Amelia’s Magazine | Paris Fashion Week A/W 2010 Catwalk Round Up

What’s the concept behind Arae? The inspiration behind arae is hard to explain. For this exhibition it was the seventies, capsule Amira Fritz, the Australian label ‘Romance Was Born’. In general it was trying to create exhibitions based on working together as opposed to using money to show work.

How does this year’s Arae exhibition compare to last years? Last year was fashion only- it featured three of the same designers as this year and the wonderful Florencia Kozuch. It was very dark- we blocked out the windows and chose a dark space. Each time it’s meant to be quite sensory so there was an eerie soundtrack but this time there is no soundtrack.

How will you be transforming the exhibition space for Arae? We want to change the space from a bright clean room to something garish. We are trying to build a waterfall of acid coloured flowers. KengKeng Watt has been helping to build this. I want it to feel quite random.

What kind of work can we expect to see? There are photographs, illustrations and installations as well as a fashion piece. It’s pretty mixed and disjointed and deliberately so. I wanted it to be a strange selection somehow. We even have a short film from Katrina Choy.

How did you go about selecting the exhibiting artists? Some people through other projects like Sara Bro-Jergensen and Louise Larsen. Some are my friends and some I found through their websites like Tian Wang whose work I just really liked. Her prints really inspired me so I emailed her.

Aside from Arae, what other exhibitions have you curated and are there any more in the pipeline? Well Arae is my first foray into exhibitions. It’s a learning curve. I will do another one in September in a bigger space with an entirely new concept. Something totally different again. I really like combining live music with the artwork so I want to build on that. I would like to take it abroad eventually and tour.

For more infomation on the Arae exhibition, click here
What’s the concept behind Arae? The inspiration behind arae is hard to explain. For this exhibition it was the seventies, more about Amira Fritz, medicine the Australian label ‘Romance Was Born’. In general it was trying to create exhibitions based on working together as opposed to using money to show work.

How does this year’s Arae exhibition compare to last years? Last year was fashion only- it featured three of the same designers as this year and the wonderful Florencia Kozuch. It was very dark- we blocked out the windows and chose a dark space. Each time it’s meant to be quite sensory so there was an eerie soundtrack but this time there is no soundtrack.

How will you be transforming the exhibition space for Arae? We want to change the space from a bright clean room to something garish. We are trying to build a waterfall of acid coloured flowers. KengKeng Watt has been helping to build this. I want it to feel quite random.

What kind of work can we expect to see? There are photographs, illustrations and installations as well as a fashion piece. It’s pretty mixed and disjointed and deliberately so. I wanted it to be a strange selection somehow. We even have a short film from Katrina Choy.

How did you go about selecting the exhibiting artists? Some people through other projects like Sara Bro-Jergensen and Louise Larsen. Some are my friends and some I found through their websites like Tian Wang whose work I just really liked. Her prints really inspired me so I emailed her.

Aside from Arae, what other exhibitions have you curated and are there any more in the pipeline? Well Arae is my first foray into exhibitions. It’s a learning curve. I will do another one in September in a bigger space with an entirely new concept. Something totally different again. I really like combining live music with the artwork so I want to build on that. I would like to take it abroad eventually and tour.

For more infomation on the Arae exhibition, click here

After climbing what seemed like a trillion rickety flights of stairs at the grand, information pills historic, page Lycee Henri IV to reach the Manish Arora show, the dusty old library in which I found myself was at paradox with Manish’s glorious technicolour visual assault on the eyeballs.

After the entire room was collectively told to, “shut the hell up!” by the photographers pit (Parisian ones are infinitely more aggressive than London ones, with snappers thinking nothing of hollering obscenities at the expectant mob) we were treated to sequins, jewelled embellishment and beadwork all in eye-popping hues looked distinctly futuristic offset with acid coloured, angular cut bob wigs.

A bizarre finale featured what appeared to be headphones with rotating fibre-optic tendrils (which reminded me of those 80s Christmas trees) and I pitied the poor model whose were falling off as she tenuously struggled to hold them on.

The opening look of the Balmain show screamed one thing to me: Marc Bolan. The big shaggy purple coat, dandyish blouson and tight leather pants spoke pure 70s glam-rock and what followed read as something of an homage to the sleazy, louche and decadent era.


Balmain Illustration by Christopher Morris

Paisley brocade suiting, tight, tight leopard print, and oodles of gold lame and leather. The boulder shoulders that we know so well popped up a couple of times, but the silhouette that Decarnin is sticking to the most is his ultra-short, long-sleeved micro-dress. Nothing revolutionary here, except a well executed, inspired theme as per usual.

If show invites hint of things to come, then Bernhard Willhelm’s package of six neon, erotic postcards nailed the agenda for his installation-cum-presentation. One part art show, two parts fashion show, absolutely all freak show, the scene resembled something I can only describe as a cyber-Geisha gymnasium.

Models wore pick-up-stick mohicans, wielded baguette pugil-sticks, plantpot dumbells and trickled mutlicoloured gel from teapots over towers of champagne flutes. Sexual voyeurs (moi included) rubbernecked to get a glimpse of a duo rolling around, dry-humping and 69ing with wanton abandon (trashing the set in the process). Once the girl removed her head from the guys crotch I realised it was my friend Marie – gotta love her balls – or rather, the guys whom she had her face in.

The clothes were pretty secondary to the madness, but as usual, humour took a central role embodied by the repeated phallic motifs. Geisha themes and Japanese symbolism were prominent and I loved the stacked heel shoes in collaboration with Camper.

Viktor and Rolf created their very own Russian Dolls from Maggie Rizer and Kristen McMenamy for their performance art show. The design duo took to the catwalk themselves and curiously peeled away multiple clothing layers, proceeding to dress the models (each channelling a sniper vibe with leather baseball caps and round-framed sunglasses) before they took to the catwalk.


Viktor & Rolf Illustration by Christopher Morris

Beginning with an Eskimo-style coat large enough to smuggle a whole innuit tribe, this gradually revealed cartoonish, oversized proportions; giant capes, tweed – both actual and digitally printed, all in varying shades of black, charcoal, pewter and gun metal. I found the seemingly gratuitous abundance of fur quite sickening. The collection was entitled, Glamour Factory, though I did wonder whether it could be dubbed Animal Factory – or indeed, Slaughter House…

Since the elusive Martin Margiela made a sneaky exit from his eponymous label two seasons ago, his absence was palpable with collections that seemed little more than poor parody’s of a Greatest Hits Collection. This time round, even with no creative director at the helm of the label, Maison Martin Margiela presented a serious return-to-form avant-garde show.

Sheer, bilious trousers cascaded over his trademark sloppy bucket-esque boots, the most unique and prevailing silhouette was that of bizarre column skirts and trousers whose waistlines seemingly hovered around the body. Contrasting textures juxtaposed interestingly; rubber/PVC turtle necks with fine-knit cardi’s and velvet with leather. Giant cable knit jumpers appeared as if they’d been knitted with rope. The closing few looks made me splutter; had the models climbed inside a yeti hide?

Ellen Grace Jones is founder of The Real Runway.

Categories ,80s Christmas Trees, ,A/W 2010, ,Balmain, ,Bernard Willheim, ,Geisha, ,Innuit chic, ,Lycee Henri IV, ,Maison Martin Margiela, ,Marc Bolan, ,Martin Margiela, ,paris, ,Paris Fashion Week, ,Viktor & Rolf

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Amelia’s Magazine | Graduate Fashion Week 2010: Edinburgh College of Art

cheap medications photo by Julian Abrams” width=”480″ height=”640″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-18752″ />
Conformist

Blythe house, prescription once a colossal bustling post office savings bank full of clerks’ activity now stands (almost) empty as a memorial to times past. Currently the home of not only the Victoria and Albert Archives but the British and Science Museum it double doors remain closed even to those who work in the museums. It takes a special request to get inside these vaults.

Luckily for a limited time (these doors swing back tight at the end of June) the V&A section has had its doors pushed slightly ajar by fashion curator Judith Clark and psychoanalyst Adam Philips. Together they have curated a delicate show examining ideas and understandings of dress alongside concepts of preservation in the midst of a vast archive that documents humanity’s progression.


Essential

Titled The Concise Dictionary of A Dress, the exhibition consists of 11 exhibits nestling amongst the archives, taking up position in the nooks and crannies of the ghostly building. The audience is shepherded silently though the sections of the building we were allowed to see, at times overwhelmed by the space and the delicate nature of the objects it protects. Eyes were all too often caught by the wondrous treasures awaiting selection by the V&A curators, their position elevated from number x of an extensive hoard into object A indicative of the human condition.

