systematic collision Tabitha Lazenbury N0730158 BA (Hons) Textile Design Embroidery
introduction My project entitled ‘systematic collision’ stemmed from my photographs in Nottingham and Paris exploring the relationship between line, openings and form within architecture. I chose to produce a collection of innovative fashion accessories for womenswear that reflect threedimension structures that I have observed. With a focus on design responsibility I designed
my pieces to be worn in a multitude of ways increasing their functionality.
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concept I have selected Icelandic singer/ songwriter Bjork to be my muse because she is particularly known
for wearing eye catching costume pieces for performances and red carpet which are heavily manipulated, many of which possess a metallic quality, which is featured in my colour pallet. I have drawn inspiration from artists and designers who work three dimensionally, such as Daniel Widrig who works with wire to create a network of geometric structures in instillations and furniture. His work has informed my own wire manipulation and collage work. Daniel has also collaborated with Iris Van Herpen to create polyimide 3D printed
pieces which sit on the neck and retain an element of translucency, a quality that I have been exploring in my material choice. In visiting the Christian Dior’s exhibition at the V&A, I was influenced by his Spring/ Summer 2007 dress designed by John Galliano showcasing crisp folds within the material emulating a rhythmic structured pattern. Fig 2
colour and trend Working with forecasts from Trend Union, I was drawn to ways of layering small pieces of cut leather to build up a textured surface across the body. ‘Collectioni’ Trends magazine featured a spread for their Spring/Summer 2019 forecast, showcasing designers such as Giorgio Armani using large iridescent sequins in combination with sheer materials. Responding to the trend, I sourced and utilised iridescent sequins to embellish within my collar piece. Angular shapes, such as in Libby Stanion’s textiles, were prominent throughout my contextual research, influencing the way in which I created sharp folds in repetition within my work. ‘Aesthetica’ trends magazine provided some shape and colour influences for my collection. The article ‘Balanced Perspective’ allowed me to select the tonal pink and blue pastels which featured in his urban photography, which I then utilised in my colour pallet.
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final colour palette
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Creating material pallets were really helpful when it came to developing my final colour pallet as some materials when layered together such as the pink and the gold silk organza created a different bronze colour in the light. I could also assess the proportion of colour required for each sample and work out which tones worked best alongside each other. This process was particularly important in my bondina samples which had contrasting materials bonded back to back.
market research I have designed a bespoke fashion accessories collection for womenswear marketed for an independent designer/maker level. James Merry, who designs accessory pieces for Bjork, would be an example of a competing designer within my market. His moulded headwear piece featuring beading and wire work inspired my own use of silicone, sourced from a bath mat and cut to embellish around a collar. I am also drawn to Fred Butler’s fashion accessory designs which feature large scale flamboyant and dynamic shapes, some of which maintain the geometric structures that underpin my concept.
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process and technique The way in which I typically worked during this project was I began by creating a collage, cutting up photography and scans of my visual research to create a pattern. Printing my CAD repeat designs which I produced from my jacquard workshop onto
acetate proved successful as they later became a feature in my final samples. I also worked with paper folding and wire manipulation to envision three-dimensional shaping across the body. Visualisations helped me to decide placement and scale of these shapes. And the final stage was to translate these ideas through an appropriate material, constantly returning to the manakin to check the fit with the natural curves of the body.
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design responsibility In regards to design responsibility I have researched into designing reversable garments; Victor and Ralf’s 2006 ‘upside down collection’
featured garments that are constructed in such a way to be worn upside down increasing their versatility. Designing multi-way garments can help to achieve sustainable development goal 12 ‘responsible consumption and production’ due to the fact that the garment has more than one end use. I have been taking steps to produce fashion accessories that can be placed on the body in a variety of Fig 11
different ways.
Within my project I have also addressed designing for emotional durability and product longevity. Jane Bowler creates bespoke garments with a passion for preserving craftsmanship, inspiring others through teaching and workshops. Through my work I will be engaging with hand crafts such as beading. Creating and buying into products with such detail and time investment can crease emotional durability, thus increase product longevity.
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final samples and visualisations I have produced a cohesive collection of fashion accessory samples responding successfully to my brief. Producing playful visualisations allowed me to imagine Bjork representing them in
a performance or awards ceremony event. I feel my colour pallet has been interpreted well, having pops of the metallic gold and iridescent sequins complimenting the natural creams. I have tackled the element of design responsibility with regards to versatility of products; being able to wear them in a variety of places across the body with fastening components strengthens their desirability and product longevity. To improve, I feel I could develop my use of bugle beads raising the
surface of the samples and adding another dimension to contribute more towards emotional durability of the product. It was a huge help to constantly refer back to the manakin to keep documenting the application of samples making sure they could hold their shape and fit. Working with wire really gave me the ability to manipulate fabric in a dynamic way.
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To conclude, the minor workshops opened
my eyes to new inter-disciplinary techniques, even though I didn’t use the jacquard weaves in this collection, it has inspired me to push this in final year incorporating multi head digital embroidery on top.
