Sunday, December 8, 2013

A Life in Wool; Graduate Collection


The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring from the land and the structures build within. The dogs bark and the men shout along with the regular buzz of engine and clatter of sheep. The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of lanoline and ammonia sweep the floors. The workers are a flight of activity, movements repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.



























Sheer Wool Imprint Skirt, Weatherboard Jacquard Knit Dress,
 rusted and darted Short  Stockman's Jacket. 
Accessorised with Shearing Comb neckpiece


Weatherboard Jacquard Knit Skirt, Sheer Wool Imprint Singlet, 
Sheer Wool Stain Singlet. Accessorised with Leather and Cog 
shearing hardware neckpiece.

Men's Square Wool Shorts and Lace Knit Singlet. 
Accessorised with Leather Magnet Belt and Leather 
Held Shearing Cutter Neckpiece.


Women's Square Wool Shorts with rust inserts, Lace Knit Jumper 
and Cotton/Silk Rusted Singlet (under). Accessorised with Spring Neckpiece

Men's Wool Worker Pants, Weatherboard Jacquard Knit Singlet 
and Darted Cotton Shirt. Accessorised with Felt Wool Worker Pouch 
and Leather Belt.



Women's Wool Worker Pants with Wax Treatment Panels, 
Cream Rib knit Cami (under), Brown Sheer Cotton Singlet 
and Darted Wool Shirt with Wax Treatment. 


Long Rusted Wool Stockman's Jacket and Lace Knit Dress.  

Friday, September 20, 2013

Curtin Retrospective: 10 years of Fashion





Thank you to Le Fanciulle and Curtin University for the photos

Cordelia Gibbs Designs at PFF Student Runway


Eco Fashion Entry: Photos by Le Fanciulle



Eco Fashion Entry: Photos by Le Fanciulle




Ready to Wear Men's Entry: Photos by Le Fanciulle



...And... a sneaky pic of me with David wearing my winning Menswear Design...

Photo by littlemissmonbon



Some Press...


















X-Press Fashion Magazine Perth Fashion Festival Designer Scrapbook featuring two of my designs from Student Runway







Student Runway 2013 Submission

This year I had three outfits selected as apart of Perth Fashion Festival's Student Runway this year including Two in Eco Fashion and One in Menswear. Here are my submissions along with a little bit of information on each look...

ECO FASHION 1
“Walk as One” black dress


“Everything has value, no matter how old or broken up, everything has a soul, an identity, behind everything there is a story, a story with a continuation”
-Sustainable Designer Naomi Maaravi
I feel it is important to up-cycle in a way that celebrates the origins of the garment, promoting the story of sustainability.
The dress was created using the components of two pairs of men’s trousers. By draping the pre-shaped panels, my design was created by how these shapes fitted in to each other as well as how they could be used around the body. My dress is made up of two components; a slim fitting dress and an open front skirt which together create a classic silhouette with contemporary detail. The outfit shows the design journey by continuing the language of the original garment, utilising the original finishings and showing the construction.   


ECO FASHION 2
“A Life in Wool” Rusted outfit



Coming from a sheep farming background and currently studying fashion, I feel as if I am between two extremes. The thing that intrigues me more than anything, however, is the unmistakable link farm and fashion has to one another; the production of fiber for clothes. I find in many cases people don’t understand the importance, the history and the lifestyle of wool production. On the flip side, many farmers don’t understand where their product goes. It is not ignorance, but a huge difference in what is ultimately the same industry. I have decided to try to create the understanding that is ultimately missing, by looking at a number of key signifiers from the farm, and translating them into contemporary fashion.
The shearing shed stands as an iconic representation of Australia, a building in which poems have been inspired, stories shared and life shown at its most raw; where stress is high, work is hard and anything can happen. The shearing shed is the heart of the Australian sheep farm, whatever the heart may be enduring.
My work is an encapsulation of the character of the shearing shed in an expression of the workmanship, ideologies, lifestyle and culture of the Australian sheep farm. The garments are inspired by the architecture, the work clothes and the human value of the shed to create a level of sensibility toward and celebration of culture of the Australian wool producer.

The outfit is comprised of a ‘classic’ shirt with darts, hand-finishings and rust imprints of found objects and is matched with a pair of hand rusted, cotton/silk pants. On top of this is a hand felted, seamless wool singlet. The outfit is accessorised with a hand rusted and felted wool hat with recycled hardware elements which have been used in the shearing process.

