Warner Archive Textiles Fair

Last year, I had a great day at the Textile Fair run by The Warner Textile Archive in Braintree, and I was not disappointed this year either!

Not only do they have lots of traders with stalls selling fabrics, textiles, yarn, and books. But they always have a good selection of free talks from experts in their field. I attended all of them and a free store tour (Inside the archive itself).

The talks included:  

The production of Burnished Indigo in minority south-west China - Martin Conlan

Batik from Java - Diane Gaffney

Textile Conservation in Practise - May Berkouwer

WW1: Fashion in Conflict - Katy Conover

I made some great contacts. May Berkouwer has invited me to visit her lab/studio in Sudbury during June, Katy Conover has given me her email address and has offered to help me with my dissertation and I also introduced myself to the Archive's Archivist, Katy Wigley, who I am in talks with to hopefully get some work experience at the archive itself. All in all, a productive day - and right on my doorstep!

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Barbican

After spending my birthday submitting my personal philosophy essay,  I decided to spend my birthday weekend visiting the much talked about Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the Barbican.

What I really loved about the exhibition, was like the Paul Smith exhibition, you where able to take photographs and videos of everything (I had a very dead battery after two hours!). You could also get up very close to the garments and try and work out how they were constructed. Also the size of the exhibition was huge, so I think there is something for everyone really - definitely a must-see!

Although Gaultier's garments can sometime be a bit outlandish to me, I admire his use of historical and cultural references throughout his collections. He also has a strong emphasis on craft. His use of muses also drew parallels with my own experience during the Diversity Now! competition.

Georgians @ The Fashion Museum, Bath

Following the Grey Friars brief given to us by OMCI investments, it just so happened that I had planned a visit the next day to my parents in the Bath. The Grey Friars Building was built in 1755 during the Georgian period, and Bath is a very beautiful Georgian city, so it enabled me to make a good start on primary research for the module.

The Fashion Museum’s exhibition, Georgians, celebrates the museum’s situation in the Georgian Assembly Rooms in Bath. 

The exhibition includes original 18th century outfits from the museum’s collection - gowns made of colourful and richly patterned woven silks, as well as embroidered coats and waistcoats worn by Georgian gentlemen of fashion. 

also included are 18th century-inspired fashions by Anna Sui, Meadham Kirchhoff, Vivienne Westwood, Stephen Jones, and Alexander McQueen. All are influenced by the 18th century aesthetic, and all (in different ways) show how the elegance and grace of Georgian dress continues to inspire fashion today.

Club to Catwalk @ V&A

The Club to Catwalk exhibition at the V&A didn't inspire me hugely, although it was really interesting to see how the the 1980s youth subcultures had expressed themselves and made their own clothes, and either became fashion designers themselves, or inspired the trends that made it onto the catwalk.

This quote from Vivienne Westwood, really rings true to me. I love looking to the past for design inspiration, my challenge is to try and incorporate the traditional elements whilst giving them a contemporary edge.

'Dragons' print dressing gown, Georgina Von Etsdorf, 1984

I adore the print on this dressing gown, it looks like it was inspired by the avant garde, soviet constructivist prints of the 1920s-30s.

I have always admired Paul Smith use of colour and the unexpected secrets his clothes hide. His method of teaming an otherwise somber navy suit with a bright printed lining, or hiding a 1950s style pin-up girl print on the underside of a turned back cuff, make his clothes wearable for the office, but desirable to the person who has a fun side.

After I finished with the Club to Catwalk exhibition I had a look at the permanent fashion exhibition. As well as historical detail, I get really inspired by traditional costume from other cultures. The turn of the century saw a taste for the orient in Britain, influencing designers such as Paul Poiret and Liberty & Co.

Printed silk evening dress, Charles James, 1938.

 One of the most amazing designers I have come across during research for several project is Charles James (1908-1978),  an american couturier the construction of his garments are exciting, interesting and beautiful, and they still look contemporary today, some 60 years on.

