Cheree Chantelle Wexler

Another vibrant collection from the degree show at The School of Textiles and Design at Heriot-Watt University. This collection of printed textile designs is for interior furnishings. Designed by Cheree Chantelle Wexler it is very powerful with strong colours and bold floral interpretations.

Imogen Thomson

Imogen Thomson's graduation show at Heriot-Watt University, Galashiels sang out today with its vibrant, optimistic palette and its beautiful soft feminine fabrics and classic dress shapes.
Have a look through her blog where she has shared some of her experiences and techniques, it will give those of you progressing onto Heriot-Watt some insight into what to expect.

Sarah Morbey Flat Pack Fashion

"The fashion and textiles sectors of industry have a reputation for being inherently wasteful and bad for the environment. I want to challenge this perception and raise awareness of the issue through textile surfaces for fashion. I am exploring the secret life of waste, finding beauty and intrigue in mundane and discarded objects. Utilising materials available to me including industrial and household “waste” I have created a collection of flat pack pieces that can be positioned on the body as garments. The materials I have used include plastic, leather and metal. Combining traditional and modern techniques I have re-purposed these materials into beautiful wearable surfaces. Each piece is a one off due to limited materials available and the nature of the design. This in itself encourages the pieces to be valued as unique works of art." Sarah Morbey

Sarah Morbey has just graduated from DJCAD in textiles and has made some wonderful translucent and modern 'collage like' pieces from waste materials.

Jenny Kwella

Jenny Kwella's DJCAD graduate designs are more surface design that could be used for dress fabrics and interior design. Jenny's collections draw from her experiments from different media and collage to represent portraits, life drawing and other sources, a bright and friendly portfolio of work.

Rosalind Crawford

Rosalind Crawford's DJCAD graduate collection drew inspiration from Perth train station's Victorian architectural details and it was wonderful to see in her source books, sketchbooks and final knitwear the journey from the source of her inspiration to the final pieces.

Abigail Crowther

Abigail Crowther's work is beautifully detailed, reminding me of biological diagrams of plant structure, and
her hand made printing blocks are beautifully intricate and have led her want to create three dimensional decorative surfaces.
"Traditional textiles can be very flat so I want to change the perception of it by bringing together paper design and surface design. Inspiration for my project came from the life cycle of a plant, I have always been drawn to the patterns and shapes within nature for my primary drawings." Abigail Crowther 

Louise Campbell

There is lots of wonderful knitwear designs at DJCAD textile graduate show.
These pieces are the work of Louise Campbell:
"This project aims to re establish the relationship between concrete and nature; uniting the organic with the man made. Modern architecture and nature coincide beautifully. This relationship was to ignite my initial research. My knitted garments aim to communicate a link between structure and texture. I paired strong block compositions exploring colour and regularity with hints of textural elements to achieve a perfect balance." Louise Campbell

Judy Scott

"I have designed and created two collections, which wrap and enfold the wearer. For children and big kids a range that will envelop them in colour and is bright and wearable, created using wool the pieces will give warmth and be hard wearing and functional." Judy Scott

Here is Judy Scott's cocoon range for children which has a similar feel to the work of Swedish fashion designer Gudrun Sjödén but both her adult and children's collections also have a strong Japanese influence. 

"Cocoons in nature keep their contents safe, they wrap envelop and enclose therefore I have used this as a source for my research. From birds nests to shells and flower buds, they are formed differently but all serve a similar purpose. Primary inspiration was gathered on the Isle of Mull exploring its may hidden cocoons; limpets, flower buds and mussel shells and from the man made the fishing boats, nets and buoys, amazing examples of form, shape and colour to develop further."  Judy Scott.

Katy Birchall

This is the first post from the wonderful textiles graduates show at Dundee's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

Above is the work of Katy Birchall and her Scottish knitwear label Winston, knitted from merino wool and Scottish lambs’ wool, inspired by 1950's palettes and styling.

Nadine Goepfert

Nadine Goepfert is a textile designer based in Berlin  who's conceptual work developed through tireless research and continuous experimentation creates new possibilities for textiles and fashion. Above are images from her recent exhibition 'The Garments May Vary' where she has worked with amongst other things; liquid pocketed fabric and memory foam in an attempt to capture in the fabric impressions of the wearer.

" 'The Garments May Vary' Is a collection of textiles that are not only flute or worn out, but actually change their form, structure, volume, motif and colour while in ordinary usage. The project investigates the daily usage of apparel and the associated movements of the person wearing it.These movements are accentuated and partially captured within the materials and surfaces of the garments. Each of the materials chosen is used to highlight a different form and duration of change. The garments seek to temporarily or permanently capture the traces, movements and behaviour patterns of the wearer. . . just after undressing is particularly interesting, since it transforms the garment into an almost abstract sculptural object that almost no longer remains noticeable as an actual garment." Nadine Goepfert

Playing with fabric and structure of textiles, gives you a whole new toy box to play with for the production of clothing, with this in mind try to visit all of the degree shows that are happening around the country over the next couple of months, and look out for the Fashion, Costume and Textiles displays. DCA show opens this Friday and runs for a week.
(Thank you)

Madame Peripetie II

Madame Peripetie's latest project is inspired by the architecture of Zaha Hadid, thus pulling together photography, architecture, millinery, fashion , hairdressing, make-up and body painting, so exciting for so many creative people and disciplines to merge and collaborate for a creative project that focuses on the body as a sculptural canvas.

Aguri Sagimori

Wonderful elegant presentation and great layers of transparency and print, this is Aguri Sagimori's AW 2013 collection called 'Gran Pas de Shat'. Please explore all of her collections they are stunning.

 Aguri Sagimori graduated in 2007 from the Vantan Design Institute of Fashion and immediately won the New Designer Fashion Grand Prix Prize for Excellence and the Nagoya Fashion Contest 2007 Grand Prix. This year she also launched a menswear collection.

Ann Hardie's Assistants

Students from HND and NC fashion were working hard last night helping with dressing and events management at Ann Hardie's 'Precious' Show.
All were battling with underskirts, pins, labels and laced bodices to ensure everyone and every dress was shown to perfection, helping to create a stunning bridal wear show and a fantastic event.