11 exhibits accompanied by 11 pieces of card form a mini-lexicon of dress (a concise representation of ideas of what it is to ‘dress’). Is it as comfortable suggests … or do you find yourself agreeing with Loose? Or do the words fall flat?

Armoured
Comfortable
Conformist
Creased
Essential
Fashionable
Loose
Measured
Plain
Pretentious
Tight

Words and their meanings can provide a point of conflict: at times the words on the card and the image of dress produced a harmonious moment of why people chose particular items of dress. In this moment the dictionary of a dress becomes clear as the exhibition mirrors the dictionary’s almost circular nature of providing two meanings for one word.

The curators have invited the audience into a hidden world; the vast depths of the museum. The audiences’ eye drawn to objects not in the exhibition but whose presence demands attention: Why is it there? Why did they choose this room or that cupboard? Can meanings be created between the juxtaposition of dress and the objects in the room?

A weekly definition taken from the website: MEASURED 1. Against chaos; a way of thinking about disarray; calculated excess. 2. The fitted as fitting. 3. Proportion as the mother of virtue. 4. The milder ecstasies of the considered. 5. Contained by the idea of containment.

The word and their phrases present one idea of what it is you are viewing, whilst the objects potentially visualise and neuter simultaneously them. The sentences add conflict as they embellish the meaning of the single word and the idea of why we dress, collect and preserve.

No word is mealy a word, it becomes heavy through each individual understanding of it’s context. Each interpretation of the exhibits arrived upon by our unique thought processes formed by our own experiences. It is an oddly lonely experience wandering though the locked archives looking at how meaning is embedded into objects. Can meanings be created from the idea that a function of the archive is personal, an act of preservation and eventually historical.

Creased the final exhibit presented a Junya Watanabe dress behind the bars of an old coal bunker open to the outside world. The end mimics the beginning (the first exhibit high on the roof stands a ghostly gown open to the elements, it’s resin skeleton delicate in the glare and heat of the sun) two decisions that scream against the museums usual desire to keep everything hidden, safe and in temperature controlled room to ensure the objects preservation.


Armoured

Seen against the sky scape of London, the resin dress showed just how delicate the human body, our sense of dress and concepts of who we are can be against the hard bustling ever moving city.

Take yourself on a guided walk through an unseen section of our national museums, question the ideas of preservation and the difference between the museum’s archive and your personal ‘hoard’
Watch the trailer here: the_concise_dictionary_of_dress_trailer

Trailer: The Concise Dictionary of a Dress
sales photo by Julian Abrams” width=”480″ height=”640″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-18752″ />
Conformist

Blythe House, once a colossal bustling post office savings bank full of clerks’ activity now stands (almost) empty as a memorial to times past. Currently the home of not only the Victoria and Albert Archives but the British and Science Museum it double doors remain closed even to those who work in the museums. It takes a special request to get inside these vaults.

Luckily for a limited time (these doors swing back tight at the end of June) the V&A section has had its doors pushed slightly ajar by fashion curator Judith Clark and psychoanalyst Adam Philips. Together they have curated a delicate show examining ideas and understandings of dress alongside concepts of preservation in the midst of a vast archive that documents humanity’s progression.


Essential

Titled The Concise Dictionary of a Dress, the exhibition consists of 11 exhibits nestling amongst the archives, taking up position in the nooks and crannies of the ghostly building. The audience is shepherded silently though the sections of the building we were allowed to see, at times overwhelmed by the space and the delicate nature of the objects it protects. Eyes were all too often caught by the wondrous treasures awaiting selection by V&A curators, their position elevated from number x of an extensive hoard into object A indicative of the human condition.

11 exhibits accompanied by 11 pieces of card form a mini-lexicon of dress (a concise representation of ideas of what it is to ‘dress’). Is it as comfortable suggests … or do you find yourself agreeing with Loose? Or do the words fall flat?

Armoured
Comfortable
Conformist
Creased
Essential
Fashionable
Loose
Measured
Plain
Pretentious
Tight

Words and their meanings can provide a point of conflict: at times the words on the card and the image of dress produced a harmonious moment of why people chose particular items of dress. In this moment the dictionary of a dress becomes clear as the exhibition mirrors the dictionary’s almost circular nature of providing two meanings for one word.

The curators have invited the audience into a hidden world; the vast depths of the museum. The audiences’ eye drawn to objects not in the exhibition but whose presence demands attention: Why is it there? Why did they choose this room or that cupboard? Can meanings be created between the juxtaposition of dress and the objects in the room?

A weekly definition taken from the website: MEASURED 1. Against chaos; a way of thinking about disarray; calculated excess. 2. The fitted as fitting. 3. Proportion as the mother of virtue. 4. The milder ecstasies of the considered. 5. Contained by the idea of containment.

The word and their phrases present one idea of what it is you are viewing, whilst the objects potentially visualise and neuter simultaneously them. The sentences add conflict as they embellish the meaning of the single word and the idea of why we dress, collect and preserve.

No word is mealy a word, it becomes heavy through each individual understanding of it’s context. Each interpretation of the exhibits arrived upon by our unique thought processes formed by our own experiences. It is an oddly lonely experience wandering though the locked archives looking at how meaning is embedded into objects. Can meanings be created from the idea that a function of the archive is personal, an act of preservation and eventually historical.

Creased the final exhibit presented a Junya Watanabe dress behind the bars of an old coal bunker open to the outside world. The end mimics the beginning (the first exhibit high on the roof stands a ghostly gown open to the elements, it’s resin skeleton delicate in the glare and heat of the sun) two decisions that scream against the museums usual desire to keep everything hidden, safe and in temperature controlled room to ensure the objects preservation.


Armoured

Seen against the sky scape of London, the resin dress showed just how delicate the human body, our sense of dress and concepts of who we are can be against the hard bustling ever moving city.

Take yourself on a guided walk through an unseen section of our national museums, question the ideas of preservation and the difference between the museum’s archive and your personal ‘hoard.’

Watch the trailer here: The Concise Dictionary of a Dress
approved photo by Julian Abrams” width=”480″ height=”640″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-18752″ />
Conformist

Blythe House, once a colossal bustling post office savings bank full of clerks’ activity now stands (almost) empty as a memorial to times past. Currently the home of not only the Victoria and Albert Archives but the British and Science Museum it double doors remain closed even to those who work in the museums. It takes a special request to get inside these vaults.

Luckily for a limited time (these doors swing back tight at the end of June) the V&A section has had its doors pushed slightly ajar by fashion curator Judith Clark and psychoanalyst Adam Philips. Together they have curated a delicate show examining ideas and understandings of dress alongside concepts of preservation in the midst of a vast archive that documents humanity’s progression.


Essential

Titled The Concise Dictionary of a Dress, the exhibition consists of 11 exhibits nestling amongst the archives, taking up position in the nooks and crannies of the ghostly building. The audience is shepherded silently though the sections of the building we were allowed to see, at times overwhelmed by the space and the delicate nature of the objects it protects. Eyes were all too often caught by the wondrous treasures awaiting selection by V&A curators, their position elevated from number x of an extensive hoard into object A indicative of the human condition.

11 exhibits accompanied by 11 pieces of card form a mini-lexicon of dress (a concise representation of ideas of what it is to ‘dress’). Is it as comfortable suggests … or do you find yourself agreeing with Loose? Or do the words fall flat?

Armoured
Comfortable
Conformist
Creased
Essential
Fashionable
Loose
Measured
Plain
Pretentious
Tight

Words and their meanings can provide a point of conflict: at times the words on the card and the image of dress produced a harmonious moment of why people chose particular items of dress. In this moment the dictionary of a dress becomes clear as the exhibition mirrors the dictionary’s almost circular nature of providing two meanings for one word.

The curators have invited the audience into a hidden world; the vast depths of the museum. The audiences’ eye drawn to objects not in the exhibition but whose presence demands attention: Why is it there? Why did they choose this room or that cupboard? Can meanings be created between the juxtaposition of dress and the objects in the room?

A weekly definition taken from the website: MEASURED 1. Against chaos; a way of thinking about disarray; calculated excess. 2. The fitted as fitting. 3. Proportion as the mother of virtue. 4. The milder ecstasies of the considered. 5. Contained by the idea of containment.

The word and their phrases present one idea of what it is you are viewing, whilst the objects potentially visualise and neuter simultaneously them. The sentences add conflict as they embellish the meaning of the single word and the idea of why we dress, collect and preserve.

