Lecture Cotton

Textile Innovation

Lecture 1
 – What is a Textile? Main commercial fibre types, yarn and fabric, manufacturing systems. (Material Sources/Textile Innovation)

In this course, we were introduced the basic information about textiles, including the main types of yarn and fabrics, how people use them in many field and the manufacturing systems.

Cotton
Sustanable production
Cotton provides about 45% of the world's fibre consumption, and is the worlds largest non food crop.
Conventional agriculture accounts for 25% of global insecticide use.
Organic cotton is becomming more widely available.
Naturally coloured cotton is a commercial product.
Cotton can be recycled and composted.

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. Under natural condition, the cotton balls will tend to increase the dispersion of the seeds.
The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile.
Cotton is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today.


The first chapter looks at new developments in Commercial Fibre Sources, such as cotton, wool and cellulosic fibres. It explores how the major textile fibres are developing, what they will be able to offer for future design and performance, and how man-made materials can be engineered to meet new consumer demands and environmental criteria. 

Stage 2 Territories of Practice

TEXTILES INNOVATION (Materials in Design)
Territories of Practice 2012

This option examines the global chain of textile production and its relationship to
design. It will enable you to identify the sequence and variety of technical
processes necessary to produce materials from fibre to finish. Both traditional
and innovative fibres will be discussed, along with their functions and properties
for areas including fashion, medical, agricultural, construction, sports and
interiors.

SESSIONS:
Lecture 1 – What is a Textile? Main commercial fibre types, yarn and fabric
manufacturing systems. (Material Sources/Textile Innovation)
Lecture 2 – Innovative fibre types, new materials & technology affecting design
and production variations. (eg Rapid Prototyping, Growing Materials etc.)
Lecture 3 – Characteristics of finishes and the creation of functionality in fabrics.
(Innovation in Finishing)
Lecture 4 - Sustainability issues relating to the materials industries and life-cycle
thinking. (Cradle to Cradle)

HAND-IN INFORMATION
The hand in date is TO BE CONFIRMED, but will most likely be in mid to late January
2013.
There are 4 main elements to your project assessment as follows:
1. Your research blog - a collection of work relating to all your self-initiated
research including information from books, journals, session notes and web
based sources... don't forget to reference everything as well as including
information from the lectures and your own notes and observations - the
information should be well organised and presented and act as a 'living
document' which can be added to over time, rather than a fixed chronological
resource.
2. Blog Presentation - Presentations (10 minutes each) in one session
3. Self Evaluation Form
4. Unit Feedback Form

Balenciaga S2012RTW

Quotidian jean jackets inspired spongy color-blocked numbers with shoulders as exaggerated as the short shorts paired with them were small. Denim made an appearance, too, but these weren't the rear end- and leg-enhancing pants that are Ghesquière's bread and butter. Rather, they were belted high on the waist and pleated for a fuller shape through the thigh. Sailor uniforms got an airing in the form of striped ottoman V-neck oversize tunic dresses. And even white T-shirts got the haute treatment, in a foamy fabric in slouchy, asymmetrical cuts. Some of these shapes were more challenging than others, but they'll resonate with his fashion-mad fans.

Ghesquière really pushed the silhouette with the dresses at the end of the show. Patchworked from archival black and white prints or panels of tan and black, they came with Watteau backs that ballooned behind the models. With their large, elliptical brims, their visors (borrowed from a famous Irving Penn photograph) accentuated the bold diagonal lines.
(PARIS, September 29, 2011 By Nicole Phelps)

Balenciagas collection used a kind of metal material. He made the unique pattern to create the garments.

 I like the oversized hat of this collection.

Alexander McQueen S2012RTW

This collection is inspired by the shells and the creatures of the underwater. The colour tone are white, pink, orange and black, add little bit metal materials.
I like the idea that all the models are wearing the knitting mask covering the head.

 If the day began with Prospero's aquatic sorcery at Chanel, it ended with a different kind of underwater magic at Alexander McQueen. Lagerfeld's models were nymphs; Sarah Burton's were goddesses. She based her collection on the three Gs: Grès for the pleating and draping, Gaudí for the architecture, and Gaia for the sense of all-encompassing oceanic life that infused the clothes, like the outfits composed of coral or shells. Or the incredible engineered matelassé jacquard in a barnacle pattern. Or the silk chiffon in an oyster print, which had been layered, cut into circles, and ribbed (though that hardly even begins to explain the complexity of the result). And if you carried the analogy still further, the black leather appliqué that infected a lace dress could be an oil slick; the Fortuny-pleated organza woven with copper, silver, and gold was like a pirate's buried treasure.

