Innovo: Conventions Undone

 INNOVO Conventions Undone. An exhibition of Fashion and Textiles. June 10 - 15 at Nyisztor Studio, Melville, Western Australia.

The premise for the development of 'Innovo: Conventions Undone' is to showcase fashion as more than garment and challenge preconceived illusions through an investigation into the source of innovation; to examine the unique stimulus fuelling the design process which is brought to life through garment.

We aim to do this by presenting conceptually driven fashion forms that capture the viewer with not only material and technique, but an imperative need to understand the inspiration behind each design. This exhibition will focus on the presentation of works that explore the relationship between form, body and concept ultimately encouraging a deeper dialogue between viewer and installation.

 

Photos by Cordelia Gibbs

See more at the fashion catalyst and the INNOVO Facebook page

'A Life in Wool' at the Wagin Woolorama Fashion Parade

 

 

 

 

 

10 Parades, 2 days. What an experience.

Photos by Anita Jean Photography

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.

Visual Inquiry~ Material Research

This semester I studied three very different units. One of these was Visual Inquiry where we were asked to work in a different way, following the process of materials. After a huge journey of using and investigating as many different materials as I could, following a number of ideas I had, I came to the use of gloves and eventually the use of preworn leather work gloves. I experimented with pulling them apart at the seams to the raw form before sewing them back together in a way that followed the shapes of the different gloves sections. The result was something that lent itself to fashion in to an intriguing  form.  

I used the leather glove structure I previously created as a sleeve, draping pieces of recycled cream fabric from the shape before cutting the silhouette. To complete the outfit, I created a pair if shorts made from recycled loose weave cotton which I then imprint dyed with rusty objects. The result is an juxtaposition of elements; hard and soft, structure and drape, dirty and pristine, masculine and feminine.