About Me
Hi, I’m Erin, a fashion design graduate from the University of Salford
My design ethos is to reconsider the everyday, envisioning a hopeful and expressive future, through experimental shapes and contemporary use of colours. I push myself creatively in order to bring ingenuity to fashion that can reflect our time in history, discovering new ways of thinking and translate ideas of change into the universal language of fashion.
Coming from an industrial chemical town, I naturally value the significance of breaking the cycle of unsustainable industrial growth. Thus, my core value is to "progress backwards", communicating the need for resourceful design that can benefit future generations. Throughout my practice as a womenswear designer, my strengths are centred around; textile developments, abstract prints/ pattern cutting and using unconventional materials. Taking risks is an essential principle in my studio processes, as experimenting is a catalyst for growth, as a designer and as a human.
INSPIRATION
‘Proof of Power’ reimagines the future of a rewilded society, centred on shifting ideals of beauty.
The initial idea derived from my childhood memories at the Lake District, reminiscing on that feeling of freedom, possibility and the endless imagination of a child’s mind. As we get older, I realised that our sense of wonder becomes clouded with adult responsibilities. However, as life as we know it shifted over lockdown, I rekindled this experience with outdoor life and once again became excited and inspired by the natural world.
Since I also find inspiration in movements that challenge and improve the status quo, I studied the radical distinctiveness of the ‘Kibbo Kift’ and their rejection of ‘civilised’ culture. They were woodcraft utopians who elevated outdoor activities into a level of spiritual exercise: marked by colourful and impressive ritual. Their shared mystical understanding of the natural world and world peace ambitions inspired me to create garments that capture their youthful, charismatic and outlandish spirit.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Initial inspiration for accessories. Muse ‘Aurora’
Concept board for my fmp ‘Proof of Power’
Fabric and colour
3D printed masks with colourful surface decoration
Toiling the wolf headpiece.
Toiling the silhouette and textiles for outfit 1.
Proportions of the skirt and hood of outfit 2.
Sculpting the headpiece for outfit 2.
Collage created with images sourced from research.
Volume of skirt toiles and fabric ideas.
Final line up FMP
BFC x British Library competition ‘Spare Rib’
Colour palette and fabrics BFC x BL
Macrame and rope sampling.
Exploration of powerful femininity.
Final design board for outfit 1.
Final outfit 2 design ft. Deconstructed tailoring
Final line up for the BFC x BL competition.
Photoshoot from the book project, ‘Naked city’
DETAIL
I paired abstract silhouettes with mature colours, using pressed flowers to create original fabrics.
Consisting of light-hearted pieces translate through primitive techniques and ancient skills, such as felting and natural dyeing, to reinvigorate, both physically and spiritually. To evoke the idea of a good life and nostalgia, creative and sculptured silhouettes were applied and achieved by constructing parts of the garments beyond the fashion studio. Using unconventional materials such as aluminium, nylon rods and 3D printed pieces, to not only execute the challenging silhouettes, but to also push myself creatively. The playful proportions and eccentric shapes are connotations of expressing one’s inner child and youthful attitude, a reminder of the simpler reality that we once had and long for again. Juxtaposing these vibrant expressions with an organic colour palette balances out any naivety, giving the collection a more contemporary and desirable feel. Alongside this, the flattering fits and functional garments underneath the artistic pieces encompass a blend of both fearlessness and femininity.
"Not to return the people to what is primitive, but to what is primary."
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