No word is mealy a word, it becomes heavy through each individual understanding of it’s context. Each interpretation of the exhibits arrived upon by our unique thought processes formed by our own experiences. It is an oddly lonely experience wandering though the locked archives looking at how meaning is embedded into objects. Can meanings be created from the idea that a function of the archive is personal, an act of preservation and eventually historical.

Creased the final exhibit presented a Junya Watanabe dress behind the bars of an old coal bunker open to the outside world. The end mimics the beginning (the first exhibit high on the roof stands a ghostly gown open to the elements, it’s resin skeleton delicate in the glare and heat of the sun) two decisions that scream against the museums usual desire to keep everything hidden, safe and in temperature controlled room to ensure the objects preservation.


Armoured

Seen against the sky scape of London, the resin dress showed just how delicate the human body, our sense of dress and concepts of who we are can be against the hard bustling ever moving city.

Take yourself on a guided walk through an unseen section of our national museums, question the ideas of preservation and the difference between the museum’s archive and your personal ‘hoard.’

Watch the trailer here: The Concise Dictionary of a Dress
abortion photo by Julian Abrams” width=”480″ height=”640″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-18752″ />
Conformist

Blythe House, patient once a colossal bustling post office savings bank full of clerks’ activity now stands (almost) empty as a memorial to times past. Currently the home of not only the Victoria and Albert Archives but the British and Science Museum it double doors remain closed even to those who work in the museums. It takes a special request to get inside these vaults.

viagra photo by Julian Abrams” width=”480″ height=”640″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-18750″ />

Luckily for a limited time (these doors swing back tight at the end of June) the V&A section has had its doors pushed slightly ajar by fashion curator Judith Clark and psychoanalyst Adam Philips. Together they have curated a delicate show examining ideas and understandings of dress alongside concepts of preservation in the midst of a vast archive that documents humanity’s progression.


Essential

Titled The Concise Dictionary of a Dress, the exhibition consists of 11 exhibits nestling amongst the archives, taking up position in the nooks and crannies of the ghostly building. The audience is shepherded silently though the sections of the building we were allowed to see, at times overwhelmed by the space and the delicate nature of the objects it protects. Eyes were all too often caught by the wondrous treasures awaiting selection by V&A curators, their position elevated from number x of an extensive hoard into object A indicative of the human condition.

11 exhibits accompanied by 11 pieces of card form a mini-lexicon of dress (a concise representation of ideas of what it is to ‘dress’). Is it as comfortable suggests … or do you find yourself agreeing with Loose? Or do the words fall flat?

Armoured
Comfortable
Conformist
Creased
Essential
Fashionable
Loose
Measured
Plain
Pretentious
Tight

Words and their meanings can provide a point of conflict: at times the words on the card and the image of dress produced a harmonious moment of why people chose particular items of dress. In this moment the dictionary of a dress becomes clear as the exhibition mirrors the dictionary’s almost circular nature of providing two meanings for one word.

The curators have invited the audience into a hidden world; the vast depths of the museum. The audiences’ eye drawn to objects not in the exhibition but whose presence demands attention: Why is it there? Why did they choose this room or that cupboard? Can meanings be created between the juxtaposition of dress and the objects in the room?

A weekly definition taken from the website: MEASURED 1. Against chaos; a way of thinking about disarray; calculated excess. 2. The fitted as fitting. 3. Proportion as the mother of virtue. 4. The milder ecstasies of the considered. 5. Contained by the idea of containment.

The word and their phrases present one idea of what it is you are viewing, whilst the objects potentially visualise and neuter simultaneously them. The sentences add conflict as they embellish the meaning of the single word and the idea of why we dress, collect and preserve.

No word is mealy a word, it becomes heavy through each individual understanding of it’s context. Each interpretation of the exhibits arrived upon by our unique thought processes formed by our own experiences. It is an oddly lonely experience wandering though the locked archives looking at how meaning is embedded into objects. Can meanings be created from the idea that a function of the archive is personal, an act of preservation and eventually historical.

Creased the final exhibit presented a Junya Watanabe dress behind the bars of an old coal bunker open to the outside world. The end mimics the beginning (the first exhibit high on the roof stands a ghostly gown open to the elements, it’s resin skeleton delicate in the glare and heat of the sun) two decisions that scream against the museums usual desire to keep everything hidden, safe and in temperature controlled room to ensure the objects preservation.


Armoured

Seen against the sky scape of London, the resin dress showed just how delicate the human body, our sense of dress and concepts of who we are can be against the hard bustling ever moving city.

Take yourself on a guided walk through an unseen section of our national museums, question the ideas of preservation and the difference between the museum’s archive and your personal ‘hoard.’

Watch the trailer here: The Concise Dictionary of a Dress

Illustration by Emma Rockett, viagra dosage from her graduate work

So on Sunday it was down to the beautifully named Anastasia Arden-Maccabee to open the Edinburgh College of Art show on Sunday. Her fresh colour palette of a variety of pastel colours brought welcome respite from a lot of monochrome collections at Graduate Fashion Week.

Models were draped in lightweight fabrics that skimmed the knee and gave shapely silhouettes. Intricate flaps and folds had created the illusion of origami.

Making more literal use of Origami techniques was Eliza Borkowska, whose models appeared like futuristic sirens. Defining creases and thick lines shaped short dresses into artistic creations, of which Martin Margiela could even put his name to.

Charlotte Helyar’s collection was one of the most innovative and enjoyable of the week – enjoyable because it was hilarious to watch everybody scrabble for their 3D glasses as her first model appeared.

She’d made use of 3D print techniques, see – and applied them to floor-length dresses and floaty, flattering tops.


Illustration by Charlotte Helyar, from her graduate work

Emma Rockett’s collection screamed English heritage, another theme we’ve seen a lot of this week. Emma had executed it with panache. Traditional tailoring techniques were employed for candy-stripe blazers and high-waisted skirts, accessorised with up-side-down Boater hats and vibrant pink stockings.


Illustration by Emma Rockett, from her graduate work

It was Lisa Leissos who presented the most demure, sophisticated collection of this bunch. Her all-red collection of maxi-dresses and knitwear had real flare, and deeper reds were used for some classic knitwear. Sweeping lines gave the collection a very modern feel.


Illustration by Lisa Leissos, from her graduate work

A refreshing change came in the form of Alistair Nimmo’s mermaid-like goddesses. Flamenco-style fringing on skirt waists and hems created this desired effect, but a palette of nude, aqua and navy kept it contemporary and grown-up. Bustiers and jackets with circles at the chest also gave the collection a sexy edge.

Alexander White’s sweetheart necklines and tulip skirts also oozed sex appeal, while harsh tailored trouser suits contrasted this. Alexander has used an interesting technique for skirts, which had an anatomical look – God knows what it was, but I suspect it may have been organza or wool (!) weaved together in organic forms.

I also loved Isabel Wong’s layered organza jackets and dresses with olive green and nude colours; Louise Manson’s bohemian-inspired collection with synched waists, blouson sleeves and tiny knitted caps; and Louise Holgrove’s exaggerated paper-bag waists and sumptuous, heavy materials.

It was to Qi Zhang to close the show, and while I really liked her modernist collection, I didn’t think it was the best. Models wore lampshade-shaped helmets which were just about translucent enough for them to see, and her patchwork ensembles inspired by her mother made great use of a variety of materials.

While Edinburgh may not have had an outrageous show-stopper, it had technique, innovation and originality aplenty.

Splendid!

All photographs by Matt Bramford

Categories ,3D, ,Alexander White, ,Alistair Nimmo, ,Anastasia Arden-Maccabee, ,Boater hats, ,Charlotte Helyar, ,Earls Court, ,Edinburgh College of Art, ,Eliza Borkowska, ,Emma Rockett, ,English Heritage, ,Flamenco, ,Graduate Fashion Week 2010, ,Isabel Wong, ,knitwear, ,Lisa Leissos, ,london, ,Martin Margiela, ,menswear, ,Organza, ,origami, ,Qi Zhang, ,Womenswear

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Amelia’s Magazine | Graduate Fashion Week 2010: UCA Rochester

Joo-Hee Chun

Emma Box, illness illustrated by Lesley Barnes

So, reigning champions (or at least winners of 2009 Gold Award) UCA Rochester took to the catwalks on Tuesday to show their wares in a bid to cling on to their title amongst the heavyweights we’d already seen at Graduate Fashion Week.

