AFTER MUCH ANTICIPATION, THE COLLECTION CONCEPTS OF ALL 21 DESIGNERS ARE HERE!
READ THROUGH TO GET A GLIMPS OF THE INSPIRATION BEHIND EACH COLLECTION
MISTRESS OF ELMINA
Mistress
of Elmina is a collection that follows the progression
of cultural change imposed through forced control and manipulation of dress in
the African city of Elmina. The enforcement of Western adornment by colonising
governments was not conducive with Elmina’s traditional values and was resisted,
resulting in the loss of freedom.
Juxtaposition of raw and elaborate
signifiers is used to convey the journey of two conflicting cultures, one valuing
wealth and excess and the other, in stark contrast, living a simple peasant lifestyle.
Cultures not in harmony, as each does not respect the other; beginning to move
in the same direction, slowly synchronising. Painfully looking back, and
victoriously moving forward.
Lucy
Aboagye
ESCAPISM
During
the 1930s worldwide depression, people were desperately looking for forms of
escapism which they found in entertainment. The circus emerged as a key vehicle
for their escape, it was like entering an entirely new world, a world of magic,
where anything you wanted could come true. Today we again find the world in a
depression of sorts, with people seeking ways to escape the pressures of
contemporary life.
Using
my investigations into the costume of the 1930s circus, I have created a
collection that aims to re-evoke this sense of escapism. By exploring the
strong influences of the time, such as the Bauhaus movement and the Triadic Ballet,
I have developed an understanding of the philosophic and aesthetic influences on
costumes of this period. With this in mind I have created a range oozing with
the passionate, sexy and sultry nature of this past era that will provide the
contemporary wearer with the experience of escape provided by the circus in the
1930s.
Bethany
Andrews
| A V I A R Y |
Metamorphosis is the process of transformation.
Birds can be seen to reflect characteristics of the human female such as
purity, sophistication and elegance. Some of the most fascinating features of
birds can be seen in their performance of nesting, flight patterns and the expression
of beauty through plumage displays. This collection attempts to capture and translate
these performances through the use of a monochrome of whites, diverse textures
and scaled folding techniques applied to the creation of garments designed to
enhance these characteristics in the female wearer. The collection includes a
range of juxtaposed, structured and draped silhouettes. This medley of forms is
used as a metaphor for the stages of evolution and the female’s ability to adapt
by absorbing surroundings and interpreting them in a manner that exudes beauty
and demands the attention of the eyes of those who pass. The garments in this
collection integrate the characteristics of both species into one power; let
this concept evoke you.
Iva Arapovic
FEAR
ME
Many humans are afraid of objects or
situations for unknown reasons. In extreme cases irrational fears are referred
to as phobias. One commonly known fear is the fear of spiders; arachnophobia.
In my collection the drape qualities of silk
chiffon and muslin are used to represent the fluidity and transparency of a spider’s
web. The dark emotion of the phobia are showcased through fabric colour, with
black as the dominant choice, which is complemented by accents of silver and
grey. Strips of velvet ribbon are used to reflect the texture of a spider and
the lines created by the web. Foiling positioned under the garments, indicates
the foreboding sense of a spider hidden within the web. To reinforce the sense
of a web like encapsulation of the body, wire structures form accessories
placed upon the head and around the neck.
Renae
Basso
SWAMPED IN SPLENDOUR
The swamp’s resident ferns, fungi, algae
and mushroom flowers inspire silhouette, line work and layers in this
collection.
Softly textured and toned fabrics form the clothes
while organic tailoring punctuates them in the hope of creating a swamping yet
splendid image of the wearer.
The swamped environment appears misty,
morbid and lacking in life, but glows with the promise of eternity when exposed
to sunlight.
My work is driven by conceptual paradox;
the festering against the flourishing; menace against glory; grit against
euphoria. All of which periodically exist with the other.
Elena Bollweg
IGNORE
THE MESSAGE
From
the tonnes of textile dyes and pesticides polluting our water systems; to the
sub-standard working conditions in manufacturing factories; the fashion
industry holds its fair share of “dirty little secrets”.
Using
shocking images of the catastrophic affect this industry has had on both the
environment and people, I’ve created a collection that depicts the chaotic world
that would be if we continue down this destructive path.
This
collection, titled Ignore the Message,
aims to help stop the common attitude of being blissfully ignorant towards
environmental issues and to slow down the flow of fast fashion.
The
collection challenges the usual perception of ‘Eco-wear’ and contemporises it
for a more youthful, fashion-forward market.
Kathryn
Casey
SKELETON
“Every secret of the body was rendered up -
bone risen through flesh, sacrilegious glimpses of the artery or an optic
vein.”
