Origami For Fashion - The Designers

 Here, I have collected some brief information on fashion designers that use creative cutting techniques such as TR; discussed in the 'Origami for Fashion' section of this blog. These designers are very different in their thought processes but each uses unusual cutting and construction methods that create wow-worthy garments.  

Shingo Sato 

 The father of TR; Shingo Sato, is a couture designer whom specializes in transformation reconstruction. Sato designs for private clients, teaching and giving workshops in different parts of the world such as USA, Japan, UK and Italy. He recently gave a TR masterclass in 2010 at Central Saint Martin’s School of the Arts, London and opened a TR Cutting School in Milan, Italy in 2011. . Transformational reconstruction is a more creative and original take on the traditional metric pattern cutting process and is often a technique that involves a lot of trial and error before you can arrive at the desired outcome. Sato works with paper patterns on the stand to create a 3D pattern of a garment to achieve creative style lines and eliminate the need for darts etc. A basic block pattern is adapted into a TR design on the stand and then becomes the base for further design development. This really is origami in fashion form, who knew fabric could be manipulated and moulded to the body like that?

Julian Roberts

 Julian Roberts is a fashion designer, lecturer for MA Mixed Media Textiles at The Royal College of Art, London, and creator of creative pattern cutting method. ‘Subtraction Cutting’. Roberts has shown 13 collections at London Fashion week and has a vast history of workshops and lectures given across the world. He gives demonstrations of his cutting technique in front of large audiences and purchasing a garment from him is not possible without a pattern cutting master class from the man himself.  Each garment Roberts makes is unique and made specifically for the client. SC involves designing with the pattern rather than creating the actual pattern itself primarily by 2D illustrations. The technique focuses on the pattern’s representation of the negative spaces within the garment that make it hollow. SC involves experimenting with hollow shapes that often flow from the designer’s thought process and become something new and fresh rather than emulating previous styles. Subtraction cutting takes the maths and measurements away from metric pattern cutting and replaces it with creativity, balance, body and movement. A bit of a confusing concept but who cares when you can have one of these amazing dresses AND a masterclass from the man himself?!

Iris Van Herpen

 Iris Van Herpen is a Haute Couture Designer whose works are based on creative pattern cutting, unusual materials and scientific matters. Her works focus on representing the soul and character of a woman whilst exaggerating the female silhouette. Van Herpen’s garments are more like works of art that not many people would find wearable due to the sheer weight of many of the garments and the uncomfortable materials used. She often collaborates with artists and science in order to create new shapes, materials and focuses for her collections. Collaborations have included architect Daniel Widrig, milliner Stephen Jones and visual artist Bart Hess. Iris is a must must must designer to research. Definitely look at some of her shows and collections, the garments are just crazy and the inspiration wild. 

Origami For Fashion

Transformational Reconstruction

  My second week studying Fashion Design at UEL involved more creative thinking and trial and error as we experimented with a technique called Transformational Reconstruction (TR). This method is a more creative take on traditional pattern cutting and often achieves a different but better outcome than desired at the beginning of the process. The method requires manipulation of paper patterns a lot like the skills acquired when learning origami; once again showing that fashion is an art form. TR involves working with paper patterns on the stand to create a 3D pattern. I began by creating a basic shirt front pattern using a block. I marked on the darts and cut up one side of each dart. I then pinned the paper onto my mannequin and used it to mould the darts into place and secure them with sellotape. I drew my TR design onto the pattern making sure that the style lines went through the bust points. I then marked notches onto the lines and removed the paper from the mannequin. I lay the pattern piece flat and as the paper overlapped in certain areas; I snipped this away and replaced it in an area with more room. I then pinned this pattern onto clean pattern paper, traced around it and then removed it. I added 1 cm seam allowance to the pattern, notches and then cut this out ready for use. I repeated this process again with a different design. I like this technique a lot as it allowed me to adapt a basic block pattern into something unusual and original that could be shown on the catwalk today. Once the TR technique is understood, flares and gathered volumes can be added into the seams of the style lines with ease; giving the garment technical range and intrigue. 

Basic block with added darts

Darts sellotaped on stand

Final outcome of 1st TR experiment

My own TR design

Final TR pattern piece

Cutting Edge - The Fashion Artists

   Here, I have gathered some brief information on 3 fashion artists that are worth looking at if you enjoyed reading the 'Creative Cutting' segement of this blog. You can find information on all the artists across the internet as well as see pictures of their work and future/past exhibitions of theirs. Each artists is very different from the latter, either by technique, use of medium or proffesion but all are worth looking at and reading up on.

Andrea Zittel

  Andrea Zittel is an American sculptor and installation artist who began working with fashion in the early 1990’s. Zittel is mostly known for her ‘Six Month Uniforms’ in 1991 inspired by her surroundings and everyday activities. The uniforms were a response to the change of clothes each day and the first of these were cut and sewn from fabrics such as basic wool to silk adorned tulle. In 1995-98, Zittel made a collection of ‘Personal Panel’ uniforms inspired by Russian constructivists. The Russians made garments from predominantly geometric shapes; Zittel’s rectangular uniforms were pinned and tied into place rather than adding zips etc. She later went on to produce crocheted collections that became more abstract and modern. This artist is one of the simplest versions of a fashion artist where traditional methods were transformed and new ideas helped create new techniques for sewing. 

