Design
I’ve started to practice smocking techniques this week and placing them on the stand to get silhouette ideas. The first few samples I made were a bit boring on the stand as they were more fabric detail/textures rather than garment shape. The honeycomb samples turned out the best as they created interesting shapes, gathers and pleats. I’m conscious that smocking is often used in textile/furnishing as a surface texture or fabric, but I want to focus on how smocking creates a silhouette. Next week I’m going to try sheering with elastic to create more voluminous shapes, like an 1830s dress. This will hopefully create some more interesting shapes. Sewing by machine will also be quicker than hand smocking which is time consuming. However, I'm aware that the fact it takes a long time is part of the concept around craft.
Thinking more about what topics are important to me to include in the project, I can’t figure out what and how to incorporate them. I am passionate about preserving nature and looking after/managing mental health. But to include one of these along with craft might be too much. Zero waste is the most obvious as I can use smocking to turn simple fabric shapes into wearable garments with little or no waste. But purely minimizing waste is only one way to create conscious fashion. After reading a bit more about it I've learned that co2 emissions/pollution, water use/contamination, labour exploitation, packing/shipping, durability, and longevity are also extremely important. These could link with nature in my project. Looking into these topics will also help with the rebel tartan project as I'm looking into zero waste for this project too.
Research
Today’s lecture was about dress and ethnicity and he each culture has a different vocabulary. Often when we look at different cultural dress we see them as dress rather than fashion. They appear to be traditional and static. Unlike western fashion which is seen as dynamic and trendy. But I found it interesting how even within traditional dress, fashions exist. Whether that’s in the fastenings, fabrics or colours. Fashion is global and other systems exist outside of western culture. When I come to my essay I need to remember that if it is a more traditional garment it will still show signs of fashion. Carefully observing the details, asking who wore it, for what occasion etc.