In 2019 Susannah Frankel, via an AnOther magazine email interview, asked Rei Kawakubo, "How important is craft to you, the physical act of making clothes?" RK replied, "I want to try to make things that have never existed, no matter how that may be achieved. That is all I ever try to do."
Many times Kawakubo explores the sculptural and spatial to be found within clothing. She creates form through the craft of cutting, shaping and sewing. As Aaron Betsky wrote, "Like turning a man's double-breasted Prince of Wales checked suit...creating a shape that over exposed what such a suit was meant to express."
A little information concerning the P of W check.
Prince of Wales check or Glenurquhart plaid is a woollen fabric with a woven twill design of small and large checks. The name comes from the Glenurquhat Estate in Inverness-shire, Scotland, where the checked pattern was first used during the 1840s by the Countess of Seafield to fit out her gamekeepers. It was made famous by King Edward the VII, when he was Prince of Wales. Later, the Duke of Windsor further popularized it, when he was Prince of Wales.
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A classic double-breasted Prince of Wales check suit.
And CdG's 2013, 'The Infinity of Tailoring' collection recreation, that Betsky was referring to. Isn't it something!
And, could this jacket from the fall 2014 Monster collection also be P of W check, it's not super clear, but it's a greatly "crafted CdG" jacket.
Here is a fabulous CdG jacket with a Glen Plaid lapel section (the sleeves could be as well)
which, I think comes out of this amazingly crafted creation from the CdG spring summer 2018 'Multi dimensional graffiti' collection.
But you know I actually think this is the most beautifully crafted jacket to come out of the collection. It's not Glen plaid, but it's look of a jacket under a jacket totally captivates me. The interesting sleeve feature on the outer one, and how have they done that sleeve section, with the buttons, on the under one. It looks a fascinating cut, and the buttoning up of the jacket then lifting the collar, nice.
Just before leaving Glen plaid, this is something for film buffs and the sartorially inspired. Gary Grant wore a grey suit in a subtle Glen plaid during the 1959 film, North by Northwest, and here are 2 guys really getting into a great discussion about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=UFI7BkE-CJ0
This wee doco about recreating the suit, is lots of fun. The craft of tailoring a suit jacket is impressive. Plaid is mentioned, but not actually Glen plaid, never mind.
Craft: An art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, especially artistic and manual skill.
While some argue that craft is a form of skilled manual labour focused on functionality and practicality, and fine art is a form of creative expression focused on aesthetics and intellectual content, others maintain that the line between the two is blurred and subjective.
The London Craft Council, where I have spent many a happy hour,
has the mission statement: We believe craft skills and knowledge enrich and uplift us as individuals and can change our world for the better.
I couldn't agree more!
And the work the Craft Council is doing to encourage more making is always inspiring, especially their: 'Material World
Make a Sustainable Future'
Craft Council's Craft School, an annual challenge to get schools making again. It's all about
Make First, use hand skills to explore materials, take risks and make 3D forms in response to 3 themes:
1) Renewable Materials. Making using found materials to explore local habitats and nature.
2) Creative Mending. Explore ways to mend and combine materials to give them new life.
3) Reclaim and Reuse. Save materials that would otherwise become waste to tackle sustainably climate justice and making practices from around the world.
I am particularly interested in Stitches Academy's response to this challenge. They sound an interesting school of making. They have something going that I would love to be a part of. "Passionate about teaching and developing skills in all textiles based disciplines. Dressmaking, printing, dyeing, weaving, fashion illustration, pattern cutting and so much more..." All the things I delivered in my MC classroom.
Check them out re Crafts Council Material World
Here are 2 wonderful works of cool craft, from students I worked with at MC
Aline's delightfully embroidered shoulder bag reflecting a "cottage core aesthetic". This aesthetic celebrates simple living, rooted in traditional skills.
And, Molly's fabulous 'Frankenstein Monster Dress', constructed from leftover fabrics pieces. It was a wonderfully crafted metamorphosis of garment creation.
Before moving on...I love this image, I have it up on my whiteboard, where I post the layout of the day's lesson.
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Maija Nygen, of Almaborealis 'Create. Think. Play. Learn. Grow.' absolutely embodies this and it's totally embedded in Craft.
The most wonderful wearable puzzles, which a child can playfully assemble together using a tactile tool kit, while learning the life skills of dexterity, creative thinking and problem-solving. The whole concept is the most fabulous celebration of traditional craft skills. Take a joyful look through the site, and be inspired!
Here is my personal statement regard 'craft'
"All the resources I work with, needle, sewing machine, cloth, thread, paper, pencil, set-square, plus what I do with them, I call 'my craft'. Working with my craft is the main way I express myself in life. I draw and write with needle, thread and fabric. It takes time, precision and endurance. I am a 21st Century Needlewoman!"