Coat, Yohji Yamamoto (born 1943) A/W '04-'05

I think that Yamamoto has successfully taken inspiration from a military great coat, but given a contemporary edge with the use of oversized pockets, not only stylish, but practical too.

After the V&A I took the opportunity to take a trip down Berwick street and have a look in the fabric shops for inspiration for my new studio module. Although I haven't finalised my colour palette, it was good to see the huge range of fabrics available in London, as Colchester and Braintree's offerings on the fabric front can be a touch limiting, and buying fabric online can sometimes be tricky, as it is difficult to show a true colour on a computer screen and you can't feel the texture and weight of a fabric, which is always important.

Walking Through Camulodunum

Our new studio module is called Camulodunum (The Roman name for Colchester). During the module we will design, cut and construct a shirt and explore knit, print, dye, embroidery and embellishment processes to be included on our shirt. Charlie and Val arranged for us to go on an historical walk around Colchester in order for us to draw inspiration from the architecture, landmarks, open spaces and people of the town in which we are studying.

I found the walk quite interesting as I don't live in Colchester and although I study there, I have only ever walked into town a handful of times, just to go to the shops. Although the walk and talk was mainly about the history of the town, we did manage to fit in a quick visit to Firstsite (Colchester's contemporary visual arts centre).

Originally I was hoping that I could use the mini project that we were asked to complete over the summer. After a trip to Mersea I was inspired by the fishing boats and nets, and you can see my visual research for this here. But although Mersea is in the district of Colchester it is not in Colchester town itself, and although I maybe able to loosely link it in with the project brief, my research is very much textile/knit lead and I can't see how I would be able to apply my ideas to a shirt. I think I need to talk about this more to Charlie and Val next monday.

In the meantime I will try and draw inspiration from the photos I took on our walk. I think that the straight lines and angles used in and around Firstsite could work really well in textile design and a fashion construction context e.g. pintucks and pleats.

Can I draw inspiration from the strong history of textile production in Colchester?

I am really drawn to the curly rococo architectural detailing that can be found around Colchester. Obviously, these could be easily be recreated in a textiles design, but I could also research the clothing fashion for the period, and try and include some historical construction details in the shirt.

   

Then of course there is the Ancient Roman history of Colchester to consider, but this doesn't really inspire me as much as my other ideas.

This was my favourite photo I took of the day, I saw the couple sitting on the bench in Castle Park and thought it looked quite romantic, although the picture I saw with my own eyes was in colour, the picture came out almost in silhouette. It reminds me very much of a Rob Ryan paper cut. It also came to me that the Park theme could also be linked in with the famous Colcestrian, Damon Albarn, and his song Parklife. 

Bath Open Studios

 This weekend I went to visit my mum and dad in Bath.  My mother, Lindy Wright has a studio in Bath Artist Studios and it just happened that this weekend was their open studios event. So before we went out to dinner on Friday evening, mum and I headed down there for the opening night. Bath Artist Studios has over 60 artists in residence and so there was quite a lot to see, but here is a handful, along with work for my mother.

Lindy Wright

This is one of my mother's most recent portraits. I love the way she has used the 1950's style print of the  subject's kitchen curtains as a backdrop.

Some pictures of my mother's studio, I haven't seen this one since she moved from the basement, when she first started renting a studio here, so it was nice to see where she spends a lot of her time.

 Just a few sketches that are tacked up on her wall, but all feature figures in clothing, which is what I need to practise drawing. I particularly like the movement she has managed to create in the blue dress.


Paula Tew

This piece in the exhibition caught me eye. Paula Tew has an MA in Textiles, Fashion and surface design and studied book binding whilst living in Japan. I wonder if this book binding technique would work with stiffened fabric?

