PEELING GARMENTS Flat garment construction between fabric layers using the printing process as a construction method and the reference of a peeling wallpaper to create expressive dress Author: Monika Colja Master of Fine Arts with Specialisation in Fashion Design Report Number: 2020.6.08 Supervisor: Holly McQuillan Opponent: Ute Ploier Examiner: Clemens Thornquist May 2020 The past two years have been so much more than I could ever imagine. I have learnt, grown and made great friends. I would like to thank my amazing supervisor Holly McQuil- lan, without whose support and knowledge my work would not be the same. And all the other lecturers and staff (especially the print technicians, Sara and Emilia) for all the help. It has been a pleasure being here, working alongside everyone. I am most grateful for our class, the amazing people and creatives: the community we built to support each other and share everything has felt like a family. The times we had together I will treasure dearly. And lastly, to my family and friends, for always supporting me in my decisions, before I even take them. For believing in me and cheering me on. OVERVIEW / LINEUP PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA LOOK 1 PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA LOOK 2 PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA LOOK 3 PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA LOOK 4 PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA LOOK 5 PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA LOOK 6 PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA LOOK 7 PEELING GARMENTS MONIKA COLJA keywords: fashion design, print in fashion, flat garment construction, screen-printing, layering, simultaneous design ABSTRACT This work is a proposal for an alternative approach to working with print, making the printing process a key element within designing. It is an investigation into flat garment construction between fabric layers, as this enables for the printing to be used in place of sewing. Additionally, working with multiple textile layers connects with the reference of the peeling wallpaper, which is used as a base for ma- terial and form developments. The aim of the work is to develop a more holistic approach and new expressions in garment-making in relation to the application of printing processes within textile layers. The main objective is to present a new perspective of the relationship between garment pat- tern and print, bringing the later forward. Not only does the surface print, through the interaction of colour and texture provide an im- portant element in terms of creating expression, but it additionally acts as a construction element. Moreover, by using the process of printing to create form the element of print becomes integrated into the process of garment-making. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD BACKGROUND 26 Meaning of Print Within Fashion 26 Prints, Decoration and Wallpapers 26 Form and Flatness 29 Simultaneous Design: Textile (Print, Colour, Surface) and Form 30 STATE OF THE ART 32 New Expressions: Print vs. Form 32 Flat Garment Construction 33 Expressions and Aesthetics in Print Design 34 MOTIVE 38 DESIGN PROGRAMME 40 Design Project I 41 Design Project II 42 Design Project III 44 AIM 46 METHOD 49 Learning by doing, knowing by making 49 Textile thinking 49 Ways of working 50 Form Building 52 Print Assembly 54 DEVELOPMENT 60 Materials and Colours 62 The White Dress 66 Peeling Trousers 75 The Framed Jacket 85 The Constructed Line Blazer 95 The Green Dress 103 The Line Trousers 113 The Blue Line Layered Blazer 119 The Peeling Trench-Coat 127 Lineup Development 136 RESULT 138 DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION 168 REFERENCES 170 24 MONIKA COLJA MONIKA The fascination with peeling wallpaper has been with me for quite some years now and it seems like it always creeps back to find a way into my work. I see it as this exciting mystery of not knowing what hides under, having no control over it. This expression of many different times and peo- ple, coming together to be something else, something that is out of our hands, not made by intention and thought. I think that is beautiful and it its complexity reminds me of people: same mystery, shedding many layers over time. 25 PEELING GARMENTS PEELING INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD BACKGROUND Meaning of Print within Fashion Design Conventionally, in fashion print has mostly been used as a decorative surface – in the initial design process, it usually comes second to the form. Even though it can be argued that “[d]ecoration is a purpose in itself” (Fogg, 2006), prints often have lesser importance in the process of a garment’s development. Many designers buy existing prints from fabric factories, providing further evidence for this hierarchy. Brands that work extensively with the aesthetics of print, for example, Marni, Dries Van Noten etc. rely on the creation of “harmony between colour and shape” (Fogg, 