Grace Sharkey @k00270754 - Tumblr Blog

Patchwork Moodboard S/S 22

Patchwork in Contemporary Art

They made quilts to keep the cold at bay. And their bold creations ended up being hailed as masterpieces – the visual equivalent of jazz and

The craft of quilting has been around for centuries, and has more recently emerged as a serious art form in its own right. Fiona McKenzie Jo

The Harry Styles Crochet Cardigan Epidemic 2020

DIY projects such as, knitting, crochet and learning how to sew yourself was rediscovered by generation Z and many others following the 2020 pandemic when everyone was forced to stay at home and find new things to do with all their free time. With the help of TikTok, Harry Styles brought some much deserved attention to this now infamous JW Anderson crocheted patchwork cardigan in 2021 when he was seen wearing it during a rehearsal for his performance on The Today Show in February.

The original version sold for £1,250 but was recreated for much cheaper by Styles fans who wanted to have their own. JW Anderson however, embraced the trend and decided to share the pattern for free so that more people could join in on the fun. After all slow, sustainable practices like this are ones that should be encouraged to promote a slow circular model of fashion in Spring/Summer 22.

"You never really own a design anyway. You have to let go of it."- Johnathan Anderson

This epidemic of 'cottage core' crafting amongst 'Gen-zers' is a great example of the power of social media and TikTok in particular, in this generation to spread new trends fast as it makes it accessible to a much wider audience and the welcoming community makes everyone want to jump on the bandwagon and get involved too.

After xrochet enthusiasts on TikTok turned a luxury cardigan into a viral trend, the brand is offering a pattern to DIY the knit yourself.

Mark Jan Krayenhoff

“His philosophy stems from architectural thinking: a drive for the tectonic, for organic wholeness, and for total formal integration”

This architect turned designer has a very interesting take on patchwork similar to the jogakbo style of patchwork that I researched previously. Mark has a unique approach to fashion design that stems from his background in architecture, he using architectural software, AutoCAD which he's been using for over twenty years.

The use of materials in his patchwork shirts is a crucial part of what makes his designs so unique as the light shines through similar to stained glass.

Jogakbo- Traditional Korean Style of Patchwork

Jogakbo is traditionally used to make domestic wrapping cloths in Korea from left over fabric scraps. The concept of conserving everything that is used comes from the ideas of frugality and simplicity during the Joseon dynasty (1392 – 1910).

"A jogakbo is comprised of scraps of one type of fabric, such as cotton, silk or ramie , hemp or even paper. The scraps are sewn together using a triple-stitched seaming technique known as gekki, which results in a sealed, flat seam and gives the jogakbo their distinctive 'window pane' appearance. Patches are joined into squares and extended in an irregular, improvisatory fashion until a cloth reaches the required size. The jogakbo can include several colours composing a modern abstract pattern, or be made of one single-colour."

I find the use of transparent fabrics in the Jogakbo patchwork particularly interesting as it seems to create a stained glass effect as light shines through it. When the fabrics overlap different colours show through making a very unique pattern. The This geometric patchwork trousers and top was made by Chunghie Lee, a Korean textile designer in 1992. The loose, relaxed shape of the trousers also derives from traditional Hanbok dress in pre-modern Korea.

Trousers | Lee, Chunghie | V&A Explore The Collections (vam.ac.uk)

V&A · Jogakbo – Traditional Korean Patchwork (vam.ac.uk)

Jasper Conran

"Jasper Conran OBE has remained one of the most respected British designers throughout his career, dressing everyone from royalty to the Royal Ballet while stylishly clothing the British public. His talent has extended beyond fashion into performing arts, interiors and more recently into travel, with his first hotel in Marrakech.

Born in London, he studied at Parsons School of Design before launching his first collection for Henri Bendel in New York City."

