Consumerism

Just thought I'd put a little about how interesting the lectures at the minute are and how relevant I think it is that we look at just how much we buy, and we we buy so much to help tackle the environmental issues which face the planet. It was really interesting to think yesterday about the extent to which we are manipulated and almost duped by the advertising industry and huge global corporations into buying what they want to, not the essential things we actually need. Products are only made if they will generate profit and we are always told to buy the newer, bigger and better version which means a constant cycle of consumerism. Through advertising we feel that by buying a certain product we can fit in with a certain stereotype or social class and create the identity we want for ourselves.

I think next time I buy something I will think a lot more carefully about why I am buying it, do I really need it or just desire it? Am I becoming the victim of the marketing industry by buying into a brand with a need to communicate a sense of identity? Or am I making a rational choice by looking at all the products on offer and choosing the one that best fits my needs? Chances are probably not...

Final Prints

Been at it again all day, doing the prints on photoshop, but its been worth it I think as I've got some nice designs out of it and can't wait to see them as finished scarves on silk! I'll be like a real designer!

Alexander McQueen

I just came across these print designs from the Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 collection and the bold and photographic nature of the design has really reminded me of my work and inspired me to play with mirroring and reflecting pattern to create more graphic designs.One thing I find it really hard to do when design pattern, especially in print is visualise them in use in actual clothing or interior fabric. I always just think its too bright or bold or graphic to be used as anything other than a sample but I think these pieces help because the prints are so different but combined with the angular shape of the dresses, the reptile colours, scale texture and graphic shapes really work well together

Photoshop nightmares!

I think it may be finally time to give up on photoshop for today...Started designing printed scarf ideas at 10 this morning and I reckon 12 hours at it is pretty good going. Lets see if I can do the same tomorrow!! These scarves better look good...

Bio culture essay...?

After seeing both the Trash fashion and Art, Fashion, Identity exhibits I am going to base my research around the work of the designer Suzanne Lee, who merges the fields of science and technology and fashion to combat the ever growing problems we have in todays society with over consumption and use of unsustainable resources. I will begin my research by looking at why there is a need for a more sustainable supply of clothing and materials and just how damaging our wasteful consumer society is to the environment. Then through analysis of Lee’s bio couture clothing, I will investigate the new and exciting ways designers are finding ways of creating fabric using as few natural resources as possible and without creating a devastating and irreversible effect on the planet. I think it will be interesting to find out how designers are now seeing the need for renewable textiles and see to what extent they are using new materials to create more environmentally friendly collections. I think it will also be interesting to look at how it is almost viewed as a social stigma and embarrassment to break the rules about buying new clothes for different and special occasions and being more environmentally friendly. Recycling textiles and reusing old fabrics, customizing, or up cycling old garments is a brilliant idea for the environment but it is interesting to question how socially acceptable the ideas are and how the stereotype images of recycles clothes actually differ from the real thing. The role of traditional craft also plays a part, as handmade, ethically produced garments using local materials has very little impact on the environment compared to massive factories, but once again there are social prejudges towards clothes which may be considered “crafty” and it will be interesting to see how sustainable craft can be more than brightly coloured felt and more high end fashion.

Obsession with clothes...

Although I have already written about going to this exhibit before Christmas, I went again last Friday and after a lecture on consumerism I saw the exhibit in a totally different light. Before I had been more interested with what each piece was and how it looked, the usual things we see in fashion and art, however this time I saw a link between each garment and the artist’s attitudes to over production and consumption in the fashion industry.

There were some pieces which were made to show how we use clothes to give ourselves an identity and we feel the need to consume more and more to secure this image of ourselves. There was a video by Cindy Sherman (Clothes, 1975) which showed her dressing up as a paper doll, however when a hand came and look the clothes away she was left naked and her true self exposed, without the clothes to give her a position and identity. And a similar video by Yoko Ono (Cut piece) in which people were invited to cut sections of her clothes off and once again leave her true naked identity exposed. Gillian Wearing used film to show a group of police men and women positioned for a photo. At the start the officers all looked the same, straight faced and authoritative however over time they began to move slightly and fidget, showing a glimmer of personality and almost loosing the power the uniform gave them.

There were also pieces with messages about our over consumption of fashion, such as a set of photos by La Maison Martin Margiela (9/4/1615, 1997) which showed garments which were once pristine white, treated with bacteria to erode the fabric to represent the relentless cycle of the “fashion calendar”.

A set of felt garments by Andrea Zittel (A-Z fibre uniforms, 2003-6) also showed how we are now obsessed with constantly having new clothes for every event and season. She had made a set of “uniforms” to be worn for different tasks, on different occasions and in different seasons, however unlike todays cheap garment production using unsustainable resources, she had used the traditional technique of felting to give the garments a timeless feel. I think this is her way of criticizing the fashion industry and even though the outfits are only meant to be worn for a short section of time they are traditionally made with little environmental impact, unlike many of the mass-produced clothes we buy today.

Dai Kees’ “Triptych in a butchers window” depicted 3 animal carcasses made from vogue pattern pieces in leather and showed great levels of skill and craftsmanship, again unlike the clothing we buy today. Using the vogue patterns and the magazine cover inside each carcass also showed how influenced we are today by branding and how mass marketing really effects what we wear and who we try and portray ourselves to be.

