Right, I'm ready to get into Blog #8 and surrounded by heaps of "stuff" I want to work with, and, as is often the case, to start is the hardest part.

I'm going to work with an 'Architectural' theme in this blog.
There is such an interesting connection between Architecture and Fashion.  Once you start looking into this concept, it leads in all sorts of directions, and, is very absorbing and going to involve interesting shapes.

The starting point for me is CdG's S/S 2009 RTW collection, which is an amazing investigation into garment geometry, and a return to black for RK. The collection worked with hexagonal cutting in tops and skirts using vinyl leather.  It is very inspiring.  Here are some images from the collection.

Sarah Mower reviewed the collection and her sentence "frilled edges on stiff plastic tectonic shoulder plates" proved inspirational for my creation from the collection.
Tectonic as an adjective: of or pertaining to building or construction; constructive, architectural.

 I purchased the black vinyl leather for a project I was working on a couple of years ago, but never used it on my original plan. So, there it was, under my work table, and off I went, cutting hexagonal shapes and stitching them together. It was a very organic experience as it grew and took on its own shape to a degree. Very tectonic.  The soft fabric ruffle ribbon was a good way to finish the upper edge.

My Hexagonal Capelet, worn with the sculptural skirt I talked about in a previous blog, which was also inspired by the same collection.

As I have already stated, Architecture and Fashion are strong companions.  They share similarities, both provide protection & shelter, both provide means to express identity.

There have been a number of exhibitions that cover the topic.  The particular one that I want to refer to is Skin & Bones, Parallel Practices In Fashion & Architecture, but before I do, here are some sketched images that demonstrate the influence of Clothing History & Architecture.

There has always been an influence between dress and buildings.  No doubt the first garments and houses made by early humans were motivated by the need for protection and shelter.  Many times garments were fashioned in the image of the buildings and vice versa.

  

In the Egyptian image the angularity of great tombs and patterns on massive columns were reflected in the clothing and head wear.

The Greeks and the Romans followed a connection between buildings and dress. Folds of cloth in the chitons and togos reflect the wonderful columns that held up the awe inspiring temples and villas they constructed.

The "Dark Ages" are considered rather formless in both architecture and clothing.  The Church was doing a lot of the building and some wealthy nobles got the opportunity to appreciate rich cloth and colour.  General man was otherwise living an impoverished lifestyle, seemingly lacking the capacity to imitate and invent.

The Middle Ages was a time of awakening.  Human imagination came into it's own.  Tall spires, pointed arches and somewhat simple columns echo in the long lines of gowns, hanging sleeves and a plain outline of the body.  As Gothic architecture became more elaborated with abundant carving, clothing also became more decorated. 

The Tudor period was a new and revolutionary time in Western architecture.  The burly figure of Henry VIII

fits so well into the sturdy outlines of a Tudor arch and the woman's head wear imitates the structural shape. Henry delivered a strong influence upon the buildings of the day, which then exerted an influence upon the king. 

The Elizabethans became more distorted, padding, varst quantities of heavy material and elaborate decoration/detail. The architecture and furniture was bulbous and stiff.

The Seventeenth Century initially saw the shape of the body become more natural and less exaggerated, then fashion dictated exaggeration again.  This time, instead of being wide, everything was tall and narrow, hair styles, head-dresses, furniture and windows.

The Eighteenth Century delivered a simple broad design outline with elaborate decoration within it.  

The Nineteenth Century (Regency & Victorian) saw rapid changes in fashion.  The Regency delivered simple classical lines, geometric patterns and details.  The Victorians however, had a lot of fun playing with all sorts of shapes and forms, which seemed to be based on styles from previous periods.  Architecture or costume could have many different examples of decoration and trimming.

(These images and information came from 'Designing and Making Stage Costumes'.  Sorry, no record of author)

Now, the fascinating exhibition: Skin & Bones, Parallel Practices In Fashion And Architecture. 2007.

This exhibition involved 46 internationally renowned architects and fashion designers, covering the period 1980s to 2007.  It explores the evolving relationship between architecture and fashion, suggesting exchanges of ideas/concepts enabled innovative work within each discipline.  The similarities are both interesting and fascinating. "Architects and fashion designers construct for and around the body, both respond to the needs of the environment, and the best in each field make it their business to push the boundaries further outward."(Andy Pickering & Lily Richards, magazine supplement)  Fashion designers and architects creating spaces, shapes and statements in response to needs and wants of the human body.  