One of my latest expressions, worked with fabric given to me, is this plaid patch dress,
which I have followed up with a customised hand bag. The original came into my hands from a colleague at work who gave a lovely array of cheeses to Eric, as a thank you for a little job done. The bag was strongly structured from hessian with a logo embellishment, which I have covered and now made my own to wear with my plaid patch dress.
In the 2018 Spring collections, a number of designers were keen on expressing the aesthetic of craft.
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| Dior |
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| Loewe |
Loewe creative director, Jonathon Anderson said, "Craft is integral to design; it's how you learn what something is about, how it works, about the materials." "There's a genuine living spirit in a handmade thing that makes it worth hanging onto."
Anderson is right behind craft and fashion. In 2013 he set up Loewe's annual Craft prize, saying, "It's about being associated with something....trying to define ourselves not through image, but with a skill...
When I joined Loewe, I wanted to set this prize up because I would be in the factory and see people who work in my team sit there painstakingly making bags - I mean hours and hours - and we forget that. We have teams of craftspeople refining and refining... the hours that goes into making a bag is crazy. I thought, how can I do something which I love and shed light on things that should have more light on it?"
Nice one Jonathon Anderson, seriously thinking about your craftspeople, your workers, Impressive!
In 2018, 'Le Kilt' designer Samantha McCoach decided to show her collection during the London Craft Week as opposed to London Fashion Week.
Samantha McCoach"s Italian grandmother was a traditional kilt maker for 40 years, and Samantha would often sit and watch her work her craft. The aim of 'Le Kilt' is to modernise traditional kilt-making processes, but craftsmanship remains central to its practice.
Samantha McCoach says, "We think it is important to draw parallels between craft and fashion to remind people of its importance, particularly in the age of fast fashion. As a small brand....our dedication to craft is a very purposeful attempt at helping people to understand the work and time that goes into making clothing."
This is an excellent site, 'NGV Fashion Friday's', and this particular one includes Samantha McCoach. The other two designers are just as interesting. It is highly informative, with wonderful descriptions of the designers work. All three designers have a strong grounding in craft.
Earlier this year, there was a headline, 'Craft Takes Centre Stage at London College of Fashion'.
Two young designer students presented rather exciting collections, which reflected an appreciation of craft.
Emily Saunders has a background experience of working alongside traditional milliners in Luton. She incorporated aspects of this craft into her collection, that focused on, 'owning one's space as a woman'. Fascinating!
Mariia Pavlyk, embraced her traditional craft by handweaving pieces of the collection, using a technique she was taught by a small community of women in Ukraine. Sounds so interesting, and so appreciative of what has gone before and not wanting it to be lost.
And some inspirational New Zealand designers, who expressed the concept of craft into their collections:
Wellington sustainable textile artist, Anna Hicks, is passionate about sustainability and the health benefits of creativity. For her 2013 Massey graduation collection, she presented the glorious 'Metamorphostitch', an upcycling of handcrafts into fashion.
This is a neat site to view Hicks collection in a bit more detail. I appreciate the 'Postcards' section, as each postcard gives a hint of what that garment has come from. Such creative and clever work.
And, Hilary Ng, who in 2015 won the ECC NZ Student Craft/Design Award for a fabulous experimental fashion collection 'Ng', which worked with the craft of pattern cutting.
In this small collection, Hilary Ng explored the creating and controlling of volume and fullness through patternmaking techniques. She wanted to see what was possible with pattern cutting and construction techniques, as opposed to relying on rigid fabrics or underlying structure to hold the shape. Love it!
'The Art of Craftsmanship' is a wonderful collaboration with photographer Tim Walker and Tod's, the Italian luxury footwear, apparel and accessories company.
The collaboration produced great images of the tools, products, quality and tradition that deliver Tod's craftsmanship.
Here is a very informative craft fanzine, which you can peruse
This is one of the most pertinent sections for me, an excellent flowchart working out cultural appropriateness. I know I have made mistakes in the past.
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A little display I have put up in my TC classroom. The felt letters come from the Craftivist group I tried to get up and running at MC. I didn't want them to go to waste. I spelled out this phrase alongside the embroidery frame, which relates to my 'SewRound' website. It might inspire someone.
Much of my blog has demonstrated craft and creativity being one and the same.
I relate to this comment from Denise Shekerjian. "The trick to creativity, if there is a single useful thing to say about it, is to identify your own peculiar talent and then to settle down to work with it for a good long time. Everyone has the aptitude for something. The trick is to recognize it, to honor it, to work with it. This is where creativity starts."
This banner is my last word.
SLTSLTBsigning off.
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