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Sensations The sensations project appeared exciting from the very start, although slightly confusing for me. Therefore breaking it down in class (brain storming) just like in figure 1, during the Contextual studies, helped me understand the project better and what was required of me. There were many things that we thought would refer or used to understand sensations, such as smells, exciting, reaction to stimulation.
fig 1. I researched Lace as the starting point of this project, looking at its history, the making, the materials used in lace making as well as contemporary lace, the countries which most manufactured lace historically, and the various functions lace was used. The research into historical lace took me back to the earliest date on record of lace wearing, the mid 1550s. (Venetian Red; 2009) Some of the examples images of lace from the 16th century on record are two portraits of Queen Elizabeth I; (Venetian Red online) The Armada portrait in figure 4 and the Rainbow Portrait in figure 5, as well as the portrait of Anna Boleyn in figure 2. The Anne portrait in figure 3, clearly shows small lace pieces applied on her gown unlike Elizabeth I’s full Armada collars. These lace designs portray the beauty, fragile appearance of lace and the nature or class of people who would have won such lace at the time. I found the research into lace quite exciting. Researching through the Tudor era it was evident there was a higher attention to detail in clothing just like lace which was a favourable accessary at the time. It is arguable that, from these (figures 2,3,4, and 5) lace was not worn as full dress, but big collars or small lace pieces sewn onto sleeves and necklines such as that on Anna Bolelyn’s gown in figure 3
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(Elizabeth I. Online). This inspires me not to over apply lace in my sensations designs.
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During my research I looked at the various types of historical lace; such as the Reticella shown in fig.3; it was specifically made for the “virgin” Queen Elizabeth I, hence the inclusion of the Halos in the design in a nod to her Virginity (Venetian Red; 2009). Brussels, Torchon (beggars), Argentella, Alencon, Antique French lace, Honiton, fillet, Antwerp are among others historical laces. I was fascinated by their individual motifs such as figure 6 and figure 7 (Summer,2015)
fig.6 Carrick-ma-cross technique made lace.
fig.7 Antwerp lace
The laces I looked were mainly of flower motifs; however there were also motifs designs inspired by architecture and geometrics such as the motifs in the collars of Queen Elizabeth I’s Armada and Rainbow portraits. All these were an inspiration in my Sensation project designs.
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I discovered that, these historical laces were hand-made, with equipment such as Bobbins, pillow and silk threads. The more difficult the lace motif, the more bobbins the maker used such as in figure8. I found these practices more artistic and passionate.
fig.8 However with the continuous industrial revolution into the early 1900s there was wide spread availability of lace due to the introduction of lace making machinery such as Plauener Spitze in figures 9 below; a German lace making company, operating since 1857. I also discovered as well as large lace manufacturing, small independent business such as those in German, still existed right after World War II. (Modern lace making, online:2015) It can be argued that hand-making lace as a business has become a rare practice in today’s fast life societies (Lace, 2015). In some countries such as Croatia, small lace making societies are existing and in other countries like Russia they hold lace making competitions as seen in the figure 23 below; it can be argued that tradition lace hand-making is still exists.
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Fig.9 It was interesting to find that the majority of lace names are named after the places where they were made such as Antwerp lace was made in Antwerp Belgium, Alencon was made in Alencon, France, Nottingham lace from Nottingham (Nottingham, online 2015) (Goldberg 2015). Contemporary lace still includes embroidered and machinery lace however in recent years, there has been an introduction of Laser cut lace such as the images seen in figure 10. (Engadget, 2015)
fig.10 My discovery in the world of lace through research has been quite educational and inspiring due to the fact lace is more than just a fabric. It can be argued, lace is an art, from its revolutionised patterns especially the historical practices; lace oozes creativity, passion, patience and determination. I have discovered that, historically mainly the nobility wore lace and in France lace was made specifically for the Emperor and his nobles. Lace making was almost lost in France after the end of the French Empire. (Lace, 2015) 6
There are other types of lace such as Schiffli Lace which are also inspirational to alternative lace making today. It was after reading about Schiffli lace and the Carrickma-cross way of making lace, that I was further inspired to work like this. My determination was further fuelled by the lesson we had in class on creating cut-out paper designs such as figure13. (Summer, 2015) From a visit at Victoria and Albert Museum I was inspired by some of objects on display through which I interpreted lace from a different perspective. I am fascinated by lace patterns therefore patterns is a driving force in my lace interpretations. The images I viewed such as figure 11 and figure 12 have repeated patterns.
