Up Knit Creek Without A Needle.

Two weeks out from final hand-in, knit is getting cray. Cray, I say! It's been a rough couple of weeks with printers and knitting not being my friend but I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and it can't come quick enough. I've become an InDesign wiz, had bleeding hands, worked out a one-arm gun, gotten my groove on with dirty feet, and alienated a few friends on the way (I'm sure they'll come back though, right Zoe?). 

Finalising all the knit samples, catalogues, fabric headers - it's all a comin' together people! 

I haven't really been bothered to blog much recently, every time I sit down to write something I get one sentence down and then get distracted. So instead of writing all about my brilliance, instead here are some pictures of my attempts at working these last few months.

That Knit Cray? Or That Knit Nay?

So, I've sorted out some of the results of my survey - pleasantly surprised with what came up, particularly in relation to views of ethical and sustainable fashion. Here is just a snapshot of the results:


- A minuscule 0.5% separated those who considered ethical and sustainable factors when shopping, 50.5% don't, 49.5% do.
- 95% of respondents didn't feel that sustainable fashion is readily available.
- 74% tend to shop more in bricks and mortar stores, 26% were trigger happy shopping online.


Many of the responses to the sustainability questions on offer were of a positive nature. Respondents believed that it is a great idea, should be valued more by the producer and the consumer, and where possible they try their hardest to shop with sustainability in mind. However, more often than not it was noted that although sustainable fashion is around, it is something which many consumers do not understand fully and aren't willing to pay the extra dollars that are always attached to sustainable fashion pieces. 


The survey made me think twice about what other people, as customers, really feel about sustainable and ethical fashion in Australia. It collated some interesting results from a group of 97 women aged between 18 - 32, the ideal customer age range for my major collection.

The Gentlewoman.

The Gentlewoman is a fabulous women's magazine - it says so itself, right there on the cover. Released twice a year, the magazine is aimed at the modern, optimistic woman, and is as much about the people in its pages as it is about contemporary fashion.

The editorials in The Gentlewoman are printed on a mix of glossy and matt paper, at a thickness that makes each page turn entice the next, and images and words combine with a lot of negative space on the pages. If anything its pages can actually be quite stark. But it's this crispness that really simplifies the editorials and somewhat adds personality to the magazine.

The Gentlewoman interviews women of note (rather than 'celebrities'), photographs fashion as though it's straight out of an everyday woman's wardrobe, and offers those extra little quirky details to personify the magazine. The woman who reads, or even flicks through, The Gentlewoman, is the type of woman who shops for a difference, with style, a conscience, and a particular sense of humour.

Where's the knitting section of Bunnings?!

  Industrial Knittathon!

I've created a really insightful survey to collect data for my customer profiling research - it's based around views on sustainability in fashion and media. Fingers crossed I get some great results! You (as in my two followers, rock on) can find it here and help me out: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JVWNMHW

Looking through past work to find appropriate images for a re-work of my portfolio, I've discovered I have very few textile related pieces. Although I'm headed towards a technique based textile vortex (which is what this year is spiralling towards), fashion pieces are all I seem to have done in the past. And they are surprisingly missing a textural element. It's been a bit of a shock to realise that the past years have been spent focusing mainly on pieces and garments that I can't really utilise to their full potential when finding my place in the textile industry. Don't get me wrong, these pieces are full of my heart and soul through their creation, it just means that the coming weeks need to be spent developing a more heavily textile based portfolio. Fun times!


Here are a couple of fashion based images that live in my portfolio at the moment.

Tibbity

Look out for the release of Stephanie Goerlach's new collection tomorrow at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 'The Innovators' collaborative runway. Goerlach graduated from Ultimo Tafe in 2011 and has been gaining recognition for her graduate collection, in particular this amazing hand-knitted jumper.

The rest of Goerlach's graduate collection is full of imaginative pieces with detailed prints and catch-your-eye type colours, how can you not love it? Goerlach's blog hints at the aesthetic for the rest of her collection, it's just so fun!

Wonders Cease

Wonders Cease - the delightful Emma Fitzgerald and Maryanne Edwards have released Winter 2012 goodies! This collection, as with past collections, is feminine, with detail through the high-quality fabrics and simple silhouettes. Wonder Cease don't fail to please with each collection, pieces are fashion forward and beautifully tailored, Australian craftsmanship at its best.

