Let's continue the Academy of Art University Special with a student tackling in her collection futuristic dystopia and robotic silhouettes, Heather McDonald.
There are people who dream about becoming a fashion designer from a very young age, and others who get to fashion by pursuing quite different careers. Heather Rose McDonald is among the latter.
After earning a degree in Biology and Anthropology, she decided to follow her instincts and a passion for craftsmanship inherited from her family and enrolled in the Academy of Art University's School of Fashion. For her collection - showcased during New York Fashion Week - she moved from Fritz Lang's Metropolis and explored the human/machine dichotomy through garments and knits characterised by sharp silhouettes in a dark palette comprising black, gunmetal and charcoal.
Can you tell us more about your background?
Heather Rose McDonald: I was born and raised just outside of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I was exposed to sewing, knitting, crochet and embroidery at a very young age, having a mother who was an avid sewer and quilter and my grandmother who lived across the street and who always had her knitting and crochet at her side. I always had some sort of homemade item on my person growing up. My father is an engineer, and I am positive that work ethic and precision came from him. Once I graduated from high school I knew that I had to get out of Calgary, so I applied to the University of Toronto, where I completed my Honours Bachelors of Science in Biology and Anthropology. I moved back to Calgary after and really got into making things - clothes, embroideries, bags, quilts, and anything knitted. My mother’s reaction was to get me on the right path to pursue these hobbies in real life and get me out of Calgary, again (even though Calgary is a beautiful city and will always be my home). Currently I am in San Francisco, itching to make mark on the world.
What's the most important thing you learnt from your years at AAU?
Heather Rose McDonald: When you put your mind to it, you can pretty much accomplish anything. It is just going to take some perseverance and hard work. This program was a long hard road, but worth every experience. I don’t think that I have worked so hard in my life and I am okay going at this pace for the rest of it. I came into this program with a love of fashion and design and some sewing experience and I am so proud of what I have done.
Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?
Heather Rose McDonald: It was really my mother who saw this spark inside of me and got me on the right path to follow this dream. My family and friends have been the most supportive force for me when I made the decision to pick up and move to San Francisco. I moved home after completing a science degree, and started sewing like a maniac, she was covertly looking for fashion schools online, then one day she presented me with the idea. I really didn’t know that I was able to do this, but it is amazing to have someone love you, support you and push you. Through the last three years my father, sister, boyfriend and best friends have been these amazing people who have so much encouragement and belief in what I can accomplish - I am no one without them!
Can you tell us more about your creative process?
Heather Rose McDonald: I have a tendency to become obsessed with things, and this helps to drive my research into whatever my inspiration is at a specific time. I love photography, because without it, we wouldn’t have a record of the world around us, so sitting in front of beautiful glossy images helps me find the mood that I am looking for. I really love the development process of a project or collection, and how before your eyes you can watch your original idea grow into something different. I think that everytime I sit down to find inspiration for a new project and start working on that project, I learn something different about myself. I guess that means I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and that's not a bad thing.
How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Arts fashion show?
Heather Rose McDonald: Now that the pace has slowed down a bit, I can really appreciate the experience! The actual day it happened I think that I was in shock; I couldn’t believe that the day had arrived and my collection was finished! We were still putting on finishing touches on that same morning. The whole show was so overwhelming it was really amazing to see your finished work on the models with full hair and make-up and cameras flashing. It was good having so much running to keep me occupied, otherwise the nerves would have done me in. But when the models were dressed and I had nothing to do but wait and watch, I was a giant ball of nervous stress!
Is there an artist/designer who inspires you in your work?
Heather Rose McDonald: There are a number of artists and designers that are go to’s for me, but to name a few: Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, the late Alexander McQueen, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Man Ray, Guy Bourdin, Helmut Newton. The biggest source of inspiration that I get from the preceding artists is that they have done their own thing in their own way, each an individual paving the way and leaving their mark. It reminds me that there is still creative freedom in the world.
What's the theme behind your collection?
Heather Rose McDonald: The main theme behind my collection is largely inspired by Fritz Lang’s 1927 Metropolis. The imagery of the art deco sets as well as the scale of the production was groundbreaking in its time. Beyond the sets and the costume, there is the story of the worker’s city below that of Metropolis, a city run by the wealthy few. To prevent the workers from revolting, the leader of the revolution, Maria, is switched with a machine. The good prevails and the two factions of Metropolis find a way to coexist with the final motto: “Without the heart, there can be no understanding between the hand and the mind”. The extreme silhouette is representative of the change that Maria undergoes as she is transformed into the machine. I have translated the lines and contours of the robot into the shapes and details of the knitwear. I have made use of utilitarian fabrics, such as heavy weight felted and flannel wools, representing the workers' uniform. I have always been inspired by the Orwellian tales of the proletariat trying to fight against the oppressive Big Brother. My collection represents my version of the workers uniform.
What inspired the colour palette and the silhouettes?
Heather Rose McDonald: Metropolis was filmed in black and white. I originally started with an all black palette, but the concern is that all the details become lost as the clothes are photographed. Gradually the greys came in, and I found this amazing wool flannel that had a grayscale ombre plaid. It fit so well with the inspiration and feel that I was going for. I still think that some of it is lost on the runways photos, but the close-ups definitely do justice to the details. The silhouette was inspired by the transformation that the main character Maria takes on in the film, from human to machine. The silhouette of the collection is not the same as the machine women, I chose to represent it using exaggerated shapes in the hips and the shoulders.
Did you find it difficult to find the proper fabrics to embody the retro futuristic themes of the collection?
Heather Rose McDonald: Another reason that Metropolis is one of my favorite movies and provided me with so much inspiration was the underlying story of the workers revolting against those controlling the metropolis. This theme and idea of the worker was always at the forefront of my mind and knew that I was on the lookout for felted wools and other utilitarian materials that provided support and held the shapes that I was creating. Along the design process there was talk about adding lace to lighten everything up and I was skeptical, until I found this amazing cobwebby French lace in New York and it all made sense.
Can you tell us more about the process behind your knits and your choice of yarns?
Heather Rose McDonald: The inspiration for the knits came from the industrial city landscapes and what they look like at night, the dark skyscrapers with the windows light up at random. The absence of color really came into play and there was a lot of development to get to the point where the knits were going to be readable on the runway. The angora yarn in the knits fell into my lap a while before this process started and I knew that I wanted to use it for something special. The idea of the cables was something that I have been playing with for a while, and finally I came across a yarn that was chunky enough to be knitted by hand, but not too bulky that it could not be knit on a machine. The knit looks with the scarves are inspired by the machine woman herself. I transferred stitches and used lace holes to mimic the shapes and details of the armor. There was a last minute change in yarn, because the yarn that I had originally ordered came and it wasn’t the color that I had expected. I was in luck because I had 3 Kg of this other grey yarn that was the right color and showed the detail beautifully.
Is there a knitwear company you'd like to collaborate with one day?
Heather Rose McDonald: I had an amazing experience interning at Victoria Bartlett and working with knitwear designer Wade Jensen on VPL’s finale pieces for their Fall 2012 collection. I hope that my future presents me with many more creative projects like this! I would love to work with anyone with a strong and creative vision and whose aesthetic is completely opposite of mine. I think that would be a great collaboration. I would also love to have the opportunity to showcase at a Pitti Filati show, collaborating with a yarn company.
What plans do you have for the future?
Heather Rose McDonald: Currently I am updating and working on my portfolio and website. I am really excited to be done with school, but I know that the studying and learning will never stop. I want to get straight to work, I feel like I am finally on my way and want to keep this momentum going. First move, New York!
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments