Somerset House: SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution

Nick Knight set up the website SHOWstudio with a friend, Peter Saville, as a means of showing work not as a means of selling the product but simply for the love of art. SHOWstudio is like a melting pot of all things fashion, from photography and film to dance and music to fine art and technology creating a much deeper understanding of the world of fashion.
The first room I came to in the exhibition was a room of mirrors, slightly disconcerted I made my way through and stopped and paused at the exiting door, wondering ‘why?’. The idea of seeing myself in one mirror after a hectic day is scary enough, but seeing myself from every angle a multitude of times, well that’s another story. But then it occurred to me, that’s what the fashion media is all about, scrutiny and being exposed. Although I was the only one in the mirrored room, I couldn’t help but feel insanely exposed and self-conscience in this small mirrored world.
I then moved into the Naomi Campbell room, with a huge digitally sculptured 3-D statue of the world renowned model. The piece was quite incredible really, I don’t know why I was drawn to it, but there was something about the precision and flawless appearance of it that caught my eye.
After seeing various other collaborative pieces including ‘Sweet’ with Jane How and ‘Past, Present and Couture’ with John Galliano, I came across ‘Transformer: The Bridegroom Stripped Bare’ by McQueen, where he cuts, drapes and dissembles the model’s garments as he just stands there and then gets white paint and glitter thrown all over him. I had seen this video on the website a while back and at the time I didn’t think much of it, but last year one of the modules I was doing I included a lot of McQueen’s work and have a much greater understanding of the designer and what he’s about. So watching the video in the exhibition, I saw it in a totally different light. McQueen is not afraid of making a shock statement which I like and find very refreshing- he doesn’t hold back, the idea of this bridegroom getting stripped bare, covered in paint, being bound to bricks and being gagged goes against the typical ideas of a wedding day.
The last two pieces that really stood out to me were two pieces which made you look at models in a different way. The first was ‘Phonecarte’, where there were four telephones and on each one Karen Elson, Lily Cole, Irina Lazareanu and Lily Donaldson, left answer phone messages. The messages were short but regular updates on their days during various fashion weeks including fittings, being backstage, travelling around the cities and after parties. The other piece was ‘More Beautiful Women’ which was based on Warhol’s 1964 piece ‘Thirteen Most Beautiful Women’. It is an ongoing project in which Nick Knight puts iconic models, past and present, in front of a video camera and tells them to just sit looking at the camera for 3 minutes. Some of the models, including Twiggy and Claudia managed the experience without too much awkwardness, however some of the others, including Linda, clearly found the 120 seconds completely unbearable. I found it quite interesting though, I couldn’t work out why some of the models found it so uncomfortable sitting in front of a camera, modelling is all about acting and being watched, so why were some of them so awkward? The one big difference between modelling and this experience, which I can imagine would be quite daunting, is that the model isn’t being directed by the photographer. I really enjoyed these two pieces, as it makes you look at the models in a totally different way. Models are renowned for being silent beauties and so it is always unexpected when you hear them speaking, also hearing the messages which were quite personal, but on quite mundane topics (Lily Donaldson mentioning about the weather), and seeing some of the models feel so uncomfortable sitting still, being watched for 3 minutes, meant that you felt you could reach out to them and realise that they are just regular people, albeit very tall and thin and insanely beautiful, but they are just regular people.
All in all I really enjoyed the gallery, I like the website of SHOWstudio, so I knew I would like this exhibition, but I enjoyed it more than I expected I would. I really liked the way it made models appear human, and really showed the relationship between art and fashion and how it around you every second of every day, whether you are aware of it or not.

Work Experience at Bill Amberg

Five minutes to eight in the morning, and I finally arrive, coffee in hand, at the Bill Amber Workshop in West Row. Apparently the London underground is not all that reliable that early in the morning, but after an hour and a half of watching dazed business men and women getting on and off at various stations, I arrived and was ready to start my work experience. Having been really interested in the idea of working with leather at some point, I was so excited about the chance to work with and learn about the material I have never worked with before but am very interested in the idea of using in my final year at university. Having just hired a new employee in the accessories department, I was asked if I could work in the Interior Design workshop to help out with a couple of projects.

The first project I was given was to organise and complete some of the catalogue Bill was going to take over to New York on Tuesday to show some clients. I was given the master copy of the catalogue and then had to make or complete another 10 copies of it. I had to use the cutting press to cut out the different hides in various sizes to attaching them to the catalogues in their certain areas. Although this was getting quite repetitive after the 5th catalogue, it gave me a really good chance to snoop around the shelves and horses and see the variety of leathers they use on a day to day basis for furnishing and accessories.