Here are some interesting images from the exhibition

Yokohama International Port Terminal.  Victor & Rolf  One Woman Show (F/W 2003)

Mikimoto Ginza 2.  Petal Dress Detail (Unsure of designer)

These are CdG designs.  She has used intensive folding as a major design feature.  The left and centre images were used in the Skin and Bones exhibition, which considered the vertical folds to look similar to load bearing structures found in high rises.  The right hand image is from, Fashion, A History from the 18th to the 20th Century. The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute. (A fabulous book!).  I have always loved this picture.  I love how it is tied with the bows.  Apparently, nine layers of fabric are pleated and sewn together forming the bodice and skirt, with the top layer having a print and vinyl coating.  I wonder what RK's conceptual statement was for the instigation of this 1998 S/S collection?
Check this youtube site re the collection...it's great....www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8EUqVaGqyc

This is the guidebook for the exhibition, when it was shown at Somerset House, and if you go onto this link
http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/documents/skinbones_exhibition_guide.pdf
you will be able to look through it.  It has wonderful drawings, both buildings and garments, carried out with clear clean lines.  It is a good resource, and I think the font is pretty cool as well, very applicable.  The guidebook presents the various concepts delivered in the exhibition: body, identity, shelter, geometry and tectonic strategies.

I have my own image to add to this theme.  E and I went on a trip to Whangamomona the other weekend and we drove down a side road which had this 40 foot container at the end of it. E was interested in how it got there, what damaged it etc while, me, I saw pleats...and thought of a Junya Watanabe dress.

CdG inspired sweater

Buildings, constructions, buildings.....Rei Kawakubo is an enthusiast of architecture.  She has worked with a range of highly regarded architects, e.g. Future Systems and Takao Kawasaki in the creation of CdG boutiques from Tokyo to Paris to New York.

I made a special sojourn to 520 W  22nd St, Chelsea, New York, and initially strolled right on by....the exterior is not what you think it would be, but that is very RK.  My photo will explain.

The image on the right gives a better view of the immediate surroundings...but then you become aware of the entrance way. Fantastic.

I also made a visit to the Paris boutique, 54 rue du Faubourg St, Honore.  It's quite different, which is also very RK.

 

I used to purchase a magazine called Nest, and in one edition they had an article on the New York store. The editor's dog was investigating the interior.  He is the most amazing looking poodle dog.  Check it out.

The editor said he had the dog clipped in homage to RK.  We think he had just been to see the Merce Cunningham collaboration with RK.  It was at the time of her infamous Body Meets Dress Dress Meets Body collection.

There is a similarity re the shapes isn't there.

Here is another cool link to see the actual dancing in the costumes  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBlzeehZIeE  It must have been quite an experience dancing in such structural costumes.

I need to end this blog, and seeing as I have just been mentioning shapes and dance. I will post some images of my 2011, Yr. 12 class Fashion Event.  They decided to stage a performance instead of a parade, and worked with a theme of Shape.  Lady Gaga was a popular inspiration for a number of them.  It was a bit of fun, although not without it's problems staging it on the tennis courts, sound quality wise.

I know, I know, I'm meant to be signing off, but just one more image, as it relates to buildings.  It's a bit of fun.  Another image from the Nest magazine I used to get. The summer 2001 edition  commissioned Rei Kawakubo to design a mourning outfit for the United States Capitol.  I love the dome dressed in tulle and ruffled ribbons, very RK.  And the black ribbon threaded through the whole magazine and tied in a bow is a very cool feature.

 

Anyway, that's all for now.

SLTSLTBsigning off.

Blog 7

I want to look at historical influences in this blog.  Historical and cultural influences are strong components in fashion/clothing design.  I deliver a Level One NCEA course at school concerning this very premise, students research their cultural backgrounds, then design and construct a textile outcome which is inspired by it.  It's really interesting, as to the concepts they create.  I'll post some images further on in this blog.

Anyway, historical influences as they relate to some of my beloved CdG's recent collections.........

On the left is Marie Antionnette, wearing panniers, circa 1779.  Panniers originated in the Spanish Court, during the 17th century.  Panniers extended the width of the skirt at the side, leaving the front and back relatively flat.  Don't you think the CdG creations (from F/W 2010 RTW collection) reflect/resemble panniers.....but, in Rei fashion!

What about this one.........

This is a Tudor style.
The sleeves are slashed &
puffs of white taffeta are pulled through
the slashes.

                                                                                                                                                Can you see similar effects on this CdG                                                                                                                                                 creation?  There are openings, through
                                                                                                                                                which material is pulled.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                  

I have come across an interesting web site, which discusses crinoline and pannier influences on contemporary fashion, particularly Comme des Garcons and Yohi Yamamototo.  There are some good images of Rei's infamous "Dress meets Body, Body meets Dress" collection.
The crinoline is an interesting item of historical clothing.  It may be hard to understand it today, but the crinoline was considered a very liberating item of underclothing for women. Prior to the crinoline,  a woman had to wear a considerable number of heavy petticoats to produce the required bell shape.  The crinoline made it a much more "lightweight" affair to achieve that form.
http://agnautacouture.com/2013/06/09/body-modification-in-fashion-crinolines-comme-des-garcons/
Check out part 2 of body modification in fashion, it is fascinating...piercings, tattooing and scarification.
The scarification section reminded me of a student who based her work on this feature.  I have sorted a few images from her folder, as it was quite exciting work she undertook.  The class was working toward a fashion parade event, based on the theme of Africa.