Personally the favourites are the 'foiled again' skirt and the 'mulberry mini' - head to The Grand Social to take your pick.

Starting to Colourize

Yeah, I have no idea what my colour palette is...all the colours!

India Flint - going in a bit of a different direction with this one, but India Flint should be an inspiration for all interested sustainable dye practices. Rather than her aesthetic, which is beautiful and organic, I’m more interested in the techniques she uses to create these textiles. A lot of the colours Flint produces from sustainable practices - using natural dyes, plants, and even food - are amazing and can unexpectedly be quite bold, against what is normally seen as a very soft background. It’s a very fun contrast.

These colours are brilliant and produced using natural dyes against silk and linen.

Mark Fast - can be described as designing to encompass the body, as his knits seem to almost have a relationship with the person wearing them. I love that all of his pieces are designed on a domestic knitting machine, with the idea that a blend of lycra and more natural fibres combine to create tension, volume, and shape around the body. Technically, Fast is a bit of a knitwear genius - innovation is key.

Spring/Summer 2009 is definitely a standout here, colour and technique are powerful tools and Fast has created a collection that utilises both of these. Besides, who doesn't love a bit of fringing?!

The fact that Alice Palmer's knits make your eyes go crazy is possibly my favourite thing about her collections, although it's difficult to pinpoint just one! Particularly Interstellar (SS 12), where the colours are simple combinations of black, gold, and a dash of pink. She uses innovative knitting techniques to create silhouettes that come off the body, with nips and tucks and fraying yarns giving an extra edge to an already off-beat collection. 


Pretty sure that Alice Palmer is my new favourite person. 

Alice Palmer SS 12 'Interstellar'

Wouldn't mind having a snuggle in one of these...

Julia Ramsey - knitwear designer, fibre artist, and creative extraordinaire. These knits, using materials in their raw state, encapsulate a feeling of independence and wonder. 

How's Yo Mood?

First post for professional practice, it's all about the mood and aesthetic. I'm striving for off-beat, dynamic, spirited, strong, and uninhibited. And I think I'm nearly there!


I've mixed together a couple of images which I feel represent this aesthetic. Illustrations by Liam Brazier, ceramics by Up In The Air Somewhere, and a little bit of lovin' from Goldfrapp.

          Last year, whilst stuck on the couch for months recovering from a wee bit of surgery, I buried myself in Foxtel and books. And although the Real Housewives of New York City got me every morning at 9.30, it was a book by Lucy Siegle that kept me occupied till someone came home in the afternoon to give me food (seriously, I was a prisoner in my own home). ‘To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World?’ outlines in some serious depth the paths that our clothes go down before coming to us, as well as the ethical side of clothing and its cohorts (i.e. the shoes I no longer wear and the bags I seem to collect). Siegle’s book not only made me rethink the way I buy clothes but also had me seriously reconsidering my place in the fashion industry. Did I really want to be involved in an industry where it is the norm for cotton to come handpicked by school children in Uzbekistan? Or where I will happily ignore the fact that the faded details on my favourite jeans would have come at the cost of a workers respiratory health? I’m thinking not. But I certainly don’t think I have the self control to completely turn my back on fashion when it’s an amazing creative outlet and an absolute necessity to daily life. Plus, I really like dressing up and I’m pretty sure I can’t give that up. 

          And so, my morals are now being guided into creating an ethically and sustainably sound collection of knit samples for my final year major work (although I think I’ll have to throw something else in there to actually make it ‘major’). Fingers crossed I can come up with an idea that actually has substance - and isn’t completely based on the Real Housewives...

P.S. Read the book, it'll change yo life!

P.P.S This is the start of my wall of love. C'mon inspiration, I know you're out there!

Phew, I'm bloggered.

Sustainability. Annoyingly, the word’s everywhere. So how to approach the topic without getting swept away in all the fuss surrounding it? 


Step A: Start blog. Tick. 
Step B: Research. Now that’s a bit harder. 


Initially I thought it would be an easy thing to start - pick up some books, scroll the internet - not quite what I had expected. There is a LOT of information out there and this here blog is the start of something massive. I can see myself getting carried away on different tangents, especially since at the moment all I seem to want to create is some sort of knit/dye collaboration that will apparently save the world from all it’s ethical and ecological trouble. Not that hard, right? Although it’s only the second week in and I’m already starting to feel a bit like this...

Johan Ku, The Hole (AW2011)