Maison Martin Margiela at Somerset House

Image by Re-Design for Life.

Finally I made it to Somerset House to see the Maison Martin Margiela exhibition.  I followed the  iconic Tabi footprints, which led me into a bright white space. Here, I found a Maison Martin Margiela group portrait, cut from white Styrofoam  Margiela wanting to maintain his anonymity is not included in the portrait. A white board explained the familar numbers that became the respected (non) label for Margiela's collections.

In the following space a huge screen presented the Maison's 20th anniversary show. Two decades of influential fashion concepts and key pieces were re-visited before me on film.  I was captivated.  Tearing myself away, I walked up to a canvas trompe l"oeil printed curtain, which gave the illusion of a large empty room.  Once through the curtain, I entered a white-washed room showing concepts and garments from 20 year's of Margiela collections.

One of which was the 1996 Spring-Summer Trompe L'Oeil collection in which simple garment shapes were cut in soft, fluid fabrics.  Each piece is then printed with a photograph of another completely different garment.  A cardigan, for example, is printed with a safari jacket.  A dress with a photographic print of the inside of a 1960's cocktail dress.  A 'chesterfield' sofa effect is printed onto a leather jacket.  The colour palette - reminiscent of old photographs -  is kept to black, white, sepia and brown tints.

Other concepts included a dress with it's hemline lifted and stitched to one shoulder revealing a slip dress made from vintage lace slips.  A satin halter dress with it's skirt made from two different skirts, one stitched onto the other.  A second-hand man's suit jacket, painted over with silver paint.  Blouses and jackets with their sleeves repositioned to the front.  A sleeveless woollen top with visible, frayed lining at the neck, armholes and seams.  A dress made from lining fabric with visible darts on the outside.  A jacket made from a man's jacket sleeves.  Another jacket made with the sleeves switched and sewn back to front, so that the jacket can be worn with the fastening at the back.  A patchwork vest made from stitched interfacings.  A halter neck top made from second hand gloves...

Oh!  How I have been inspired by Maison Martin Margiela over the years.  The master of de-construction - reinterpreting how a garment should be worn by taking it apart and recreating every piece with skillfully crafted precision.

Festivities with Victoria and Albert.

Back at the V&A museum last week I was drawn into the crisp cold open-air of the centre courtyard. I paused in awe of the galleries shining brightly before me. Their grand facade framed by the clear dusk sky. To the other sides of the court yard, twinkling fir trees sat neatly in neon blue cubes. A blue that seemed to mirror the clear evening sky. I was entranced. What a beautiful start to the festive season.

Images by Re-Design for LIfe

Future Fashion at the V&A

Last week I immersed myself in the world of decorative arts at the Victoria and Albert museum. I was searching for print design inspiration for a textile course I have coming up in December. More about that in a later post.

While I was at the V&A I took the opportunity to have a look at 'Future Fashion Now' an exhibition showing work by the 2008 fashion graduates from the Royal College of Art. The exhibition presents concept, technique, form and detail by displaying student's sketchbooks, inspiration images, experimental mock-up designs and finished outfits.

Here are a few of my favourites. All displays were behind glass so please excuse any odd reflections on the photos.

Designs by Lea Carreno

Bold grafics and unexpected colour combinations.

Wool, viscose and copper.

Inspired by avant-garde designs of 1920's & 30's.

Designs by Lea Carreno

Juxtaposing fine and heavy guage knits to create interesting buoyancy and movement.

Left: Wool, silk and viscose

Right: Wool, viscose and leather

Design by Timothy Lee

A creative solution to making fabric stand away from the body.

Invisible strips of fused wool form an under-structure to produce controlled folds.

Jacket: Leather

Dress: wool, viscose and neoprene

Design by Timothy Lee

Stiff neoprene becomes the integral part of the coat's streamlined collar.

Exaggerated shoulders are heavily padded.

Coat: wool, silk and neoprene

Dress: viscose and neoprene

Design by Abbie Shaw

Fused fabric and wadding give structure to this boxy dress.

The card model reveals how the pattern was constructed.

Dress: wool

Neckpiece: acrylic and cotton

Design by Hiekki Salonen

The coat's silhouette was created by experimenting with traditional tailoring techniques.

The fringe and raw edges reveal the coat's previous life as a blanket.

Fabric: wool and silk

Designs by Hiekki Salonen

Gilet: cotton and silk

Dress: silk and faux pearls

Bags of Inspiration

Paul Smith's printed canvas bags decorate the stair well at the Design Museum.

His signature quirky prints and clever colour combinations created an inspiring visual feast. It was the seemingly hap-hazard display of prints and colours that I found inspiring. I've always been drawn to unexpected combinations of prints and textures. After seeing this display I couldn't wait to get home to rummage through my boxes of vintage and not-so-old charity shop finds to pull out interesting prints to chop up and re-design.

I'll keep you posted with the results.

Hanging Out at Tate Modern

Walking along the South Bank, I noticed this installation being assembled outside Tate Modern. Lace curtains were being hung on a cat's cradle of string amongst the silver birch trees, their leaves rustling as the lace fabric danced gently in the breeze. The sun shimmered through the lace creating patterns on the ground. There was something so lovely and natural about the whole thing. An enchanted forest.

I was reminded of this installation when I read an article called 'Hang it out' in Selvedge magazine. The magazine has started a campaign to encourage people to be kinder to the environment by boycotting their tumble dryers this summer.

Photograph from Selvedge magazine

www.selvedge.org

I know. I know. It's easier said than done during a British summer. And, it's not that easy for city dwellers with small or no outside space. Maybe we could all do our bit for the environment this summer, by hanging out at least one or two pieces of washing. Be inspired by the Tate Modern. Create your own washing-line installations.

Basso & Brooke at The Design Museum

I love Bruno Basso and Christopher Brooke's work. Their SS09 catwalk collection was so inspiring in their use of colour and print together with it's softly structured silhouette. It's not surprising to me that they have been nominated in this year's Brit Insurance Design Awards being shown at the Design Museum.

The below images, from the exhibition, capture their talent. This dress is so beautiful. So technically clever. So inspirational. I love it!