FMP has began and I start my week with going to my chosen exhibitions. My first exhibitions is ‘Home Futures” at the Design Muesum, I wanted to explore this exhibition for the relevance of it looking at homes but to also look at what a house means to someone. Is it a place of safety or a place where you can express who you are maybe through art or through particular furniture? Or even a place that has no meaning but somewhere where you can stay and rest. I wanted to take on these ideas of homes as my nan has lived in her flat in Bermondsey for most of her life, moving there with my grandad. When visiting her house she has objects and furniture from all different eras in her life time. With this exhibition I feel that it helped me to get a sense of using older objects, which has been developed far more than the objects which you see has happened in my nan’s flat. However, there was a few areas in which looked at more modern materials that wouldn’t be seen in my nan’s flat such as a portable office which wouldn’t help to develop any ideas following my proposal. Kiki Van Eijk ‘Softwear’ tapestry helped me with inspiration, looking into creating patterns with knit. Using jugs and lightbulbs and new technology mixed with cakes and other leisurely objects really does link back to my concept of my nan’s flat. I would like to develop this idea further by using nan’s own objects in her flat such as a microwave with old magnets or her old makeup pots with her personal alarm button.
Another exhibition at the Fashion and textiles museum ‘Swinging London’ looking the designer Mary Quant and Terence Conran and a small exhibition, ‘Will you be my Valentine?’ with print designer Natalie Gibson. Both of these exhibitions helped me to understand clothing and style in the 50s and 60s which is a time where my nan would be a young adult who would of been interested in clothing. Using Gibson’s bright, bold prints as inspiration for my own prints. I really like how she then goes to develop that design into knit and tapestry which is what I really want to experiment with, and to maybe develop that further by printing onto the knit. For the Mary Quant and Terence Conran part I want to achieve to get a whole understand of the trend of the time, looking back at some of the photographs of my nan wearing straight dresses, however, it was a repetition of straight clothing and quite plain designs and prints on the clothing. I could take away from this exhibition the short skirts (which she was known for) and the bold colours used in some of the designs to influence my personal research through out my FMP.
Alice's Fashion and Textiles Blog 