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The Canadian festival Bass Coast has asked attendees to drop the feathers and war paint to ‘protect the dignity of aboriginal people’

25July 2014TextThomas Gorton

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Fashion and Art film.

#vimeo

Architecture in Fashion

Architectural design is being used more and more with fashion designers across the globe. The ideas for quirky structures, raw edges and unique fabric experiments all being adapted to enhance garments.

Designers such as Patrick Ervellis has been doing just that. Ervellis AW15 collection was said to be inspired by the mid-century architectural movement that embraces clean lines and unadorned materials such as concrete. The barbican centre is said to be the muse for Ervellis’ show. His designs are created to showcase architectural arrogance. For example, the British council estates, they are undesirable to look at with their often unpleasant and grotty exterior but is desirable or bearable to the people that have to live there.

The designer Phillip Lim is known for blending asymmetrical silhouettes into elegant apparel. He often looks at the architects Luis Barragán and Maya Lin. For Lim’s 10th year anniversary show for his label 3.1 he said he looked greatly at Maya Lin’s work calling himself a ‘huge fan’, Particularly taking an interest in the wavefield at storm king and her war memorial in D.C. Lim plays with the sculptural design by adding breezy black and white print, naturals and greens. Lim adds structure with black leather tunics, drawstring jackets and even plays on masculine and feminine design with the use of ruffles pleats and asymmetric hems.

“for the set of the spring 2016 show, we worked with the artist Maya Lin to create a sculptural installation made entirely of soil – the foundation of life.”

~ Philip Lim speaking in an interview for The Window, Barneys, New York, November 20th, 2015. Interviewed by Julia Savacool.

Talking about the Mexican architect Luis BarragánLim says:

“I am always drawn to images of his amazingly beautiful home in the suburbs of Mexico City,” Lim says. “The house encompasses a perfect mix of precision, light, colour, and shadow. This balance evokes a naive modernism that is timeless. I can feel the soul, the hands. Nothing is perfect, but it is precise.”

~ Phillip Lim, TEXT BY LYNE LUCIEN 186 Posted February 23, 2016

Following the work of these designers, in groups of 5 we took inspiration from the Leeds College of Art building. Drawing 4 different garment designs inspired by the architectural features around the College of art. By taking various aspects from our photographs we then collaborated creating one final design as a group. Together we were then set the task of creating our design entirely out of card board. Creating our three dimensional structure was extremely difficult as it often would not be classed as entirely wearable.

#architecture in fashion #LCA #leeds college of art

Fashion in The Future

The use of new technologies within the fashion industry is becoming more vastly resourced and not just used by the few. These new developments start opening many creative doors for the way designers generate ideas and produce garments.

The use of smart materials, 3D printing, laser cutting and micro electrons produce both stunning visual outcomes and new sustainable approaches for the fashion industry.

Laser cutting and 3D printing both have unique selling points and are often used by bespoke designers. Being able to use computer software such as Computer Aided Design (C.A.D.), designers can make each garment to fit a persons’ specific measurements. This form of garment production is also sustainable viable as it produces zero waste. By using a 3D printer the designers leave behind no waste by layering binding material on a powdered bed thus crating a 3 dimensional shape. By using C.A.D. you can enter the specific design measurements and the computer tells the printer what to do. Designers that have been quick to use these methods of design include Iris Van Herpen and Danit Peieg.

Most recently the invention of Fabrican hit the headlines across the world. The British company Fabrican has developed a way to bond and liquefy fibres so that they can be sprayed out of a can and straight onto the body to create a snug fitting and totally unique garment.

The process of manufacturing clothes can be very very slow and the creator, Dr Manel Torres wanted to speed up the process of production, Torres then got his inspiration from silly string and the spray formation. Each formulation has a different combination of fabrics, some with cotton, polyester and some more plastic based. You can then peel the garment off wash and reuse it. There is even a formula that can turn the then fabrics back into a liquid solution making it completely recyclable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019gcbj

Another innovative new technology being used by the brand CuteCiruit. CuteCircuit is a brand pushing the boundaries of wearable technology with the us of micro-electronics. Created in 2004 CuteCircuit is the worlds first fashion label creating fashion wearable technology collections. Their first line ‘Pret-a-porter’ launched in 2010. They then showed the ready to wear collection at New York fashion week and Haute Couture shows around the globe.

