12 June - 27 September 2009

The Fashion and Textiles Museum's summer exhibition hopes to present the evolution of underwear over the last hundred years. The result is a lacklustre exhibition with a thrown-together-in-minutes appearance.

The exhibition is organised into areas covering research, innovation, materials, celebrity, marketing, print and colour. Despite the 'evolution' title, there isn't any sense of a chronological representation, apart from a small part of the opening corridor of the exhibition where underwear is displayed by year.

It is here where the most interesting pieces are displayed. Beginning with a Charles Bayer corset from the 1900s, we take an (albeit short) walk through the brief history of underwear. There are great examples from Triumph International - then a pioneering underwear brand, now underwear powerhouse governing brands like Sloggi.

We see a sanfor circular conical stretch bra, reminiscent of Madonna's iconic bra designed by John Paul Gaultier in the 80s (which the placard reveals, to nobody's surprise, is where JPG sought his inspiration).

In the main arena, there are corsets hanging from the ceiling, of which there are 8 or 9 examples. The corset, as the information details, is one of fashion's most iconic items. So how can so few examples tell us anything we didn't already know? Only one of the artefacts is pre 21st century - most are borrowed from burlesque 'celebrities' such as Immodesty Blaze and Dita von Teese - hardly representative of underwear's evolution.

The bulk of the exhibition centres around print, pattern and colour, and again the exhibition relies too heavily on modern pieces, with a small scattering of interesting M&S items. This area, again, relies too heavily on modern underwear - usual suspects La Perla and Rigby & Peller extensively featured - but other key brands, such as Agent Provocateur, fail to get even a mention.

Pioneer of modern underwear Calvin Klein isn't covered nearly enough as he should be, save for a couple of iconic 1990s white boxer shirts. In fact, men's underwear isn't given any coverage at all, which is a shame considering this exhibition's bold title.

This exhibition does hold some key pieces, and regardless of what I think, it's definitely worth seeing if you are a fashion follower. Its many flaws could have been ironed out with more attention to detail, and it's a shame that the FTM isn't more of a major player in London's fashion scene. If you want to see stacks of salacious, expensive, modern-day underwear, why not just take a trip to Harrods? They have a larger selection and don't charge an entry fee!

Here at the Amelia’s Magazine HQ we are experiencing a surge of competitive spirit (making up for those miserable schoolday afternoons stood around in rugby shorts in the rain - now that’s certainly not fashion) and featuring our second competition of the week. This time it’s provided by Oxfam, tying in with their new store Oxfam DIY on Camden High Street , which opened its doors on June 6th and is being touted as a bespoke fashion destination, where the shop asks its customers to let loose their inner creative.
With the recent arrival of the new TRAID store, Camden is fast becoming a recyclarama heaven – just take a look at the pictures of this spangly new (yet old) space.

Oxfam DIY is also the organisation’s new online fashion resource and is pretty damn rad, with handy tips for the fashion beginner, with step by step guides to customising shoes and making your own jumpsuits, to name a few.

Now, to the serious stuff. For the competitition, entrants are invited to use materials from their own wardrobe or an Oxfam store and submit a photo of their customised item, modelled by themselves or a friend, to the competition page on Flickr. The winning designer will have a one-of-a-kind item created especially for them by super stylist Mrs Jones.

The top five shortlisted designs will also be featured on the Oxfam DIY website, and is more than anything a chance to get your work out there and noticed. Mrs Jones recently styled a photo shoot featuring Joe Public (gasp! Get back) modelling unique looks created entirely using garments from Oxfam’s recycling facility, Wastesaver.

She was also responsible for Kylie’s white catsuit from the video for ‘Can’t Get You Out of my Head’ and if that’s not an incentive to get your creations down there, I don’t know what is. Heavens! You could get a catsuit of your very own, taking singing in your bedroom with a hairbrush to an astronomical new level.

For inspiration and information on how to enter visit www.oxfam.org.uk/DIY. Entries close on July 15th. Come on boys and girls – let’s play ball.

The future of fashion is always on the fashion-conscious mind – in fact the nature of the industry means that the future of fashion in seasons to come is actually already being thought about in the present, which means it’s already really in the past – HOLD THE PHONE. This is surely raising all sorts of horrid existential postmodern type questions that are quite frankly too difficult to hold in your brain on such an absolute roaster of an afternoon.
Yet with Calum Harvey’s collection of recycled materials still in mind, we’re seeing the ball of proper innovative ideas gathering momentum towards the future of fashion. With 2010 (2010!!!!!) approaching faster than a speeding bullet, I was interested to learn about the London College of Fashion ’s upcoming competition administered by their Centre of Sustainable Fashion.

‘Fashioning the Future’ saw its inauguration in 2008, and looks to address issues of consumption and sustainability – the theme to work with for this year’s crop is Water. The application form lays out some pretty grim facts about water within the context of the fashion industry that should generate some passionate and creative responses if there’s any justice:

Fashion
is
a
business
which
is
heavily
dependent
on
water.
Cotton
is
the
most
commonly
used
fibre
in
clothing
and
there
is
currently
no
alternative
fibre
with
the
same
versatility
and
potential.
However,
cotton
is
one
of
the
most
water
intensive
crops
on
the
planet.
It
takes
2700
litres
of
water
to
produce
just
one
cotton
t‐shirt
from
‘crop
to
shop’,
whilst
5000
children die
each
day
due
to
lack
of
clean
water.



