Friday, April 2, 2010

Textiles: Becky Earley






And so we come to one of my all-time favourite textile designers... time to worship at the altar of the incredible Becky Earley. I first discovered Becky's work when I became interested in fabric cyanotype printing also known as photograms where you use the sunlight to print indigo blue images on fabric or paper. It totally captivated me and I intend to spend time this year creating photogram fabric designs. The amazing Earley is my inspiration.

Just about every article you read about Becky Earley cites that she's "not as famous as she ought to be". She's had thousands of photographs of her work in major fashion magazines and yet very few people have heard of her. Currently the Associate Director of the Textile Futures Research Group at the Chelsea College of Art and Design, she is a pioneering innovator in a myriad of new fabric technology and, more recently, is forging fresh directions for old and recycled fibres. She is a complete legend.

Below is an image of a Becky Earley "Pins" photogram piece worn by Bjork.


Earley has been lauded for her commitment to sustainable textiles. She was one of the first designers to print onto light-absorbing fleece made from recycled plastic bottles, and she broke fresh ground by developing eco-friendly printing processes and even came up with a new paradigm of garment recycling. Her latest group venture, Ever and Again, was an exhibition on experimental recycled textiles last year.



Visit her amazing website to see more.

4 comments:

Kate said...

Becky’s work looks really interesting, I will have to come back to find out more when I have a little more time. I have a small stash of photogram paper that I keep meaning to something with, however this looks like a different league! I just popped over to let you know you won! Congratulations, I will have to wrap it well and post it off to you next week. Email me your address when you have a mo. Happy Easter!

ELK said...

such talent in both an understated yet bold way . I visited her website, relish the notebook concept ...have so looked forward to your textile adventures!

Jenaveve said...

Well HI there... been a while and thought I'd drop in. You know I really am a fan of the top three pics up there; they sing to me.

Hope you're doing great (and geez it's good to post a comment, I'd almost forgotten how!!).

Loved this post.

Steffen said...

Kylie, thanks for another great post.... I had not realised that you could use fabric for this process.... I too got interested in this last year, but yet to do something with it. I would love to explore its usage for fabric. I will keep you posted on any information I track down.... thanks again