Repair

I'm looking at repair for my Masters project and as part of this I have been looking to the past, when society seemed more inclined to repair rather than buy new. I recently purchased Make Do and Mend from the Imperial War Museum bookshop, which is a lovey re-issue of the 1943 version given out during the war by the Ministry of Information. I will admit that it was done out of necessity but they have lovely ideas on repairing and re-appropriating textiles.

I came across a really interesting website called Selfpassage and stumbled across an article on repair which examines why, in a contemporary context, fixing garments is not encouraged. It also suggests why it is such a unique and beautiful thing:

'Old and carefully repaired clothes inherit another form of promise than fashion; that of continuous attention, of lasting affection, of careful handling and sincerity. It reveals modesty and virtue. The fabric may be broken, but the repair shows that the affection is unbroken. As the hole is repaired, new attention is added. Hope is fused into the material and form. Self-reliance and trust emanates from repair. A beautiful patching is a manifestation of careful love, a caress of time, a gentle kiss of compassion. Such thing fashion has, so far, never been able to commit to.'

I think this is probably the most beautifully intricate text I have ever read on the subject of repair. It captures all the things that I love about textiles and why I think we should value them much higher than we do currently.

The Polemic of 'Green Fashion'

Through my research into sustainable textile design I tend to sometimes come across statements which trouble me. The very concept of 'green' as a reference to environmental issues could indeed form another argument, but when placed next to fashion it makes it even more troublesome.

For even just to look at the dictionary definition of fashion we discover that it is a 'a popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration, or behaviour' (oxforddictionaries.com). So in this sense fashion is inherently transitional. The very concept of fashion poses a problem for me. As long as we have changing trends we will also have the clothes that we already own which are démodé, which in most cases are destined for the rubbish bin. Even though fashion does work in cycles with the same things coming back into fashion, consider how many people would actually hold onto them in a society where clothes are so cheap and easy to replace.

For me the phrase 'green fashion' presents environmentally conscious designs as just a fad. A concept that is considered, bought into, then disregarded in the same way as a fashion trend.

I see sustainable and environmentally responsible designs as having to completely disregard the whole fashion system. As it stands it moves far to fast to ever be considered environmentally sound.

For me sustainability is about a slow and more meaningful approach to design. Its about buying quality objects which will last a long time, or buying second hand with a view to carry on a legacy.

Finding beauty in strange places

When thinking about how I could change people's views on stains and wear in textiles I thought about how I could refer to nature. I considered how in a woodland the surfaces gradually become consumed with mould and fungus and rot away. A lot of the time these elements of nature are seen as undesirable but they are beautiful. Today I went out with my camera into the woodland and documented some of these things. Diseased trees, fungus, lichen anything that has consumed a surface. One particular fungus (see above) almost looked like velvet. I want to try use this imagery in my textiles to try and get people to appreciate how a surface can be consumed with traces of life just like in nature and promote the idea of building up a surface over time to prevent it from being simply thrown away.

What do textiles mean to you?

It strikes me every so often why I am so drawn to textiles. Whenever I get a bit lost and don't know what I'm doing or where my next project lies I ponder over what textiles means to me. When I ask myself this question it reminds me just how powerful fabric is. From the moment we are born to the day we die we are surrounded by textiles. It is this that makes me wonder why it is that in recent years many people hold so little value in the textiles they buy. I like to think of something having a past life, I love the idea of a hand-me-down quilt or a vintage dress, all the people that have used it, worn it, worked on it. For me fabric naturally has a narrative. I remember as a child carrying around a blanket til it slowly deteriorated and eventually fell apart. I was heartbroken, it shared everything with me. It just seems to me that there is something so beautifully nostalgic about textiles, from the love and care that goes into their making to the stories that they encounter along their lives.

Louise Bourgeois- Textiles

I have to admit that I spend most of my life waiting in anticipation for exhibitions. Normally I read about them months in advance and time seems to pass by really slowly. I am currently looking forward to the Louise Bourgeois exhibition which is to be held at the new Hauser & Wirth gallery on Saville Row in October. The thing that interested me about this particular exhibition of her work is that it is her work on textiles. Having a scout around the Internet and in books I have discovered some really amazing pieces made on cloth. The work to the left is a particular favourite of mine, and has been drawn on cloth using pencil. It almost looks as if it has been done on a stained antique cloth.



I also came across Ode a l'obli which is a book made out of fabric. On closer inspection of the image below one can see that it has been made on a section of old shirt with the button holes along the side.

Summer Exhibition at the RA

I have to admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed with this years exhibition. I have been in previous years and found it very inspiring and this time round I felt it lacked innovation. On a more positive note I could have spent hours in the architecture room, this almost redeemed the lack of interesting work everywhere else. My favourite piece was The Migration of Mel and Judith' by Thomas Hillier which was a really lovely architects model inside a lampshade (See above). I loved the use of stitching to create paths and dotted lines. The whole room made me realise how important layers and 3D forms are in my work.

Celebrated Stains

I think it's important to mention that I have an obsession with stains, decay, wear, anything that is particularly perceived as negative. My work explores how these stains bear the traces of life and I'm keen to challenge our values towards them. I have come across many designers who like me are fascinated by these traces and discovered the work of Kristine Bjaadal. Her Underfull Tablecloth makes accidental spills and stains into a design feature, celebrating the story of their appearance. Also her Underscog Textile prototype embraces the breaking down of textile fibres as something which should be celebrated. The textile wears away to reveal a pattern which celebrates use and denounces throw away culture. These textiles are to be cherished, and over time their beauty grows.

http://kristinebjaadal.wordpress.com/

Mastercrafts-Weaving

I know I am very old in mentioning this as this program was aired months ago but I have only just got round to watching it and loved it. I have many weaver friends and I don't think they get enough credit so it's good to see something celebrating how much work goes in to producing woven textiles. I can safely say this from my taster in first year of the basics of weave where I nearly had a nervous breakdown! So hip hip hooray for the weavers.

Maison Martin Margiela 20 comes to London

I am waiting in apprehension for the Maison Martin Margiela 20 exhibition which is coming to Somerset house in June. They opperate so far away from the norms of fashion and through their designs question the industry as a whole. Thier Artisanal collections have been of particular interest to me as they elevate the status of normal every day objects through clever transformations and re-workings.

The picture to the left is one of my favourites made from strips of elastic and just demonstrates the pure ingenuity of this fashion house.