Cultures and Contrasts Project - Research and Idea Development

Brief:

For our last project before assessments, and the beginning of our Final Major Project of our own choosing on which our grades depend, we were given more freedom to choose themes and more time than usual - three weeks - to complete our work. This was to help prepare us for our final project by showing us how to work in a longer time frame and maximise and focus our work when left to our own devices.



Our starting point was that we had to pick two contrasting ideas, and begin by looking at other countries or cultures for inspiration. I started looking at Venice, which has always interested me. As a floating city with canals for streets, comprised of a total of 118 linked islands, its beauty is famous. However, when looking at Venice I didn't want to do an obvious translation of its ideas by looking at its culture, venetian masks etc. I decided to work more conceptually and started looking at the idea that, despite being founded over a century and a half ago (officially at noon on the 25th March 421 to be exact) reports say that Venice is sinking. Therefore the theme I took from this is the idea of architectural impermanence. This gave me the idea of a contrasting theme, human immortality.

 There is actually no biblical support for the idea of 'soul immortality'- rather all references are to the idea of resurrection of the body.

'and many of those who slept in the dust shall awake, some to everlasting life' - Daniel 12:1-4.

Christianity teaches that belief in Jesus Christ will bring 'special salvation' in their mortal bodies.

'The dead shall be raised incorruptible...and this mortal must put on immortality' - 1 Corinthians 15:51-58.

While contrasting these ideas with architectural impermanence I researched the relationship between the human form and architecture. Looking at Leonardo Da Vinci's ideas of the' Proportions of Man' who along with other classicists believed that the human figure is the principal source of proportion behind order in architecture. The figure follows clear lines and rules, like buildings, and so when looking at form and line these two are closely connected.

Also, while doing further research in the library I came across and architect called Bruno Taut. Working in the Weimar period in Germany, Taut believed in the creation of utopian cities. Mountain top towns with crystal cathedrals and glass palaces he believed would channel human energies, and we would be freed from external realities and limitations, achieving a kind of spiritual immortality. This theory that the interaction between architecture and people can create immortality I found very intriguing, if slightly absurd and found it relevant to the ideas I was researching for my cultures and contrasts project.

With the themes I had developed so far I began experimental work in my sketchbook, looking and the mortal human form, shapes and anatomy and how it follows and can incorporate architectural lines: 

I also did some studies of the human body, taking photographs and doing life drawings with added anatomical detail to gather a deeper understanding of the shapes and the reality of the impermanence of the human body and how this could be related to architectural designs:

                                                                              

I then starting thinking about combining anatomical and architectural shapes to create a contrast. This line of design work is also something I am thinking about for my final outcome. To start the design process I drew and printed out architectural details from images of Venice and started cutting them out into rough anatomical lines to see how they would work on the body and on the stand:

Although working with paper made it difficult, this exercise was useful in determining shapes and design references for the next stage of development. So far I am really enjoying this project; I like the freedom of picking our own themes and how it lends itself to more in-depth research and experimental work. Also the additional time to complete my work enables me to explore the ideas fully. So far my primary and secondary research has been kept relevant and focused and I am looking forward to how it will translate into a finished product as I do more experimentation and start the design work. 

Anatomy and architecture, experimental work in sketchbook

Sportswear Inspired Design: Week Two

Design Development:

The pictures on the right are the work of designer David Koma, a Georgian womenswear designer based in London whom I found while researching for this project. I like his work because of the strong angular lines and panelling, which are styles I want to use in my designs to reflect archery's role in giving women power and freedom to show off their sexuality when they were allowed to participate in the 18th century.



With these ideas in mind and inspiration from David Koma I finalised the design work in my sketchbook and created 12 rough design sheets:

I am pleased with these roughs as the majority of them utilise the research I have done so far and embody the themes I was aiming to convey. I can now develop from these, picking out the most successful elements for my final six styles. In these designs I also established a colour palette and started thinking about fabrics. I gathered samples and started experimenting with draping on the stand. I wanted to use contrasting light materials, such as chiffon, with heavier leathers and pvc to create strong designs but with elements of the flirtation and romance that early archery practice granted women. This stand work enables me to see how the fabrics would work together:

This exercise was useful and I was pleased with the varying results and the ways my chosen fabrics worked together. Using leather belts and jackets, pvc, chiffon and light polyesters I tried different methods of draping, the easier method being to use the heavier materials as a base and structure outline while draping the chiffons and other lighter fabrics around this. However I also tried it vice versa so as to be more unexpected and experimental in my work. Then, I used the knowledge gained from this experiment, combined with my rough design work, to develop my six final designs:

Final Design 2

Final Design 1

Final Design 3

Final Design 4

Final Design 6

Final Design 5

I like my final designs and feel that are a good realisation of the themes of sexuality, romance and strength that I was trying to convey through my chosen sport of archery. The downfall of this project was my six designs were not yet finished by our class assessments on Thursday. I realised that I need to work on my time management skills to ensure I meet deadlines with the required amount of work. Nevertheless, once they were completed my final designs work well as a collection of high-end sportswear-inspired designs, but would likely be impractical in some ways to wear as everyday fashion due to the unconventional shapes and fastenings.

Sportswear-Inspired Design: Week One - Research

 Our next project is on sportswear-inspired fashion design. At the end of two weeks we need six final design sheets of highstreet or designer-style outfits inspired by a sport. The emphasis in the project is in the details. To help with this we spent a day in the west-end looking in sportswear shops for design features and cuts that are on trend and popular to help inform our design work. We visited shops such as Addidas, Lillywhites, and Niketown as well as Liberty's and Selfridge's to see how and where sportswear styles had filtered into highstreet fashion.

Details on Sportswear Research Photos

Sportswear specific clothing took off in the early 20th century in ready-to-wear markets. One of the first couturiers to specialise in sportswear was John Redfern, who in the 1870s began tailoring garments for the increasingly active women who rode, played tennis, went yachting and did archery. Though Redfern intended his designs to be sportswear specific, they were adopted as everyday wear by his clients. This arguably sparked the early 20th century designers such as Chanel, Jean Patou and Elsa Schiaperelli to offer high end sportswear. These couture garments were prescribed to be worn in very specific circumstances.

Since the 2012 Olympics, sportswear influences in fashion are particularly apparent in both highstreet and high-end styles, with designers such as Stella McCartney getting involved and inspiring others by designing sportswear ranges.

From our day out and the images we took we looked at detail and structure to inspire our initial design work:

Using card we created outlines on the stand by looking for patterns in the observational photos we had taken on our research trip. I had never worked in this method before and like he simplicity of the lines that make it easy to follow or challenge traditional silhouettes. I can now use these as a starting point in my design work, taking direct inspiration from highstreet sportswear and carrying it into my final designs with the influence of basic shapes and structure.






Archery: 

 I chose archery as my main sport inspiration for which I would be designing. Because of its lack of pre-existing conventional uniforms and styles, it gives me more freedom to create my own. Archery, though obsolete since the invention of firearms, was revived in Britain as a pastime in the 18th century. Recreational archery soon became an extravagant social event for the nobility. At this time young women were not only allowed to compete in the contests but retain and show off their sexuality while doing so. Therefore, archery came to act as a forum for introductions, flirtation and romance. It is these themes which particularly inspire me and I hope to convey in my final designs.