Mention the word embroidery in conjunction with fashion and you will get strange reactions: some people will probably just laugh; others will stare at you with a puzzled expression on their faces as they conjure up in their minds idyllic visions of elderly women sitting next to a fireplace in a country cottage. But, according to London-based fashion designer and embroiderer Scott Ramsay Kyle, this time-honoured crafting technique is much more than this. “Some people react quite funnily when I say what I do, they seem very surprised, but my embroidery is not conventional, it is quite aggressive, overworked and in your face,” he explains, “I treat my embroidered garments like canvases, so that they are a bit like art pieces.” This is actually the perfect definition for the young designer’s creations: since his graduate collection Scott has used silk, cashmere and cotton as the base materials for his elaborate embellishments and exquisitely modern embroideries.
Coloured fringes, swirls and threads form lively patterns on his outfits and literally transform the meaning and the function of his garments. Moving the body or simply raising an arm while wearing one of his designs produces unexpected effects: fringes swing as if swelled by the wind; complicated collages of flowers form extravagant combinations of colours and fabric tassels in different textures provide the wearer with a three-dimensional tactile experience. Each design is the result of a careful study between garment and movement, a relationship that Scott investigated further in his Spring/Summer 09 collection.
The starting point for this new collection was Spanish goldwork and old tapestries, two themes that are evoked in the gold and silver ropes, braids and fringing forming geometrical shapes on tabard and box-like dresses and all over playsuits, generating powerful luminescent and armour-like effects. “The palette is quite muted for this season and it was inspired by the beach and the sea,” Scott explains. “My work is about movement a lot of the time, so I added more structure and geometric shapes, panels, layers, fringing and Lurex threads to each garment. The movement is generated from hanging threads that give the block shapes a kind of fluid fringiness.”
It may take many stitches to embroider his playful and ironic motifs on his unique designs, but Scott Ramsay Kyle seems to have all the necessary patience to do so and to build a strong career in the fashion industry as well.
You can read the complete version of this interview with Scott Ramsay Kyle on Zoot Magazine, Issue #12, Autumn/Winter 2008-09.
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