Philadelphia Florist

I designed a fashion collection that I limited to ten garments due to the in-depth focus on research and process. Made in white to resemble pattern-cutters’ experimental prototypes, the garments’ cut and construction was over-sized with hems, linings and facings on the outside, and/or layered to suggest the replication of 2-D pattern pieces. By making 2-D copies of random pattern pieces and assembling them ‘wrongly’, the collection pushed the discipline forward by emphasising the experimental aspects of the pattern-cutting.

I used the dissection techniques of botanical drawings as a model for the way I took traditional dressmaking patterns apart. I deconstructed them by mixing up pattern pieces from sizes 8-22 and reforming them as brand new patterns.

Designers like Martin Margiela and Comme des Garçons have also deconstructed traditional pattern cutting to produce innovative clothing; my research, however, produced speculative prototypes rather than marketable fashion garments. They are the outcome of my concern with experimental process which designers working within the commercial fashion industry are unable to pursue due to institutional and financial constraints.

Rather than the traditional catwalk presentation I chose a static show to best represent the reflective nature of the collection. I also included my website in the exhibition, allowing visitors to navigate through my back catalogue of ten years, comprising fashion collections, films, exhibitions, and ongoing research projects. This gave exhibition visitors an insight into how a fashion designer researches and develops new ideas and processes, as well as into new forms of promotion beyond the conventional catwalk display.

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