The 2015
showcase of designs by Masters of Design in Fashion + Textiles at the GSA saw
fifteen talented young designers from across the globe unveil collections in
The Vic on the evening of Friday 11 September as part of The Glasgow School of
Art’s Graduate Degree Show.
Designs by Xuenan Cui, Greg Learmonth and Jing Jing Zhou
Designs by Sujin Lee, Callum McKay and Amy Gair
Designs by Xinyue Zhang, Ellen Carrick and Aleem Ul Hassan
Designs by Ho-Fan Wu, Yifei Liu and Alanah Greentree
Designs by Hayley McSporran, Emma McAndrew and Tommy Zhong
All photos: Alan McAteer
Inspirations
for the designs ranged from floral to fine art, Ivy League University rowing
clubs to industrial
machinery, sculpture to sweets, and with specialisms
embracing print, embroidery, weave and knit.
This
year’s cohort includes designers from across Scotland and international
students from Australia, China, Pakistan, South Korea and Taiwan.
“We have seen some delightful collections emerge from
the programme this year,” says Jimmy Stephen-Cran, Head
of Fashion + Textiles at The Glasgow School of Art. “The students have experimented with highly diverse approaches to practice
and drawn their inspiration from a varied selection of historical, contemporary
and cultural influences”
“Bespoke, couture and highly individual the designs
reflect both the many cultures and perspectives of our international students
and the creative environment fostered at The Glasgow School of Art,” he adds.
Collections
Photo – Alan McAteer
25-year old Xuenan Cui from Beijing, China has drawn the inspiration for her collection from sweets. She began by photographing a collection of different sweets and translated these into delicate patterns which resembled kaleidoscopes. Having initially recreated the designs in multi-coloured foils she then applied techniques including plotter cutting and a hitter press to apply the pattern to the fabric so that the final pattern had the same intensity and vibrancy as the original foils. The silhouettes of the mainly leather and wool garments are simple to allow the decoration to shine out.
24-year
old Greg Learmonth from Glasgow is one of the first cohort of Glasgow School of
Art Fashion Design graduates (2014) who have continued their studies at the GSA. His Master’s collection of menswear is inspired by the warm off-white tones
of Ivy League University Rowing clubs. Subtle cuts are altered to expose
and pronounce delicate areas like that of the neck and collar bone. Wide
pleated pants weigh the looks down to the ground, billowing as the wearer walks. Made
of separates the collection is a development of white waxed cotton belted macs,
cotton drill bombers, silk jersey off the shoulder blousons and pleated wool pants all finished with classic, graphic silk scarves and ribbed
wool sweatbands for the head.
Photo – Alan McAteer
25-year
old Jing Zhou
from Shandong, China specialises in Embroidery. She has used flowers as the
focus of her striking collection of women’s wear. Employing a range of techniques
and fabrics (including plastic and terracotta) she has created hundreds of vibrantly coloured 3D flowers each of which is unique. The flowers have been
applied to garments made in cashmere creating a mass, textural effect.
Photo – Alan McAteer
25-year
old Sujin Lee from Seoul, South Korea has likewise taken inspiration from
nature for her collection, in her case the park close to where she lived in
Seoul. With a background in Fine Art her collection started with hand drawn
botanical illustrations which she then printed on to the garments. The
aim of her collection is to evoke the dreamlike atmosphere of a mysterious
woman who wears a long silky dress walking around the secret garden.
Photo – Alan McAteer
23-year
old Callum McKay from Glasgow was also one of the first cohort of Bdes Fashion
Design students to graduate from the GSA (summer 2014). For his Master’s
presentation he showed a menswear collection in aged denim with a silhouette
of large shapes fused with an urban aesthetic. The fabric and aesthetic tap
into the history of denim and how in the 1950s an industrial look and fabric
became synonymous with youth and rebellion.
Photo – Alan McAteer
24-year
old Amy Gair from Lerwick has created a
collection featuring woven textiles that draw on the rich traditions and
colours of the Shetland Islands. The garments which are made in 100% Shetland
wool, cashmere, lambswool and merino capture the movement of lines and colour
from her own photography and mixed media artworks.
Photo – Alan McAteer
24-year old Xinyue Zhang from China is a specialist in
Embroidery. Her women’s wear collection combines different texture and colours
using different embroidery techniques and textiles. The collection features
silhouettes that are oversized and freecut, including wide trousers, wrap
skirt, and big scarves. Even though it is an autumn/winter collection Xinyue has
featured see-through fabric in designs so as to show multiple textures in the different looks. Other fabrics include faux fur, mohair, wool and leather with
some beadwork.
