Apologies for the late posting today... not sure if there's been a big April Fool's joke on the internet but ours has been down all morning. So, the next installment in Textiles Week... constructed textiles and in particular the amazing work of Clare Tough...
British designer Clare Tough was a knitting superstar even before she finished her MA degree at Central Saint Martin's College of Art & Design, London, in 2004. Her reputation as a visionary in constructed textiles has only grown since then with her keenly juxtaposed combinations of oversized, extravagant shapes and streamlined, thought-provoking details in her silhouettes. Her winning combination of traditional techniques used in a modern application provide at once the comfort of the familiar and the excitement of the new. I guess this is all a very formal way of saying that she's an experimenter and a bit of an outlaw and I love that :) I wish I could post all the images I found of her concoctions - yarn mixed with silver thread, metal chains, divinely-edgy embroidery.
"For me, knitwear gets interesting when you find something unusual in it. The contrast of a soft structure and a piece of metal is unexpected, so it's fun to wear." (Clare Tough)
What I love most about her work is that her textiles are the outfits... the construction of the textile is integral to the construction of the design of the clothes. That's more than just a bit cool I think :) Find out more about this innovative textile designer at her website here.
8 comments:
wow - amazing work! I will look her up indeed. It's ashame that the models look so painfully thin though!!!
Amelia.x
ooh, I like a good bit of 'edge' with a knit! Wonder if I should start pushing things with the tree woollies?!?!?
Love that bra top and the second image - nice find Kylie.
How fabulous!! I can see that I've missed a whole bunch of wonderful posts about textiles. You have to get a tripod and learn to use the self-timer on your camera so you can take some good pics of the outfits you make for yourself. I love ruffles too!
I'm really enjoying your textile week kylie! I wish I could wear the third dress on gloomy days, it would brighten up any day and it looks snugly and warm enough yet with an edge. An attitude! Thanks for the lovely post.
The bra top is the coolest most original thing I've seen on the catwalk in ages!!! Great find, thanks!
wow..very cool! the thing is my work is similar in some ways..i was was very, very surprised when a frined sent me this link to check it out. wow.
This is Clare's early work, and is quite excellent - you should be aware that the label Clare Tough (CTAG) now markets sub-standard rubbish that Clare herself does not design as she no longer works there. You can probably tell that by looking at the CTAG website and the Clare Tough (Official) facebook page.
Johan
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