Julia Logvin 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:
Initially, I was inspired by the Fibonacci sequence and how the proportions always create something interesting and appealing to the eye.
As I researched further, I realised that this numbering system is found in everything that occurs naturally around us.
Essentially, I looked at the connection between the cosmos all the way down to our oceans and the creatures that dwell within them.
I was really interested in some of the fabrics I found at the early stages of putting this range together.
They all had unique structures and blends of natural and synthetic fibers.
This gave them unusual characteristics and went hand in hand with my inspiration; Sci-fi meets natural wonder.
I was also curious to play with the neo-technical materials we have access to today. I experimented with making my own 3D shapes out of liquid rubber and silicone, then applying them onto fabrics.
The great thing about silicone is that it’s heat and water resistant, so you can easily iron and wash the clothes without damaging the garments.
I also used silicone fringing, (which are small fishing accessories used to make lures) in different ways as embellishment on panels and sleeves.
The movement and silhouette of the clothes is a reflection of life underwater.
From the start, I knew that I wanted to have a lot of texture in the collection, so I felt that my colour palette needed to be strong.
I decided on mostly monochromatic fabrications with black being quite dominant and accents of plum and lemon yellow.
Once that was settled, it was much easier for me to edit the rest of the elements.
I had a couple challenges along the way with the silicone moulds.
Even though I did a few test runs with the silicone before I designed with it, I underestimated how much of it I would need.
Also, the ratios for the chemical mixture have to be extremely precise!
If it sets too quickly, I don’t have time to pour out all the shapes in time, because there are hundreds.
If the mixture is too weak, it wouldn’t set at all.
The process took me a few attempts and batches of liquid silicone before I got the technique right.
Which meant that I was running out of the time I had left to complete the range! But I got there in the end.