Design
After carrying out research for my object analysis essay I learned that the Liberty and Co. blouse which is a starting point for my project was linked to the aesthetic movement. Although the blouse is modest and feminine, it didn’t conform to the restricting tightly corseted garments common at the time. Instead of following trends, liberty designed garments inspired by historical garments suitable for the modern-day customer. This links perfectly with my aims of this project, to create garments for the modern customer inspired by historical garments and encouraging stye not trends (longevity). Furthermore, the aesthetic movement rebelled against materiality and industrialised, promoting craftsmanship. Although I would like to research both the advantages and disadvantages of modern-day technology this also links to my research. Other topics are creating beautiful garments with subdued colours, geometric shapes and taking inspiration from romantic Pre-Raphaelite paintings. These are all things which I could research into further to help both my practical and written work.
Carrying on from this I started to research more about Edwardian garments and found that I didn’t like the rigid, corseted designs. The V&A blouse doesn’t conform to these restricting silhouettes which is why I was drawn to it. Therefore I started to look more into draped garments and romantic fluid silhouettes mirroring those in Pre-Raphaelite paintings. For example, Madeline Vionnet and Madame Gres. Although these designers created highly skilled couture gowns, the ideas of folding, pleating, bias cut, simplicity and going against fast-paced changes in fashion mirror my project. I also looked at 1930s garments as they have a distinct draped, fluid, bias cut silhouette. However, I think adding another decade of fashion into the mix would be too much. As although I don’t like the stiffness of Edwardian dress I still like the silhouettes and shapes. So, I would like to see if I can recreate these shapes but in a softer more fluid/relaxed way which is suitable for the modern customer. The sleeves in particular are one feature of these garments which I’m drawn too, so would like to gain a greater understanding about how they were created. This way I can use these historical methods to help figure out another way of recreating these shapes differently.
Research
Carrying on from analysing the liberty blouse I’m going to write about in my essay, I came up with a few more ideas about topics to explore. I started by researching about the Liberty and Co. costume department and learned that the garments recreated historical garments for the modern day customer. The aesthetic movement strongly influenced the designs, this movement focused on ‘art for arts sake’ and self-expression rather than conforming to expectations at the time. Looking more into the other art movements at the time I could see how the blouse reflects the different ideas at the time.
For example
- arts and craft movement – Handmade, craftmanship, traditional smocking.
- Art Nouveau – Natural forms, curved shapes
- Pre-Raphaelites – Romantic, un-corseted garments, feminine, voluptuous shapes
- Japonisme – Pleating, simple shapes
Another thing I could write about are the different Edwardian features of the blouse which reflect ideas about femininity and the obsession with preventing illness at the time.
The aesthetic movement is an area which could influence my FMP project as the key ideas of this movement fit very well with the ideas of my project, Such as style not trends, craftmanship over technology and simple geometric shapes. The other movements also fit in well with my project too so could influence design ideas.
