#professional-practice

[sxpxrmxrgxr]

[rachelannekay]

Magdalena Velevska

After my revelation that I actual really like embroidery, I began looking for emerging designers that utilise embellishment in their work. I was quite taken by Magdalena Velevska's work. 

Velevska has a soft feminine aesthetic with hints of futurism. Her embellishment really elevates this sense of futurism and innovation as it is very different to designers such as Colette Dinnigan who I previously profiled. 

Beaded dresses backstage at Velevska's SS12 collection. Images from Fabsugar.  

Embroidered dress from Spring/Summer 2012/13. Image from Vogue. 

Dress with fur trim. Image from Last Doll Standing. 

I am also interested in the path Velevska has taken to get to where she is today. She worked behind the scenes for several notable Australian designers before starting her own label. I think this has assisted her in creating a unique design aesthetic while her label is still in its infancy. It is encouraging to see how diverse the experience of fashion can be, it calms my own fears and uncertainties for my future career! 

I really hope that Velevska gets the support needed to grow her brand as I think it offers something that is lacking within the Australian market. I will be interested to see how she develops her brand further. 

[rachelannekay]

Design Aesthetic

This week we were given a list of questions to help us evaluate our design aesthetic. This may seem like a simple task, however it proved harder than expected. Once again the things that seem so clear in my head seem so vague on paper. I think this is due (in part) to a lack of clarity and cohesiveness within my design thinking. I separate the inspiration for my design project from the approach I have learned from my mentors and from the conceptual framework of my dissertation. This lack of cohesion means that I am able to clearly articulate any one of these aspects if asked specifically about that, however if asked for an overall summary of my design aesthetic I am left floundering.

  Here is my attempt to clarify my design aesthetic into a unified message:

  What do I want to say?

There is beauty in subtlety

  What impact do I want to make?

The primary impact I want to create is for the wearer of my garments. I want to create a sense of importance and empowerment from wearing beautiful clothes that let character and personality speak.

  What is my style?

I am tempted to go back to my five key words here, but I think I may limit to only three: refined, structured and sensual.

  What are my inspirations?

My inspiration comes initially from conceptual frameworks, history, fashion theory and social study. The more practical aspects of my design work comes from fabrications and trims that blossom in my mind taking on structures, silhouettes and movement.

  What areas of fashion and design are most interesting to you?

This year I have come to realise that I am primarily interested in the theoretical side of fashion. I am fascinated by the way fashion impacts our lives, the power it has to shape image and identity, to create unity or impose power upon others.

I have begun to appreciate the power that is given to fashion designers and the fashion media. This has informed my practice and motivated me to take seriously the task of designing in a socially responsible way.

  Have fashion and design always been a part of my life?

I only began engaging in fashion during high school. It was during my teenage years that I began to uncover the richness of the cultural landscape that surrounds design. My eyes were opened to art history, architecture, music, photography and fashion. This is when I really began to understand the significance of design and consider it as a path of myself.

  Are you compelled to design, or is it more of a career skill, or both?

I would say that I fall into neither of these categories simply. There are times when I see a fabric and I am compelled to design, my mind races away with little regard for practicality or finances. On the other hand, particularly with the work load of uni, it has become more of a career skill that has to be completed than something I am compelled to do by myself.

  What would the world be like without designers?

In the author’s note that precludes Yann Martel’s book The Life of Pi, Martel expressed his gratitude to the Canada Council for the Arts, without whose grant he could not have written his novel. He states:

“If we citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams”. (Martel, 2001, p. 8)

This all to eloquently (he is a writer after all) sums up what the world would be like without designers and artists. I think we would restrict ourselves and rob ourselves of much joy. So a world without designers? Dull. Sad. Lacking.

  Can you talk about/write about your approach to fashion? Design? Life?

My approach to life is strongly influenced by my personal faith. This shapes how I see individual worth, the desire to create beautiful things and how I understand the world within which we live. This overflows into my approach to design and fashion shaping my understanding of the purpose of clothing, the power of design/fashion and its social context.

  What are you resistant to in terms of design?

I am resistant to design simply for the sake of economics and consumerism. I think design driven only by commerciality is a sad reflection of the true potential of design to uplift, inspire, comfort, engage the senses, build community and do so much more!

  Is design an action or a reaction for you?

Design for me is largely a reaction against what I see around me. This is particularly evident within my major project that seeks to address singular values of beauty. 

[rachelannekay]

Sexual allure

My dissertation has launched me down the path of exploring the allure of sex within fashion. More specifically the way that it is used to exploit and degrade women, becoming the only merit they are judged upon. 

One way that this will overflow into my design work is in the way I seek to display sexual allure in a non explicit way. I don’t want to employ cheap or tacky elements but imbue my designs with a sophistication and intelligence in their allure. 

It has therefore been interesting to see how each of my mentors display sexuality within their work. Goh is described as ‘simultaneously clinical and sensual’ (Cordero 2011, para. 4).

Balenciaga created sensuality within his garments through movement and ‘an impression of slenderness’ (Miller 2007, p. 1). Tim Blanks suggests that Owens presents a  ‘stately elegance’ (2011, para. 3) rather than explicitly sexuality. Dion Lee manages to ‘apply intellect to sex appeal’ (Singer 2013, para. 2).

Despite the diversity within my mentor list there is a common thread in the subtlety of their sex appeal. The body is generally abstracted, through drape and voluminous silhouettes, shapes are structured and colour is not a primary tool. In avoiding clichés of the feminine and sexy woman, each of these designers in their own way displays sex appeal through their fabrications, textures and tailoring.

    Sources

Blanks, T. 2011, Rick Owens Autumn/Winter 2011, 3 March, viewed 23 March

2013 <http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/F2011RTW-ROWENS/>

  Cordero, R. 2011, The Spotlight Tze Goh, The Business of Fashion, 8 May, viewed

19 March 2013 < http://www.businessoffashion.com/2011/05/the-spotlight-tze-goh.html>

  Miller, L.E. 2007, Cristobal Balenciaga The Couturiers’ Couturier, V&A  Publications, London.

  Singer, M. 2013, Dion Lee Fall 2013, 4 March, viewed 20 March 2013 <http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/F2013RTW-DLEE/>

[rachelannekay]

Finishes

Maya Singer claims that Goh's work 'rewards scrutiny' (2012). It is hard to truly do this in a photograph of a runway shot, so I was pleasantly surprised to find these images of Goh's work up close, pointing out some of the construction features of his garments. Looking at the these images I can see how he has sought to hide seam allowances and make both the interior and exterior as clean as possible. 

This reinforces for me the level of precision Goh is seeking in his work. There is a holistic approach to the garments that is 'quiet yet forceful' (Singer, 2012)

Singer, M. 2012, Tze Goh Spring/Summer 2012, viewed 24 March 2013 < http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2012RTW-TZEGOH/ >

  Images

Padded Minimalism by Tze Goh, 2013, The Cutting Class, viewed 21 March 2013 < http://thecuttingclass.com/post/5185809584/padded-minimalism-tze-goh > 

[joaodoria]

Extradesign: Michael Bierut moderating a talk between Brian Janusiak+Elizabeth Beer, Jiminie Ha and Tina Eisenberg