Reflective Commentary of Design process
Brief: Designing for the brand Anthropologie
The macro trend Data Divination for A/W 15/16 is the idea of the significance of data which show a record of “human stories”. There is a “growing realization” that data is not only restricted to modern perceptions of the idea which brings artists to revive and reintroduce the ancient ways of recording data and the symbolisms used.
As a starting point, I researched into the ancient form of chemistry; Alchemy. Taking in the various types of alchemy and the different theories from the different countries it has emerged from, I began visual research into alchemic circles and the symbols of the elements used most frequently in alchemic experiments. The alchemic circles I developed resulted in a spirographic quality in the circles. I appreciated the visual look of the resulting alchemic circles, although they somewhat lost the feel of antiquity due to the mathematical precise feel to them.
As further research into the use of circles I looked into Iris recognition and the way it is presented in technology. This discovery of the complexity of irises led me to the exploration of macro photography of irises by Suren Manvelyan, which captured the intricate details of irises excellently. My gouache and Indian ink rendition of the irises in his images as well as his photography themselves helped progress my research journal much.
To develop both my spirographic circles and iris painting, I investigated artists who used techniques similar to spirography – Maurizio Anzeri and Gabriel Dawe. They had contrasting styles with Dawe’s art being larger than life installations and Anzeri’s art being intricate embroidery over vintage photographs, however both of their styles including the use of thread/yarn in a spirographic fashion inspired me to embroider over Manvelyan’s photography. I was pleased by the effect of the black yarn spirographic circle over the pupil which added depth to the pupil as well set off the exotic colours in the irises.
A developmental piece which inspired the colour palette throughout the design journey was a dyed and embroidered piece. The vibrant colours of the fabric reflected the way I saw the colours in the irises and the spirographical alchemic circle embroidery set off the simple red stitches which represented the patterns I developed from the iris recognition research.
However when embroidering alchemic symbols onto knit samples the delicate quality of embroidery disappeared leaving behind two techniques which did not compliment each other. As for the most successful technique in my knit samples, it was the calculated placement of holes to create zig-zag patterns. It may have been an oversimplification of the alchemic circles, but visually effective nonetheless. The marbled effect of using two different coloured yarns to knit with also reflected my perception of the colours found in irises.
Market Research and comp shopping expanded my awareness of knitwear greatly, allowing me to explore the variety of different shapes and techniques they are presented in as well the colour directions. Despite this, Anthropologie’s own current knitwear section inspired me the most.
My final piece emerged after sketching several designs and making a variety of knit samples, all of which were inspired by all the previous visual data in my research journal.
