J.W ANDERSON SS15

J.W. Anderson SS15

Pulling apart pinstripes and playing with proportions to rebuild a more sleepy, seductive masculinity    

Initial reaction:

“A little bit sleepy, a little bit erotic and little bit dirty all at the same time” – Anderson after the show. 

Reconstructing masculinity:

This season was about throwing things off balance – garments were cut at the bias revealing exposed shoulders (an area of a mans body too often ignored in menswear, but for Anderson this is his canvas for 'seductive' exploration). Traditional men’s ties and pinstriped suits were deconstructed and then re-worked into loose silhouettes that could fall off the body at any minute. 

A ‘hyper-normal’ manifesto:

Much like his last menswear collection, this was about elevating the banal and the everyday – something he termed this season as 'hyper-normal'. It was also a showcase of his ability to cut away at the proportions of a man’s body – box-like jackets had the backs cut out, and knitted jumpers were shrunk to the extreme (“they were boiled and boiled and boiled” he laughed backstage) so they revealed the models midriffs. Anderson's proposition for a radical new approach to menswear is picking up speed, and with his debut as Loewe’s new creative director just around the corner, all eyes will be eagerly trained in his direction.

RESEARCH STARTING POINTS

Research_

Realise what gender means to me, my take on the 'gender games' brief 

Transformers=> films and cartoons, toys, photograph/analyse transformation

Primary research of transformer toys and original robot

Look at transformation in nature=> butterflies, birds, liquids, seeds, flowers etc- something 'ugly' to 'beautiful'

Identify current gender blurring collections

Transformable fashion collections=> eg. Chalayan dissolving dresses

Create a mood board to trigger ideas and emotions

                    

GENDER GAMES_ chosen object

GENDER GAMES_ MY TAKE 

FEMININE_ 

   Having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, as sensitivity or gentleness.

    Of a woman. Traditionally, in most cultures, the expectation for a lady to be nurturing, demure,       to care for her family, to look beautiful, and to be submissive to her husband(or girlfriend). 

    But not all women are like that. More than enough women are strong, direct, and independent. What is feminine is what a woman does.

    Feminine traits include but are not limited to: understanding, empathetic, sensitive, submissive, gentle, modest, willowy, and pretty.

MASCULINE_

    Often defined as aggressive, strong, and unfeeling or stoic. Being masculine means in modern times, at least, no shows of emotion, no flamboyance, no hugging or even looking at other men, must be interested in sports and physical/violent activity. 

    Positively characterized as qualities that are; strong, community building, utilitarian, practical. Negatively characterized as too aggresive, violent, uncaring.

Masculine/feminine personalities clashing

Robot. It strikes images of masculinity- a ‘boys toy’. My initial thought was to create a masculine garment for a woman, or almost a genderless garment. However this wasn't the exciting approach I was hoping for- the word ‘transformer’ from the robot, was the answer. Transformable fashion. Male-female, female-male. I decided to settle on the transformation from male-female, something bulky and masculine to beautiful and feminine. The idea of transformations is seen a lot within nature, and more specifically caterpillars to butterflies (something ugly to a beautiful creature), which would be the basis for my research, as well as the plastic transformer toys, which include wonderful linear, chunky shapes, contrasting the delicate, flowing shapes of the butterfly and its graceful nature. 

The garment becomes a double gender garment- two for the price of one, a game for many. Both genders can wear the garment, tranforming it throughout their wear.

I plan to explore the idea of transformable fashion through the use of materials, colour palette and construction methods. I will use typically masculine/feminine materials (leather, PVC, sheers, lace etc) but contrast them by pairing then with unconventional colours, or using them within the construction in ways that isn't the norm. Construction methods such as having seams on display, putting together with nails/ staples, incorporating both feminine and masculine materials together are all ways in which I can experiment to suggest my take on the gender games brief. 

Panels and hidden elements, perhaps seen through movement or opening is a part I will look into further to compliment the transformable side.

ROBOT_

MASCULINITY

The Transformer robot related as a masculine object due to a number of reasons. It was a BLOCKY, BULKY, CHUNKY object, with an ‘in your face’ form. It contained LACK OF DETAIL, however the shapes and lines on the robots legs were rather INTRICATE, creating lots of lines and shapes.

The material was CHEAP and PRACTICAL, taking on a TACKY quality. The plastic is rather typic of ‘boys toys’, theres something quite childish about the robustness of the material.

BRASH, HEAVY, BOYISH colours are included giving the appearance of a more ‘manly’ object. The colours also CLASH, having no real connection or harmony.

The construction is rather BLOCKY, with CONNECTIONS to keep it in place. The idea of the transformer is to TRANSFORM into something else, so he interaction element is rather COMPLICATED, having almost two objects in one. Therefore, the SWINGING and MOVEMENT of different components into the new object takes on rather intricate qualities. Maybe the idea that this is a boys toy, and in the biased world throughout history, boys/men are more able to figure out and use more complicated toys, leading on to men having more skills through work in later life.