Photo – Alan McAteer
22-year
old Ellen Carrick fromGlasgow is a
specialist in knitwear. For her Master’s collection she has created a range of
menswear tops inspired by sportswear. Knitted in mercerized cotton, some of the
pieces are embroidered using either the linking machine or are Swiss darned by
hand. Street style and subcultures have also had a big influence on Ellen’s
work, especially the juxtaposition of smart and casualwear. Keeping the
trousers smart and the jackets in a bomber style she has married the tailored
and sportswear styles to create a rounded summer men’s wear collection.
Photo – Alan McAteer
23-year old Aleem Ul Hassan from Karachi, Pakistan has created a collection based
on deconstruction. Attracted towards the process of decay in wood and metal,
both of which have different properties yet experience the same process of
decaying, he captured this idea and reconstructed it using traditional tie and
dye, as well as mixed media techniques.
Photo – Alan McAteer
25-year old Ho-Fan Wu from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan has taken her inspiration from
traditional Japanese culture,
in particular the patterns which are normally used on Kimonos: the
representative Japanese flowers (such as Sakura – cherry blossom and plum
blossom) and geometric patterns. Ho-Fan Wu has studied ISE KATAGAMI which
inspired her to employ the technique of foil print rather than screen print
in the collection. The main fabrics for the collection are black flock and
black glossy vinyl with black paint vinyl and antique sliver vinyl as auxiliary
fabrics. The silhouette for the collection is inspired by the “lamp shade” as seen
in both the Japanese subculture – Lolita fashion style – and in traditional
Victorian dresses.
25-year
old Yifei Liu from China has explored
time in three ways her collection: decay, shelf life and germiculture. To
encapsulate the nature of decay Yifei buried a number of the garments and
fabrics in soil.
Using flock embroidery she has added texts from sell by dates on goods bought
and photographed in a supermarket to garments, evoking the film Chungking Express in which
the hero thinks of love as like the inside of the supermarket with a shelf life.
For the final part of her collection Yifei conducted cultivated bacteria and
then used felting to recreate the texture of bacteria on garments.
Photo – Alan McAteer
29-year
old Alanah Greentree from Brisbane
has drawn on the rugged beauty of the flora in her native Australia to create
digital prints on linen and double georgette. She has also drawn on her background
in industrial design in the creation of laser cut elements for her collection, ranging from
timber embellishments to felt hats.
Photo – Alan McAteer
23-year old Hayley McSporran from Glasgow was the recipient of the GSAJohn Mather Rising Star Scholarship. HerS K U L P T U R V ( ) I D collection is a
range of conceptual, sculptural but ultimately wearable pieces for women’s wear
inspired by the abstract sculptural forms of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore..
Soft draped silk and jersey dresses are worn against more structural wool
outerwear pieces. Lamifix has been applied to fabrics to create textural and
surface structure replicating Hepworth’s forms. Haley has experimented with
Japanese pattern cutting techniques to create ‘voids’ within the fabric to
reflect the apertures and gauged out cavities as seen in Hepworth’s and Moore’s
work.
Photo – Alan McAteer
23-year old Emma McAndrew
from Glasgow completed her undergraduate degree in Textiles (knit) at The Glasgow School of Art and has gone on
to develop her knitted textiles into a full knitwear collection. The men’s wear
garments, which range from fine knit intarsia jumpers to chunky over pieces, are inspired
by industrial machinery. Materials
include Cashwool, (an extra fine Merino), as well as hints of Angora and
Lambswool.
Photo – Alan McAteer
24-year old Tommy Zhong from China was one of the first cohort of Fashion Design students to graduate from
the GSA (summer 2014). Since completing his undergraduate Degree he has already been making a
name for himself and has been featured in a number of leading magazines
including Italian Vogue. His Master’s collection has been inspired by contemporary
art practice, particularly the works of Anna Betbeze and Leopold van de Ven,
fusing hand painted textural marks in primary colours and winter whites, set
against a neutral canvas palette. The bold graphic brushstrokes provide a
cracked textural surface to faux fur whilst concealing hidden pocket details.
The
2015 Fashion Promenades were sponsored by Buchanan Galleries and Vidal Sassoon
and The Academy of Makeup.
Kathy
Murdoch, centre manager at Buchanan Galleries, said: “As one of the go-to
stops for fashion in Glasgow, we wanted to support the next generation of
fashion talent, especially when it’s right on our doorstep. The Glasgow
School of Art fashion designers have promising potential for the industry and
it’s an honour to work alongside them as they begin their careers.
Look books for the collections are on show at Graduate Degree Show from 12 – 18 September. Open Monday – Friday 10am –9pm; Saturday/Sunday 10am – 5pm. Entry free