Beo Beyond

  Beo Beyond is a German artist and photographer who began working with costume in 2003. Beyond works with luminous materials to blur the distinction between medias and genres. His works are based on lighting with his costumes and other pieces glowing against a backlight. Beyond uses LED lighting systems and fiber optics to create his work as well as provide marketing and advertising pieces for consumers in industry and at events and presentations. Creation of these costumes is very time consuming as they are all handmade and unique one offs instead of being produced in collections or series. More recently in 2011, costumes by Beyond were used in a performance by Project PQ called The Luminous Living Dolls which showcased his newest works to a wide audience of the public. Beyond is a great example of a fashion artist whom works with wearable electronics and phosphorescence which I think is one of the more intriguing aspects of modern fashion. 

Diana Dias Leao

  Diana Dias Leao is a Liverpool based sculptor and ceramics artist whom recently began a career in fashion at the age of 65 after finishing a course in glass-making. Her new collection of wearable art named ‘The Danger of The Image – Dare to Wear’ comprises a collection of glass and ceramic corsets and dresses that target the issue of body image. The collection was created to obtain a reaction from the public of both shock and awe; awe for the beauty and exquisiteness of the garments and shock for the use of media and pain endured for someone to be able to wear the pieces. Leao’s dresses are made from materials such as barbed wire, handmade glass, ceramics and beads; each piece taking weeks to complete. The collection of dresses was shown in exhibition at the Liverpool Walker Art Gallery between March 2010 and September 2011. 

Leao's dresses are often in exhibition around the country so if one comes nearby it is definitely worth going to see these dresses first hand and get a feel for what they're all about. Her garments are a prime example of art as fashion as the dresses are simply exquisite. 

Cutting Edge

 3D Pattern Cutting and Creation

  My first week studying Fashion Design: 'Explore Creativity' at UEL began on the 26th September 2012. Having not designed my own pattern since much earlier that year, the prospect of creating my own pattern there and then seemed pretty daunting, but I soon got to work and enjoyed every step. Rather than adopting the usual 2D metric pattern cutting methods, I used pattern paper taped tightly around a mannequin to create a shell of the female body. I then identified the important points of the pattern such as the bust point and waist line. I then began adding style lines to the paper adding unusual shapes as panels and making sure they went through the important points of the pattern to ensure that the pieces later lay flat. I added notches and labelled each panel so that I could easily match each panel up. I then cut the pattern from the mannequin and separated each panel. I lay them flat, traced them onto more pattern paper and added 1 cm seam allowance. I then cut these pattern pieces out; labelling them for future reference. I then used these pattern pieces to create a toile of my creative garment and was please with the finished product as it fit the mannequin well and had some interesting style lines. I found this workshop very intuitive and thought provoking as I'd never used this method before but it was something that came very naturally to me. For any budding designers or pattern cutters out there I'd recommend using this technique to achieve a more proffesional, couture looking garment or if you want panels without the need for darts etc. 

Mannequin with pattern paper tightly taped

Pattern and style lines added 

Panels laid flat once cut

Final pattern

  

Material Desire

A Trip to The V&A Museum

 London is crowded with museums and galleries filled with inspiration for fashion and art students alike. I visited the Victoria & Albert Museum to explore it's diverse collection of art from the ages and most importantly to witness their new exhibition: Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950. The exhibition focuses on fashion's progress through the years from 1950; its growth, development and regression of earlier styles. The exhibition displayed a variation of garments from different cultures and eras; each with their own beautiful and unique components. If you have already visited the exhibition you'll have noticed designer's disregard to practicality in their designs with garments such as Craig Lawrence's A/W 2010/11 Knitted Silver and Gold Foil Dress and Gareth Pugh's 2011 Silver Leather Dress. These pieces stick with the idea that the body is a blank canvas and fashion is art to be displayed upon it. I was inspired by the rawness of some of the garments and the exquisite detail in others; for example, Alexander McQueen's A/W 2010/11 'Angel' Woven Silk Dress - a hand painted masterpiece and one of McQueen's last works before his death. The exhibition proved that not much has really changed in the fashion since the 1950's. Yes, our technology has improved, materials are now more domestic and unique, and styles themselves more outrageous; but each and every garment I viewed drew from the era of the hobble skirt and spaghetti straps. The ballgown exhibition is showing until 6 January 2013 and is well worth a visit as the book available just doesn't do the garments justice. Here are some photos I took during my visit to give you a taste of what to expect:

Alexander McQueen A/W 2010/11 'Angel' Woven Silk Dress

Craig Lawrence A/W 2010/11 Knitted Foil Dress

Gareth Pugh 2011 Silver Leather Dress