“We are shaped and fashioned by what we love” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I am a fashion designer who specifically creates avant garde clothing for the female form, with an aesthetic that is edgy and underground. Each of my pieces has endured an intense design developmental process; extensive research into an idea to form a concept, intricately detailed pattern making, mostly hand constructed with the use of sculpture, hand stitching and moulding techniques which are all finished with precision. Designing and constructing clothing is my creative and emotional release, as I am not only a tactile person, but I also like rapid change and the challenge of intellectual problem solving. I love to create what I imagine and feel at a particular moment and I am inspired and influenced by everything around me visually and symbolically, from music, movies, dreams I have, to nature and freedom. When people experience my work I would like them to be speechless from marvel, and this desire is what drives me to succeed. I am filled with a sense of energy and motivation to keep making when my work is on target, specifically when the silhouette is flattering to the female form, the garment fits right, it is functional, it flows around the body harmoniously, it reflects my design signature, and the concept is executed clearly. My favourite creation tools are my hands because they are an extension of my soul, allowing me to be raw and tactile, and when I work with them I am reminded that I can sculpt what I sense is proportionate.
I do not use a specific design process, like the way I was taught to plan and pattern make. I am more inclined to intensely explore many ideas before I can isolate one concept, and therefore the process I take is long and very challenging. I am extremely experimental, free and intuitive in the way I work, thus rarely use static templates like pattern blocks or a classic construction method to create as I feel these elements can be limiting. When I begin a piece I am firstly stimulated by the way a fabric feels, and secondly by the way it moves. I usually drape the chosen fabric over a female form and allow the fabric to move organically, and here is where I begin to anchor points on the body and create a silhouette. The preferred materials I use are often natural yarns, such as soft silk type fabrics, like silk satin, silk chiffon and silk jersey, because not only does silk have a luxurious quality, but it also depicts life through its warm ‘hand’ and organic movement that seemingly takes on its own design journey through the life of the garment. I also enjoy using hard-wear materials such as a variety of metals and protein fabrics like leather, as well as difficult techniques from other creative fields like shoe making, floristry and building. My specialty is combining hard and soft materials as it reflects my personality and offers the garment a striking difference. Blue is the colour I am most drawn to. However I also design with colours that expresses the way I feel at the time I am creating which makes my work very personal and authentic. Black has predominated in my designs over the past year, with a contrasting tone, such as blue, white or grey. I like to be innovative in the way I use colour, therefore I may use all black, but layer and design using different textures to create dimension. The most common elements that appear in my work are the use of circular pattern cutting and soft fabrics due to my love of drape and somewhat obsession with continuous lines. Aesthetically intimidating clothing that makes the woman look androgynous, confident and fierce is also an integral approach to my designs. There are repetitive style references to underground sci-fi films with a dark and edgy mood that are thought provoking and seemingly derive from personal and significant life experiences.
Nero, meaning ‘water’ in the Greek language, is a collection inspired by the movement and pressure of water against the female form and visa versa. My intention for Nero was to explore different sources of inspiration as well as incorporate my own design methodologies and ethos. A few of these notions included the juxtaposition of: gravity versus weightlessness, underground versus high fashion, pressure versus fluidity and hard versus soft. I also asked myself the following questions: What colours describe a dark sea? What types of fabric correspond to water? What design techniques represent the pressure of water against the body? How can the feeling of water be brought through in my collection? What type of feeling do I want to provoke through my collection? Which were studied through research and design.
The dark colour palette has a cold and eerie mood, with solid shiny black, solid matte black and transparent black discovered when delving into the deep dark sea. The dark underwater world’s depths and layers are hidden beneath the water’s metallic blue sparkling surface. Nero is complex in pattern design and construction, though it remains harmonious as a complete series of seven outfits, which parallels with the profound structure of waters particles and simultaneously is juxtaposed with a fluid aesthetic. Moulded leather represents the suction of water imposed on one point of the body during impact into the waters surface, whilst the draped silk fabrics flow around the opposite side, organically mimicking the release of the water’s pressure. Industrial shot cord [elastic] was sandwiched between an under structure and moulded under one layer of leather creating a skin manipulated and somewhat disturbing surface, as well as extending from the garment to anchor at certain parts of the body and be used as a closing mechanism. These extruding cords also contribute to the collection’s under-worldly and aquatic feel, as if dripping water, and noise similar to the roaring ocean, when dragged along the ground. Each of the garments come alive with body movement, through the gesture of walking, dancing or when the form is stationary and surrounded by moving water or wind. Conversely, the feeling whilst viewing Nero is unsettling as each garment is a prosthetic shell resembling the female form. It also manipulates the viewer’s perception into a false representation of the ‘true’ underneath form.
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Styling // Christina Exie Model // Natasha Wilson @ Chadwicks
CULTURE MAGAZINE Photography //Amber Toms Models // Jane Smith @ Viviens Hair // Brett Albury and Julia McGrath @ Suki Hairdressing Styling // Kirsty McBeth Retouching // Karla Majnaric
Photography //Ed Purnomo Hair // Aida W MUA // Kate Blainey Models // Iskra @ Viviens + Harry @ FRM
Photography // Myung Ho Kim Model// Emma Jane Hair + MUA // Kelly Ssong Designer/styling // Christina Exie
Photography // Myung Ho Kim Model// Emma Jane Hair + MUA // Kelly Song Designer/stylist // Christina Exie
Photography // Zoe Economides Model // Teale Coco Roiz @ Darley Management Hair // Olivia Lowden @ Biba MUA // Andrea Mucich Designer/stylist // Christina Exie
RMIT University My University collegues My family
Copyright Christina Exie 2011 www.christina-exie.com christina.exie@gmail.com Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Bachelor of Design (Fashion) Melbourne, Australia