Research Felllowship Project: Wearable Art

The project aims to focus on how narrative and pattern is translated across a garment in a Western tradition on the catwalk, inspired by the aesthetics and methodologies of the Japanese Kimono and woodblock prints. This will be achieved by producing a range of hand-screen printed garments, each with its own printed narrative inspired by a drawing. Due to the decorative nature, composition and distribution of colour and space of the drawing showing a particular ‘scene’ of everyday life, a narrative will become clear as the eye is drawn across the print on the garment, as with the kimono and just like a woodblock print or painting. A narrative could also be ‘imagined’ by the viewer when the composition of an engineered print is on the verge of a seam, where the image becomes ‘cropped’ by the stitched seam/construction of the pattern piece therefore forcing the viewer to think beyond the ‘scene’. Additionally, the folds, manipulation and movement of fabric could restrict or reveal a different narrative to the viewer as the garment moves.
The outcomes of this project will be an exhibition, book and lecture.