The details of the clothes were so obsessively conceived and realized, they could have easily sunk the clothes. That did, after all, happen with Lee McQueen now and again. But Burton has already won kudos for her woman's touch, which has literally lifted the collection. The raised waist here was an exaggerated Empire line of ruffles, which undulated as the models walked, "like a jellyfish moves in the sea," said the designer. It was most striking in an apricot baby doll, one of Burton's personal favorites. In the same vein, she compared the movement of a trapeze dress to swimming. Another dress, as pale, ruffled, and fragile as a peignoir, rolled like surf.

But this collection proved how hot-wired into the core of McQueen Burton truly is. The color palette—as translucent as the inside of a shell—had the kind of unambiguous prettiness that McQueen himself might have felt inclined to disrupt in some way. Burton duly injected the glossy black leather—a sinister barracuda slipping through the shoals of shimmer, like the spirit of her erstwhile mentor. She'll never escape him; nor, it seems, does she want to.
(PARIS, October 4, 2011 By Tim Blanks)

Anna Sui F2012RTW

 Anna Sui could spin you a story about how she wove the web of inspiration for her latest collection: the Todd Oldham book about textile designer Alexander Girard, the valentine cards illustrators Walter and Naiad Einsel sent each other every year, the commercial art of Fellini favorite John Alcorn, the caftans Elizabeth Taylor wore in her campiest seventies glory days. The go-go girls on Shindig! But all of that enlightenment would ultimately be surplus to needs, because the clothes Sui showed told their own story, as upbeat and literally transporting as anyone could hope for from fashion at a time when the world craves reminders of enchantment.      (NEW YORK, February 15, 2012By Tim Blanks)

 This collection also use the beautiful textiles design, including the embroidery and print.
The edge of the cloth of the second picture is webbed of amount of beads.
Anna Sui used various blues in her design, and I think the blue is the trend of this year,

 She added some fanny elements in her collection, like the "Owl Hat" as the pictures above show.

 

Grayson Perry and Power of Making

Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman 

In the Grayson Perry’s exhibition, there are his new art works and other objects from unknown craftsman. I saw some ceramics vases decorating beautiful hand drawings and hand writing, human head using wood carving and other works in various art forms.

Power of Making

Power of Making exhibition showed in the V&A museum until 2nd January 2012, co-operating with the Crafts Council. There people can see over 100 exquisitely crafted objects from famous artists, including knitted dress from Sandra Backlund, Crochetdermy bear from Shauna Richardson, armadillo shoes from Alexander McQueen, etc. 

After visiting these two exhibitions I found several differences between them. The first difference I think is about their purposes. Grayson Perry’s The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman wants to show people the precious art works over years. The craftsman of these works maybe not known by people, however, their art talents should be accepted by people. This exhibition makes a memory of those great unknown artists. In comparing, the purpose of Power of Making is showing how making works in human activities, how people solve practical problem and let people consider the role of making in their life.

In my opinion, the Power of Making exhibition is more about making, the types of making, showing how people learn skills and make new knowledge. Daniel Charny, the guest curator of the exhibition said: “Making is the most powerful way that we solve problems, express ideas and shape our world. What and how we make defines who we are, and communicates who we want to be.” Making is an essential role in our life. Following the development of human beings, people create things, invent and things, making becomes a way of thinking and problem solving.

Crayson Perry tried to connect the traditional craft and art. He calls his exhibition “a journey through my mind”. As a traditional craftsman he has great skills of making. This background supports his career of art. He can express his thoughts, ideas and concepts in a flexible way.

In summary, the works of The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman and the works of Power of Making are different largely because they have different purposes.

Power of Making

In 2011, the V&A and Crafts Council celebrated the role of making in our lives by presenting Power of Making, an eclectic selection of over 100 exquisitely crafted objects, ranging from a life-size crochet bear to a ceramic eye patch, a fine metal flute to dry stone walling. The exhibition was a cabinet of curiosities showing works by both amateurs and leading makers from around the world to present a snapshot of making in our time.

Objects in Power of Making Exhibition

                                             Sandra Backlund knitted dress

 

 Crochetdermy bear

Crochetdermy bear, © Shauna Richardson

 

Alexander McQueen armadillo shoes.