Yesterday's post focused on architecture and mathematics and closed with fashion and with a mention of knitwear. Let's continue this multiple thread by looking at some of the finalists from the International Woolmark Prize 2016/17.
Though the finalists are divided between men and women's wear, some of their solutions, three-dimensional motifs and patterns could actually be applied to unisex garments. The best ideas and most clever designs display strong links with architecture or with elements borrowed from specific spaces linked with the countries of origin of the finalists.
South Korean menswear label MÜNN - launched by Hyun-min Han, a graduate of the Samsung Art and Design Institute who also worked for menswear label WOOYOUNGMI - presents for example revolutionary traditional patterns and textiles inspired by the division that exists between North and South Korea.
The thousands of ribbons with messages longing for reunification hanging from barbed wire fences between the two countries, inspired an intricate woven pattern for a jacket made with black and charcoal grey strips of selvage (the edge of fabric, usually marked with its technical aspects). The project assumes therefore deep political meanings, while showing how sustainability can inspire very conceptual garments.
Malte Flagstad started the Tonsure label in his native Copenhagen, after his studies at Central Saint Martins and a three-year stint at Maison Martin Margiela.
His ingenious pieces include an oversized single-breasted coat that turns into a double-breasted coat once it's buttoned, and a double-breasted coat partly constructed like a biker jacket. Some of the designs feature a sort of rugged and embossed surface that creates intriguing three-dimensional effects, reminiscent of the aerial view of a country.
Renni and Zubair Kirmani from New Delhi label Bounipun, take inspiration from the place where they come from - Kashmir. A place of intensifying territorial conflict, caught in a political war between India and Pakistan, Kashmir led the duo to childhood memories linked with architecture.
The wooden khatamband ceiling, a trademark feature of Kashmiri architecture that can be found everywhere from homes to restaurants to banks and that is characterised by blocks that create a repeating graphic pattern, ended up becoming the leitmotif of Bounipun's menswear collection.
Lights and shadows playing around pinjars (latticed ornamental screens) also provided further inspirations and the result was a collection featuring a laser-cut jacket with multiple pierced holes mimicking the light/shadow juxtaposition on the pinjars, and a jumper with a geometrical pattern in Merino wool that looks slightly reminiscent of the concrete tetrahedral ceiling designed by Louis Khan for the Yale University Art Gallery.
Faustine Steinmetz defines herself not just a designer, but "a denim mill", since she weaves her handcrafted denim on the looms in her studio. She has been mainly working with Merino, weaving, felting and dying it by hand.
Steinmetz earned her MA from London's prestigious Central Saint Martins in 2011 following a BA at Paris' Atelier Chardon Savard, but started working as a graphic designer until she bought a second-hand loom, learnt how to use it and started in 2013 a denim brand with a twist.
The designer has recently taken part in projects on the African continent endeavouring to create weaving jobs for women, and the design she entered for the Woolmark Prize look like the furry and fuzzy version of a traditional denim jacket in a palette of washed out arctic blues.
Indian-born Nachiket Barve completed his studies at L'École National Supérieur des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, after graduating from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. His first collection was inspired by the Golden Age of Dutch paintings in the 17th century and tulips. The designer seems to have left behind his floral themes to focus on tiny embroideries for his designs for the Woolmark Prize.
Maybe borrowed from the intricate details of Indian architectures, while keeping in mind armours, the pieces feature little geometrical motifs: his look for the competition uses specially woven Merino embroidered with silk yarn, besides Merino felt was painstakingly hand-punched to create sequins, which were then employed to embellish the pieces and create on them strongly tactile surfaces.
In a way, though winning will help one of these young designers to establish their labels and produce a collection, it almost doesn't matter who will scoop the award, since it is good enough to have found intriguing ideas and fresh inspirations developed using traditional or innovative techniques. The 2017 edition of the International Woolmark Prize marks the competition's return to Paris, this is also the first time that menswear and womenswear finals are being staged together. You can check out all the finalists names here (the winner will be proclaimed in January).
Comments