inspired by traditional and
historical dress too for example her latest collection was a reimagining of a
ride on the Orient Express, crossing the borders of the former Soviet republics
of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Orsola
de Castro started and her sustainable fashion label, From Somewhere in 1998,
upcycling 2nd
hand clothes made from luxury fabrics. She
has now become more of an environmentalist within the fashion industry. “I’m
always asked by journalists what are my tips for shopping ethically. Find
a young designer whether they call themselves sustainable or not. You are
encouraging local production, pieces made with quality and creativity.
Young designers work in such a way, buy whatever you can but because
you’re not willing to compromise. You use your creativity. Very
often, the collections are produced locally using scraps – that’s a need rather
than a commitment.
When
I visited the Paul Smith exhibition at the Design Museum at the end of last
year I was really interested to learn how Paul works in a similar way to
myself.
Although
I already admired his designs for their wearability with a sense of fun, it was
exciting to learn about the man himself, and his office full of quirky objects,
that can spark off an idea for his next collection. What
Paul Smith does well, is to take historic and traditional inspirations as a
reference, but develop them into something contemporary, unexpected and quirky.
I
always draw inspiration from historical designs and traditional clothing from
other cultures, I am an avid collector of beautiful things, and in truth a bit
of a hoarder, but like Paul smith the things around me help me in my design
process.
What
I need to work on, is how I can successfully develop my historically inspired
designs, to make them more contemporary, in a similar way to Smith.
My
collecting habit also feeds my love of craft, it often introduces me to skilled
textile techniques, and I often marvel at the time and skill involved in
creating such beautiful pieces. From these pieces I can try and incorporate or
reimagine the techniques in my own designs, in a similar way to Ulyana
Sergeenko.
I
am often given unwanted antique or vintage textiles from family members, or can
be seen rummaging around in house clearance boxes at car boot sales, where I
rehome unloved and unappreciated clothing, pieces of fabric, hand-made lace or
embroidery. Often people today fail to value the old, which to me - often means
high quality and well made, with love.
As
you can probably tell, I hate throwing anything away and this is one of the
reasons why I am keen to include the ethics of sustainability in my my design.
Like Orsola de Castro, I can use my collection of 2nd hand textiles to make my final
collection, to make beautifully crafted one off pieces, but it is also to
important for me to explore how to make use of waste textiles on an larger
scale, so I can produce larger runs of designs, if need be.
Giving my presentation went better than expected. I didn't use notes, and I kept within the time allowance. Of course there where lots of little bits that I missed out and forgot to mention. Next time, to help jog my memory, I might write down a list of technical and descriptive words that could help give a more professional tone to my presentation.
