The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has trained its fair share of high profile designers. Bachelor of Design in Fashion & Textiles fourth year student Alyssa Choat takes us behind the scenes of her major project for 2009.
In my major design project, I aimed to create a collection that was complex, innovative and different to known representations of feminine dress. I wanted to create a strong aesthetic signature and to do this I drew on a wide range of research. I felt, the wider the scope of my research, the greater depth my collection would have. This research led me to the dominant theme of my collection: Hair. As a textile, a fabrication and inspiration for form.
I was drawn to hair because of the undercurrent dark notions it seems to carry. There is a certain duality to it - beautiful when on the body but disgusting when off. This made for interesting design challenges: how to create a balance between the ugly and the beautiful, to repel or to appeal? Or both? Plus, how to work with this medium on fabric?
I found images of artworks from the Victorian era where the hair of the deceased was weaved into intricate, beautiful wreaths as a memento of the person. These artworks were tonal brown and grey, intricate but also in a dark way, repelling.
One of these images I used as a dominant print in my collection. From far away the patterns are appealing, but up close or with the knowledge that it is actually hair, the aesthetic is interpreted differently.
My print work began with experimental photography. I suspended a wig in water and took a bunch of close up shots of the shapes and patterns it made. I then manipulated their colours and tones in photoshop and created repeat patterns from these images. While hair garments have been done before, prints of hair still carry the concept of my collection but in a more subtle approach. I printed onto Silk Jersey and Heavy Silk Twill to allow for the colours and tones of the prints to be particularly vibrant.
The merging of design and textiles was difficult. Working in drape, my initial sketches and vision for my work changed completely. My conceptual focus shifted and my collection became more about the hair textiles and silhouette stand work. I felt my designs needed to become more spontaneous which lead to the inclusion of further textiles and more dramatic silhouettes.
Pieces of my collection are about drape and fold, some almost like origami. Key elements of the collection run through most pieces. Sleeves draped on the body, are raglan, placed on top of the garment. They are always a feature, with tucks and pleats creating fullness.
Along the way my aims changed completely and necessarily. My garments need to appeal if they are to sell and the styling provides an opportunity to convey the concepts behind the collection without being confronting. There is always a tension in design of how to successfully render a theory into practice? Inevitably, practice will change the initial vision of an aesthetic, evolving the pieces into the final collection.
Designers and students, what are some of the challenges you've faced in turning a design concept into reality?