Stella Brookes-Penrose

It was good to finally meet my mum's friend Stella. Stella studied Fashion at the RCA with Ossie Clark and has lectured at St Martins and the London College of Fashion. Stella's love of textiles, colour and pattern shines through in her paintings, which could also be described as fashion illustrations.

Anne Barclay - Colchester Open Studios

Last week I received some information in the the post about induction week and included was a little booklet advertising Colchester Open Studios. After a quick flick through to see what was on, the listing for Anne Barclay's studio caught my eye. I have always admired the tailoring and details used in historical clothing, which I have seen up close at the Fashion Museum in Bath or I have longed to own whilst watching Bright Star, The Duchess or Downtown Abbey. So I thought it would be really interesting to meet a designer with some of the same interests as myself.

 

I was so glad that I had gone, because Anne Barclay was lovely and her studio was amazing. Not only that but she has two daughters, similar in age to my own, and so Ella, who was a bit reticent about coming, ended up having a fantastic time playing with her girls and having her face painted, I almost had to drag her home!

I found out that Anne actually did her MA at Colchester, where I am studying, and also that she has taught a module on the actual course I am studying, small world!

Anne's latest collection is inspired by Regency, Victorian and Edwardian riding and hunting apparel. I particularly like the Frock Coat and Ruffled Spencer You can view and order from her website here.

For her MA, Anne explored the relationship between family, clothing and the undisclosed self. I find the social history of textiles intriguing, so we ended up having a long but interesting, multi-tangented chat about her research for the MA.

I had a quick flick through her sketch books, this is a sample of discharge printing on silk using old handwriting similar to this antique ledger she had in her studio.

This is an area of her wall that she uses like a ever changing mood board, I can't wait until I get into year 3 and actually have my own space to use like this.

 Anne was having a fabric and yarn sale on the day, as well as selling off some of the vintage textiles that she has amassed and the beautiful handmade brooches she makes from broken vintage jewellery and watches. I treated myself to to some handmade lace, vintage fur pieces and and some pretty yarn.

So all in all it was a lovely afternoon!

Knitting netting

My primary research at my allotments unearthed a lot of netting, fencing and chicken wire. So I wanted to incorporate this into my garment.

As well as sourcing some dress net from my local fabric shop I decided to try and replicate a the fruit netting that I found being used around the plots. I used a fine dark green and khaki coloured yarn on the lowest tension on a chunky knit machine to create this knit sample. I think that I will add these nettings to the patchwork style appliqué I will be creating on the hem of the apron dress.

Inspired by the past

I have been a collector of vintage hand embroidered linens for at least 4 years now. It all started when I found a large embroidered table cloth at the bottom of a box in a charity shop. I was in awe of the beautiful florals hand embroidered around the edges - it must have taken hours to stitch, but was horribly stained in the middle. For only £2 I couldn't leave it languishing at the bottom of that old cardboard box, so I decided I would make it into cushions. As cushions they could be admired everyday without the risk from a drippy teapot! You can see the results on my old blog here.

The hand embroideries I collect would have been stitched by ordinary women between around the 1940-60s. They where the sort of thing that women did in the evenings as a hobby to make pretty things for their homes. Today we are used to mass produce products that are cheaper to buy than make ourselves but back then, making your own clothes and things to decorate your home made financial sense. This would have been a craft that the war time land girls would be doing in their free time and so I really want to include hand embroidery in my final outcome.

A few years ago, after my mum had been having a sort out at home she handed me this box along with some other bits and pieces. Inside, to my delight, were hundreds of old embroidery transfers that had belonged to my great grandmother. Embroidery transfers are ironed onto the fabric you wish to embroider to provide a guide for stitching onto. Traditionally, the picture that is left by the transfer will be completely covered by the embroidery when it is finished, but I think it would be interesting to create a outline style print using the florals.

Whilst look through my collection of embroideries I discovered a few vintage pinnys I've picked up from various car boots. They remind me how, in the 40s and 50s, women liked to combine the pretty with the practical.