Bode Well: Menswear Meets Antique Textiles

Bode Well: Menswear meets Antique Textiles discusses the work of New York-based Menswear Fashion Designer, Emily Adams Bode who works sustainably with antique textiles. Actively concerned with ethics and traceability her namesake American label - Bode comments on heritage and legacy with its use of antique and/or deadstock textiles. By sourcing these textiles a network of exchanges takes place and the fabrics, often stained or damaged and destined for landfill, are recycled to offer new leases of life to continue in a new and unique form. Deadstock textiles that were previously abandoned are fully utilised to create unique items that change perceptions of materials and material culture. Promoted in this article is a behavioural change in consumerism where the ‘quick fix’ is no longer the object of desire but instead the classic and timeless are valued. Since writing the Bode article, Emily Adams Bode has won the first ever Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation (February 2020). A strand of the International Woolmark Company and centred around merino wool, the prize money of 100,000 Australian dollars was in recognition of her talent and forward-thinking approach. For Bode the environmental and social impact are firmly in the designers’ mindset

Rewind-Play-Fast Forward

This book-chapter examines the works of Ainsley Hillard (UK), Christy Matson (USA), Jane Harris (UK), Barbara Layne (Canada), Janis Jefferies (UK) and Nancy Tilbury (UK) as they as framed by future-facing paradigms of textiles and technologies seeking to incorporate sound and interaction into otherwise visual registers. The writing is subdivided into sections on ephemerality, temporality, transitoriness and fast-forwarding to reflect the future-oriented aesthetic. This book accompanied an exhibition of the same name that I curated at Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery, Kaunas, Lithuania (the city’s main gallery). This exhibition comprised five installed works to showcase audio/visual textiles which use new materials and technologies

The New Millennium - Future Fabrics for Fashion

Presentation and Workshop for Final Year Textile Design/Fashion Design students and staff at Tokyo Zokei University. Going back to the 1960s (and 1967 to be precise) British fashion designer Mary Quant said: “Some day we will blow clothes the way we blow glass. It’s ridiculous that fabric should be cut up to make a flat thing go round a round person.” At the very end of the 1990s there were many predictions for what the clothing of the new millennium would look like - The French fashion designer Thierry Mugler said: “The future of fashion? It has none. The trend is no fashion. We are getting nakeder and nakeder.” Continuing with that theme the French philosopher Jean Baudrillard said: “In this new erotic world every illusionistic element is missing (…) the body is present, even over-exposed, but only as part of the technical equipment.” And British designer John Galliano thought that: “The only way to get forward in fashion is to return to construction.” While Karl Lagerfeld believes the future of fashion is in the textiles used

Smart nanotextiles: materials and their application

Textiles are ubiquitous to us, enveloping our skin and surroundings. Not only do they provide a protective shield or act as a comforting cocoon but they also serve esthetic appeal and cultural importance. Recent technologies have allowed the traditional functionality of textiles to be extended. Advances in materials science have added intelligence to textiles and created ‘smart’ clothes. Smart textiles can sense and react to environmental conditions or stimuli, e.g., from mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, or magnetic sources (Lam Po Tang and Stylios 2006). Such textiles find uses in many applications ranging from military and security to personalized healthcare, hygiene, and entertainment. Smart textiles may be termed ‘‘passive’’ or ‘‘active.’’ A passive smart textile monitors the wearer’s physiology or the environment, e.g., a shirt with in-built thermistors to log body temperature over time. If actuators are integrated, the textile becomes an active, smart textile as it may respond to a particular stimulus, e.g., the temperature-aware shirt may automatically roll up the sleeves when body temperature rises. The fundamental components in any smart textile are sensors and actuators. Interconnections, power supply, and a control unit are also needed to complete the system. All these components must be integrated into textiles while still retaining the usual tactile, flexible, and comfortable properties that we expect from a textile. Adding new functionalities to textiles while still maintaining the look and feel of the fabric is where nanotechnology has a huge impact on the textile industry. This article describes current developments in materials for smart nanotextiles and some of the many applications where these innovative textiles are of great benefit

Caped Crusader: Burberry Looks to Henry Moore for Inspiration

The February 2017 collection by the designer Christopher Bailey that linked the world of fashion with the sculpture of Henry Moore. Christopher Bailey demonstrates, with his 78-look Burberry collection, direct inspiration from renowned British 20th century sculptor Henry Moore - the man himself, the process and the work. A voluptuous aesthetic is typical of Moore’s larger-than-life, bronze figures – his elemental forms include mother and child, reclining and draped bodies that are simultaneously classic and contemporary. Proportions are frequently shifted and Bailey pays homage to this by dislocating and displacing both structural lines and designed details, repositioning waists and hips. Sculptural and conceptual, but also wearable, Christopher Bailey’s capes emphasise chance, resourcefulness and intuition – all essential components of the creative process