The brands ‘Supertwinkle Dress’ is a mini dress that reacts to the wearers movement by changing colour. This dress is machine washable and can even be recharged by USB. Another garment from the brands ready to wear collection is the ‘Hug Shirt’. The Hug Shirt is a T-shirt that allows you to hug a friend over distance. This is the worlds first haptic telecommunication garment.

“We see garments like the HugShirt or the Mirror Handbag becoming displays of our state of mind, a magical tool for sharing emotions with our friends close and far away”. - Francesca Rosella talking to Lucia Longhi for the website ‘Digiculture’.

http://www.digicult.it/news/cutecircuit-interactive-technology-haute-couture/

To develop this concept into our own work we looked at developing a brand and pitching it to our class our group looked at 3D printing.

3D printing allows you to create a one off, bespoke clothing printed for specific body types. these is a range of different materials you can print with and a range of colours. You can construct thousands of interconnecting components which are both linked and articulate to create a substrate that is both structural and has fluid movement.

The brand our group developed was called AXIS. We established a target market, a slogan and unique selling points for the garment. We also had a team making initial designs based on research into bespoke 3D printing companies that already existed.

We then presented our research to the class and answered any questions about 3D printing and our designs.

Fashion and Art

Clothing collectively brings warmth and waterproof qualities to our day to day life. Fashion is the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration or behaviour whereas art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination.

Some argue fashion and art are two completely separate things that can not be interchanged, classing fashion merely an industry to meet consumer needs and art as an actual expression of emotion and skill. Michael Boordo- the editor in chief of ELLE magazine – clearly states his theory on art and fashion believing that art is above business often referring to it as the art ‘world’ instead of ‘industry’.

‘Art is art and fashion is an industry’ – Boodro (1990) ‘art and fashion’ in weathers and lillethun, 2007, pg256

Boordo believes that Art is typically private, the creation of an individual, fashion is public, a collaboration between designer, manufacturer, and wearer and then between wearer and viewer. Although he may be factually correct that does not stop fashion being an expression of your inner self, much like art. Thus bringing me to look at the work of Alexander McQueen.

Alexander McQueen pushed the boundaries and limitations of fashion through his life. This can be shown largely in his Spring Summer 1999 collection. Within his show McQueen explores the use of new technologies within the industry and creates a stunning one of a kind dress live on the catwalk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnA3XR5apQg

To McQueen it was not just another fashion show, it was performance art. His initial inspiration for the performance was by an exhibition piece by Rebecca Horn. Horn is best known for her installation art, often becoming obsessed with drawing with expressive strokes as it was less confining then the spoken word. One of Horns most famous exhibition was of two machine guns spraying paint onto a wall in large strokes.

To show fashion and art in the same way as McQueen, in pairs we produced a 360 degree print. We initially started with continuous line drawing on our garment as we deemed this the best way to connect a 360 print. we then used media such as water colours, felt pen and string to add depth to our work.

We then undertook the challenge of creating a short fashion film using cardboard garments we had produced in our Architecture in fashion lesson. Within our fashion film we anted to portray the message of being confined to one shape and structure by the world and its generic perception of how we should look. At the end of the film we show the model breaking free from her limitations and becoming her inner self.

“[The finale of this collection] was inspired by an installation by artist Rebecca Horn of two shotguns firing blood-red paint at each other.”- Alexander McQueen to “Style,” South China Morning Post, September 2007

Gender

Gender is a key role in the reproduction and regeneration of our world. Depending on wether we are male or female it can alter the activities it is seen as socially acceptable or ‘okay’ to do. Nowhere does this ‘Gender Norm’ way of thinking come into play more than in the world of fashion.

