Creative Review – Acid Niculae Fahion: Textiles & Surfce Pattern – Penny Marriott
During this project I chose to focus on the 1920’s, this is incredibly out of my comfort zone as I focus on the styles of the 90’s and 2000s. This has forced me to grow as an artist and take on different inspirations and ideas. This new approach has forced me to be confident and taught me how to produce work more efficiently. However, I came across problems such as lack of inspiration or not knowing who to search for, I knew that I wanted to push myself but didn’t know where to start. I tackled this issue by borrowing a very old book of one of my friends and diving into the world of vintage Vogue, all the way from the 1900 to 1930. In doing so I discovered many other designers such as Madeleine Vionnet who has become a huge inspiration in my work.
During my initial weeks in my specialist area, I have learned that I am an incurable perfectionist, I have also learned that I tend to focus on ideas that are not manageable in time. For example, I tend to focus on hand embroidery and lengthy tailoring projects. This is an issue as I struggle to meet deadlines, however, I have just taught myself to start from 0. Instead of starting with a huge idea start with a little one and develop it until it reaches its best point. This has been effective for me as I have been able to progress and create a sufficient number of designs without art block. I have also learned that I have a flair for the dramatic, this has driven me to create incredible designs, fresh and vintage. I have managed to combine everything that I love about the past with today’s glamour. You can see this in my designs in the cut outs, and flattering shape of the garments.
The medium I work with changes the way I approach projects. For example, working with fabrics and textiles I take a very laid-back approach as I’m rather confident and content. Other mediums tend to intimidate me, I manage this by trying it out and making sure I’m following instructions to the best of my abilities. This has taught resilience and problem-solving skills which I use daily.
I didn’t always love fashion. I thought that psychology and ethics were my calling, but I was sailing through life forgetting about my love for the creative. I’ve always been very fashionable, I wanted to see if I could take it further. For me this meant discovering a deeper love for clothing and what it can do, from up-cycling to creating your own garments. I started altering my own clothes at 14 when I started getting involved with the local punk scene, I learned how to make patches and hand stitch them on trousers and jackets. As much as I loved it I had more important things to be getting on with. However, after 1 traumatic summer I decided to develop this love that I have for printing and textiles further.
Madeline Vionnet has influenced me immensely this project. This is because during her time she used her tailoring skills to follow the female body and enhance it in such a way that corsets would become a thing of the past. This has inspired me as I am highly focused on body positivity and enhancing what is there. As a woman focusing on women’s wear, I like focusing on clothing that looks gorgeous and makes the wearer feel her best, sexiest, most confident self. Madeline was ahead of her time constructing perfect simple looking chic garments, with the precision of a master geometrician (Madeline Vionnet).
For me, Alexander McQueen has also become a huge inspiration. I knew a lot about him and his work before but watching McQueen in college has made me realise that I love the way his designs tell a story of his own practice. I adored how McQueen put feeling to clothing. This inspired me into a fashion pathway as I have never been able to express my feelings on canvas, however, in fabrics it became somewhat natural.
My plans for next year are contributing to my career path as I will be going off to Manchester Metropolitan to study Fashion Design. This is contributing to my career path as I am planning on becoming some sort of designer. A university course will be able to help me achieve that as I will be learning the ins and outs of dress construction.
Bibliography
Victoria and Albert Museum. (n.d.). V&A · Madeleine Vionnet – an introduction. [online] Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/madeleine-vionnet-an-introduction.