Jasper Conran, OBE, is a British designer. Jasper Conran produced his first womenswear collection in 1978. Discover Jasper Conran London, hi

These pieces have been taken from his Spring Summer 2014 Collection. They are bright, summery and youthful, reminiscent of the 'hippy era' of the 1960s and 70's. Since the pandemic I have started to notice a lot more people becoming interested in craft and DIY projects which explains why patchwork is becoming so popular again. It is a trend that I think will never truly go away as it will always have a place in sustainable fashion as we start to think of the endless creative way that we can reuse fabric scraps and tackle the throw away culture that we've become so used of.

Trends Forcasting Board S/S 22

A background of the origins and history of patchwork

Research- Patchwork Patterns

Draping my 'field' landscape patches on the mannequin to explore possibilities for designs

F r e n c h F i e l d s

I took this photo from an airplane when I was traveling to France a few years ago. I was amazed by the bright, contrasting colours. They all seemed to slot into each other so nicely like pieces of a puzzle very similar to patchwork.

I recreated my own version using fabric scraps and placing them in different directions to resemble the fields.

Richard Malone

Richard Malone showcased a fully recycled leather patchwork look in his S/S 22 collection. The look was made using cut offs from previous projects, which would mean that they would habe been limited into the design that they could make and the placement of the patches.

The process of patchwork is extremely sustainable and allows for creativity to flourish as you can only work with what you have. Due to the nature how these pieces are made from scraps it also means that each piece is one of a kind.

This is another patchwork top from Richard Malone, made using jersey fabric. It's interesting to see how the lighter more stretchy fabrics will react a lot differently when constructed in a patchwork.

| P A T C H W O R K |

Thinking about patchwork, the first thing that came to mind is how fields look from a birds eye view perspective. These photos were taken from Daily Overview, an excellent source where some of the world's most fascinating landscapes are captured and collected through aerial photographs.

There are so many possibilities to how these designs which are both manmade and naturally occurring in nature could be recreated and reimagined through the process of patchwork in a fashion design collection.

Artist Research: Alexandra Sipa

Alexandra Sipa uses discarded electrical materials to weave beautiful, intricate garments. " Sipa made the collection to make a small dent in the 50 million tonnes of electronic waste, called e-waste, that is discarded annually. The UN estimates the combined weight of electrical items thrown away each year could triple to 120 million tonnes by 2020. " https://www.dezeen.com/2020/09/15/alexandra-sipa-romanian-camouflage-central-saint-martins-fashion/

She learned her zero waste attitude from her native town Bacău in Romania. They believe that every object should be treated as a treasure and nothing should be discarded. Much of her inspiration is drawn from her Romanian heritage, especially from her grandmas house which included a lot mixed patterns, lace and dollies.

The unique process of her weaving came about quite simply by having lots of old headphones and charger cables lying around her apartment and she began to mess about with them, discovering she could weave them into a fabric. There are so many waste materials out there that could be in a similar way to create textiles. It is really inspiring to see designers such as Sipa use what is considered waste in her designs and has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of sustainable materials that I could use in my own work.

Artist Research: Aisling Duffy

Aisling Duffy is an Irish Designer who specializes in creating unique patchwork dresses made from sustainable materials. All of her pieces are handmade and created by herself in her studio making each piece extremely unique. Her processes are slow and thoughtful making sure that everything she makes has value and will be worn and loved by someone for a long time, challenging our huge throwaway culture today.

Artist Research: Rua Carlota

Charlotte Rose Kirkham is the founder of London-based sustainable fashion brand, Rua Carlota. She challenges the waste culture that's been created by social media and micro trends. Her designs make use of a wide variety of interesting textiles using up scraps and ends of fabrics that would otherwise be thrown out.

Her brand statement is “RUA CARLOTA gives life to the forgotten ones. It says that there is potential in everything” This sustainable outlook is one that more and more brands are starting to have, coming up with new and exciting ways of making clothes that challenge the traditional, more wasteful methods within the fashion industry.

I was really inspired by this piece as she has incorporated the office suit jacket into a very feminine, fun design. I love the way that the grey otherwise mundane suit has been used in a brand new, much more fun way that is wearable to a lot more people. For my own designs, I struggled with the overpowering grey and black theme running throughout. I decided it needed a pop of colour so I incorporated large, bright pink buttons into my work.

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