Fabric Sourcing in Soho

So I took a trip to London to visit some friends and soak up the atmosphere and do some fabric sourcing.

I decided Soho would be the best place to explore as I wanted some really heavily textured fabrics aswell as to have a look at the types of fur available, real and faux. I have been fabric sourcing before but in the hackney area and I knew this wasn't the right area to start searching in. 

Here's a collection of some of the textures and colours I found that I feel would work well in the concepts I have in my head. 

Im still unsure about the real/faux fur and I don't know which one to go for. Im going to have a think about it and maybe do a post on it soon.

I think that these textures would work well on a small scale maybe worked in with some leather or plainer materials? I'm definitely going to use the scaly material in some of my designs as I love the way it catches the light and how it moves. It reminds me of Prada's collection.

Im not sure about the feathers, I think they look at bit cheap so I don't think they would work so well. 

It was a really inspiring trip and I was amazed at the difference in quantity and quality of the fabrics available compared to Cardiff and the surrounding places in Wales! It makes me want to move to London right now so all of that would be in my door step. 

Designers

I have discovered a few new inspiring designers and collaborations over the summer from browsing on other blogs and through the fashion websites but they have been mostly in womenswear. I tried to find some menswear designers that reflected where I wanted to go with my concepts but there wasn't much I could find apart from Chanel's fur jumpsuits.

Chanel fur Yeti suits!
coolspotters.com/photos/378103/chanel-fall-2010

I think some aspects of this could work on a smaller scale maybe with different textures and lengths of the piles. I think its a bit over the top and its not quite cold enough in Britain for anything like this!
I do like the different colours of fur though especially the greys.

Joanna Hynes and Helen Steele
http://www.joannehynes.com/

The next inspirtation I found was Joanna Hynes and Helen Steele. I love this collaboration and will talk about Hynes and Steele in a seperate post but in this garment I love the colour and textures. It just screams out British Regency, its like a cross between a fox hunt and a glamorous dinner party!

Maison Martin Margiela
http://eboutique.maisonmartinmargiela.com/

This modern twist on a classic is very clever by the genius of Martin Margiela. Im not sure if I like it or not I think. I really like the jacket and I think it would be more effective if it was just the jacket with some different garments. It's just a bit too much grey for one image the way it is here!

Prada
http://www.prada.com/en

Well what can I say about this! This is amazing and it rounds up most of my research from the summer. I love the way the light reflects off the scales and the contrast there is between the smooth scales and the rough fur. It makes you want to go and touch it. I love it as its so unusual and you would get second looks walking down the street in this but this isn't always a bad thing! I would love this jacket for the winter it would be such a statement and I can imagine it's one of those garments that everyone would be jealous off.

Tracey Emin - Love Is What You Want

Tracey Emin has been a favourite artist of mine for years and I am fascinated and deeply affected by her work.

She held a retrospective exhibition over the summer at the Hayward Gallery in London which included work from every media and phase of her career. It was a huge exhibition which included her blankets, sculptures, neons, films, furniture, assemblages, drawings, paintings, photographs and writings. 

It was centred around lost innocence and childhood as is much of her work.

It was amazing to see so much of her work all in one place and to be able to get up close to it and see what real skill is involved in making the pices. Each one of her huge blankets is painstakingly hand sewn and the sculptures nailed together by her own hands.

The works that particularly left an impression on me were her blankets and her work relating to the abortions she had and the children she lost. 

I was also deeply affected by a sculptural piece that was almost 'hidden' on a roof terrace. It consisted of three bronze sculptures hidden in opposite corners of the roof terrace, one was a little teddy bear (see below)

"Baby Things" 2008, Emin

 I would like to use the delicate craft methods Emin uses in her crochet work and also the texture contrasts she uses in her blankets within my work. 

Emin describes these pieces of infancy and childhood innocence as "tumbleweed amongst the urban mishmash of society". 

"You forgot to kiss my soul" Neon work, Emin

I also love the slogans that Emin has created in her neon works as they are a snapshot in time that conjures up the feeling of heartbreak and betrayl. I think Emin is an incredible artist and this exhibition really affected me and left me feeling vulnerable and exposed. 

The Stuff Of Nightmares

Continuing with the nightmare theme from the last post this is an exhibition from the V&A Childhood Museum in London. It is on until February and is really worth a visit as it feels like a raw and expressive exhibition, very far away from the polished and carefully planned exhibitions usually put on.


This instillation was made by local schoolchildren working with artists to recreate things they have seen in nightmares. It takes a closer look at the playthings of innocents.
The imagery was very strong and it messed around with innocent looking toys that were made harrowing by the surrounding scene and the context they were placed in. The children and artists played with scale, theme and textures.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/71358-small.jpg

 Imagery taken from a Brother Grimm fairytale

 Terrifying human bunny

Love the fragile and virginal white crochet blanket with the contrast of the dirty back drop.

 Mish mash of themes and objects, animals with creepy doll heads

 Birds were constant throughout the exhibition along with long noses which are often prevalent in scary stories and fairy tales representing evil

When walking around the instillation it felt like you were in a hallucinogenic state as there were bright colours and toys that had their heads replaced with dolls heads and toys that only had one leg.  

 The overall exhibition

Toys in a line up that had been created by the kids to have scary legs and faces

The exhibition also said that it is good to tell children these tales in order to prepare them for the real world and to teach them right and wrong and what is dangerous. I think it was a very effective exhibition and it helped the children to put their fears into 3D form and to face up-to them and realise they are not as scary as they first thought. 

For more information visit: www.vam.ac.uk/moc/whats_on/exhibitions_and_displays/the_stuff_of_nightmares/