Baltic:
· Used for upholstery, lightly upholstered wall panelling and bags.
· A Northern European product, and shows the natural grain, which will vary over different areas of the hide.
· Can be dyed any colour.
Eco:
· The shoulder.
· Quite tough, but can be used in upholstery, bags, shoes and sometimes wall panelling.
· Grain runs from left to right.
· Can be dyed.
French Calf:
· Quite soft and flexible leather.
· Can be used in upholstery, bags and shoes.
· Can be dyed a range of colours.
Lamb:
· Very soft, flexible leather.
· Used for clothing, gloves, bags, furnishings.
· Can be dyed any colour, including metallics and brights without changing the feel of the leather.
Oak Bark Shoulders:
· Very tough shoulder leather.
· Used in high traffic areas, such as stair banisters, furnishings and sometimes flooring. Can also be used as wall panelling.
· Ages well with wood.
· Part of the shoe sole trade.
· Pigment and dye free leather.
Ostrich:
· Like lamb, very soft and supple.
· Used for bags, gloves, furniture upholstery and wall upholstery.
· Grain and thickness of the leather varies over different areas of the hide.
· Can be dyed, but most often used in earthy hues.
Shrunken Shoulder:
· Tough leather.
· Walls, hand railings, bags and shoes.
· Can be dyed.
Sole Bends:
· Extremely tough leather, not very malleable.
· Used for floor panelling and occasionally wall panelling, but can be too heavy for walls.
Vellum:
· Otherwise known as parchment.
· Brazilian goat skin.
· Grain runs left to right, with the darkest area down the spine.
· Very thin, almost translucent on the belly of the hide.
· Used in furnishings and coverings mostly.
· Was a key feature in art deco furnishings.
· Comes in cream or natural pigments.
Out of all the leathers the ostrich was the one that I became the most attached to. There is something that seems so unique about it. The spine of the grain is so recognizable and yet every hide is different meaning you won’t get any two items exactly the same making each item feel more personal. However the belly of the hide has a much more subtle print, and is even softer which I think I almost prefer, as it’s different. Most accessories are made out of the spine of the hide with the recognizable print of ostrich so I like the idea of using the belly side to make items more individual without losing the beautiful quality of the leather.
Once I had done the 10 catalogues, I was asked if I could help out with the live project going on at the time. This project had been going on for about 3 months, and I was asked to help out for the last few days to get everything finished in time. All of the furnishings for a client’s yacht had been sent to the Bill Amberg workshop to be upholstered in cream vellum. Some of shelving units which needed to be done were fairly straight forward to do, however a lot of the pieces that needed to be covered had curved edges and lots of corners. After having a quick demonstration on how to do the covering in a specific way, I was set lose on the glue, scalpel, and staples to make these pieces as flawless as possible. I managed about seven on my first day of doing it, but then managed to double that the next day. What I did find with this project was that because I was doing it for someone else I knew it needed to be done with precision. I often find that when I make pieces for myself I don’t spend the time on it that I should. But the feeling I had when I saw all the final pieces lined up next to each other, actually made me feel quite proud. I honestly feel that this work experience has shown me what I can do when I put my mind to it, and hopefully can put that into practice when I head back to uni next month.
This experience also confirmed to me that I need to be working in a ‘hands on’ environment; I need to be moving about, working with different materials and be creating, I like being involved, seeing how things progress. All in all I found that this work experience was hugely helpful, it gave me a real insight into working in a ‘hands on’ workshop creating pieces. It also gave the chance to learn more about and work the material I have wanted to work with for a long time. Although I personally think it’s too early to be saying anything for sure about what I will be basing my final year collection on, if I can, I would love to include leather in some way.

V&A: Future Fashion Now

‘Future Fashion Now’ is an exhibition in the V&A which displays the works from some of the Royal College of Art fashion design graduates. From 27 designers, there must have been over 50 garments being displayed in different sections, Concept, Form, Technique and Detail. I got to the exhibition quite late in the day after traipsing around London all day, so was very tired at the time, but I still thought it was incredible. Unfortunately I found that some of the pieces weren’t lit as well as they could have been so I couldn’t see some of the detailing as well as I would have liked to, but all the same, there were some incredible pieces of clothing and footwear being displayed. Three designers stood out in particular to me.

The first was Timothy Lee, who had a few ensembles being shown, including dresses, coats and jackets. What I liked about these pieces is that they were different, beautifully cut and made creating quite unusual shapes, but the pieces were made from leather, wool, viscose and neoprene which gave it such a solid structure without looking to heavy or uncomfortable to wear. The areas of neoprene add to the streamlined, structured appearance of the collars, shoulders and waistbands, but where there isn’t any neoprene, the fabric drapes softly over the body. On another piece he made stiff woollen structures which hold the fabric away from the body and it is with this technique that he manages to make the skirt part drape so stiffly yet smoothly. I liked these pieces because it’s a form of power dressing without feeling like you’re in a time warp back stuck in the 80s, its modern and refreshing, and uses techniques that you don’t see that often on the runway.