I’m very pleased to announce that they certainly put up a good fight. With a simple chandelier hung from the ceiling above the catwalk, the show began with a rather long romantic song – thank God too, because my guest was running late and he managed to sneak in during the song in the nick of time.


Live catwalk illustrations by Tom Gilbert

First up was Alexa Papavasileiou who presented a modest yet striking collection that packed a few discrete punches (okay, I’ll stop with the boxing metaphors now). Body-concious printed dresses with full-length sleeves wrapped models in organic suits, while drapes hung over the models creating flattering lines. The most interesting twist was the appearance of constructed stilettos which had a grungy, paper mache effect and gave this sleek collection an edgy twist.

Other escapades in weird and wonderful shoe design were brought to us by Lydia Vousvouni, whose deconstructed womenswear tailoring had a futuristic feel, teamed with crazy shoes that looked like art deco sculptures.


Lydia Vousvouni, illustrated by Abi Daker

Rebecca Watson in stark contrast dressed her models in very eery skeletal masks, bringing a little touch of death-glamour to the runway. The clothes in comparison were relatively simple, consisting of cropped-sleeve tops, two-tone leggings and some pretty neat tailoring.

More digital prints on the catwalk; this time in Emma Box’s structured collection. Micro-skirts and leggings in said prints were teamed with bolero-length jackets with exaggerated shoulders, giving models a dash of sex appeal and masses of style.

Digital prints again, from the Gareth-Pugh-esque Alex Oliver. Her models were transformed into futuristic creatures, with emphasis on shoulders (huge, huge shoulders). Catsuits or short dresses in a psychedelic print were teamed with leather jackets with scary spikes; the climax being a model with a Margiela-style eye covering as part of a hood. It was scary but sexy at the same time.


Alex Oliver, illustrated by Lesley Barnes

The first menswear collection from Rochester was that of Chelsea Bravo, whose models had the appearance of modern-day gladiators. Smock t-shirts with scoop necks emphasised muscular form and Chelsea’s palette of muted colours including sand, burgundy and blue had a sophisticated edge.

Vicky Jolly presented one of the most sophisticated collections I’ve seen this year. Her couturier-like craftsmanship created elegant dresses, with twists and turns in fabrics flattering the female form.


Vicky Jolly, illustrated by Alli Coate

Finally, after what felt like waiting for decades, Hallam Burchett ramped up the glamour factor to a big fat 10. Models sashayed and swished their hips to Donna Summer’s Bad Girls whilst wearing an all-green silky collection, embellished with dazzling crystals and accessorised with demi-gloves. Sod the tits or legs rule in Burchett’s short, short strapless dress and flaunt what you’ve got at the disco! This 1970s-inspired collection had the cuts and lines to make it contemporary, though.

More menswear now, from Anachee Sae Lee and Cherelle Reid. The former was a contemporary take on colloquial dressing and conjured up images of Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, chimney sweeps and Victorian funeral directors all at the same time. High values in tailoring made this a tip-top collection, with fitted suits teamed with neck-bows and crisp shirts with bib detailing were accessorised with sleek shirt-armbands and porkpie hats.


Anachee Sae Lee, illustrated by Abi Daker

Cherelle Reid, whilst employing similar tailoring elements, was an entirely different look. In a strong micro-collection worthy of a slot in any upmarket store come Autumn Winter 2010, models wore silky harem pants which tapered tightly, low-cut v-neck tops and formal jackets. The craftsmanship look exquisite, but the pecs were a bit much *fans brow*

In amidst a whole load of futuristic and structured collections at GFW this year, a welcome breath of fresh air came from show closer Carla Grima. Her magical Grecian-inspired collection was a burst of much-needed colour, and while it wasn’t a clangy hipster spectacle like some show finales, it was understated glamour at its best. Each dress created an illusionary effect as it hung effortlessly from the models, flattering their waif figures.

Having written this post-Gala Show, I now know that UCA Rochester didn’t manage to hold onto their crown as Gold Award winners for 2010. Amongst so much incredible talent, it’s so difficult to stand out. Nevertheless, each collection was incredibly strong, astonishingly creative, and never, ever boring.

Rochester, you’re all winners anyway.

Categories ,1970s, ,Abigail Daker, ,Alexa Papavasileiou, ,Anachee Sae Lee, ,Art Deco, ,Bad Girls, ,Body-con, ,Carla Grima, ,Catsuits, ,Chandelier, ,Chelsea Bravo, ,Cherelle Reid, ,Digital Prints, ,Donna Summer, ,Earls Court, ,Emma Box, ,Futurism, ,Gareth Pugh, ,God, ,Gold Award, ,Graduate Fashion Week 2010, ,Grecian, ,Hallam Burchett, ,Harem pants, ,Lesley Barnes, ,london, ,Lydia Vousvouni, ,Martin Margiela, ,menswear, ,Oliver Twist, ,Paper Mache, ,Rebecca Watson, ,Sherlock Holmes, ,UCA Rochester, ,Vicky Jolly, ,Victoriana, ,Waif, ,Womenswear

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Amelia’s Magazine | Graduate Fashion Week 2010: UCA Rochester

Joo-Hee Chun

Emma Box, illness illustrated by Lesley Barnes

So, reigning champions (or at least winners of 2009 Gold Award) UCA Rochester took to the catwalks on Tuesday to show their wares in a bid to cling on to their title amongst the heavyweights we’d already seen at Graduate Fashion Week.

I’m very pleased to announce that they certainly put up a good fight. With a simple chandelier hung from the ceiling above the catwalk, the show began with a rather long romantic song – thank God too, because my guest was running late and he managed to sneak in during the song in the nick of time.


Live catwalk illustrations by Tom Gilbert

First up was Alexa Papavasileiou who presented a modest yet striking collection that packed a few discrete punches (okay, I’ll stop with the boxing metaphors now). Body-concious printed dresses with full-length sleeves wrapped models in organic suits, while drapes hung over the models creating flattering lines. The most interesting twist was the appearance of constructed stilettos which had a grungy, paper mache effect and gave this sleek collection an edgy twist.

Other escapades in weird and wonderful shoe design were brought to us by Lydia Vousvouni, whose deconstructed womenswear tailoring had a futuristic feel, teamed with crazy shoes that looked like art deco sculptures.


Lydia Vousvouni, illustrated by Abi Daker

Rebecca Watson in stark contrast dressed her models in very eery skeletal masks, bringing a little touch of death-glamour to the runway. The clothes in comparison were relatively simple, consisting of cropped-sleeve tops, two-tone leggings and some pretty neat tailoring.

More digital prints on the catwalk; this time in Emma Box’s structured collection. Micro-skirts and leggings in said prints were teamed with bolero-length jackets with exaggerated shoulders, giving models a dash of sex appeal and masses of style.

Digital prints again, from the Gareth-Pugh-esque Alex Oliver. Her models were transformed into futuristic creatures, with emphasis on shoulders (huge, huge shoulders). Catsuits or short dresses in a psychedelic print were teamed with leather jackets with scary spikes; the climax being a model with a Margiela-style eye covering as part of a hood. It was scary but sexy at the same time.


Alex Oliver, illustrated by Lesley Barnes

The first menswear collection from Rochester was that of Chelsea Bravo, whose models had the appearance of modern-day gladiators. Smock t-shirts with scoop necks emphasised muscular form and Chelsea’s palette of muted colours including sand, burgundy and blue had a sophisticated edge.

Vicky Jolly presented one of the most sophisticated collections I’ve seen this year. Her couturier-like craftsmanship created elegant dresses, with twists and turns in fabrics flattering the female form.


Vicky Jolly, illustrated by Alli Coate

Finally, after what felt like waiting for decades, Hallam Burchett ramped up the glamour factor to a big fat 10. Models sashayed and swished their hips to Donna Summer’s Bad Girls whilst wearing an all-green silky collection, embellished with dazzling crystals and accessorised with demi-gloves. Sod the tits or legs rule in Burchett’s short, short strapless dress and flaunt what you’ve got at the disco! This 1970s-inspired collection had the cuts and lines to make it contemporary, though.

More menswear now, from Anachee Sae Lee and Cherelle Reid. The former was a contemporary take on colloquial dressing and conjured up images of Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, chimney sweeps and Victorian funeral directors all at the same time. High values in tailoring made this a tip-top collection, with fitted suits teamed with neck-bows and crisp shirts with bib detailing were accessorised with sleek shirt-armbands and porkpie hats.