Despite fashion being seen as a way to express your individuality, why is it not socially acceptable for men t go around wearing pink flowery dresses if they see fit? Or in summer, why is it seen as vulgar if women walk around with no tops on despite men being able to do just that?.

As a collective we should all be free to do, say and dress how we wish without being suppressed. People such as Grayson Perry often defy the stereotypical way of life. Perry is most famously known for being an artist, producing pieces such as ceramic vases. He is also well known for being a cross dresser. Perry calls his alter ego ‘Clare’ and from an early age he knew he liked to dress up in women’s clothing.

“Just because you don’t have a dress on doesn’t stop you from being a tranny” - Grayson Perry talking to Simon Hatterstone for the Guardian, Wednesday 8th October 2014

Perry was disowned by his parents for cross dressing as a child and was rarely able to express his true self. However this has not stopped Perry from having various girlfriends, a wife and children. All of whom embrace his dress sense and quirky style.

Another activist for gender defiance was the pop star David Bowie. Much like Grayson Perry, Bowie created his own stage persona called Ziggy stardust

‘Ziggy was for me a very simplistic thing… other people re read him and contributed more information about Ziggy than I had put into him’ -1997 interview, David Bowie talks about Ziggy Stardust https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81H5PT7ANjc

Ziggy often wore feminine blouses and silhouette enhancing garments such as his iconic black and white pinstripe jumpsuit. At the time this was extremely innovative and caused quite a stir in the music industry as how a ‘rock artist’ could dress in such a way. Bowie went on to inspire many musicians such as the lead singer of the rock band The Darkness, Justin Hawkins, in not just the way he sounded but the way he dressed.

Many designers have also followed suit, trying to interchange the roll of men’s and women’s fashion through tailoring, darts and style. This can be seen in the SS16 collection by CHIN. He uses typical women’s blouses and tailoring on men often adding bows and making crop tops as if to emphasise the male bust. This feminine way of pleating and layering crosses the border of Gender within fashion.

Following this guideline for design in class we had to buy a male shirt and add darts, ruffles, pleats and collars to cross the line between male and female design. Brooke and I purchased a plane white T-shirt and decided to crop it in length. We added darts onto the front to create more of a curved female shape and also added darts on the back. We then cut off the sleeves and added a feminine blue collar.

This typically male shirt eventually ended up looking like it was designed for a female originally more than a male.

Following on from this i decided to follow in the footsteps of High street giants such as Selfridges and H&M and make a campaign about gender neutrality. Developed in 2015 the Selfridges ‘Agender’ campaign was started as the Selfridges fashion department realized that both men and women are divulging into the other sex’s clothing departments. The specially curated collection epitomizes the best genderless fashion from labels across the globe.

H&M’s ‘Genderless Denim’. The gender fluid collection offers an overall relaxed fit approach to fashion with Jeans, shorts and button up shirts as well as dungarees.

My images show typically male and female genders in the same clothing to show the fluidity of fashion. Neither sex was defined by the items of clothing, allowing them to be worn confidently by both. Allowing the clothing to be styled in a similar fashion allows audiences to define the gender of each item themselves.

Sustainability

~ Meeting the needs of the present without composing the ability of future generations and their own needs.

With the worlds growing population and decreasing room we are experiencing what is known as ‘Land Squash’. Land squash is effectively the amount of Hectors of land there is per person. In 1900 there were 7.9 Hectors per person where as in 2050 there is predicted to be 1.63 Hectors of land per person.

To support our ever growing population we have to start thinking of sustainable solutions to the worlds problems. Sustainable development, sustainable growth and sustainability are three very different ideological ideas. Sustainable growth embraces the idea that nothing physical can grow indefinitely. Sustainable use, is only applicable to renewable resources and sustainable development is the idea that improving the quality of human life can be done whilst still living in the carrying capacity of the ecosystems.