One photo I found quite powerful was by Andreas Gursky (Kuwait Stock Exchange), which depicted hundreds of Muslim bankers, all dressed exactly the same in traditional white Arab dress. I found it interesting because of the difference in cultures and the clothing worn where I live and in the photo. I had no idea what the clothing was meant to represent and if the rigid dress code was about power, wealth, religion or culture and it made me question whether western society uses clothing to represent these things and what happens without clothing, do we loose our status and identity, or betray our religion? The photo was very visually interesting because of how alike all the men looked and how although they are all individuals, together they looked almost like an army, all in uniform and indistinguishable. I felt this scenario could be applied to many groups in western society today, the “chavs” and “moshers” who all try to dress in the same way and although distinguish themselves from other sections of society, also loose their own personal identity as they try to follow a set pattern of dress to fit in.

A Stitch in time...

After 2 weeks of stitch I'm quite disappointed to say I don't think I'll be choosing it as a specialism and I thought I'd love it!! I don't think it helps that i'm not in love with my drawings, or that it is practically impossible to get nice (non PVC or bright polyester) orange fabric but I think I was expecting the block to be literally sewing, when really it is more about interpreting your drawings and being very experimental. Next we are doing print and I'll be quite happy to get some tuition in photoshop, as although I can use it, I'm not brilliant! I'll have to wear old clothes though as I have a tendency to get paint all over...

Pretty Prints...

I've just found a brilliant little museum really near my house, the fashion and textiles museum and there was a lovely little exhibit there called "Horrockses Fashions- off the peg style in the 40's and 50's". The company Horrockses Fashions Limited were one of the most famous and well-respected ready-to-wear labels of the 40s and 50s and were weel known for their full-skirted dresses. They were one of the first companies to start mass manufaturing garments for shops, however unlike today they had strict brand ethics and only used good quality fabrics, custom-designed patterns and followed the fashion's worn in Paris at the time, making the brand quite exclusive. For anyone interested in print this exhibit is a must see, every dress on display has a beutiful and colourful different design and there are books and design sheets of thousands of prints the company had used. The same prints weren't used twice so every item is special and even though the dress designs are the typical retro 40's style they are all individual. I really liked the dresses which were made for the summer, with the colourful floral designs and pretty butterflies and motifs, even objects like ice creams and sunshines looked sophisticated in the designs! It was easy to see why even Queen Elizabeth owned dresses by the company and I wish that dresses in that fashion were still popular as I'd love to wear one!!

Art/Fashion/Identity

On the day this exhibit "Aware: Art Fashion Identity" opened at the Royal Acadamy I was shopping in the area and decided to pop in and see it, and I left feeling very glad I did.

The exhibition showcased work from artists and designers including La Maison Martin Margiela, Alexander McQueen (garment), Yoko Ono (Photography), Grayson Perry(Ceramic), Cindy Sherman(Photography), Yohji Yamamoto

(garment)

,

Yinka Shonibare (garment) and Hussein Chalayan (garment). The exhibit was split into 4 rooms

story-telling, building, belonging and performing through clothes and

showed work which really made you think and questioned the clothing and how it made you feel or how it affected the work around it. I really liked a piece by

Susie MacMurray called "Widow" which was a full floor length ball gown made from dressmaker’s pins. It was a piece with connections to greif and Murray wanting to protect herself and her feminity through something beautiful but manacing Although it looked amazing and sparkled in the light it was intersting to get up close and realise how the piece was made and how looks can be deceptive.

Japanese Fashion

I have also been to the Barbican Art Gallery to see the "Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion" which focused on the work of designers such as Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, Junya Watanabe and Yohji Yamamoto. The exhibit had areas dedicated to each of these designers with key garments to showcase how they had broken the boundaries and made fashion more than just functional clothing, and more a piece of beautiful art. left me in awe of how inventive and clever japanese fashion designers are. I really enjoyed looking at the shape of the clothing, wether the garment was making a statement through volume and proportion, or wether it was geometric and angular. I also noticed the colour palette of many of the designers was monochrome and the only decoration was the fabric itself, through rips, holes, pleats and tears. The garments were simple but amazing, and unlike clothes I had ever seen. The Japanese really have some amazing ideas about fashion been more than clothing and this exhibit is more like an art gallery than a fashion exhibit.

Exhibitions etc...

Thought I'd just write a little about what I've been up to over Christmas and some of the exciting exhibits I've been to with a couple of weeks to kill in London! (Dont worry I got a lot of shopping in as well...)

I've been to a few exhibits, first Rob Ryan’s exhibit "The Stars Shine All Day Too" at the Air Gallery, Dover Street. He is an artist I have followed for years who works only with paper to create amazing cut out scenes in minute detail. His work is very delicate and usually has a very floral, delicate and feminine feel. He uses scalloped edges and lots of flowers and little pretty motifs to decorate the image and as the images he depicts are usually from his imagination the scenes look like something from a fairy tale and look almost a little bit magic. This exhibit in particular had a magical feel as all the pieces had stars within them, whether they be above a little fairytale village, or as a seat for lovers to sit on in the sky. I loved the exhibit and left feeling amazed at how good Ryan's eyesight and how sturdy his hand must be to cut out paper in such an intricate way. It also showed me just what can be done with simple materials and that paper is more than just for writing and printing!