Anachee Sae Lee, illustrated by Abi Daker

Cherelle Reid, whilst employing similar tailoring elements, was an entirely different look. In a strong micro-collection worthy of a slot in any upmarket store come Autumn Winter 2010, models wore silky harem pants which tapered tightly, low-cut v-neck tops and formal jackets. The craftsmanship look exquisite, but the pecs were a bit much *fans brow*

In amidst a whole load of futuristic and structured collections at GFW this year, a welcome breath of fresh air came from show closer Carla Grima. Her magical Grecian-inspired collection was a burst of much-needed colour, and while it wasn’t a clangy hipster spectacle like some show finales, it was understated glamour at its best. Each dress created an illusionary effect as it hung effortlessly from the models, flattering their waif figures.

Having written this post-Gala Show, I now know that UCA Rochester didn’t manage to hold onto their crown as Gold Award winners for 2010. Amongst so much incredible talent, it’s so difficult to stand out. Nevertheless, each collection was incredibly strong, astonishingly creative, and never, ever boring.

Rochester, you’re all winners anyway.

Categories ,1970s, ,Abigail Daker, ,Alexa Papavasileiou, ,Anachee Sae Lee, ,Art Deco, ,Bad Girls, ,Body-con, ,Carla Grima, ,Catsuits, ,Chandelier, ,Chelsea Bravo, ,Cherelle Reid, ,Digital Prints, ,Donna Summer, ,Earls Court, ,Emma Box, ,Futurism, ,Gareth Pugh, ,God, ,Gold Award, ,Graduate Fashion Week 2010, ,Grecian, ,Hallam Burchett, ,Harem pants, ,Lesley Barnes, ,london, ,Lydia Vousvouni, ,Martin Margiela, ,menswear, ,Oliver Twist, ,Paper Mache, ,Rebecca Watson, ,Sherlock Holmes, ,UCA Rochester, ,Vicky Jolly, ,Victoriana, ,Waif, ,Womenswear

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Laura Mackness

Knitwear design student Phoebe Thirlwall was an unquestionable highlight of Graduate Fashion Week 2010. Her work demonstrated an impressive level of craftsmanship, cialis 40mg about it receiving recognition even before the shows when one of her dresses was photographed by Rankin. Phoebe’s final collection, see consisting of six looks, was a feast of beautiful and intricate knitwear. I caught up with Phoebe to learn a little more about the work that went into her final collection, and after the chaos of that week, what she plans to do next!

Graduate Fashion Week is a fantastic opportunity for students. How did it feel to have your work selected for the show?
It was really exciting because I had never expected to be selected, and when I found out I was obviously over the moon. It made such a difference to see my work on a raised catwalk, it felt so professional, and although I was really nervous when it went out, it was a great feeling to see it up there and being photographed. It is an amazing opportunity for students and it is a shame that everyone doesn’t get to go.

Why did you choose to study Knitwear Design over a general Fashion degree?
The Knitwear course at Nottingham Trent University involves a sandwich year in industry, which was one of the reasons I chose to study the course. Employers always want experience, so I felt that a year in the industry would be attractive to potential employers. I never particularly preferred knitwear over wovens, but when you are designing knitwear you have so much more freedom to create exactly what you want. If you are making an outfit from woven fabrics, although you can print on them etc, you are still limited by the fabric itself. When you knit an outfit, you can control the whole thing. You can knit the fabric however you want it and create different textures and patterns. Also, I like knitwear because you can knit the pieces of fabric to size. You can approach the whole outfit in a different way.

Where did you complete your work experience and how valuable was it to you?
My year in industry was spent in a family run knitwear factory called GH Hurt and Sons in Chilwel, Nottingham. It is a fairly small factory where lace knit is designed, made and constructed into various pieces. They create baby shawls and christening blankets sold in high end department stores and items of clothing for a number of luxury catalogue retailers. We also produced a lot of items for retailers overseas, such as the USA and Hong Kong. I was able to learn about the first steps of the process – receiving yarns on cones and in big hanks, to designing and knitting the pieces and finally how each item is made and finished to a high standard. It was also nice to see the items for sale and being worn because I always thought -’I made that!’ – which is a great feeling.

Can you explain a little about the techniques that you used? Did you have a lot to learn in terms of advanced skills?
The outfits I made are knitted mostly in silk and bamboo, with an elastic yarn that I used to create the patterns. I developed the technique by experimenting on a knitting machine to see what types of fabric I could create. I knew that I wanted to use elastic because it developed from my concept of skin, and also that I wanted to work with luxury fibres such as silk. I used a combination of rippled stitches, stripes and transferred needles on the front of the bed of the knitting machine to create the fabrics that I made my collection from. These are all techniques that I had learned in previous years, but putting them together required a lot of experimentation, and luck.

Was there much change in your work from the conception of the idea to the work we saw on the catwalk?
Yes. I had worked on the project since Christmas, so there was a lot of time for ideas and concepts to change. Initially, I had no idea what my collection was going to look like and I still didn’t until a few weeks before the show. I had no idea what type of fabric I would use, or what techniques. It wasn’t until I developed a fabric that I was happy with that the collection began to come together. At the beginning, I was thinking about the concept of shedding skin, more than the skin itself. This gradually changed throughout my research and development, into a more specialised study of the skin. I know that if I had stuck with my original thoughts, then the collection would look a lot different. It would probably be a bit more structured, rather than the more subtle and slim-line way it is turned out.

Which of the other graduate collections were you impressed by?
There were so many great collections. It’s good to see other peoples work because it is all brilliant. I loved all of the collections from Nottingham (slightly biased obviously), but there were many other Universities that I liked aswell. I was backstage when the De Montford show was going on, and some of those were amazing!

Nottingham has made a bit of a name for itself as a hub of creativity. What it has it been like for you?
I like Nottingham because it is a small city. It’s more like a town and everything’s quite compact. There are a lot of creative people who come to study here, but everywhere is quite laid back, which I like. It’s not over crowded with arty types. There are lots of students with different interests, and there are good places to go to eat, drink or shop. I suppose it has got a bit of a name for itself, but it’s a fairly down to earth city to live in. I’ve lived just outside the city centre for 2 years, and I’m going to be sad to leave.

You described your collection as ‘based on skin and flesh on the human body’. Where did this inspiration come from, and what else inspires you?
The inspiration for my collection came originally from a general interest in the skin and flesh. I think that this comes from being a vegetarian since I was 11. I have a strange relationship with food. I like things that are untouched. I won’t eat meat. I took this fascination with meat and flesh and developed it into a concept which I could look into for my collection. I get inspired by anything and everything really, usually something small and ordinary because you can look at it in more detail. I think that even something small and boring to others can become inspiring if you look at it enough.

New designers such as Mark Fast have shown us some other unique techniques with knitwear. Have you thought about how you could further your own skills?
It’s strange to think that a technique can be what ‘makes’ a designer. To me, Mark Fast developed this brilliant technique and ran with it. That’s great because I had never thought about design from that angle before. I always thought you had to constantly create different pieces all the time. Designers like Mark Fast are inspirational because they open your eyes to the possibilities of what can be done on a knitting machine. Missoni also creates such beautiful and unique knitwear. In a way, I would like develop my technique further, but I also would like to focus on new tasks and new direction.


Phoebe Thirwall, photographed by Rankin

One of your dresses was photographed by Rankin. How did it feel to learn that your dress was selected?
Amazing. It was sent down to London, but I never expected it to be photographed. Apparently the university sends items down every year and they rarely get selected to be photographed. When I found out that it had been chosen to be photographed I was really happy, by Rankin especially! The fact that Kate Shillingford from Dazed and Confused actually chose the pieces is overwhelming. It was about 2 months later that the pictures were released. Seeing my work on the Vogue website was mental!

You also received praise from the fashion bloggers. How have you found the attention?
It’s been completely surreal having people like Susie Bubble write about my work. She said it was one of her favourites from the photos, and so did Lucy Wood. I used to read about fashion graduates and imagined they had such exciting lives, but I’m just in my room with my cat and not really doing anything. It’s really strange seeing photos and articles about my work. I feel now like it isn’t even mine and I’m looking at someone else’s. It doesn’t seem real.

It has been two weeks since the show. What’s the plan now?
Is that all? It feels like a lot longer ago than 2 weeks. My collection is being sent over to Shanghai in September for Spin Expo, and a few of the outfits are being used in a photo shoot in July. My plans now involve finding a job, going to interviews and hopefully being hired. I want to move down to London to be nearer to my boyfriend. Ideally, I want to see clothes that I have designed, being made. I also really want a long holiday, somewhere nice and hot, where I don’t have to think about knitting!

