Arts Thread

This project was completed in the penultimate term of my second and final year at the Fashion Retail Academy. Out of my peers, I was amongst the most engaged throughout this project as it was based on tailoring - possibly my biggest strength and passion - so I really wanted this project to flourish. The brief for this project was straightforward: select a Savile Row brand and another brand to collaborate with. Many of my peers selected high fashion brands with complex silhouettes but I wanted to find a way to utilise my design strengths. I found this by, after some research, choosing to collaborate with Liberty who are known for their beautiful floral fabrics. This worked very well for me because my Savile Row brand, Scabal, could retain their style (wide lapels, business casual cut, longer body length) but add a new flair with a floral print. Researching and developing my ideas was very fun as I looked at fabric references, breaking down patterns/prints to their line drawings, mark making, draping on the stand, collaging silhouette ideas and, of course, designing a print tile. This project taught me a lot about print design and showed me where I have some strengths that I hadn’t realised previously. To help with fabric printing, I used a company in London called Fashion Formula (now trading as maake.com) who specialise in sustainable digital printing techniques. They have copious types of fabrics to choose from, with myself settling on Limani Linen which is made of cotton and Belgian linen and is summery and lightweight (appropriate for my customer). The cutting of this fabric was what interested me the most as I wanted to have a print that flowed continuously, meaning every single seam would match. This took up more time than I thought but it opened my eyes to the fact that usually this process is, unfortunately, not very ethical. Since this project first introduced us to ethical and sustainability statements that all brands should be proudly advertising, I began to realise how much of a gap in ethics there is between making something abroad in, for example, Asia, to in London. The gap is ridiculously huge where younger children are usually used for free labour in Asia, whereas in London there is higher pay (which still isn’t feasible for most) and more appropriately aged workers. Making this one jacket was very time consuming due to the specifications I set for myself, meaning the final garment still wasn’t complete. I would have added a lining inside and made proper buttoned cuffs on the sleeves, as well as padded shoulders. However, these particular steps were not achieved. My final jacket still looks amazing, but it lacks the polished level that Savile Row is known for. Despite this, the final print tile I used printed beautifully, receiving many compliments from peers, strangers and anyone I show in the present day. It taught me a lot about how print can truly elevate a garment, but also how important it is for the printing to be sustainable. From a generation who is striving for climate change to be addressed, making decisions like these early on will help make the fashion world a safe, ethical and environmentally friendly place. I therefore am excited to see what my future projects, and the future of our planet, hold for sustainably printed garments.