fig. 11 The figure is not necessary just any design or product on display but a radiator case donated by a family. I was attracted to this case because of its design. These are normally used objects which come in line with recycling. Recycling is an aspect which feels closer to lace more than many other fabrics because of its stature; how lace is made is an art form therefore preserving that art and the idea of learning from their creativity for future generations was the connection I received while viewing these images during the Victoria and Albert Museum Visit.
fig.12
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These Middle Eastern architecture designs such as figure 12 have similar lace geometric designs as well as an appearance similar to lace texture hence a perfect imitation for a lace creation and the transparent element of them.
fig.13 Figures 11 and 12 above inspired me to create figure 13; geometrical styles hand cut in paper. I can argue that this is a more appropriate way of going forward with the Sensations project without appearing obvious in relations to lace.
fig.14
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Experimenting with paper was exciting thus going forward to explore the technic in more depth using other materials such as fabrics as demonstrated in figures 15, 16.
fig. 15
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Whilst making these samples I realised they consume a lot of time perhaps more than I anticipated. They were all cut manually with scissors and then painted with acrylic white. My decision to paint my samples pieces white was initially to have them all white as they were all of different colours; however I liked the effect the paint created on the pieces as they all became quite stiff after drying. I was glad I did not have to sew them because from sampling, I realised it would be difficult to sew them or anything I created in the future and I would have to have a different plan for my designing process. I enjoyed the designing process (sketching on paper) even though I had a daunting feeling that the work in my designs was more than I could do given the time had to finish the Capsule Collection. However I wanted to present an exciting collection and if that meant extra hard work to achieve my goal then I was determined to put in the time. I chose all white as my colour pallet for my capsule collection. All white has proved a good choice for fabrics but not whilst working in sketch books where I am on white paper with white materials. Building my sketch book was both an exciting and challenging process. I have been excited about this project that I vacuumed a lot of ideas. At the start of this course I was not very good at researching, converting what 9
I have researched into good presentable work. However after two years on the course, I have put all my experience and it has been a better learning opportunity to use all the knowledge and skills that I have gained over the last couple of months and produce a better sketch book for this project. I have learnt that a good sketch book will have the backing a well-stocked research folder. The use of different media has been another aspect I have taken advantage of and fully used in this project. I have been more flexible, vigilant and thorough in my efforts to produce quality work for my sketch book. I was also aware that a well-produced informative book would result in better material to work with for my designs and eventual line-up. While in the past, there have been moments where I have been uncertain that I produced less than impressionable sketch books, I have been steadier in my progress this semester and I hope it will come through. The only problem I experienced was using white in my sketch book however I hope I have managed to deal with that problem successfully. This semester, we also had the element of continuity to include in Sensations. I was excited about the continuity element due to the fact I have seen it in other designers’ work such as Chanel. Chanel has always designed a coat with fringed edges in different sizes, seasons as seen in figures 17 below.
fig17 A/W 2014
A/W 2015/16
S/S 2014
Although I was not sure how I was going to carry it out but still decided to take some ideas from the previous projects especially the “Re Re� project of last semester. My continuity element is round and full volume silhouettes for my designs as well as folds and gathers as seen in figures 18 and 19 below, but will use small gathers or folds in this project.
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fig.18
Re Re – folds
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Re Re – gathers
I have decided to use gathers as they are more organic, flexible, and suit my designs better. I also realised given the time we have, not to make it too complicated considering the experience I had doing them in the Re Re project. My decision was made easier by the samples I made presented in figure 20 below. My chosen fabrics would not give the stiff effect with the folds as I wanted. However the gathers’ pieces were cut diagonal to give the pieces some elasticity. The pieces were cut 6cm wide but all the pieces are of different lengths which is not easily evident in figures 20. below. I was more fascinated with the fact that the gathers affected the designs and I also worked on the mannequin most of the time.
fig.20 I loved all my ideas but I also researched how designers have worked with such designs. The most inspiration I got was from work I visited which was on display in an exhibition at the Summer House as shown in figure 21 below. I was in complete awe of what the designers had created and I wanted to create something on the level of that beauty, as well as I can, something sensational. I also looked at sculptural 3D designs by designers such as Comme des Garcons who produces sensational creations such as figure 22.
