FASHION AND TEXTILE MUSEUM

Over the years, the Fashion and Textile Museum has held so many incredible and memorable fashion exhibitions, which have always been a great inspiration for my work and looking into greater detail of the history of fashion. This season, it focuses on Knitwear; Chanel to Westwood. The vintage inspired knitwear focuses on the 1920’s jersey, the 1930’s swimwear collection, all the way to Vivienne Westwood and Julien MacDonald’s work. This range of designers and the impact that the whole exhibition has is just incredible, and the art movements over time become so impacting as you enter the world of knitwear. 

When looking around the exhibition, my favourite piece of knitwear would have to be Julien MacDonald’s’ Mixed Synthetic 1900’s sequinned dress. The change between the inner body within the dress and the high neck was just such a different style and added such a power to the piece. Although a neck length, tight, short sleeved garment, there was something very uniquely beautiful about it, and the whole piece was so delicate yet powerful in itself. The panelled body had this incredible, yet simplistic, pattern of silver tones which shaped the figure perfectly. I believe this was one of the most interesting and diverse exhibition that the Fashion and Textile Museum have displayed, and I thought it was just fantastic.

Life Drawing

Within my degree, it is very important to create an individual style within the industry to make sure that you stand out, and you’re remembered by others; this isn’t simply through the means of fashion itself, but the way you create work and pieces which will reflect your personality and style through other means than sight. 

Each Tuesday I participate in a life drawing session of two and a half hours; each is very different, meaning that the outcomes are constantly changing, but also each drawing is so powerful and individual to you, as others will have a completely different view in comparison to yours. This in itself is such an experience, as it allows room for your own interpretation and the way you see the model to shine though, but it also allows you to be able to view the model in your own way; whether that be without a head, or from the waste down, each drawing is unique to you.

After visiting the AOI Illustration Awards, I have become very aware of other individual ways of creating art, and the way they want their individual message to be portrayed; which has allowed me to really think about the style I want to create within my life drawing. Although drawing is not a strong point of mine, I find the whole experience very intense, yet such an incredible way to be able to draw the human body from the primary source. This is something which I wish to continue, and cannot wait to compare my first drawings with my last! The weekly session has already had an impact on my drawing ability, and although at the moment my creations are very sketchy, and with a lot of lines and over-drawing, I am excited to continue on this path to create the perfect drawing.