By Frank Taplin
Creative Bio.
Frank (Francis) Taplin is a fashion designer based in Melbourne, Australia. He draws inspiration from the processes of quality garment construction, the beauty of raw materials, and the art of handworked craftsmanship in the age of mechanical and automated production. Frank’s practice primarily focuses on pushing the conventions of menswear tailoring, aiming to expose and express the hidden processes of construction in the final garment through advanced pattern making and artisanal handworking techniques.
As a recipient of the Australian Wool Education Trust grant, Frank was able to fully realise his collection with use of extremely high quality wool and timeless handmade construction. He was also selected to present this collection in the Melbourne Fashion Week Student Collections Runway, and was showcased in the Fleece to Fashion competition.
Statement.Design
A Perfectly Fitting Suit? Is a collection that explores the relationship between the structure and fluidity found in classic menswear tailoring. By introducing slashes and drapes throughout these garments, an interaction of structural and nonstructural form is explored. This further allows these otherwise familiar archetypes to be simultaneously viewed as new, unfamiliar garments. The nature of garment construction is also explored, the processes and techniques that go into creating garments that are often hidden come into the final execution. This reveals the beauty in seemingly incomplete elements of a garment, and ultimately fosters an amalgamation of all stages of a suit’s construction, from fitting to the final press.
The sculptural installations of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, notably the Wrapped Monuments (1970) and Wrapped Trees (1997-98), helped to contextualise this interaction of structure and lack thereof with the garments throughout the collection. Particularly useful was looking at both the final, finished artwork and the sketches and photos used in development. Importantly, the photos of the Installation of Wrapped Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II (Mulas, 1970) in Milan exhibited how the drapes would ‘fall’ off the garments, much like how these photos appear to show the fabric falling from these monuments, despite the opposite being true. Simultaneously, the transparency shown in the Wrapped trees inspired the idea of the drapes revealing another, previously hidden garment or lining, much like how the transparent fabric reveals the limbs and branches of the trees that it covers.
This concept of drapes ‘falling’ off the garment and revealing hidden details then branched into the idea of highlighting the processes of construction that goes into creating the final garment. Raw edges are left unfinished, and basting stitches from the construction stage remain on the final garment to highlight these details. This is all done to make the audience aware of the details of garment construction which are often forgotten and hidden, championing the handworked details that go into tailoring.
Brushed Flannel
Pinstripe Suiting
‘Denim’ Suiting
Wool
Wide
Brushed Suiting
Wool
Merino Single Jersey
Merino
Herringbone Suiting
Pinstripe Suiting
Merino Single Jersey
Striped Voile
“Denim” Suiting
Wool
Brushed Suiting
100% Wool
Wide
Striped Voile
Cotton
Credits: Frank Taplin (@frank_taplin)Garment Design, Illustration Patternamking, Garment Construction, Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Photography, Photo Editing
Additional Photography & EditingMonica Dragut (@monica_dragut_)
ModellingHari (@_sahar1j), Liam (@liamoliver), Jude (@7udas___)