2006), where it can be argued that the print is still used in a decorative role. Compared to other technol- ogies like weaving and knitting, print usually has a more decorative nature, mostly dealing with the pattern, colour and surface texture, but little with the actual material. Of course, the nature of 26 weave and knit is that of producing cloth, wherein print, a preexistent textile surface is needed for the printing to be carried out and the pattern to be applied. However, one could imagine a way to use print in a more functional role, proposing a new perspective on using printing by actually building the garment’s shape. With this in mind, how could we design a garment’s shape for it to be assembled through the act of (screen-)printing and what impact might this way of thinking and designing have? Prints, Decoration and Wallpapers The ornamental purpose of print should not be dismissed. Brett talks about decoration as “certain aspects of things mainly pertaining to pleasure - to what Kant described as ‘enlivening the object for sensation’ and ‘the sole function which is to be looked at’” (Brett, 2005, p. 4). The tendency to decorate extends past just clothes; it is strongly present in interior design and oth- er fields. For example, wallpapers have been widely used since the 16th century to decorate walls. Nevertheless, the history of wallpaper is much more than that of ornamental design - it is also a fascinating record of human lives and preferences (V&A). It is layers of time and different personal- ities being stacked on top of each other, creating a new expression as the layers start peeling off. “That is the fate of most wallpapers – they are a transient item of décor. They stain, crease, become mouldy and above all go out of fashion.” (Watson, 2018). INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD MONIKA COLJA MONIKA 27 PEELING GARMENTS PEELING Figure 1: Nicky Samuels wearing an Ossie Clark/Celia Birtwell design, 1971 Figure The relationship between wallpapers and fashion has existed since their conception in the 16th century. Initially, wallpapers often imitated various embroideries from both garments and other textiles, with floral pattern design often being most popular. Furthermore, designers such as Celia Birtwell (Figure 1) and Christian Lacroix have been known for working with fashion, print and interior design, resulting in printed floral designs on garments often inspiring furnishing fabrics and wall- BACKGROUND paper and vice versa. Similarly, William Morris’ famous wallpaper designs have often been used or inspired fashion design (for example Prada Fall 2002 collection, Valentino Couture Fall 2012, Joe Richards Spring 2016 or most recently a collaboration by H&M, to name a few). 28 Figure 2, 3: Self-portraits by Francesca Woodman In a series of self-portraits from 1975 to 1976 by American artist and photographer Francesca Woodman, the motif of peeling wallpaper is investigated in relation to the body. It could be inter- preted as the author bearing her soul, revealing herself to the viewer (Figure 2 and 3). The place- ment of the torn pieces on the body suggests a connection to clothing. What if the idea of a peeling garment would be used to achieve new expressive qualities in printed fashion design? Perhaps the wallpaper and its flatness (a reference to a flat wall) give an insight into how the gar- ments should be designed, for them to be assembled on a flat table through the technique of screen-print. INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD THE TO INTRODUCTION MONIKA COLJA MONIKA Form and Flatness There is no garment without form. There are known garment shapes that have been connected to specific words, for example, a top, a pair of trousers and are as such deeply established within fashion design. Form articulation happens through various traditional garment-making techniques: modelling and draping on the mannequin, drafting flat pattern blocks or using computer modelling software (Townsend, Goulding, 2011). One of the essential aspects of garment construction is the relation between 2D and 3D. Through history, garment’s form has developed to become sophisti- cated, but before that, clothing had a simpler shape and often looked more two-dimensional. For exam- ple, in Ancient Greece, a garment was just a rectangu- lar textile draped around the body, with minimal cut- ting or sewing, secured with a pin. Another example is a kaftan from the Ottoman Empire. Already a more sophisticated form with sewing involved; worn as a coat, but when not on a body, the garment lies com- 29 pletely flat (figure 4). Figure 4: Kaftan, Turkish, 1550-1600 (V&A) Margiela, a fashion innovator, often working with de- construction and playing with proportions, presented his ‘flat collection’ in 1998. Within this collection, he explored the 2D to 3D aspect, specifically “how to make two-dimensional garments that would lie per- fectly flat when not on a three-dimensional body.” (Borrelli-Persson in Vogue, 1997).