RTW MEN’S
"[And] Long, Hot Days" 



In a nation that ‘rides on the sheep’s back’, the shearing shed is an iconic representation of Australia’s journey. It represents the ideologies, the workmanship and the vigour that is the Australian sheep farmer. The shearing shed is a place for tending to sheep but also a place for people. It is from this one building where poems have been inspired, stories shared and a lifestyle shown at its most raw; where stress is high, work is hard and anything can happen. For me it is the heart of the farm- whatever that heart may be enduring. My menswear design is inspired by these elements investigating the architecture, work clothes and human element of the Australian Shearing Shed.  

This menswear design is made from 100% wool fabric and designed to be a comfortable suit alternative for the harsh Australian climate. The outfit is comprised of a sleeveless jacket and adjustable pair of trousers with an incorporated belt feature. The singlet is a nuno felt, seamless design created by felting the natural wool fibre over loose weave woollen fabric. The outfit is accessorised with farm objects including sheep tags and hardware used in the shearing process.


Phototgrapher: Bonnie Hansen
Stylist: Tessa-Rae Gusman 
MU & H: Zoe Karlis 
Model: Madison @ Maverick
Featuring Walk as One Patch Pants by Cordelia Gibbs

Gusto and Elan Store Exhibition


A bit of an update; 
Cordelia Gibbs 'Walk as one 2013' Collection stocked at Gusto and Elan, Melbourne, as a part of the in store exhibition for The Spirit of the Black Dress. 




Monday, July 8, 2013

A Life in Wool

Wool
Shearing Shed
Lifestyle
The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring from the land and the structures built within. The dogs bark and the men shout along with the regular buzz of engine and clatter of sheep. The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of lanoline and ammonia sweep the floors. The workers are a flight of activity, movements repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.
The shearing shed stands as an iconic representation of Australia, a building in which poems have been inspired, stories shared and life shown at its most raw; where stress is high, work is hard and anything can happen. The shearing shed is the heart of the Australian sheep farm, whatever the heart may be enduring.

My work is an encapsulation of the character of the shearing shed in an expression of the workmanship, ideologies, lifestyle and culture of the Australian sheep farm. The garments are inspired by the architecture, the work clothes and the human value of the shed to create a level of sensibility toward and celebration of culture of the Australian wool producer.








Specious [Ovis’Aries L’Her]: A textiles investigation

How do people perceive the natural in a human space?
·        
      Expectation
·         Intrusion
·         Personal Space

For this work, I was interested in investigating the idea of ‘personal space’, and the perceptions we have towards the ‘natural’ when it is in this space. According to Bill Mckibben, author of “The end of Nature”, the connectedness of modern life means we no longer need to be aware of our connections with nature. “Human’s no longer see themselves as living in a conjunction with nature” and are “separate entities” (Schwarz, 2012). I feel as if the ‘natural’ is perceived by humans as something which is unknown, not produced and not entirely controlled by humans and therefore it is perceived as something to be wary of. In contrast to this, the ‘human’ space, as a separate entity, is a more comfortable space being something that is created or manipulated by humans and is therefore understandable, predictable and ‘safe’. When the ‘natural’ comes into the ‘human space’ there is a personal response; wariness, discomfort and a want to regain control. I wish to investigate this idea, evoking the viewer to question why this is. 


The aim of my work is to evoke a feeling of both discomfort and intrigue in the viewer. Firstly the viewer will be compelled to feel that ‘nature’ has taken over and soiled something that is meant to be, or originally was, human space. The viewer will perceive the work to be unsafe, dirty, smelly and unhygienic but feel intrigued by the materiality and shape of the work to inspect it further. From this inspection, the viewer will discover that it is lacking the stereotypes that were first noted. In this way, the role of the work is to challenge human perception and expectations regarding what are and what should be human/natural space and prompt to make the viewer question why they are separated?







The final installation was made from individual lengths textiles which where created using felt and dyed with tree bark. The pieces were developments from extensive research into felt including the form, shape and texture as well as the addition of elements both natural and man made; sticks, beads etc..   Disgusted? intrigued? 


Schwarz, E. 2012. The End of Nature; Humanitie’s Perception of Nature. Wordpress. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/humanplaceinnature/2012 Accessed May 3rd, 2013