Ian McEwan, novelist and screenwriter
Inspired by the human anatomy and
circulatory system, Skeleton,
displays these concealed yet emerging features that make up the body. Garments
cage the body like ribs, joining at the centre back and front of the chest.
Deep red and blue LED lights follow the body’s highways, symbolising veins and
arteries. Made up of pear-shaped, organic forms and satin lustrous fabrics, Skeleton captures the attraction of
human anatomy.
McEwan,
I. 2001. Atonement. London: Jonathan
Cape.
Sherine Chua
S E L F
As our busy lives shift between friends,
family, work and study, we often find ourselves changing the way we behave. We
mould the way we act to fit in with the expectations of situations and the
people around us and as a result we develop different personalities which
present themselves in different circumstances. It is the layering of these
different and sometimes opposing personalities that together create our
complete, unique identity. This collection highlights the contrast between our
relaxed and unrestricted personalities and the version of ourselves which we
mould to fit in with social restrictions and expectations. This moulding,
reflected in tight, dark garments, is broken down to reveal the different,
colourful personalities hidden beneath. The prints focus on the importance of
facial expressions in conveying emotion, whilst the sheer, dip-dyed silk
represents the building up of different personalities and individual
characteristics. S E L F aims to
express the individual’s many selves and celebrate their part in the creation
of a complete identity.
Hannah Cummuskey
JOURNEY OF LIFE
My work investigates the potential for the
embedding of memory into cloth. Working with pieces of material that reflect
the memories of human life, I create garments that are a gathering and patching
of these memories. The memories that emerge from both good and bad experiences
can be kept and then revealed through the garments that are made. Each of these
garments speaks of the journey of life.
Thuy Linh Dinh
A LIFE IN WOOL
The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring
from the land and the structures built within.
The dogs bark and the men shout along with the
regular buzz of engines and clatter of sheep.
The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of
lanoline and ammonia sweeps the floors.
The workers are a flight of activity, movements
repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.
Cordelia Gibbs
MATYO
Matyo Hungarian folk art features bright and bold
floral motifs which are heavily embroidered onto clothing and decorative
textiles for the home in various regions of Hungary. In Hungarian peasant
culture, costume can act as a carrier of family heritage and cultural memories.
As a treasured garment is passed from one generation to another, there is an
accumulation of embellished layers of embroidery.
My Hungarian origins have driven me to research the
traditional Hungarian peasants and their lifestyle, cultural beliefs and
systems. Inspired by this, Matyo focuses
on traditional forms of embellishment, interpreting these through a combination
of traditional hand work and modern machine technology. The Matyo motifs,
inspired by nature, are also used to inform the garment structure through the
integration of layering and the translation of two dimension shapes into three
dimension forms.
Matyo
is a poetic interpretation of the traditional Hungarian ornamentation, expressed
through the use of rich colour, texture and forms on the body.
Emma Kalotas
GOLDEN FORMS
Golden Forms is unashamedly all about power. This sense
of power is created using solid, graphic, gilded forms that give the wearer a
perception of armour and an expression of the sublime. Drawing inspiration from
the lines and shapes found in 16th Century Renaissance armour, my aim is to
create garments of strength and individuality. I wanted to empower women through
the wearing of these garment, to assert their own identity.
Gautam
Kapoor
IMMERSION
This
collection is inspired by the dynamic nature of water, with a particular focus
on its ability to morph from one state to another, uninhibited and free. Water
has an innate ability to overcome a myriad of obstacles. The designs in my
collection Immersion investigate the
transition, from the solid to the liquid to the vapour. This fluid physicality
is represented in the application of materials across my designs. These are
visualised through digital prints on soft flowing silks, in the gossamer nature
of the detailing trims and in translucent acrylic headwear elements. I have
been inspired by the structure of ice, the flow of water and the transparency
of vapour. All of this is reflected in the hues of turquoise and shades of
white, in the embellished crystals and agate stones, symbolising the sun
glistening over the ocean’s surface.
Sophia Lenzo
THE EMPRESS’S NEW CLOTHES
Imperial Russia represented an age of great
opulence and wealth, a time when lavish celebrations continued for days and
high society surrounded themselves with the finest of luxuries. It was an
empire built on ceremony and the riches of a majestic life; a country ruled by
class. This collection embodies the decadence and extravagance of a royal life,
referencing both historical figures and today’s modern equivalent of royalty,
celebrities, who function as the contemporary emperors of dress. Past and
present, such figures use garment as a tool to convey power and status. Authority
and wealth is expressed through the application of embellishment and use of voluminous
forms in the collection. This unspoken language evident in historical and
contemporary high society dress reveals the power of garment and its ability to
define a wearer in whom the value of the cloth determines the value of the
person.