Within the fashion industry we need to generate ideas for sustainability with the production of our garments. To do this you have to start at the initial production of our materials.

“most things are not built for the needs of people, but the needs of the manufacture”

Papandek, 1983, p46

Cotton accounts for over 40% of the worlds total fibre production with 80 countries around the world producing cotton such as China, India and the United States of America.

Farmers in the USA apply nearly one-third of a pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for every pound of cotton harvested. In underdeveloped countries - where regulations are less stringent- the amount of pesticides used in cotton production reach extremely harmful levels. This is not only destroying the farm land the crops are produced on, destroying our eco system but putting the farmers in ill health. In Egypt, more than 50% of cotton workers in the 1990s suffered symptoms of chronic pesticide poisoning. The world health organisation estimates that at least three million people are poisoned by pesticides every year and 20-40,000 are killed. To reduce the number of deaths we should all promote the use of organic cottons. Organic cotton producers ban the use of chemicals and pesticides used in its growth.

Producing cotton organically not only reduces the cost for farmers but makes it more sustainable to produce as it is not damaging the ground its grown on. Organic cotton is also hand picked, this means less waist is produced than picking using defoliants.

Once our garments are produced, shipped across the world and dropped off at warehouses this eventually produces a lot of waist. This is known as the Linier fashion model. The liner fashion model tells us that 61% of our clothes are sent straight to landfill within 3-6 months of being bought. With less and less resources and more consumers the waist rate is only set to get higher. The fashion industry needs to CLOSE THE LOOP of the liner model and rethink to fit the Circular fashion model.

PUNK

“Punk was not a ground-swell expression of the angst of the working-class unemployed, but rather the emancipation of the nervous adolescent; the sensitive misfit taking on the adult world by adopting an extremist parody of nihilism. Punks were non-violent; their aggression was staged and symbolic.” Tony Thorne (1994) Fads, Fashions and Cults: From Acid House to Zoot Suit. First Edition. Bloomsbury Pub Ltd.pg.209

The immediate thought of the term ‘punk rock’ tends to make the audience think of green Mohawks, leather jackets and a lifestyle consisting of sex, drugs and rock and roll. However, after thoroughly researching this unique and iconic fashion movement, I have come to realise that it is more importantly an evolving shape shifter.

In order to create a reaction within society, people on the street formed a movement that heavily reflected their views, moods and opinions through their style.

The overall look for this expression was based on hard edges, defined lines and mainly consisted of zippers and chunky oversized pieces, mixed with oversized garments.

The use of tartan was a crucial aesthetic within the punk rock era due to its remarkable status as a cloth. It’s association with royalty made it the perfect textile for a range of clothing (especially as it aimed to express anarchy, alienation and sedation through fashion).

Another effective tool within punk flair was colour. This was used to accentuate mood, identity and personality as it is such a source of creative expression.

‘’Though public reaction to Punks was initially one of dismay and fear, as the decade progressed aspects of the style began to be commercialised and upgraded until they eventually filtered into both mass market fashion and high fashion” Valerie Mendes (1999) 20th Century Fashion. Edition. Thames & Hudson. pg. 222

The shocking, outrageous and unique qualities of the Punk trend were diminished when they became popular within the fashion industry, it was no longer alternative, as the key aspects of the Punk style began to be accepted by the fashion industry and commercialised. Punk ceased to be dangerous, it lost its edge, and the movement faded.

Claire Wilcox, 2004. Vivienne Westwood. First Edition. V&A Publications.

Monica Sklar, 2014. Punk Style (Subcultural Style). Edition. Bloomsbury Academic.

Semiotics

Semiotics is the theory of the production and interpretation of meaning. Semiotics can even be the visual representation of meaning through symbols.

There are various semiotic theories, one of the most well known being from the Swiss linguist Feline de Saussure (1857-1913).

Saussure took meaning from how each language has its own interpreted language and how they are expressed by different kinds of grammatical structure. For example, the world hello uses different symbols in Chinese or Russian than it does in English.