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BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
bibliography
Aestetica Issue 87. March 2019 Braddock, S. (2007) Techno Textile 2 Brand, J. (2007). Fashion and accessories. Collectioni Donna Issue 180. Spring Summer 2019 Fukai, A (et al. 2010) Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion. Gaunlett, D (2011) The Meaning of Making II: Craft Today. Polity Press. P63 Grant, B ((2009) Leather Braiding. Atglen, PA : Cornell Maritime Press Keays, D (1985) The Book of Smocking Kiberberly, A (2016) Surface Design for Fabric. New York: Bloomsbury Muller, F (2017) Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams. London: Victoria and Albert Museum. Nakamichi, T (2010) Pattern Magic. Nash, J (2009) Enough: Breaking Free from a world of Excess. Great Britain: Holder and Stoughton. Revere, D (2019) Slash: Paper Under the Knife. Sterlacci, F (2010) Leather Fashion Design. London: Lawrence King. Twigger-Holroyd (2017) Folk Fashion: Understanding homemade clothes. London: I.B Tauris & Co. Vogue. March 2019. Jodie Vivre spread p235-239 Williams, 1997: 132. (2017) Practices of Looking an introduction to visual culture. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. WEBSITES (2019) Cocooned by Floating Textiles. Nuno Textiles. Rio: The Barony Centre [Online] Available at: https:// www.riomagazine.co.uk/2012/11/cocooned-by-floating-textiles/?doing_wp_cron=1408486611.7117838859558105468750 {Accessed on: 19/04/19)
(2019) Frac Centre: Life after architecture. [Online] Available at: http://www.frac-centre.fr/index.php?lang=2 (Accessed on: 07/04/19) (2019) Reversible Design: Trend Hunter. [Online] Available at: https://www.trendhunter.com/protrends/reversible-design (Accessed on 17/04/19) (2019) Ruched Sleeve Blazer [Online]. Available at: newlook.com/shop/womens/jackets-and-coats/grey-ruched-sleeve-blazer_504215109 (accessed on 12/04/19) (2019) Unquiola, P [Online] Available at: http://www.patriciaurquiola.com/ (Accessed on: 12/04/19) Bailey, F (2017) Broken is Beautiful. Invictus [Online] Available at: http://arsenicandoldplace.com/2017/11/03/broken-isbeautiful/ (Accessed on 09/04/19) Frank, A (2015) A Visual History of Bjork on the Eve of her MoMA Retrospective: The Nineties, The Noughties and Now. Vogue. [Online] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/bjork-moma-art-show-retrospective-videos (Accessed on 12/03/19) Goodwin, C (2009) Hive Studio [Online] Available at: http://www.hive-studio.co.uk/ (accessed on 19/04/19) Herpen, I (2019) Official website[Online] Available at: https://www.irisvanherpen.com/ (Accessed on: 10/04/19) Magner, A (2011) A Handmade Nation. [Online] Available at https://www.kanopy.com/product/handmade-nation (accessed on: 28/02/19) Mantovani, M (2019) Cudio in 3D – 3D Leather. [Online[ Available at: https://martamantovanidesign.com/en/ (Accessed on 18/04/19) Medlock, J (2014). Loughborough Textile Graduates. Flair. [Online] Available at: http://www.lboro-textiles-graduates.co.uk/ multimedia-2011/jessica-hope-medlock/ (Accessed on: 12/04/19) Merry, J. Silicone Headpiece for Bjork with wire and pearls. James Merry. [Online] Available at: https://www.jtmerry.com/ (Accessed on 12/04/19) Plishka, A. (2019) Bees Beside Us By Amt Plishka. Design Indaba. [Online] Available at: http://www.designindaba.com/articles/ creative-work/bees-beside-us-amy-pliszka (Accessed on 09/04/19) Ralf, et al. (2019) Upside Down. Victor and Ralf [Online] Available at: http://www.viktor-rolf.com/fashion-artists/fashionarchive/s2006rtw/ (Accessed on: 18/04/19) Stanion, L (2019) Embroidery, Ask Why [Online] Available at: http://degreeshow.mmu.ac.uk/2012/LibbyStanion/ [Accessed on: 19/04/19) Widrig, D (2019) Steel Armchair Creation. Materials Architecture Lab [Online] Available at: http://www.danielwidrig.com/ index.php?back (Accessed on: 11/04/19)
EXHIBITIONS AND TRIPS Paris Premier Vision February 2019 Focus Chelsea Design Labour Festival September 2018 Victoria and Albert Museum Christian Dior Designer of Dreams March 2019, London Saatchi Gallery Kaleidoscope exhibition March 2019, London The Nottingham Contemporary. Daniel Stegmann ‘The World is a world for forest’ and Elizabeth Price ‘Felt Tip’ February 2019 The Louvre Paris 2019 Merci Concept Store Paris 2019 The Museum of decorative Arts Paris 2019 Textile Biophilia, Broadway Gallery Nottingham February 2019.
list of illustrations Fig 1: Photography of Nottingham and Paris including the Louvre and The Nottingham Contemporary. Fig 2: Concept board Fig 3: Photo by Armin Morbach. Trend Union Spring Summer 2017 Fig 4: Libby Stanion textiles folded piece Fig 5: ‘Aesthetica’ magazine trends magazine ‘Balanced Perspective’ Issue 83 Fig 6: Final Colour and materials Pallet Fig 7: Fred Butler fashion accessory design. Autumn Winter 2011. Fig 8: James Merry. Silicone facepiece for Bjork, hand sculpted and painted silicone, wire and pearls. Fig 9: Jane Bowler beaded fashion accessory Fig 10: Process and techniques including wire sculpture and collage. Fig 11: Victor and Ralf 2006 ‘Upside Down’ collection Fig 12: Visualisation of head and arm piece Fig 13: Pleated and folded arm cuff and bondina shoulder piece Fig 14: Organza and nylon bonded manipulated belt. Fig 15: View of back positioning of layered bondina chest/body piece. Fig 16: Final collection board Fig 17: Embroidered silicone nd sequin Collar Piece Fig 18: Wired Silicone edged shoulder and back piece.