Another designer’s works I really liked was Murat Kuscu’s. I have always been very interested in working in contrasting fabrics such as leather and fine chiffon, and this is what Kusco did for his graduate piece. He started experimenting with folded paper of mannequins and then developed his ideas from there. The first piece I saw was a bodice made form robust, patent leather and wool, I could really see how his concept and technique of manipulating paper managed to create this garment, and again it was a very innovative piece which, was a little futuristic looking for me, but I found the concept very interesting. His second piece I really liked, I don’t know why for sure, but the contrast between such a heavy duty material like patent leather and the soft flowing silk chiffon, cut on the bias really worked, the leather shoulders didn’t overpower the silk, which is what I have been dubious about and why I have not tried such contrasting materials, but seeing it there, made me realise that there are ways around it.

Gudrun Kloepsch was the other designer who really stood out to me. I found this work in the technique section of the exhibition. I honestly cannot imagine the amount of time and effort it would have taken to create just these two pieces let alone the entire collection. On display there was a black and a cream dress, they were made from a variety of materials from rope to lace, Lurex to wool and rubber to silk. If I just read the list of materials involved in making the garments I would think that they would be a really heavy, too contrasting and just not really work, but when I saw the garments I was in shock really. Concentrating on traditional dress making and fabric manipulation techniques she created these pieces with ruching, folding, gathering, pleating and entwined them with lace panels creating multi-textural layers which somehow just seemed to soften the appearance despite having some quite heavy and rigid fabrics. I left the exhibition wishing that I could have seen more of this collection as I was really intrigued as too what the rest would be like, would it be too ‘samey’ or would the techniques develop along the way?

Fashion and Textiles Museum: Undercover

In the past when I have been to the Fashion and Textiles Museum, I have not always gone away with a sense of fulfilment. Being quite a small museum, when setting up exhibitions they clearly have to really think about what is going to be displayed and in my opinion they don’t always include enough so I have walked away not feeling that I have learnt anything new or seen something in a different light, however, this time I left feeling inspired.
The exhibition was a celebration of one of the most fundamental things to how women look and feel; underwear. Everything from corsets to push-up bras and girdles to thongs where being displayed around the museum, with enough information to show how shapes and methods have changed over the past century, without overloading you with information. When walking into the museum you come across a wall of cabinets in which are examples of the different garments that were being worn in each decade, from the 1900s ‘S-shape’ with the low mono-bosom, cinched waist and accentuated hips, originally designed as a health corset by Mme. Gaches-Sarraute, to the Calvin Klein sports bra of the 1990s.
Moving round into the main room, there were mannequins’ wearing everything from Marks and Spencer’s to La Perla to Playboy, and then suspended from ceiling were corsets from various eras. What I did notice about the corsets hanging there, was that they really were so stunning with so much care and attention put into them that it makes you question where the boundary is between underwear and outerwear- surely something with that much detail and glamour to, you would want to show off, not cover up. Although some of the pieces would have been made as underwear, with fewer embellishments and cleaner lines that wouldn’t bulk up under a dress or top, some of them looked like they really were made to be worn as outerwear, such as the more extravagant pieces with Swarovsky crystals and plumes of feathers and even the ones with everyday embellishments like buttons and zips. The only problem was unless you have a 14inch waist; you can’t help but feel a little large walking around all of the early 20th century corsets.
Looking at the mannequins, most of the garments didn’t really come into either categories of under or outer wear, but more into the boudoir theme. With stunning colours, fabrics and embellishments these pieces, well, you wouldn’t be able to leave the house in them alone without getting done for indecent exposure (whereas you could probably manage it with some of the corsets). Not only were a lot of them very sheer, or wear peek-a-boo styles, a lot of them had extreme lacing or ruching, which I’m sure if worn under even a vaguely slim fitting top or dress, would just look like you have a severe acne problems on your chest, and underwear is supposed to be flattering, right? So as far as these pieces go, they were clearly designed and made in the theme of the boudoir, to be worn on their own. But they really were beautiful and original and despite the plunging and cut away styles and barely there fabrics all of the pieces were very feminine without being crass or too raunchy. The only issue I had with the mannequins was that they were a very harsh colour of white, which I found to brash against the more neutral, earthy tones of some of the garments, but other than that I thought the display downstairs was really well done as you could see the whole way round each piece, and when you went up the stairs you were able to see some of the pieces more closely and really see the craftsmanship that went into making such delicate pieces.
Upstairs was different again; there was a seating area where you were able to watch various TV adverts for underwear. They again were really interesting to see how things shapes have changed over the eras; some were quite painful to watch due to the dubbing over the top, some had very little (of what I could see) to do with underwear and some were just excuses for beautiful women to prance around in next to nothing, but some were quite fun and had genuine sales intentions. Upstairs as well there was an original sizing chart and examples of how all the different pieces of a bra are put together.
I left the exhibition feeling like I had a better understanding about underwear, from colour choices and how they can affect your mood, to the technical processes and how women’s position in power have influenced the shape of underwear over the past century, I thought it was a really good exhibition, quite light-hearted and whether you like underwear which is frilly and girly or highly structured or a little more playboy, I’m pretty sure it’s an exhibition that everyone would love.