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fig.21
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I was quite excited about my designs’ patterns after working on them with the teachers and the advice received on how to make them. Having decided to make 3 model garments and with finished patterns, with a mixture of great anticipation and excitement, I started making my garments. The making of my garments has proved harder than I imagined and I am beginning to realise I spent more time than I should have on toiles. My patterns only give me the shape however the majority of the top pieces are done with the final fabrics but not in toiles therefore I am just realising that the process takes a long time. This is worrying me as I have to do the same process for all six garments which is likely to leave me with limited time for other aspects of the project. . Through-out the course we have bought our fabrics from the same place, Shepherds’ Bush however I wanted to check out what was available in other London areas. Other than Shepherds’ Bush, I also visited Walthamstow and Brixton Markets and I got the best fabrics based on my designs which included, cotton organza and calico for the dresses, Irish Linen for the capes. During the making of my garments, I became slightly stuck whilst creating a stiff fullness around the bust. I was also slowing down because I was stuck for ideas and the materials such the very expensive net I was using, were probably not the best for me to achieve the best results. I realised I was making bad decisions for my designs and wasting time in the process. I have an extremely tight budget therefore I was saddened that I had spent a lot of money on something that was failing fast. I did not know how much I needed the advice and the discussion I had with my teacher on how to move forward with my designs until I did. While I kept the shape I 12
changed the top add-on pieces especially the stiff fullness around the bust. I was glad I stopped with my initial designs at the time I did because they were costing me more than I had realised. When I recovered from my mishap, I was more confident and relaxed about the work I was doing; the ideas continued flowing more smoothly.
For the making of the garments, I started with the garments with the most add-on pieces and I was very relieved when I finished with every each garment. I started with the most challenging garments which were dresses (images above) and the last garments I made were the pair of trouser and the capes; by the time I finished my last garments, I was glad the process ended smoothly. The images below are of the finished garments on a professional photoshoot.
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drying after painted.
Final garments
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In conclusion, I have loved every aspect of this project. It has also been a learning process that I have learnt from the challenges as well as the joys I experienced. Choosing my fabrics was perhaps my biggest challenge; it is not something I liked doing. I realised good quality fabrics were more expensive. The making process took longer than I anticipated however I enjoyed making them. Depending on the work I have done with Sensation, I have developed far much better than I ever imagined I would.
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Reference List;
Figure 20 (2015) All Russian competition of Masters Silver Bobbin lace. Available at; http://www.stfond.ru/meropriyatie.htm?id=9432 Accessed on; 20/02/2015
Figure 8. Discover, Enjoy, Experience Santa Barbara. ILOILO (2015) Belgium Lace making. Available at; http://experiencesantabarbara.blogspot.co.uk/ Accessed on; 01/01/201
Figures 11 and 12 at Victoria and Albert Museum (2015) South Kensington, London.
Fillet lace (2015) History: Fillet lace is. Available at; http://www.filetlace.net/history Accessed on; 04/ 01 2015
Goldberg, S. L. (2015) Lace. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lace,_Its_Origin_and_History Accessed on 20/01/2015
Hager, L. (2009) Venetian Red: History of Lace in seven portraits. Queen Elizabeth I. Avalaible on: http://venetianred.net/2009/07/08/a-history-of-lacein-seven-portraits-queen-elizabeth-i/ Accessed on 28/12/2014
Lace (2015) Making in Nord/Pas-de-C. History of Lace making by hand and Machine Available at; http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tmheritage/background/lace.htm Accessed on; 29/12/ 2014
Local Histories (2015)History of Nottingham. http://www.localhistories.org/nottingham.html Accessed on; 25/03/2015
Plauener Spitze (2015) Modern German Lace Available at; http://moderngermanlace.com/history.html Accessed on; 04/01/2015
Queen Elizabeth I 1533-1603 (2015) Elizabeth I. Available at; http://www.elizabethi.org/ Accessed on; 30/03/2015
Style.com (2015) Comme des Garcons. Autumn/Winter Ready To Wear 2014 Available at; http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashion-shows/fall-2010-readyto-wear/comme-des-garcons/collection/31 Accessed on; 31/ 03 /2015
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Summer, K. (2015) Couturiere. Guide to Bridal lace. Available at: http://katherinesummer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bridal-laces.html Accessed on; 29/12/2014
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Williams-Alvarez, J. (2015) Engadget - What you need to know about laser cut clothing. Available at; http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/17/laser-cutclothing-explainer/ Accessed; 12/01/2015
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