Throughout
this unit I have created inspiring and artistic designs that add to my
portfolio. Branching my ideas from the Practice Unit, I took the concept of ‘Encasement’
and developed a new method of research, thinking about trapped elements in a
sense of preservation and contamination.
Magical Contamination
I
particularly focussed on structure, exterior and shape, looking at living cells from ‘Magical Contamination’
by Antoine Bridier-Nahmias. The key focus of my
work was combining different textures and blurring colours through the use of
mohair yarns. Furthermore, I made a new discovery this unit and used the
embellisher with knitted cashmere samples to give an alternate texture, and
bamboo fibres which added a unique element to my collection. Contextually I have
been looking at more exclusive designers to inspire my Autumn/Winter collection
such as Rebecca Swann and Edun. These designers have a strong sense of
combining multiple structures with heavy weight yarns and textures which
inspired me to experiment with chunky machines and a wide variety of yarn types
and weights. This experimentation led me to concentrate on open structured
techniques such as Guilloche and drop stitch, combined with inlay to show
tactile qualities.
Rebecca Swann
The ambition of my
project was to create an Autumn/Winter collection for womenswear fashion. This was
a personal goal of mine as I tend to continually use 12-gauge and 10-gauge
machinery. Throughout unit X I have experimented on the 7, 6 and 4 gauge as
well as fine gauge Dubied, which allowed me to explore alternate weights and
outcomes. When it came to creating a final collection of samples, I made the
decision to focus on finely knitted textiles, due to the silk yarns giving a
higher quality finish which was what I desired. However, I continued to combine
texture by using mohair, the embellisher and thicker silk yarns through inlay.
After being
selected as one of the finalists for the Michael Kidner project, I have
continued with this project in unit X, making my proposed outcomes of knitted shift dresses in boxy silhouettes with referencing to 60’s
style. Designers such as Missoni and Miu Miu have inspired by designs,
especially Missoni 2016 collection due to colour proportions and placement.
I
have produced three dresses in total, which have different colour variations. In
order to present these dresses professionally, I organised for a qualified
photographer to photograph models in these dresses. My aim was for the shoot to
communicate a sense of simplicity, therefore I didn’t feel the need for any
styling and let the 60’s style dresses speak for themselves. After the unit X
hand in I will continue to tweak and alter the dresses to get them finished to
a high standard for the Flowers Gallery.
Balancing two
projects throughout this unit has resulted me into becoming more confident when
managing my time and also in making garments. I have found it challenging at
times as I didn’t want my main project to suffer due to making garments for the
Kidner project. One of my key improvements throughout unit X has been fashion
illustrations, I have finally found my own style when illustrating. I have
developed skills which communicate high quality designs which I feel could lead
to me achieving a masters in knitted textiles in the future.
Unit X illustrations - Encasement Project