Knitwear design student Phoebe Thirlwall was an unquestionable highlight of Graduate Fashion Week 2010. Her work demonstrated an impressive level of craftsmanship, tadalafil receiving recognition even before the shows when one of her dresses was photographed by Rankin. Phoebe’s final collection, troche consisting of six looks, was a feast of beautiful and intricate knitwear. I caught up with Phoebe to learn a little more about the work that went into her final collection, and after the chaos of that week, what she plans to do next!

Graduate Fashion Week is a fantastic opportunity for students. How did it feel to have your work selected for the show?
It was really exciting because I had never expected to be selected, and when I found out I was obviously over the moon. It made such a difference to see my work on a raised catwalk, it felt so professional, and although I was really nervous when it went out, it was a great feeling to see it up there and being photographed. It is an amazing opportunity for students and it is a shame that everyone doesn’t get to go.

Why did you choose to study Knitwear Design over a general Fashion degree?
The Knitwear course at Nottingham Trent University involves a sandwich year in industry, which was one of the reasons I chose to study the course. Employers always want experience, so I felt that a year in the industry would be attractive to potential employers. I never particularly preferred knitwear over wovens, but when you are designing knitwear you have so much more freedom to create exactly what you want. If you are making an outfit from woven fabrics, although you can print on them etc, you are still limited by the fabric itself. When you knit an outfit, you can control the whole thing. You can knit the fabric however you want it and create different textures and patterns. Also, I like knitwear because you can knit the pieces of fabric to size. You can approach the whole outfit in a different way.

Where did you complete your work experience and how valuable was it to you?
My year in industry was spent in a family run knitwear factory called GH Hurt and Sons in Chilwel, Nottingham. It is a fairly small factory where lace knit is designed, made and constructed into various pieces. They create baby shawls and christening blankets sold in high end department stores and items of clothing for a number of luxury catalogue retailers. We also produced a lot of items for retailers overseas, such as the USA and Hong Kong. I was able to learn about the first steps of the process – receiving yarns on cones and in big hanks, to designing and knitting the pieces and finally how each item is made and finished to a high standard. It was also nice to see the items for sale and being worn because I always thought -’I made that!’ – which is a great feeling.

Can you explain a little about the techniques that you used? Did you have a lot to learn in terms of advanced skills?
The outfits I made are knitted mostly in silk and bamboo, with an elastic yarn that I used to create the patterns. I developed the technique by experimenting on a knitting machine to see what types of fabric I could create. I knew that I wanted to use elastic because it developed from my concept of skin, and also that I wanted to work with luxury fibres such as silk. I used a combination of rippled stitches, stripes and transferred needles on the front of the bed of the knitting machine to create the fabrics that I made my collection from. These are all techniques that I had learned in previous years, but putting them together required a lot of experimentation, and luck.

Was there much change in your work from the conception of the idea to the work we saw on the catwalk?
Yes. I had worked on the project since Christmas, so there was a lot of time for ideas and concepts to change. Initially, I had no idea what my collection was going to look like and I still didn’t until a few weeks before the show. I had no idea what type of fabric I would use, or what techniques. It wasn’t until I developed a fabric that I was happy with that the collection began to come together. At the beginning, I was thinking about the concept of shedding skin, more than the skin itself. This gradually changed throughout my research and development, into a more specialised study of the skin. I know that if I had stuck with my original thoughts, then the collection would look a lot different. It would probably be a bit more structured, rather than the more subtle and slim-line way it is turned out.

Which of the other graduate collections were you impressed by?
There were so many great collections. It’s good to see other peoples work because it is all brilliant. I loved all of the collections from Nottingham (slightly biased obviously), but there were many other Universities that I liked aswell. I was backstage when the De Montford show was going on, and some of those were amazing!

Nottingham has made a bit of a name for itself as a hub of creativity. What it has it been like for you?
I like Nottingham because it is a small city. It’s more like a town and everything’s quite compact. There are a lot of creative people who come to study here, but everywhere is quite laid back, which I like. It’s not over crowded with arty types. There are lots of students with different interests, and there are good places to go to eat, drink or shop. I suppose it has got a bit of a name for itself, but it’s a fairly down to earth city to live in. I’ve lived just outside the city centre for 2 years, and I’m going to be sad to leave.

You described your collection as ‘based on skin and flesh on the human body’. Where did this inspiration come from, and what else inspires you?
The inspiration for my collection came originally from a general interest in the skin and flesh. I think that this comes from being a vegetarian since I was 11. I have a strange relationship with food. I like things that are untouched. I won’t eat meat. I took this fascination with meat and flesh and developed it into a concept which I could look into for my collection. I get inspired by anything and everything really, usually something small and ordinary because you can look at it in more detail. I think that even something small and boring to others can become inspiring if you look at it enough.

New designers such as Mark Fast have shown us some other unique techniques with knitwear. Have you thought about how you could further your own skills?
It’s strange to think that a technique can be what ‘makes’ a designer. To me, Mark Fast developed this brilliant technique and ran with it. That’s great because I had never thought about design from that angle before. I always thought you had to constantly create different pieces all the time. Designers like Mark Fast are inspirational because they open your eyes to the possibilities of what can be done on a knitting machine. Missoni also creates such beautiful and unique knitwear. In a way, I would like develop my technique further, but I also would like to focus on new tasks and new direction.


Phoebe Thirwall, photographed by Rankin

One of your dresses was photographed by Rankin. How did it feel to learn that your dress was selected?
Amazing. It was sent down to London, but I never expected it to be photographed. Apparently the university sends items down every year and they rarely get selected to be photographed. When I found out that it had been chosen to be photographed I was really happy, by Rankin especially! The fact that Kate Shillingford from Dazed and Confused actually chose the pieces is overwhelming. It was about 2 months later that the pictures were released. Seeing my work on the Vogue website was mental!

You also received praise from the fashion bloggers. How have you found the attention?
It’s been completely surreal having people like Susie Bubble write about my work. She said it was one of her favourites from the photos, and so did Lucy Wood. I used to read about fashion graduates and imagined they had such exciting lives, but I’m just in my room with my cat and not really doing anything. It’s really strange seeing photos and articles about my work. I feel now like it isn’t even mine and I’m looking at someone else’s. It doesn’t seem real.

It has been two weeks since the show. What’s the plan now?
Is that all? It feels like a lot longer ago than 2 weeks. My collection is being sent over to Shanghai in September for Spin Expo, and a few of the outfits are being used in a photo shoot in July. My plans now involve finding a job, going to interviews and hopefully being hired. I want to move down to London to be nearer to my boyfriend. Ideally, I want to see clothes that I have designed, being made. I also really want a long holiday, somewhere nice and hot, where I don’t have to think about knitting!

Knitwear design student Phoebe Thirlwall was an unquestionable highlight of Graduate Fashion Week 2010. Her work demonstrated an impressive level of craftsmanship, information pills receiving recognition even before the shows when one of her dresses was photographed by Rankin. Phoebe’s final collection, sales consisting of six looks, viagra dosage was a feast of beautiful and intricate knitwear. I caught up with Phoebe to learn a little more about the work that went into her final collection, and after the chaos of that week, what she plans to do next!

Graduate Fashion Week is a fantastic opportunity for students. How did it feel to have your work selected for the show?
It was really exciting because I had never expected to be selected, and when I found out I was obviously over the moon. It made such a difference to see my work on a raised catwalk, it felt so professional, and although I was really nervous when it went out, it was a great feeling to see it up there and being photographed. It is an amazing opportunity for students and it is a shame that everyone doesn’t get to go.

Why did you choose to study Knitwear Design over a general Fashion degree?
The Knitwear course at Nottingham Trent University involves a sandwich year in industry, which was one of the reasons I chose to study the course. Employers always want experience, so I felt that a year in the industry would be attractive to potential employers. I never particularly preferred knitwear over wovens, but when you are designing knitwear you have so much more freedom to create exactly what you want. If you are making an outfit from woven fabrics, although you can print on them etc, you are still limited by the fabric itself. When you knit an outfit, you can control the whole thing. You can knit the fabric however you want it and create different textures and patterns. Also, I like knitwear because you can knit the pieces of fabric to size. You can approach the whole outfit in a different way.

