About Me
Hi, i'm Megan, a Knitwear Design Graduate from NTU.
Megan Barnsley is a knitwear creative who specialises in design and womenswear. Her interest in craft, technology, and the process of making has allowed her to thrive in both design and development processes, creating quality pieces in both an innovative and commercial manner.
I have always enjoyed designing and creating. Since studying fashion Knitwear Design I have developed skills, that have expanded my knowledge of knitted fabrics, furthering my passion for the industry. My time at university has offered me creative control over the design and manipulation of fabrics, developing my technical designs and illustrative skills. Receiving a bursary from the Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters, allowed me to work with the same high-quality yarns I used throughout my placement year, where I acquired a greater understanding of yarn types, purposes and thicknesses.
INSPIRATION
Graduate Collection - Two Faced
My collection follows a journey of self-discovery as I forge my own identity away from my identical twin for the first time in our lives. While most people can take solace in the fact that they are unique and one-of-a-kind, twins do not have that because fundamentally we are a single entity split between two bodies. Throughout my findings I discovered that twins provided artists with the challenge of capturing uncanny symmetry, sameness, and nuanced differences, but for us, our differences are obvious.
For this reason, my collection explores the multifaceted emotions I’ve experienced such as confusion, uncertainty and a newfound sense of freedom but also celebrates the nostalgia and joy of being an identical twin. The main inspiration for this collection has been childhood imagery which has helped drive the development of my visual research, experimenting with shape, texture, and colour, in oversized, layered and experimental forms.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Graduate Collection Concept Statement
Concept Board
Colour and Material Exploration
Visual Research Development
Knitted Fabric Explorations
Asymmetrical Skirt Process
Oversize Jumper Development
Inlay Jacket Process
Partial Knit Jumper Development
Oversize Trousers Development
Pleated Tiered Skirt Process
Collection Fabrics
Collection Line-up
Collection Specification
Outfit Breakdown: Look One
Outfit Breakdown: Look Two
Outfit Breakdown: Look Three
Photoshoot
Photoshoot
DETAIL
Two Faced Details
Fusing chaotic fabrics in weave-in stitches with more refined, fine-gauge rib techniques in contrasting colours can be seen throughout the collection and an interesting reversible quality is visible to emphasise the ‘Two Faced’ concept further. The collection explores a sense of nostalgia through playful textures using deadstock yarns and fabric offcuts to help tackle the growing issue of waste within the fashion industry, bringing unwanted materials a new purpose. Each piece works cohesively through layering and styling, developing loose silhouettes that can be worn across seasons for greater versatility. I have merged craft with technology by fusing hand-flat knitting techniques with more technologically advanced knitted fabrics produced using Shima Seiki machinery. It has become clear to me as a designer that combining the knitted techniques, I’m confident with producing on the dubied with more specialised programmed fabrics has served to elevate the overall collection pieces.
“My sister and I, you will recollect, were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are so closely allied.” - Arthur Conan Doyle, 1982
Graduate Fashion Week in partnership with:
