Research Area One

For my ranking project, I have been asked to use one of the five following words as a starting point for my theme development. However, for my research week, I have been asked to research and develop potential ideas from all five so that, I can explore a variety of concepts.

 The five themes are;

• Enclosure
• Decay
• Tribal
• Electric
• Memories

Enclosure

• Architectural design- green house
• Cage- bird cage
• Skeleton- rib cage, skull
• Skin

Valentino Haute Couture 2010

Decay

•  Skin- diseases,
• Bones
• Rust- texture, colour
• Dead organic matter

   

Tribal

• Tribes- African, South American, Native American, Asian, Australia
• Culture- clothing, jewellery, weapons
• Prints- animals, fruits
• Colour- vibrancy, bold
• Animals
• Climate

     

Safari animals i.e. zebras, cheetahs, giraffes etc. are good source for textile prints in clothing. They provide a bold pattern that allows us to identify with the tribal concept within a garment.

Electric

• Lights- neon, bulbs, thunder and lightning
• Power - buttons,switches
• Communication- power lines, telepoles
• Energy

Memories

• Historical Events- wartime, 40's, 50's, 60's etc.
• Youth- dolls, playground
• Childrens Stories- Tim Burton
• Dreams- Clouds, Deja-vu
• Photogaphy- camera, polaroids



Fabric Manipulation

Firstly, I investigated and researched the following techniques; Quilting, Folding/ Origami, Pleating, Gathering, Twisting and Boning of Fabric, and furthermore, selected a wide variety of references to see how these techniques are used in garments.

Quiting is a sewing method used to join two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded fabric.

Balenciaga, Fall 2011

Balenciaga, Spring 2011

Yohji Yamamoto, Spring 2011

Folding/Origami

Origami is a traditional Japaneese art of paper folding. However, it is commonly used in fashion design. Many fashion designers gain inspiration from origami art and therefore, create designs based on their interpertations of this technique. Such designers include Sandra Backlund, Gareth Pugh, Alexandra Verschueren and so on.

Alexandra Verschueren

Greth Pugh

Pleating is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. Pleating is commonly used in garments.

Viktor and Rolf

Gathering is a sewing technique for shortening the length of a strip of fabric so that the longer piece can be attached to a shorter piece. It is commonly used in clothing to manage fullness, as when a full sleeve is attached to the armscye or cuff of a shirt, or when a skirt is attached to a bodice.

 Viktor and Rolf

Twisting

 Prada, Spring 2009

Lanvin

Boning of Fabric

Boning consists of rigid or semi rigid strips that provide strucutre and support to garments worn close to the body. Boning prevents the garment from sagging down and instead creates form and shape to the design.

 Alexander McQueen

Valentino



Knit Techniques

I began my research by investigating a variety of stitch patterns i.e rib stitch, moss stitch, cable stitch, tubular knitting etc. I then, using books, magazines and internet access, researched the guidlines on how to create these particular stitches.I selected numerous images to reference my theory. I also researched various fashion designers who use or have used these knit techniques in their collections.

By studying other fashion designers' knitwear, I found that the most common knit techniques used were ribbing, shaping (increasing and decreasing), loop stitching and tubular knitting.

 Loop Stitch

It is possible to produce a looped pile or shaggy-like fabric using the the loop stitch technique. I, personally, admire the purpose of this technique as it enables me to visualise a fluffy yet rugged texture. It also provides fullness and quality craftship to the fabric piece.

Rodarte, Spring 2005

Rib Stitch

Sandra Backlund, a swedish fashion designer, is well known for her origami inspired knitwear. Much of her knit techniques refer back to those I have studied. Tubular knitting and ribbing can be easily identified within her designs. I love how she creates volume and form using these patterns and techniques.

 

Hussein Chayalan is a fashion designer I greatly admire. His designs continue to blow me away every season. His collections are all about form and using various media. His work entails much thought and careful consideration.

Lady Gaga is a fan of Hussein Chayalan's designs. She is found wearing many of his designs to different celebrity events making a well known contemporary designer.

Here, I started to experiment on the mannequin different ideas and designs using my three fabrics. I found the process very helpful as i was able to see how the garments became a reality and how they responded with the body. The leatherette was definitely my favourite material to work with as it seemed to do what you told it to do. It enabled me to seek form in my designs.

Final line up

 For my final line-up, I wanted to make sure that each of my six looks varied in lengths and were made up of different garments.However, it was vital that they each of them resembled one another regarding shape and form.