Saussure wrote a book called ‘Course in General Linguistics’. This book summarises his lectures at the University of Geneva from 1906-11. In this book he stated,

‘Language is a structured system of signs’.

Semiotics not only carefully observe and study signs, symbols and their meanings but also other factors that affect them such as interpretation and culture. Signs and symbols are not only limited to visual representation but can also vary from language, shapes, colours, textures, clothing, to actions, gestures, mannerisms, and facial expressions.

Using this visual representation of Semiotics in class i worked on this theory by using images and text from magazines to be a suggestive medium much like a symbol.

I was given the task of creating three different responses suggesting different stories and meanings. My first included a high fashion image taken from September Vogue. There is a man and woman in the moody, grunge-esk shot. The male has his back turned to the camera showing his top that reads ‘GET OFF MY DICK’. the female looks almost unhappy with the vulgar slogan sprawled across his back. To play on this i added a magazine title about violent thugs and the article that went with it. The suggestion that the male was a violent character was the essence of the work.

My next piece of work was another high fashion image, this time taken from October 2016 Vogue. At the top of the image it read,

‘its what people want in their lives, a bit of romance and a beautiful man’.

To play on the quote i got an image of Robert Kardashian - a once beautiful man from a well followed reality Television family who may by some be seen to have his beauty diminished due to his recent weight gain. I then put quotations with it such as ‘Daddy dearest’ and ‘risky romance’ playing on the sexual aspect within relationships.

My final collage showed a woman posing infant of a caged object, shielding her naked torso from the camera. In media and our culture in general nipples and ‘erotic’ features are often censored to protect younger audiences that may stumble across these images.

Despite this in one magazine there was yet another naked woman proudly showing her torso off to the camera. The difference between the two women’s bodies was that one woman had nipples and there for could not show them and the other had suffered the tragic loss of the majority of her breasts due of cancer.

I wanted to make a point of highlighting this taboo subject. Why is it that women are not allowed to show their nipples in magazines despite almost every human and even animals having them yet it is perfectly okay to show a woman who has had the removal of her nipples. I believe that not just nipples but sexuality should be more freely expressed thought the media. This could make children more accepting at a young age of different body images and even help defeat many mental disorders that are related to personal image.

The Movement of Punk

Punk fashion was a pivotal point for 1970s youth not just in the terms of fashion but also culture and general life with many factors causing the radical shift at the time.

In the 1960s Laura Ashley brought out a clean and natural range of clothing intended for what is now known as the Hippy. This style of bohemian floaty fabric circulated in popular fashion for fifteen years before it made way for the Disheveled attire we know as Punk fashion.

In stark contrast to the previous neutral toned lose fitting garments worn by the Hippies, Punk clothing was almost entirely black and intentionally menacing.

During the sixties and seventies whole areas of London had been demolished to make way for the high rise buildings that come with regeneration. However, with a deepening recession and money running short this left dead cities. These derelict sites turned into an ideal Punk playground.

The new generation celebrated the decay in the cities where they could quite literally run riot, letting their creative vision come out in full force.

London punk was dominated by two major groups; the Sex Pistols - resigning in Chelsea, World End/ SOHO - and the clash.

The Sex Pistols were put together in Malcom McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s shop on Kings Road, Chelsea.

Westwood and McLaren were said to have paved the way for Punk with its various chains, drastic combinations and edges flare being shown on their catwalk in the 1970s and intending to shock the world. Fetishistic Leathers, rubber and PVC plastics were the materials of choice for Westwood and could be found in her SEX shop on Kings Road.

‘Hairstyles, makeup and jewellery also played their part in the punk look... Day-Glo colours... Mohican spikes... blackened eyelids... extreme piercings’.

- 20th Century Fashion, Page 222, by Valerie Mendes and Amy De La Haye

‘What does punk mean for you personally?... A way to express my sexuality, a way to change the culture and in doing so life...’.

-Punk, no one is innocent, Page 196 by Kunsthaile Wien

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