Le Strange Fruit

7/04/06

Administrator — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 08:19:19 +0000

Studio. Also went to bookbinder to collect sketchbooks – look great. Admin - Emailed numerous fabric companies to follow up on fabric orders etc. Admin, admin, admin…..

5/04/06

Administrator — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 08:19:05 +0000

French Fashion Day at the Hotel Meridian. Met with French manufacturers – arranged by the French Embassy. This was a great opportunity to talk with French manufacturers who may be able to assist with production of the collection. Some examples of their work on show, very impressive, and sadly so lacking in the UK. Was impressed by the quality of manufacture.

1/04/06 - 3/04/06

Administrator — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 08:18:48 +0000

Saturday - Tate Modern to see the Martin Kippenberger and Albers/Moholy-Nagy exhibitions. Very interesting. Really enjoyed the Kippenberger furniture installation– reminded me of the V&A stores, with a rather strange sense of humour. Monday - LCF. Finalised sketchbook and made some copies. Dropped off to bookbinders. V&A attended Blythe House again this time to see the furniture stores – guided tour of the stores by Kate. This was a wonderful opportunity to see the stores dedicated to furniture and other objects. Was impressed by the large storage facilities.

31/03/06

Administrator — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 08:18:30 +0000

Presentation at the LCF. Research ‘away day’. Gave a presentation about my journey and the residency so far. The talk went well and it was good to hear about other active research work that is happening at the V&A.

28/03/06

Administrator — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:18:05 +0000

Spent the morning looking retrospectively at some pieces, which I had already viewed, namely some Yuki and a couple of Vionnet pieces which I needed to see again. This would be the last time in the North Court Store. In the afternoon, I went with Kate to Blythe House to look for some pieces that were stored there. Was not really sure what to expect since Blythe House is a shared storage facility for many museums, and is so vast, each corridor looks the same as the last. The stores were rather different to those in the V&A proper – open spaced, with interspersed rails of fashion items. Rummaged through some collections donated by wealthy patrons, and had a look at the wardrobes containing items from the Street Style exhibition.

Kate then showed me cupboards of finished and half made shoes from the Rayne archive, some still in their original lasts. Was surprised to hear that these have rarely been viewed but it struck me that they might be of interest to Cordwainers. I also discovered a Louis Vuitton box by sheer accident. This contained a mass of toile garments, dating approximately from the 1950s. Discarded, ignored and dirty these pieces seemed to epitomise my search for the unknown and understudied. I am hoping to further my studies of these items. For me they encapsulate the idea of the maker and the work in progress and are crucial in my search for the unknown. I left Blythe House feeling rather rejuvenated after this discovery with my mind set on seeing these pieces again.

27/3/06

Administrator — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:35:13 +0000

Studio. Resolving fabrics. Following the range planning, the fabrics have now been allocated. In the afternoon, popped to Joel & Son to buy some of the fabrics that are meant for the showpieces and to spend the allocated fund for fabrics before the end of the financial year. Feel confident about our fabric choices. I love that most of the collection will be black. I am giving an overview of my residency at the LCF on Friday and need to prepare for this. Tomorrow I am in the archives and for the first time will be at Blythe House looking for some Yuki pieces, which are there. Am not sure of what to expect of these archives, excited to study more Yuki cutting techniques.

25/3/06

Administrator — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 13:34:33 +0000

Deadline day. David was happy with the development and now everything seems resolved and the collection line-up is finalised. I think I have made great progress since a week and a half ago when I was feeling rather lost. I can tell that my exposure to the archives has had an effect on my overall vision of the collection. There is a greater emphasis on detailing in my work unlike anything I have ever done. Still not entirely sure about the print aspect of the collection, the overall idea is resolved but not sure about the content as such. I am interested in the dot but not sure how or why this interest has arrived. Also interested in colour. I am surprised at the absence of colour within the collection, but am happy with this decision. Perhaps the prints need to be the only colour in the collection?

21/3/06 – 24/3/06

Administrator — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 13:34:10 +0000

David has set me a deadline for Saturday to edit, complete and refine all elements of the sketchbook and pull together all the design work so that we can begin to finalise fabric requirements, orders etc. I need to go through all the toiles made so far and resolve which ones work best, how to take some further etc. I need to submit my expenses to the V&A by the 28th, so really need to calculate all expenses before then. Tuesday – spent the day in the archives with Kate in the morning and Antonia in the afternoon. This time I went in search of items within the flat-packed section of the archive. Saw a Kansai Yamamoto piece that I have been interested in since I first spotted it in the acquisition albums at the start of the residency, a jumpsuit.

The jumpsuit consists of 2 sides brought together by a zipper that closes the garment around the crotch, centre front and centre back. Kansai was the designer responsible for David Bowie’s elaborate stage costumes in the Seventies. Also saw a simple, cleverly engineered Lanvin piece consisting of silk chiffon with brick-like radiating panels applied to its surface. Also saw another Poiret piece, a delicate opera coat with metallic tassels and fastenings. Drew some patterns for some of the more interesting pieces and analysed some internal construction. Spent Thursday and Friday editing the collection and resolving the overall designs.

20/3/06

Administrator — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 13:33:46 +0000

10.00am meeting with students has been postponed because one student has a tummy bug. 11.30 met with Eiluned – Senior Research Fellow at the V&A to talk about a presentation, which we must give at the next departmental meeting. Was good to hear about her progress, and she has put me in touch with a possible embroiderer in India who may be able to complete some sequin work which I need to have done. Departmental staff lunch (a rather belated staff Christmas party) at 13.00pm. Was great to meet some members of staff who I have seen in passing, but not yet met properly. Will follow up. My ex-colleague Stuart Aitken is having a retrospective private view of his work in Rochester tonight, but not sure that I will be able to attend.

17/3/06 – 19/3/06

Administrator — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 13:33:05 +0000

London College of Fashion. Library. A meeting with Anes from Kokon-to-zai to talk (amongst other things) about a window display for their Soho store. Also met some students today to discuss their next stages of work and work over Easter. At the weekend, went through the sketchbooks so far to try to make sense of the scale of the project and to begin to try to focus the work into realised pieces.