Group Industry Project: Research and Planning

For our next project we were split into groups to practice collaboration with other people, sharing ideas and working as a team which are fundamental skills to have when working in the fashion industry. 

On the first day we had to choose our favourite designer from a list of Burberry, Prada, Comme Des Garcons, Mary Katrantzou and J.W Anderson. I chose Comme des Garcons as I think that out of all of them they are the most innovative, free and diverse, allow a lot of scope for creativity and experimentation. We were then split into groups of our designer of choice. 

Everyone had to chose a different role within the group. I chose promotion as I have always been mesmerised by Comme des Garcons print campaigns and videos. They really stand out to me as most of them are very conceptual, artistic and have little to do with fashion, yet still cleverly convey Comme des Garcons' distinct brand identity.  Although I am studying fashion, I also have a strong interest in Fine Art, Photography and Graphic Design, all of which heavily feature in Comme des Garcons' adverts. 

As a group we had to come up with a concept inspired by one of two quotes; we chose this quote from the Communist Manifesto: "All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and men are at last forced with the sober sense of real conditions of their lives and relations with their fellow men". 

As a group we decided to focus on men showing a soft feminine side, so I decided to base my concept around the theme of androgyny. We also discussed layering to represent the many facets of a male personality (the design group then used onions as inspiration) and thinks which were impermanent like emotions and morals, which exist but are easily shattered by a thought or action. 

I was inspired by the quote to include a sense of gritty "real conditions" of ordinary life in my concept and show a narrative of 'relations with fellow men'. I did some brainstorming, making mind-maps and mood-boards to help me come up with a clearer concept and plan for my photoshoot and video. 

Group Brainstorm and Moodboard

My Brainstorm

Androgyny, men showing their feminine side

"All that is solid melts into air"

Morals

"Real conditions" 

"Relations with their fellow men"

ICA Off-Site: 30 Years of British Subculture (2000's-Present Day)

This section of the exhibition focused on how subculture has heavily influenced contemporary British Fashion. Arguably, during the past 10-15 years, high-fashion has become the new underground. This is because of organisations like Fashion East  and NEWGEN (who also endorsed this exhibition) who help nurture and propel young, fresh, innovative British talent into the fashion industry. Fashion East and NEWGEN helped launch the careers of Louise Grey, Henry Holland, Gareth Pugh Giles Deacon, Sibling, J.W Anderson, Christopher Shannon and Meadham Kirchoff, all of whom were featured in this exhibition.  

What these designers all have in common is their bold, irreverent,colourful, non-conformist style which unmistakably has its roots in British subculture and is particularly influenced by the boundryless style of the 1980's club scene.  

Knitwear Designs by Sibling

A quilt made of fabric samples designed by Fashion East designers 

Designs by Gareth Pugh

Louise Grey's latrine that she curated herself

Fashion show invitations by Meadham Kirchoff and Christopher Shannon

It also highlighted the underground East London club nights which were hangouts for these designers whilst the were establishing their careers such as BoomBox and Vogue Fabrics, which attracted creative crowds with extravagant, over-the-top outfits much like famous 1980's London clubs.  

Photos of young designers who were part of Fashion East and NEWGEN, taken whilst out partying in London, including Louise Grey, Henry Holland, Gareth Pugh and Giles Deacon. 

ICA Off-Site 30 Years of British Subculture (1990's)The

According to this exhibition, the most prominent subculture to come out of London during the 1990's was the YBA (Young British Artist movement). The term was originally used to describe a group of young artists, including Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Gary Hume, who emerged from the degree course of Goldsmiths college during the late 1980's. By the 1990's the term was being broadly applied to from other colleges such as the Glasgow School of Art and the Royal College of Art who showed similar headline grabbing tendencies such as Tracey Emin and Marc Quinn. In 1988, Damien Hirst founded the group show Freeze in 1988, which allowed YBA's to display their work to the public and propel their careers. 

Work by Damien Hirst

Work by Sarah Lucas

A leaflet for the Freeze Art Exhibtion

 The exhibition most notably focused on the work of Sarah Lucas, particularly her studio work. During the mid 90's, Lucas shared a studio with Angus Fairhurst in Sutton Lane just of Clerkenwell road, where together they produced some of their best works such as Sarah Lucas's infamous "Self Portrait with fried eggs" (1996) and Fairhurst's Peita (1996). The studio was also known for being home to many late night underground parties. 

Peita, Angus Fairhurst, 1996

Self Portrait with Fried Eggs, Sarah Lucas, 1996

The exhibition also briefly mentioned 'The Shop', which was founded by Sarah Lucas and Tracy Emin in the 1990's. The shop was located on Brick Lane, which was then quite a dull and run down area. The fact that Lucas and Emin brought creativity to this area in the early 1990's has undoubtedly made Brick Lane and the East End the creative hot-spot that it is today. The shop sold art, knickknacks and t-shirt made by YBA's and became an internationally famous art destination.