Where did you complete your work experience and how valuable was it to you?
My year in industry was spent in a family run knitwear factory called GH Hurt and Sons in Chilwel, Nottingham. It is a fairly small factory where lace knit is designed, made and constructed into various pieces. They create baby shawls and christening blankets sold in high end department stores and items of clothing for a number of luxury catalogue retailers. We also produced a lot of items for retailers overseas, such as the USA and Hong Kong. I was able to learn about the first steps of the process – receiving yarns on cones and in big hanks, to designing and knitting the pieces and finally how each item is made and finished to a high standard. It was also nice to see the items for sale and being worn because I always thought -’I made that!’ – which is a great feeling.

Can you explain a little about the techniques that you used? Did you have a lot to learn in terms of advanced skills?
The outfits I made are knitted mostly in silk and bamboo, with an elastic yarn that I used to create the patterns. I developed the technique by experimenting on a knitting machine to see what types of fabric I could create. I knew that I wanted to use elastic because it developed from my concept of skin, and also that I wanted to work with luxury fibres such as silk. I used a combination of rippled stitches, stripes and transferred needles on the front of the bed of the knitting machine to create the fabrics that I made my collection from. These are all techniques that I had learned in previous years, but putting them together required a lot of experimentation, and luck.

Was there much change in your work from the conception of the idea to the work we saw on the catwalk?
Yes. I had worked on the project since Christmas, so there was a lot of time for ideas and concepts to change. Initially, I had no idea what my collection was going to look like and I still didn’t until a few weeks before the show. I had no idea what type of fabric I would use, or what techniques. It wasn’t until I developed a fabric that I was happy with that the collection began to come together. At the beginning, I was thinking about the concept of shedding skin, more than the skin itself. This gradually changed throughout my research and development, into a more specialised study of the skin. I know that if I had stuck with my original thoughts, then the collection would look a lot different. It would probably be a bit more structured, rather than the more subtle and slim-line way it is turned out.

Which of the other graduate collections were you impressed by?
There were so many great collections. It’s good to see other peoples work because it is all brilliant. I loved all of the collections from Nottingham (slightly biased obviously), but there were many other Universities that I liked aswell. I was backstage when the De Montford show was going on, and some of those were amazing!

Nottingham has made a bit of a name for itself as a hub of creativity. What it has it been like for you?
I like Nottingham because it is a small city. It’s more like a town and everything’s quite compact. There are a lot of creative people who come to study here, but everywhere is quite laid back, which I like. It’s not over crowded with arty types. There are lots of students with different interests, and there are good places to go to eat, drink or shop. I suppose it has got a bit of a name for itself, but it’s a fairly down to earth city to live in. I’ve lived just outside the city centre for 2 years, and I’m going to be sad to leave.

You described your collection as ‘based on skin and flesh on the human body’. Where did this inspiration come from, and what else inspires you?
The inspiration for my collection came originally from a general interest in the skin and flesh. I think that this comes from being a vegetarian since I was 11. I have a strange relationship with food. I like things that are untouched. I won’t eat meat. I took this fascination with meat and flesh and developed it into a concept which I could look into for my collection. I get inspired by anything and everything really, usually something small and ordinary because you can look at it in more detail. I think that even something small and boring to others can become inspiring if you look at it enough.

New designers such as Mark Fast have shown us some other unique techniques with knitwear. Have you thought about how you could further your own skills?
It’s strange to think that a technique can be what ‘makes’ a designer. To me, Mark Fast developed this brilliant technique and ran with it. That’s great because I had never thought about design from that angle before. I always thought you had to constantly create different pieces all the time. Designers like Mark Fast are inspirational because they open your eyes to the possibilities of what can be done on a knitting machine. Missoni also creates such beautiful and unique knitwear. In a way, I would like develop my technique further, but I also would like to focus on new tasks and new direction.


Phoebe Thirwall, photographed by Rankin

One of your dresses was photographed by Rankin. How did it feel to learn that your dress was selected?
Amazing. It was sent down to London, but I never expected it to be photographed. Apparently the university sends items down every year and they rarely get selected to be photographed. When I found out that it had been chosen to be photographed I was really happy, by Rankin especially! The fact that Kate Shillingford from Dazed and Confused actually chose the pieces is overwhelming. It was about 2 months later that the pictures were released. Seeing my work on the Vogue website was mental!

You also received praise from the fashion bloggers. How have you found the attention?
It’s been completely surreal having people like Susie Bubble write about my work. She said it was one of her favourites from the photos, and so did Lucy Wood. I used to read about fashion graduates and imagined they had such exciting lives, but I’m just in my room with my cat and not really doing anything. It’s really strange seeing photos and articles about my work. I feel now like it isn’t even mine and I’m looking at someone else’s. It doesn’t seem real.

It has been two weeks since the show. What’s the plan now?
Is that all? It feels like a lot longer ago than 2 weeks. My collection is being sent over to Shanghai in September for Spin Expo, and a few of the outfits are being used in a photo shoot in July. My plans now involve finding a job, going to interviews and hopefully being hired. I want to move down to London to be nearer to my boyfriend. Ideally, I want to see clothes that I have designed, being made. I also really want a long holiday, somewhere nice and hot, where I don’t have to think about knitting!

Photography preseves a moment forever – it marks and preserves time as it has been spent. It is, and to draw Barthes into the conversation, purchase a memento mori. Amy Gwatkin’s photographs (BA Editorial Photography, Brighton) blur the boundaries between fashion, editorial and fine art. Amy’s frequently updated blog documents shoots, time spent in the studio with models or other-sometimes-coffee-relative-activities, and has an incredible talent for turning personal adventures into moments representing a snapshop of a life.

An exhibition late last year – Interior Politics – and the launch of a new website introduced me to Amy’s exploration into the minuite obsqure moments that life has to offer. More recently Amy has been experimenting with film, and has kindly taken the time to answer questions for Amelia’s Magazines.

Amy! When and why did you first pick up a stills camera?

Because using the film camera involved waiting on unrealiable people! And I instantly loved it. I was supposed to do something more bookish at uni, but the minute I found a camera I was smitten. I had been obsessed with fashion since I could toddle into my grandma’s/mum’s wardrobes; suddenly I had found a way that I could make imagery without having any drawing ability!

LIGHT from Amy Gwatkin on Vimeo.

Recently you’ve been experimenting with video: debuting with a video of the Cooperative Designs S/S 2010 Collection at London Fashion Week to the recent Light submitted as part of the Shaded View of Fashion, Fashion Film Festival – What inspired the expansion from static to moving?

I always wanted to make films…. Photography offered a way of making images that wasn’t reliant on other people. I’m still a total megalomaniac though! Very often it’s literally just me and a camera.

Showstudio have been attempting to develop the moving fashion photograph since the inception of their website, I love both the static and the moving – What are your favourite fashion videos?

I loved Ruth Hogben’s spanking movie. Sunshowers by Elisha Smith-Leverock. Chris Cunningham’s Flora film for Gucci. Gwendoline by Jez Tozer. And the men’s Dior one in a corridor, was it Dior? It was on Nowness and it was lush. I find at lot of fashion films very hit or miss though – the best were the re-edited Guy Bourdin footage that was on SHOWstudio, that I could, and do, watch over and over and over….

What made you decide to set up your blog? What do you think the advantages are of a blog vs a website?

Originally it was to give me some online presence as my old website was out of date and my new one was being built…then I just really got into it. I like that the blog can have more laidback images, where I have less of a professional front to put up. But I love how clean and tidy the site is.

Collage for the Cooperative Design Zine produced as part of London Fashion Week February 2010

You appear to be quite involved with the internet from your great twitter feed to your blog – what advantages do you think the system of blogs and twitter has created for photographers and fellow creatives?

Well, I guess it opens up little internet wormholes you wouldn’t have known about before…although I can follow a link and find myself, 2 hours later, marvelling at how many photographers there are doing the same sort of thing.

It’s a good platform for self promotion, though it does blur the line between business and pleasure a little uncomfortably at times

Do you streetcast your models?

I often see people on the street that I’m too nervous to ask! But sometimes I overcome my nerves long enough to street cast. I think I have a few characteristics I like, though its hard to nail them in words. A certain bad-temperedness maybe.

Your photograph reflects both fine art and fashion photographic interests – could you tell Amelia’s readers more about the photographs recently exhibited? (I’m thinking of the Familiarity breeds contempt and Modern Miniture series)

Familiarity Breeds Contempt is an extension of my long term project tentatively titled The Housewife – it’s hopefully the start of a longer project exploring sexuality, fantasy and what goes on behind closed doors. Which is also what Modern Miniatures was about in a way – only without the overt sexuality. I have a interest in the domestic, with other people’s domestic/private space, putting myself in them, and also, if I’m honest, with the risk involved in contacting strange men on the internet, asking them to get naked, and them taking pictures of me standing on them etc…

With fashion how do you make the decision between colour or black and white? Does it Matter?