The
pre‐consumer processing of
our
clothing
involves
significant
washing,
dyeing
and
re‐dyeing.
Approximately
60kg
of
water
is
used
and
about
45kg
of
waste
water
is
discharged
per
kg
of
output.

The competition is open to all current and recent graduates of any fashion related course from any college of university worldwide, and from reading the above, this ain’t no picnic ladies and gentleman, you’ve got to have your head screwed on. Quite simply, the competition is looking to find new ways of doing things in fashion, new ways of evolving and new ways to thrive, re-imagining the future where the terrain isn’t some burnt-out space with tiny wheeled robots pottering around cleaning up our left-over rubbish. They're going at it from every possible angle, and with seven different categories submissions applications must vary from presentations of visual concepts, designs, illustrations, press releases, essays and photographic portfolios (amongst others!) asking its entrants to communicate new attitudes towards fashion with regard to its social, economic, cultural and ecological effects. And, breathe.

This competition is as wide-ranging as they come. The categories are as follows:

- Design
for
a
Thriving
Fashion
Industry

- Systems
for
a
Sustainable
Fashion
Industry

- The
Role
of
Materials
in
a
Sustainable
Fashion
Industry

- The
Role
of
Communication
in
a
Sustainable
Fashion
Culture
(Theoretical)

- The
Identity
of
Sustainable
Fashion
(Visual)

- Enterprise Initiative
for
the
Future
Fashion
Industry

- Water: the
right
for
all
citizens
of
this
planet.

For more information about submission dates, prizes, eligibility and to download the application form, visit www.sustainable-fashion.com, e-mail sustainability@fashion.arts.ac.uk or call 020 7514 8898. They’ve quoted Caryn Franklin who once affirmed that “we need to find a kick-ass way in which to present sustainable fashion”. I think that’s what you call hitting the nail on the head.

If you thought that graduate fashion week had passed and you'd seen it all, think again. In a small studio on Charring Cross Rd this week, stood the works of a small, perhaps lesser known group of graduates...yet another gifted brood to emerge from the fertile loins of Central St.Martins. In something of a bridge between an MA and a BA, students of the the Graduate Fashion Diploma course spend a lightning 9 months or so working on various self directed projects under the tutelage of David Kappo.
Although open to all, the names listed showed a decidedly Pacific contingent, perhaps due to the school's overseas reputation. And in part to the program's fees which are democratically the same no matter where you're from. Sorry EUers, no discounts here. Also notable was the fact that many of these fledgling designers signed onto the course when the ink was barely dry on their BA's, which accounts for the elevated quality and a few research sketchbooks of biblical proportion. Which brings us to the first stop on our tour...

Bevan Avery

New Zealander Bevan Avery who took his first swing at womenswear...and hit it right out of the park with a collection "based on antique medical photographs and Victorian deformities recorded in the Mutter Mueseum." As an art student on the East Coast myself, many an hour was spent drawing in the creepy catacombs of that museum. Fun for the whole family! Back to Bevan... "I wanted to create a dark collection which focused on shaping an unusual silhouette through the shoulder and tilting the hems forward and focused on the black and gold colouring of the stained photographs." This creator of bloated and beautiful sketchbooks says of previous collections he has "...used Voodoo, East London working men and Mongolian queens and wrestlers as inspiration." Now THAT I would love to see.

Nancy Stella-Soto

Next to bat is Nancy Stella-Soto's brilliantly styled, loose and transparent blushed silk dress over a nude crotched slip. WIth vintage colored cottons (dyed using yesterday's coffee) 1920's steamer trunks and Charlie Chaplin canes, this writer would love to be a stowaway on Stella-Sotos' next voyage.

Sol Ahn

Seoul born Sol Ahn is on her way to an MA at RCA. Barely taking a breath between degrees this designer has got momentum a plenty. Fantastic textures and a balance of exaggerated proportions this menswear collection, with its DIY bleach splatter jeans and mammoth pompom (it IS a trend, believe it!) sweaters is so very London. Sol Ahn cites skinheads' obsessive meticulousness about how they dress and the mixed up dressing of Diane Arbus' mental subjects in 'Untitled' as her influences.

Marian Toledo-Candelaria

Marian Toledo-Candelaria has a modern-day Boudicca in mind when he designs. For his final collection he drew ideas from the Roman Invasion of Britain, focusing on the cultural clash between the invading Romans and the native Celts. Heavy on adornment the dark silk dresses are topped with a snakepit of golden jewels, oversized beads and gold suede. The deep blue of the silks being inspired by the woad plant, "a European plant used for the extraction of a indigo pigment that the Celts used for painting their bodies when summoned to war. "

bouza

Bouza displayed an elegant tomato colored mini dress with a draping shoulder. An asymmetry mimicked by a single stone colored legging. Lucky for us there is also a website full of their previous works. But It was the display of dip dyed rubber bands and shocking red hairy wool samples that really got my motor running. Let us know when we can see the manifestation of those terrific textiles!

Kim Kwang

Beijing born Kim Kwang who is already working alongside Jimmy Choo on his couture shoe collection, presented an amazing felted wool jacket complete with contrast lacing. The fibrous wads of wool formed a mystery of moulding whose shapes were victorian corsetry and medieval armor all at once.

These designers have high expectations, industry experience and another diploma shoved into their back pockets. We'll be sure to let you know their latest and greatest as they hack their own paths through the fashion jungle.