Consultant for Sustainable Clothing Journeys

- Consultant for Sustainable Clothing Journeys – a micro fashion show staged at the Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter where Fashion Design work was selected. Consultant for The Times article on sportswear and new textiles for leggings in their Health section - input was utilised in the form of two long quotes. Consultant for Wear It Well: Exploring the Future of the Clothing Industry – A Future Focus Event organised by Unlocking Potential and the University of Exeter, a 1-day symposium, Tregenna Castle, St. Ives, Cornwall for 150 delegates. The event was made possible by the European Regional Development Fund. My role as consultant was to advise on recent graduates from Fashion Design/Sportswear Design at Falmouth University, to select those who would exhibit and decide on the work to be showcased. The event aimed to create and sustain employment in UK in fashion and textiles and the chosen graduates were given support, significant exposure, network links and introductions to Cornish business leaders. Their work was shown at the entrance to the event and allow for close viewing by attendees of fabrics, textures, colours, construction details, finishes and trims

Byzantine Silk on the Silk Roads: Journeys between East and West, Past and Present for Morrab Library, Penzance, Cornwall

Byzantine Silk on the Silk Roads: Journeys between East and West, Past and Present, a 90-minute lecture/ question and answer (Q&A) session at the Morrab Library, Penzance, Cornwall. This is a large independent library founded in 1818 and situated within the beautiful Morrab Gardens overlooking the sea. Presented – 26 July 2023. Accepted – 05 July 2023

In the Mix: Channelling Japanese Traditions for Contemporary Clothing

Article on the work of Japanese Fashion and Textile Designer, Ryoko Haraguchi for her Japanese late Sind, Makiko Minagawa for her Japanese label HaaT and Katsuyuki and Leo Yoshida for their Japanese label Porter Classic. Increasingly, these days designers are turning to traditional materials and artisanal skills in order to perpetuate craftsmanship that could so easily be lost. Cultures that are particularly relevant include Japan with its rich textile heritage, and contemporary textile designers, both from the Orient and the Occident, are interpreting age-old methods of manipulating fibres and fabrics together with techniques that have been passed down through generations. The name behind the Japanese label Sind is textile/clothing designer Ryoko Haraguchi. Central to her signature is a combination of Japanese and Indian cultures – her textiles use ancient Japanese traditional dyeing techniques on Indian woven silks while her elegant and comfortable womenswear suggests Japanese modes of dress and Indian sarees with their layering and wrapping. The word Haat conjures up a variety of concepts: Sanskrit for ‘village market’, denoting a place of meeting and exchange, its English pronunciation alludes to ‘heart’, the very core of human life and emotion, while in Hindi, a similar word ‘haath’ means ‘hand’. The brand HaaT by Japanese designer Makiko Minagawa, lies under the umbrella of Issey Miyake Inc. Issey Miyake’s Textile Director for many years (since 1971), working at the Miyake Design Studio (MDS) to provide for his fashion creations, Makiko Minagawa translated often-abstract concepts into innovative textiles through material/technology experimentation. The names behind Porter Classic are well-known bag designer Katsuyuki Yoshida and his son Leo Yoshida. Porter Classic was founded in 2007 with the aim of promoting Japanese culture and craft – ‘Made in Japan’ while also reaching a global appeal. Their work is both traditional and experimental where artisanal techniques are honoured and new technologies explored. Their focus is menswear (that women also frequently borrow from) with some dedicated womenswear and accessories

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

Article on the Exhibition entitled Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams that was staged at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. It had previously opened in Paris but the London exhibition revealed that Christian Dior was an Anglophile and inspired by English design and lifestyle.The British curating differs from the French by showing around 50% new exhibits and adding a focus on Dior’s adoration for anything British. Oriole Cullen, Curator of Modern Textiles and Fashion at the V&A gives an insight into Christian Dior’s particular obsession with British culture - royalty, aristocracy and especially the stately homes with their grand architecture and gardens. The V&A exhibition designed by Nathalie Crinière has eleven theatrical sections that visually communicate the history of the couture house from 1947 to the present day. These include ‘Dior in Britain’ that demonstrates his penchant for British manufacturers, especially for knitwear and accessories. This exhibition displays the far-reach and enduring legacy of haute couture that has, at its essence, a conceptual underpinning and an opportunity to dream. Also shown is a more grounded look with ready-to-wear luxe. The House of Dior and its long line of artistic directors perpetuates traditions and artisanal skills, imparting longevity to fashion, a phenomenon typically steeped in the ephemeral

True to Form: Cecilie Bahnsen: Sculptural Fashion for Classic Opulence

Article on the work of contemporary Danish Fashion Designer Cecilie Bahnsen. Cecilie Rosted Bahnsen is a Danish fashion designer behind the luxury clothing label - Cecilie Bahnsen. From her Copenhagen studio she focuses on haute couture fabrics and artisanal craftsmanship formed into voluminous silhouettes that have become her signature. The result is desirable expressions for contemporary womenswear. Considered a rising Scandinavian designer Cecilie Bahnsen has won many accolades for her stylish yet effortless looks that combine structure with softness. All Cecilie Bahnsen’s ready-to-wear pieces are handmade with samples undertaken in Denmark and production in Lithuania. Each collection builds on her signature aesthetic where use of couture fabrics and classically derived forms are refined and perfected each season to evolve the brand’s DNA. Cecilie Bahnsen shows her catwalk collections at Copenhagen Fashion Week (CFW)