I’m always trying to make things b/w, without sounding mental/pretentious/partially sighted, I see better in b/w. sometimes there’s someone else’s prerogative to take into account, like a client etc. black and white can sometimes make things instantly nostalgic and a bit too soft or romantic. Depends on the situation, but there are few where b/w doesn’t rock in my opinion!

Photograph for Corrie Williamson

Favourite photographers/people to work with/Set designers/fashion designers?

I rarely DON’T have a wicked time on shoots.

Sets – Alex Cunningham, David White’s sets for Coop a/w10/11 were mint
Designers – Cooperative Designs, Scott Ramsay Kyle, Corrie Williamson, Fred Butler, Atalanta Weller
Photograhers I admire – Wee Gee, Helmut Newton, Collier Schorr, Les Krims, Duane Michals, David Armstrong among MANY others!

What is it like being a london based photographer?

Fun! Busy. Forces you to work a lot to make ends meet, which can wear you down. Over saturated. Very youth orientated

What accompanies you in the studio?

My crappy selection of music! I always download the weirdest selection of stuff. Some proper howlers on there, but sometimes you have to listen to the Outhere Brothers. Also the lovely Anna Leader and Bella Fenning with whom I share my space.

What do you hope your photographs convey?

Tough…. I find it quite hard to look back, to edit etc, but having to do my website forced me to do that, and there is a certain strength in the characters I hope. I know some of the shots are quite moody, or gentle, but I don’t like it when models look too winsome or fashion-fierce or posed. Hopefully somewhere between the two, though I do seem to shout things like ‘you’re at a bus stop!’ or ‘You’re a sexy eel!’

How do your shoots come together?

Mostly ideas from films, dreams, or pacing the streets of London which is my fave thing to do. Or maybe a drunken overenthusiastic chat with friends

What are your plans for the future?

Hmm….more pics. More films, maybe a move to proper films with dialogue and a plot!

Laura Mackness graduated from Louise Wilson’s stella MA in Womenswear Fashion at Central Saint Martins in 2009 with a breathtaking collection where the cut and block colour of the fabric stood as the background to the graphic prints and playful illustrations. The collection consisted of straight cut trousers and leggings, and even appearing under the varied hemlines of the skirts! The graphic prints have since been developed into a collaboration with Weekday, online which was launched earlier this year to much celebration. Laura is currently in New York developing a new project, doctor but luckily had a few moments to talk to Amelia’s Magazine about the inspiration behind the MA collection. I cannot wait to see where this designer goes next…

The MA collection was incredibly illustrative through the choice of lines drawn onto the clothes. what role does illustration usually play in your design process?

It played a huge role in my MA collection as we worked tirelessly to make sure that the actual clothes were as close to my original drawings as possible, the weird proportions, placement of the print and particularly the width and angle of the shoulder. I am happy to say that what went down the catwalk was exactly the same as my drawings!

Subsequently, how would you describe your aesthetic?

I guess that you could say its minimalist/purist with a fun twist. An element of fun has always been essential in my design work, I don’t think that fashion should take itself too seriously! The minimalist/purist element is something that I worked on throughout the MA, as I already said I wanted my collection to be fun but I also wanted it to be taken seriously and be wearable and the minimal aesthetic seemed to offer up the perfect balance.

What first interested you about designing Womenswear?

A desire to design clothing for myself I guess is what first drew me to Womenswear. I also love the drama and the show of Womenswear that you don’t necessarily get with Menswear. I studied the BA Womenswear at CSM and subsequently went on to do this at MA.

Congratulations on winning the Colin Barnes Illustration Award during your BA! What is this award?

The Colin Barnes Illustration Award was something I was awarded whilst studying on the BA. It is an award given to students studying on the St Martin’s BA Fashion design course for their illustration. I was so surprised to receive it as I had always struggled with illustration until Howard Tangye made me realise that the way I draw doesn’t have to be the same way that everyone else draws! I owe him a lot for that!

You’ve mentioned in previous interviews an interest and a love for geometries ‘basic’ shapes – do these motifs often appear in your illustrations?

It does subconsciously I think, my drawings are often quite angular and square like! And going back to what I said about my aesthetic I am a big fan of pure, minimalist and clean things and what is more pure that a basic circle, square or triangle.

Do you draw outside of fashion design?

Not really as all my ladies (and they are always ladies) of course have to have great outfits on so I end up designing without even realising it. I don’t really have much time to do it anymore either which is a shame.

How would you describe your design process?

Backwards and Forwards, up and down, moments of genius and moments of disaster. Each collection is different and so forms its own process. I don’t have any hard and fast rules.

Who would you say informs your work, do you have a customer in mind during the design process?

I never have a specific customer. I collect images and build up a mood in that way. I am influenced by all sorts of things from all different sources. I see it as a bit like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.

How did your MA collection develop – from where did you inspiration come from?

I am a bit of a collector, especially when it comes to images and so the collection draws inspiration from many different reference points. The face, eyelashes etc. came from the work of François and Jean Robert, the hands were from some drawings that I found by Saul Steinberg and the shapes were from some of Jean Paul Goude’s work with Grace Jones particularly her ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ video. As I’ve already mentioned, once I have the designs they’re not changed at all and the development is all in making sure the clothes are just like the drawings.

Do you ever use re-cycled or up-cycled fabric in your designs?

I am ashamed to say that I didn’t in my MA, however I did explore using existing items of clothing etc a lot in my BA and it is definitely something that I would like to re visit in the future.

What fabrics do you enjoy working with?

I love wool jersey; in fact my whole collection was made out of it. I really like jersey as a whole, mainly because it allows you to do things without darts and seams, which allows the design to appear even more minimalist and clean.

Who are Francois and Jean Robert and what is Reggi – Secolo?

Francois and Jean Robert are Graphic designers/photographers who did the most fantastic book called Face to Face in which they photographed inanimate objects that appear to have or make different faces. It really is worth a look, for the concept but also for the clean beautiful look of the book itself.

As for Reggi-Secolo, this is a little crazy book of totally insane and genius bra’s, it really is quite amazing.

Who are your favourite designers and why?

I have long been a Martin Margiela fan; he was one of the first designers that really sparked my interest in fashion. I also love Yves Saint Laurent when Yves Saint Laurent was at the helm and Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel and of course Moschino when Franco Moschino was there. I also love Hermes for the fantastic quality and unwavering levels of good taste!

Could you describe your interest in ‘bad taste’ in our current cycle of fast fashion, and endless borrowing from the past? Or, more accurately returning to what were considered ‘fashion mistakes’ and re-inventing them, do you think what was once considered bad taste is now considered ‘good’ taste? Where is the line for you?

Good and bad taste for me is just a fascinating thing to play with. It is so easy to get it wrong and so hard to get it right and it can be the minutest detail that makes all the difference. I really couldn’t say where my line is, I think it varies depending on the object/image/garment etc that you are considering.

What do you think of twitter and the ever developing blogging network as a method of self promotion? Do you use either medium?

I think that Twitter and blogging are great if you know how to make the most of them and do them well, unfortunately I don’t and so I will leave it to the experts.

What was your experience of work experience, what do you recommend about the experience and what did you take away from it?

Work experience for me was essential and it was also the time that I really developed into a designer. It makes it all more real, you realise that these things that you are designing do actually end up being worn! I would fully recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it.

Will you be showing at London Fashion Week this Autumn?

I am afraid not, as much as I would love to I feel that I still need to get a bit more experience before I have my own label and so I am going to work in New York for a while starting in June where I have an exciting new project to work on. I have just finished working on and promoting my Weekday collection. The collaboration was a wonderful project for me to work on and I am so pleased that my designs are now available to a wider audience.

Categories ,Central Saint Martins BA, ,Coco Chanel, ,Colin Barnes Illustration Award, ,CSM, ,CSM Womenswear Fashion MA, ,Francois and Jean Robert, ,Grace Jones, ,illustration, ,Jean Paul Goude, ,Laura Mackness, ,lfw, ,London Fashion Week, ,Louise Wilson, ,Martin Margiela, ,Moschino, ,new york, ,Reggi – Secolo, ,Slave to Rythm, ,sweden, ,Weekday, ,Womeswear BA, ,Yves Saint Laurent

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