Jodie Reynolds //
Context of Practice 3 Proposal
Question//
The blurring of fashion and sportswear/ How the lines between sportswear (streetwear) and the runway are blurring / To what extent has aesthetic become more important than functionality in contemporary sportswear?
Aim/objective//
- Investigate the influence sportswear has on ready-to-wear and couture
- Research further into how sportswear is changing/becoming ready-towear and couture - Discover weather fashion is becoming mainly sportswear influenced or if the sportswear is just becoming so functional and aesthetically pleasing - Are collaborations between sportswear and non-sportswear brand kick starting this trend - Find out if sportswear was originally built for just a purpose and recently it is more than just practical garments - Look into new fabrics, materials and technology being used within and to create garments, are these new elements making sportswear more desirable due to its functionality of smart fabrics? - How are these new fabrics, materials and technology affecting on ready-towear and couture
Research to be undertaken// - Historical events such as the Olympic games in Athens in 1896 and World
War II had a significant impact on my chosen subject. Possibly the Neoliberal Redevelopment, Sport Infrastructure, and the Militarization of U.S. Urban Terrain? - Post World War II society and the way culture was reacting to the new world they were living in was reflected in 1920s fashions at all levels of society. - The first Olympic games gaining everyone’s interest in sports and following their favorite athletes in all aspects including fashion - Until further research is done I do not know what political events are significant to your chosen subject? I plan to look into legislation, political ideologies, political systems and revolutions - I will thoroughly research into existing sports fashion on the runway to ensure my designs are different and stand out in similar but new ways
Cultural attitudes such as cultures with sports backgrounds could inform my subject, however this is something I need to research into further - My chosen subject is related to technological advances in society for example, stretchy fabrics becoming widely used. New technology, materials and fabrics being used to complete designs and tasks much faster and easier. (very different views about this being positive or negative) - Dominant or prevailing attitudes that inform my subject are the public wanting comfort and fashion simultaneously - The specific history of my subject was once done only to be functional and has developed over time to be on trend and aesthetically pleasing - Who are the key figures within my chosen subject are artists such as Rei Kawakubo and how she Challenging the established notions of beauty
Processes, methods, materials and tools involved in my research project//
- The techniques I will use in my practice such as laser cutting and foiling and vinyl will be much bolderand hopefully eye catching - Changing the materials that I use will affect my practice by changing the outcome, using sports related fabrics as apposed to more obscure and unusual fabrics will affect how the designs I create look - Specific factors such as working on the mannequin and in a very hands on way manipulating fabrics on the body will assist me to produce significantly more successful results for my creative practice - Factors such as limited studio space and lack of inspiration could disrupt my creative practice, I can ensure this doesn’t happen by visiting the nesssacery exhibitions and doing extensive research into existing artists. I could also take lots of photos of everything I am inspired by on my travels throughout summer
- Techniques I will use to research will be keeping up to date with fellow students and what they are doing in their projects to ensure that if either of us know artists for each other to look at this can be done and we can share inspiration and knowledge - I will also contact existing designers asking questions about their work and see if I get any responses to assist with my research - There is areas of my work I could collaborate in, this is something I would really like to do and I will ensure I look into this and speak to other students - My work will challenge existing sports fashion as I will ensure I use new and upcoming interesting materials, I will thoroughly research into existing sports fashion on the runway to ensure my designs are different and stand out in similar but new ways
PRIMARY SOURCES//
Fashion v Sport Exhibition at Victoria and Albert Museum, London Designed to Win Exhibition at the Design Museum, London Survey to discover the publics opinions on main aspects of my topic Experimenting by going out dressed in different ways and asking people for opinions about my outfit and how they feel about it e.g. if I look fashionable or like I just left the gym? Researching into archives at man met or leeds university to uncover historical evidence of sportswear that cannot be found online
SECONDARY SOURCES//
1. “They are not streetwear brands. Its a new genre. Its luxury sportswear and deserves to be labelled as such.” http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/will-high-fashions-love-affair-streetwear-last 2. Is sportswear the future of fashion? http://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/is-sportswear-the-future-of-fashion/slide11 3. http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/29311/1/how-the-lines-betweenstreetwear-and-the-runway-are-blurring 4. http://www.thefinertimes.com/The-1920s/1920s-fashion-was-a-time-of-greatsocial-change.html 5. The History of Sportswear: Fashion from Chanel to Wang By Christian Blanken 6. Constructions of Gender in Sport: An Analysis of Intercollegiate Media Guide Cover Photographs by Jo Ann M. Buysse, Melissa Sheridan Embser-Herbert [Gender and Society, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Feb., 2004), pp. 66-81] 7. “Neoliberal Redevelopment, Sport Infrastructure, and the Militarization of U.S. Urban Terrain” (pp. 160-176) From:Sport and Neoliberalism by KIMBERLY S. SCHIMMEL [Temple University Press 2012]
Mary Benson
Mary Quant
Kate Brittain
Nike X Sacai
Valeska Jasso
Rebecca Minkoff
Shu Shu Tong
PERCEIVED PROBLEMS//
My proposal is realistic and does not require a large amount of travel to aquire research, it will not be too much on an expense to me, I should be able to acces all of the sources I require. It is also legal, I do not require the consent of others, in any questionnaires I do or anything involving the public I will consider if it will offend others and try and make this possibility less likely to happen.