A women's wear designer with a varied range of interests within the realms of Fashion, leaning towards a specialism of knitwear during recent years. Inspired by my passion for fibre arts, with special interests in embroidery and embellishment and how these specialisms can be combined. Looking to generate new innovative techniques, with unconventional materials
My pieces always aim to hold sustainability at their heart, using quality materials that will last a lifetime. I am fascinated by labour intensive artforms, such as hand embroidery, hand knit, crochet and embellishment, and the freedom that these techniques allow. These techniques have a rich history behind them and I am inspired by the story and work in each stitch. The love and energy put into these artforms makes for pieces that will be cherished and increases the longevity of a garment. I love expanding my knowledge of the craft and am always looking to opportunities to try new techniques.
INSPIRATION
Exploring cherished objects and trinkets that people around me collect and surround themselves with, I looked to my Grandmother's ever growing collection of jewellery, that she has been expanding for a lifetime. Looking to incorporate jewellery and hardware with soft, natural fibres to create a textural experience, evoking emotions of sentimentality.
Researching the theme of collections and considering the sustainability of the end life of a garment, I was lead to create a piece that would be an heirloom, handed down for generations, as a personal collection would be. The process of this inspired themes of connection and continuity, which are reflected in my final piece.
DETAIL
A detail closeup of the tubing technique used between the panels of mohair knit in my final garment. Using one meter long brass pipe, intended for use by plumbers I hand cut to gradually varying sizes, with the longest length featuring at the hem of the piece. The dense weight of the brass tubing, and the cold harsh feel to the touch contrasts to the soft mohair fibres. The tubes are hand stitched together and reinforced with knots between each piece to ensure longevity to create the panel, which is then hand stitch between each panel, making a cut out insert. The weight of the panels of tubing mould around the contours of the body and create a clinking noise when the wearer moves.