Stitch at Chelsea is quite a different approach to what I have previously learned. It is less about translating an image directly onto fabric through embroidery, and more about experimentation with media, translating marks from your drawings and trying to come up with a completely different technique to what others are doing around you. I found this block really enjoyable. I think the possibilities are endless when it comes to designing and it is what excites me most. It has been my favourite discipline so far.
I had never tried knitting before this block. During the two weeks, I learned how to machine knit and hand knit. Well, I say learned to hand knit...I never actually! I found it so so frustrating, I just could not pick it up. I think the fact that I am left handed made it more difficult, everything always seems more awkward. I did manage to produce some machine samples which I am pleased with. Our tutor Tim (http://www.timothyjamesandrews.com/)was really inspiring, and he let us have a look at his portfolio...he was commissioned to produce a line of knit for Preen and also his work is in Vogue magazine! It really changed my perception of knitted textiles, as usually I just think of big chunky winter garments, but knit can be produced really delicately and sensitively.
I really enjoyed the weave block. I liked the laid back atmosphere in the workshop, the pace of working and found myself really engaging with the process. I picked it up really quickly and, although it does take a lot of concentration and patience, I am really pleased with the outcome of my woven samples.
Some examples of woven textiles that I find inspiring...
I never really thought I was a collector. I have collections of things, like shoes, scarves, belts, jewellery. I like to keep a memento from trips that I take, so I collect key rings and fridge magnets from each place that I visit. I suppose I collect books and magazines, as I never discard them, I keep them in a row on my desk. However all these objects serve a purpose: I wear the shoes and accessories, I have the keepsakes to remember good times on holiday, and I read the books and mags that I have.
However obsessive collecting is on a whole other level! Sigmund Freud's theory on the reason why people collect highlights a controlling and dark side to a seemingly harmless hobby, a need for people to have an "object of desire" and linking this to a "collective unconscious" in us.
This video shows people who collect Barbie dolls. They are obviously adults, so the purpose of collecting them is not to play with them, as you would have as a child, but to simply collect and display them.
"Possession cannot apply to an implement, since the object I utilize always directs me back to the world. Rather it applies to that object once it is divested of its function and made relative to a subject"
The System of Collecting
Jean Boudrillard
In other words what defines a collection is something that is not collected for use, but for its sheer being, to be categorised, displayed, owned for no purpose other than to possess it.
The people in the video talk of having an emotional connection to the Barbie, telling childhood memories of good times had while playing with them, or of possessing a Barbie as having been a 'tabboo' issue for the male when he was younger, which he now feels he can be free of. They also speak passionately of Barbie's fashion sense and style, personifying her and seeming to be in complete awe of her, almost as if they wish they themselves could become her...
"The singular object never impedes the process of narcissistic projection, which ranges over an indefinite number of objects: on the contrary, it encourages such multiplication, thus associating itself with a mechanism whereby the image of the self is extended to the very limits of the collection. Here, indeed, lies the whole miracle of collecting. For it is invariably oneself that one collects"
The System of Collecting
Jean Boudrillard
So it seems that what looks like a fairly simple concept of owning a collection of things, is actually a more in depth reflection of who we are or what we wish to become.
Before I enrolled at Chelsea College of Art & Design, I researched quite a lot before deciding to take up a place, and one of the main things I noticed was the emphasis that was put on how important it is to be environmentally friendly while studying here and in general when creating art. Textiles Environment Design is a collective group set up by staff and students that aims to develop a set of practice-based sustainable design strategies that have a reduced impact on the environment. So while studying here and when I graduate and begin my own practice in designing textiles for fashion I will adhere to the 'TED Ten'...
1: Design to Minimise Waste
2: Design for Recycling/Upcycling
3: Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts
4: Design to Reduce Energy & Water Use
5: Design that Explores Clean/Better Technologies
6: Design that Looks at Models from History & Nature
7: Design for Ethical Production
8: Design to Replace the Need to Consume
9: Design to Dematerialise & Develop Systems & Services
10: Activism
We are living in a culture of vast consumerism and 'fast fashion' with shops like Primark producing endless cheap copies of designer trends. People buy these clothes and think nothing of discarding them when worn a few times when the next trend comes on the scene. Most of these garments are produced overseas in sweatshops often unethically and using child labour. This is not the type of industry I wish to be involved in. My Manifesto By following 'TED's 10', I hope to become a designer who produces fabrics or garments that will last, that are produced ethically and are kind to the environment. I will try to the best of my ability, to research and apply alternative methods and practices when necessary to reduce any sort of negative impact on the world. I will design and produce sustainable textiles, using the safest possible media with no need for waste during production. They will be recyclable and bio-degradable when possible, and will hopefully contribute towards this cultures decline in 'fast fashion'.
I have been set the task of taking some street style photos which capture pattern for my print class...These pics where taken in Covent Garden on a very cold snowy day...
Great mixture of pattern here with the colourful horizontal stripe on the skirt, chequered blazer and bright tartan scarf
Fab Liberty print Nike high tops
This girl matches her Aztec print leggings with a monochrome scarf & Rolling Stones printed tote bag
V cool guy keeping warm in a vibrant stripy zipper
