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Bei Na Wei is one of six fashion graduates selected to take part in The Innovators show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2014.

This is how she describes her major collection:

My collection, Chimera is inspired by the scientific idea of growing a single organism from two completely distinct genetic entities.

 My collection is a final evolution of a creative draping process of growing shapes and structures on the body and then seamlessly splicing these onto wearable garments.

My collection pushes fabrics beyond their traditional uses.  

Industrial strength synthetic mesh textiles escape their expected heavy duty purpose to create stunning soft sculptural shapes.

Leathers are used for their beautiful ability to hold shape and form whilst still maintaining a beautiful liquid smooth surface.

Embellishment beads become structural building blocks to create futuristic 3D geometric honeycomb structures that echo the hexagonal structure of the industrial strength mesh textiles.

Prints reflect exaggerated blown up versions of the beading structures, turning them into artworks in their own right.

Colours are soft to allow the clothes to speak effortlessly for themselves.

The main technique I’ve used to create my garments are a form of experimental draping that I learnt from an experimental patternmaking course I did at Central Saint Martins at the end of my first year.  

We learnt about capturing and translating draped fabric structures into repeatable garment patterns and different approaches to create shapes beyond flat patternmaking methods.  

That course really gave me the confidence to be able to use draping as technique to develop garments that have a beautiful 3d aspect to them beyond 2d sketches
 
Time is always a challenge in putting these looks together.

 The most simplest looking mesh dress in the collection took almost 2 months, 3 toiles and countless fittings to complete, because its absolutely essential that the drape sits perfectly to look effortless.  

Each beaded panel took about 8 hours of hand beading to perfect as well.

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