Jessica Moro
OPULENT OFFERINGS
Contemporary society and the delicate, fragile
nature of past cultures are often seen as incompatible in the modern world we
live in today. This collection presents an investigation into the establishment
of harmony between modern elegance and traditional cultural ways of making
garments.
Traditional dress of Macedonia expresses power
through volume and embellishment, which can be seamlessly combined with the
indulgent society of today. The two worlds are brought together, the colour
palette representing the lavish luxury of the modern era and the cultural past
shown through the silhouette and techniques applied to each garment. In essence,
combining these two ideas creates an opulent offering of old world technique
with new world luxury.
Katie O’Neill
HAJENA - BRIDO
People from all walks of life represent a hybrid of
different cultures. I am a hybrid of western and non-western cultures: a fusion
of Italian and Sudanese heritage; a balanced multifaceted being.
The circle is a symbol for unity and the wholeness
of life. Each culture is represented as its own complete circle which is
dictated by its unique characteristics. By interlocking these opposing circles
together, it depicts how the facets form a united whole, and therefore my
complete identity.
Shahira Salih
TACTILITY IN BEAUTY
Tactility in Beauty
considers the relationship between the sense of vision and the other senses,
and how our perception of garments can be manipulated through different tactile
stimulations. The tactile experience can be applied to enrich the perception
and experience of garments, through texture and fabric manipulation. The Eyes of the Skin by Juhani Pallasmaa
(2005) explores the importance of the tactile senses in our experience and
perception of the world around us, where the domination between the sense of
vision and touch has been enlightened. This project aspires to integrate this
investigation into the creation of a bridal collection, and to associate this
idea with the notion of beauty.
The concept of ‘tactility’ has been explored
through an understanding of the relationship between the senses of touch and vision.
This is reflected in the textural manipulations used to add surface dimension
which is activated by light and shadow, creating visual stimulation, and enhancement
of the white surface of the garments.
Pallasmaa, J. 2005. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Great Britain:
Wiley Academy.
Kezia Soedjono
PARADIGM
SHIFT
Physical scars cannot be healed or forgotten, taken
away or hidden. They are something that live with us and on us for life.
Attached to these scars are memories, both good and bad. Physical scars, some small,
some unbearable, whether hidden away or visible to the world, will always be
with us.
This collection is about wearing your scars. While
initially inspired by an investigation into the scarification that resulted
from the ill-treatment of African American slaves, it resulted in a broader
recognition of the personal and cultural significance of scaring. Similar to
what we wear, our scars represent us and who we are. These scars should be
embraced as part of our lives and worn with pride because they have essentially
helped form who we are today.
Samantha Spini
DISTORT
The suit and shirt; unchanging in their tailored
conformity, abide by unwritten guidelines. They can represent a traditional means
of fitting into society’s narrow ideals or can also be part of a broader
obsession with perfection.
The Distort
collection creates a new set of guidelines by pushing the boundaries of proportion
and scale, exaggerating volume, blurring the conventional gender codes and
generating new silhouettes. This dramatic transformation of the tailored forms
of the suit and shirt questions the world’s restricted concept of beauty and
produces alternatives which challenge tradition, and at the same time create a
liberated, refreshing beauty of their own.
Sophie Tudor-Roberts
MOMENTO
MORI
“Throughout
history, death has held humanity at the grip of fear…and fascination”
Jackie Pennington
The
individual’s choice to embrace either the fear or fascination of death is
influenced heavily by their family, tradition and culture. My collection
focuses on the contradiction between two cultures’ ideologies of death - exploring
the contrasting aspects of typical Western culture and Mexican culture. The
aesthetics of these cultures present opposing responses; from a position of
fear and dark morbidity to a celebrated and embraced part of life, accepted.
Within Mexican culture, Dia de los Muertos (Day of
the Dead) is a warm, vibrant celebration of death, filled with colour and
embellishment. Coloured beading, floral motifs and momento mori are an integral
part of this celebration. In contrast, the colour black has strong associations
with Western conventions for the celebration of death. The primary fabric used
in my collection, black lace, reflects elegance, femininity and the romantic
connotations that it holds. This collection hopes to convey a sense of balance
and elegance between the cultural contradictions that surround the celebration
of death.
Laura Vlais
THE WILD ONE
The Wild
One explores the relationship between bikie culture
and contemporary fashion. In modern society, bikie culture is seen to be one of
a rebellious nature with harsh connotations of lawless behaviour and a strong
gang affiliation. The collection references key bikie imagery to generate
outfits that are strong in their reading of such a culture. Within this
reading, however, the collection aims to challenge these perceptions of the
culture through a contemporary application of cultural signifiers. Through
print, material selection and embellishment the collection presents a
combination of male and female garments that are edgy and contemporary within
our modern society while still reflecting the traditions of dress found in bikie
culture.
Raquel Williamson
