Hasta La Ideas

The fibrous metallic garments in Central Saint Martins graduate Graham Fan’s London Fashion Week collection are reminiscent of wire brushes used for cleaning the dishes.

MA Fashion graduate Graham Fan’s initial material experiments for his final collection were influenced by Thomas Heatherwick’s woven metal facade at Guy’s Hospital in London.

“As I began working on this collection, I created a piece of woven plastic textile inspired by the exterior of [Heatherwick’s] Boiler Suit,” he told Dezeen.

“I then looked into various traditional basketry and weaving sources, hoping to further craft some new textiles with different materials,” he added.

Metallic plastic cords were handwoven unevenly to create patterns for the jackets, tops and dresses, plus skirts with 1950s shapes. The threads loop back on themselves to form turtlenecks, cuffs and hems.

Fan incorporated mohair, leather strips and fish wire into some sections of the weave to add texture.

“Elastic fish wire was woven through the materials horizontally and vertically in order to create the uneven shimmering surface,” said Fan.

Fan showed the collection during the Central Saint Martins show at Somerset House last Friday, which took place as part of London Fashion Week.

Fellow graduate Ondrej Adamek’s range featured huge satin flowers that conceal the faces of models. Photographs are courtesy of Catwalking.com.

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Fashion designer Sadie Williams has heat-pressed neoprene to create this collection of metallic sci-fi garments, which was nominated for Designs of the Year 2014 earlier this week.

Sadie Williams created the embossed effects on the dresses in her Totemic collection by sandwiching layers of neoprene, more commonly used for wetsuits, between metallic yarns and tracksuit material.

Williams chose the sparkly yet structured materials after seeing old images of Harley Davidson riders and Japanese bikers who rode glittery motorcycles.

“I really love the graphic, masculine print arrangement found in biker clothing, helmets and panelled satin racing vests,” said Williams. “I incorporated leather elements into my collection as a nod to bikers.”

The simple silhouettes of the dresses were influenced by 1960s designers Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges and references from gowns by Italian designer Valentino are visible in the length and dropped waists.

Bonding the metallic yarns to the tracksuit fabric removed the need for lining and also gave the textile a stiff quality.

Leather panels and patches were either sewn into the dresses or appliquéd on top.

Prints were added on top using hand collaged heat-transfer papers and a dye-sublimation printer, which also employs heat to transfer colours to textiles.

Sadie Williams created the garments while studying on Central Saint Martins‘s MA Fashion course, which she graduated from last year.

The collection is nominated in the Fashion category for this year’s Designs of the Year awards organised by London’s Design Museum. Two of her pieces will go on display at the museum from 26 March as part of the dedicated exhibition.

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Plants could be genetically engineered to produce textiles at the same time as food, according to this synthetic biology project by designer and researcher Carole Collet.

“Would you eat a vitamin-rich black strawberry from a plant that has also produced your little black dress?” questioned Collet, whose Biolace concept responds to the need to produce enough food and textiles for the world’s rapidly expanding population by proposing that the DNA of plants could be adapted so they produce synthetically-enhanced foods and lace-like fabrics grow from their roots.

“Biolace proposes to use synthetic biology as an engineering technology to reprogram plants into multi-purpose factories,” explained Collet, who is a full-time academic and deputy director of the Textile Futures Research Centre at Central Saint Martins College in London.

“Plants become living machines, simply needing sun and water to be operational. In such a scenario, we would harvest fruits and fabrics at the same time from the same plants.”

Collet believes that by 2050 advances in biological technologies could enable the “hyper-engineered” plants to be grown in huge greenhouses with their roots embedded in a mineral nutrient solution.

The project proposes four genetically-engineered plants including a tomato plant with high levels of a nutrient called lycopene that could help improve the skin’s resistance to sunburn and protein-rich edible lace growing from its roots, and a basil plant that could produce anti-viral medicines as well as perfumed lace for use in decorative fashion applications.

A strawberry bush with black lace growing from its roots would yield black strawberries enriched with enhanced levels of vitamin C and antioxidants, while a spinach plant could produce micro biological sensors for use in electronics at the same time as providing a multi-mineral food supplement.