The main purpose of the robot is to be played with, using the robot s a source of IMAGINATION, to crete a new and exciting world within boys heads, often including themselves to become the hero. The robot sparks thought of EVIL, like it needs to be DEFEATED. 

I selected this object as the basis of my research and starting point as I  enjoyed the construction and the block shapes. It gave a lot of potential to become interesting garment shapes, and the ‘TRANSFORMER’ element excited me with where I could take that.

LFWEEKEND_

LFWEEKEND_

London fashion weekend. I didn't know what to expect- I had never heard of the event. I assumed it ran alongside London fashion week, which was the week before, but didn't know what this event included. Me and a friend decided to give it a go. On the 25th September we travelled up to London- it was a stressful day all round, trying to decide what outfit suited the occasion (this followed a quick dash to town fora  last minute buy) however I was still excited.

LFWEEKEND was held at the Saatchi Gallery, a grand building situated in a lovely part of London (I have to admit I did feel a little bit out of place amidst the upper class). We were greeted by lots of friendly people, handing out brochures, useful information and guides- the atmosphere was buzzing. 

LFWEEKend was a bit like a trade show, lots of designer names, small boutiques and independent companies came to sell their products to the public- often one off pieces (I bagged myself a sample black kimono shirt with pockets). It was very much about the selling, and as good as the deals and discounts were, I was hoping it would be more about the up and coming season collections. 

The catwalk show we saw, a womenswear collection by Peter Pilotto, was a highlight. the collection was based on childhood games: snakes and ladders, scalextrics, lego etc. The garments, with the blocky, boyish inspiration, were refined sown into tailored, fitted womenswear pieces. The colour palette was playful, with both colours accompanied with soft subtle tones. The shoe collaboration was to die for, silver booties with amazing heel. My shoe collection would become 100x better with a pair of those. 

It was a good day out, with an insight to the industry. It wasn't perhaps what I was expecting, but I still was inspired, even by the surrounding areas and the outfits people were wearing. 

I then went on to see florence and the machine- I had an amazing time, as Florence to me is an icon in many ways, and has a unique style.

TRANSFORMABLE FASHION_ Hussein Chalayan, Dissolving dresses

In what was one of the most spellbinding moments of SS16, Hussein Chalayan’s Paris Fashion Week show closed with two models standing under a shower, their clothes completely dissolving. It was a spectacle that bordered on performance art, or perhaps even scientific experiment. In front of a live audience, these water soluble garments – crisp white shirt dresses – disintegrated to reveal two different designs, gowns decorated with thick black stitching and white appliqué petals embellished with Swarovski crystals.

ECO CHIC DESIGN AWARD

The eco Chic design award took place throughout the summer, the hand in date being the 15TH August. It is a sustainable fashion design competition inspiring emerging fashion designers to create clothing with minimal textile waste- Zero waste, up-cycling, reconstruction.

MUSE_

a dynamic, contemporary woman aged 25-40 with a sophisticated appreciation of style and modern Chinese aesthetics.

she enjoys considered and conscious luxury, focus given to quality, tailoring and craftsmanship.

she is conscious about wastefulness in modern living and wishes to be clothes in ways that reflect her style as much as her sentiments about sustainability. 

DESIGN_

cut waste out of fashion by using one or more of the sustainable design techniques. 

take the deeper cut by using textile waste for the up-cycling and reconstruction outfits.

show wider opportunities through being reproducible and scalable

I wasn't overly excited by the competition brief first reading. It didn't seem to conjure up any exciting prospects, and the minimal textile waste just added more difficulty. However when I decided to look further into reconstruction/up-cycling, and more specifically reconstruction of mens suits to women's tailoring. I wanted to give a minimalist approach, and focused on the structure, adding layers and ties. The Chinese aesthetics was interesting, I decided the ancient art and beautiful carvings were something I would tie in.

This competition was daunting but also exciting. It was scary to think there were thousands of people all participating for a chance to win. It also kept me in check, as its easy to become lazy over the breaks.

BESTDAYS_ halterneck tops

BESTDAYS REWORK_

An insight to the industry. I had/have the amazing opportunity to work for a vintage shop on Eld Lane, Colchester called ‘BESTDAYS VINTAGE’. My part in their shop is to rework and customise garments that perhaps need a new lease of life, in which I have my own work space in the warehouse. 

My first task was a simple project, but a massively effective one. I as using bandanas to create simple tie halter neck tops, adding beading/ lace /pom poms to the bottom. They were a hit within colchester, selling out almost instantly- I was struggling to keep up with the demand! I was producing around 20 tops a week, and as the word got around, more and more people wanted them. 

As well as the bandanas, I began to use silk scarfs to create the halter necks in the same way, but they had a classier, evening feel about them.

It was amazing to see the reaction they had and how much people liked them and wanted to get their hands on them. When I was out of an evening, I saw people wearing the tops I had created, filling me with a sense of pride and happiness- I was giving joy to these people through the means of my skills.