I asked the students to explain their inspiration and influences concerning the theme.  I felt it would help some members of the audience to understand where the garment was coming from.  I have so often been to fashion design events where I overhear people say "I don't get it"

Experimentation & testing going on here...what can be done with fabric that reflects scarification...cool fabric manipulation or modification ideas.

The experimentation has led to the development of a t-shirt with manipulated shapes in the back.   The inspiration is from the fully scarred back seen in the student's explanation of her design.

Making her appearance on the catwalk, right in character, carrying a spear, picked up from Drama dept. props!  The hair and face markings were a nice touch, I thought.

 Here are some images from my class of Yr.11, 2011, and their outcomes concerning design concepts inspired/influenced by their cultural heritage......... (the average age of a Yr. 11 student is 15)

This creation is inspired by an Irish background.  The student wanted to create a shirt dress, and it was a challenging experience for her, but it is still a cool outcome.  She printed the celtic pattern onto the chiffon, which is effective.

This outcome comes from a Korean heritage..Hanbok garment inspiration.  This student had a good feeling for fabrics and how to use them.

 This garment is inspired by a Maori ancestry.  The student has used a Maori patterned fabric for the bodice and skirt hem feature.  I think it is a well balanced design.  I was sorry this particular student did not stay with school, as she had a lot to offer in my subject.

         This is a Pasifika inspiration.   You can see by the screen printed pattern around the skirt.  The student was working with her take on the pulatashi garment.  I think it is very pretty, well composed with the white sleeve and white screen print.  I  imagine this is a very appropriate dress to wear to  Sunday church.

And, here we have a cool hoodie.  This student has screen printed her own design.  Surname on the back, nice font, and on the sleeve is a pasifika image with a rosary bead.  This is a reflection of her ethnic and religious culture...I love it, she did such a good job with her printing.

The first two garments, Irish & Korean, are by 2 students who have gone on to further wonderful design study.  They are now at design school and doing very well.   Check out their web site  www.soarewe.com/blog/
and you'll see some of their work.  If you go to the fashion section, you will see some of the work they designed and created in other Fab. Tech. projects.  It is extremely fab.
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I've finished off a couple of skirts I'd been working on.  One is a black skirt that is inspired by CdG's 2013 S/S RTW collection.  This collection focused on a theme of "crushing" and contained a familiar feature, clothes on clothes or clothes coming out of clothes, which I often have fun with.  The "crushing" I undertook on my skirt was creasing and folding at the hem level.

I cut a very long A-Line skirt, double folded the hem edge and the seam edges, then began the creasing and folding of the hem section.  I started on the dress stand, but it proved difficult, so just took it upstairs and worked all the creasing on the ironing board with the steam iron.  Eventually I was satisfied.

Once I was pleased with how the hem was creased and folded, I pinned and stitched sections in place.  I like the uneven hem, and it is nicely weighted with the folded layers of fabric.

Here is an image of a garment from the actual collection, to get an idea of what Rei was up to

Fantastic crushing and folding with great fabric.

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The second skirt................take one rather plain ordinary pink skirt.... shorten it........ 

then, get a different fabric for an underskirt, (ended up with a stretch mesh because I wanted to match the colour of the original skirt  and the stretch mesh was all I could find that met that specification)....anyway...2 rectangles for the front and back underlayer, and long strips cut and gathered into ruffles, sewed ruffles onto front and back underlayer pieces, then stitched the front and back sections together with french seams....and I have an underskirt....

Next, put the 2 layers together and attend to the finishing, and I have a much more interesting skirt!

I know, it needs a bit of a press!
Ruffles are such fun and very CdG.

Look at some "bursting ruffles" from CdG SS14

These images come 'The Cutting Class", which is a great web site.

Here's a wee bit of fun to finish with.  In my 4th blog I introduced Lynn Yaeger, a fascinating New York woman who also loved Comme des Garcons.  I really appreciated Lynn's approach to her physical appearance.  I think she is an inspiration......look at this image.....

The one on the right is moi.......could we be related!!  And look at this cut and splice image....

Together, we are almost one!  Admittedly, Lynn's fringe is straighter than mine, apparently I just wouldn't sit still!

SLTSLTBsigning off for now.