Murray Houston Smith, Glasgow School of Art
Once again New Designers showcased a high level of work from textile graduates from around the UK, from Falmouth right up to the Shetland Isles and west to Galway in Ireland. A sharpened focus on the end product came across, as did a spirit of inventiveness in the use of materials.
Murray Houston Smith from Glasgow School of Art drew his inspiration from early 20th century Russian paintings by Rodchenko and Malevich; using their Constructivist theories to re-imagine the architecture of the recently-built Scottish parliament building. Creating large-scale hand inked abstract technical drawings and building conceptual models allowed Murray to generate designs from the structures, patterns and surfaces of the technical plans.
The collection is a mixture of both digital and hand printed samples, on a range of base fabrics, incorporating a selection of tweeds, jerseys, wools, silks and denims. Aimed at the menswear fashion industry, Murray puts the emphasis on developing the use of print within the tailoring sector.
Deryn Relph, Winchester School of Art
Winchester School of Art’s Deryn Relph brought her Retro Rainbow Rejuvenation interiors collection to the show. The collection explores the application of knitted textiles and construction techniques to contemporary interior products by upcycling old furniture and nightshades and evoking an emotional response and engagement through the exciting use of colour.
Where possible the yarns are natural and have predominantly been sourced from factory surplus stocks. They include a range of fibres including cotton, wool, silk and bamboo. Waste is reduced to an absolute minimum as knitted pieces have been constructed to the required shape and size. The pieces are constructed using a variety of knit machine gauges, including Shima Seiki CAD designs, as well as hand knit and crochet.
Sadie Smith, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee
Sadie Smith, a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee, has specialised in men’s knitwear for her final collection. Using cashmere and merino yarns, Sadie’s collection looks at modern British masculinity and takes influences from historical references such as the colours and insignia of trade unions and shipyards, as well as past and present football culture.
Hannah Stowell, Swansea Metropolitan University
Swansea Metropolitan University’s Hannah Stowell won the Selvedge Prize for Textiles at the show and wins a month’s window display of her work in Selvedge’s London store and an article in the magazine’s next issue.
Hannah’s project is inspired by a trip to Budapest that included a display of Hungarian folk dancing by women wearing highly intricate and detailed patterned traditional dress. Drawing straight onto the fabric gives Hannah’s scarves a vibrancy and uniqueness. Her oil pastel drawings show how the prints can work together.
Eva Joly of Glasgow School of Art
Domestic Clutter by Eva Joly of Glasgow School of Art takes inspiration from everyday objects and clutter. Coming from the U.S to study, Eva found everyday British packaged items had a charm and novelty that found its way into her work. It was important for Eva that the colours of the items remained true to their original form and her colour palette reflects this. Eva also uses dolls’ furniture to create mini room sets that show off her print designs.
Katy Aston, Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University graduate Katy Aston’s final project ‘A Dirty Picture in a Golden Frame’ was inspired by the redevelopment taking place in her home town of Sheffield. Katy tells us, ‘I constructed my own imagery, building up and knocking down objects to reflect the constant restructure of the city.’ Katy painted clothes pegs or cocktail sticks palette colours and then photographed them and manipulated them digitally to bring back the 3D qualities into the fabric through hand-painting and hand-embossing into furnishing velvet.
Katy coninues, ‘I applied my designs to large-scale floor cushions…. As the design transforms around the form of the cushions, different patterns and palettes are created which can then be arranged to personal taste and environment by the owner, so passing on the interactive quality of the designs.’
Image credits: New Designers photography by Natasha Chauhan
New Designers
Murray Houston Smith: murrayhoustonsmith@live.co.uk
Deryn Relph: deryn@derynrelph.co.uk
Sadie Smith
Hannah Stowell: hannahstowell@hotmail.co.uk
Eva Joly
Katy Aston