“The aim of this project is to bring to light the potential of emerging living technologies and to questions the pros and cons of such extreme genetic engineering,” said Collet. “Could biological engineering promote a new kind of sustainable textile manufacturing, less reliant on chemicals and less energy-hungry than our current models of production?”

The project is presented alongside floor tiles made of snail poo plus over 50 other ideas for combining biology with art, architecture and design presented at an exhibition called Biodesign at The New Institute in Rotterdam, which continues until 5 January 2014.

Photography is by the designer and the film is by Immatters.

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Central Saint Martins graduate Eilish Macintosh showed outfits tied up with knotted lengths of rope at the institution’s show during London Fashion Week.

White ropes were wrapped around simple, black floor-length gowns and knotted in various places to give form and create a monochrome graphic effect.

“I started trying to make textiles or garments that are more like jewellery, with the separate rope pieces and solid ceramic elements cast into the garments,” Macintosh told Dezeen. “[The collection] was based on traditional pacific jewellery, bondage and in particular the photographs of Nobuyoshi Araki, and Eduardo Paolozzi sculpture.”

Lengths tied around the head obscured models’ vision, while noose-like necklaces hung down the front or back.

The loose ends of the cords were left to trail and whip around the feet of the models as they moved down the runway.

Some of the jersey dresses had full-length sleeves, while others left arms exposed.

A number of outfits had holes in the fabric edged with white ceramic elements, positioned above the navel, close to nipples and at the base of the spine.

Macintosh was awarded the L’Oreal Bursary Award for her collection, which was shown alongside work by other graduates from London’s Central Saint Martins art and design college.

We’ve featured a few Central Saint Martins graduate projects on Dezeen, such as one collection of body jewellery made from bent wood and another formed from plastic bubbles and tubes.

More collections from London Fashion Week include Sister by Sibling’s over-sized crocheted accessories and dresses patterned with bridge trusses by Mary Katrantzou.

See all our stories about collections from Autumn Winter 2013 »
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These pieces of jewellery by Central Saint Martins graduate Stéphanie Van Zwam are made from plastic bubbles and tubes that float around the wearer’s body (+ movie).

Among the collection is a scarf made from inflated plastic pockets and a string of long tubes that trail gently behind the wearer.

There’s also a necklace that creates a bubble around the wearer’s head.

A headpiece made from carbon fibre and brass has been shaped to envelop the wearer’s jaw.

A simple necklace has a huge plastic orb hanging from it, and other orbs have been made into brooches and filled with feathers and polystyrene beads.

The largest piece is attached to the neck and arms like a huge pair of wings.

Photographs are by Philip Rhys Matthews.

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Here’s some more information:

Full of fresh world experiences from sailing around the world, Stéphanie Van Zwam’s imagination is bursting with unique spirit. A recent graduate of Central Saint Martins, her desire for extreme detail and her manipulation of materials alongside her choice of surfaces creates an adventurous style of intricate indulgence. She sees jewellery as a spectacle that can use the body as a foundation to grow from. The natural world and elements have had a strong effect on Van Zwam and are a continuous strong influence reflected in her work.

Description of Pieces:
1 Whirlwind Statement Piece: Black Card, Plastic & Air
2 Air Pocket Scarf: Plastic & Air
3 Air Pocket Scarf: Plastic & Air
4 Bubble Wand Neckpiece: Carbon Fibre, Brass, White Finish & Bubble Solution
5 Air Cushion Headpiece: Carbon Fibre, Brass, White Finish, & Air Inflated Plastic
6 Static Orb Brooches: Brass, Plastic Sphere, Black/White Feathers, Polystyrene Beads, & Black/White Finish
7 White Feather Orb Necklace: Brass, Plastic Sphere, White Feathers, Silk Thread, & White Finish
8 Windsock Brooch: Stainless Steel, Plastic, & Black Finish
9 Zephyrus Wings Statement Pieces: Carbon Fibre Rod, Brass Tube, Plastic, & Black Finish

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