With her bright pink hair,
theatrical make-up and art jewellery, she has stamped her identity on the
international world of fashion. She was one of the new wave of British
designers who put http://nowfashion.com/29-02-2012-zandra-rhodes-ready-to-wear-fall-winter-2012-paris-show-1810.html
Zandra Rhodes was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1997 in recognition of her contribution to fashion and textiles and has nine Honorary Doctorates and in May 2010 was installed as Chancellor of the University of the Creative Arts (UCA) in the Banqueting House, Whitehall UK.
She has also supported charities and these two designs show her distinctive look is also apparent in small objects.
Pushing the Envelope Initiative to raise literacy logo and Breast Cancer charity brooch
Deidre Hawken
What a wonderful
invitation to take a trip down memory
lane. In a previous life I was fortunate to be involved in the millinery world
when it had such celebrities as Philip Somerville and Frederick Fox in place with still a hint of
the influence from the 50’s and 60’s of Mitzi Lorenz and Otto Lucas and was to get a jolt of new blood in Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy in the 80’s and 90’s and still current to the present day.
I had not
appreciated the impact of Deidre Hawken so
was delight to read of her progress from
training in Theatre Design at Central St
Martins to a change of direction, when she was 54, from costume
props for the theatre and film to
study millinery through winning a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. In 1998 she studied with Rose Cory and had a short internship with Stephen Jones and studied hats at the Metropolitan Museum in New York . Hawken was acclaimed for her costume design particularly in the film Angels and Insects in which she was head
dress maker.
Inspired by sources such as surrealism, historical forms and modern cuisine… she uses a limited range of materials, silk organza, silk taffeta, silk velvet, fine glove leather, strip straw and occasionally felt. These are manipulated using hat forms she designs herself. Every component is hand dyed and hand sewn, and many hats are one-off pieces bought by collectors or museums. This mushroom hat made with gloving leather and the glorious swirl of silk 'cakes' shows how texture plays an integral part in getting the feel of the original item despite using completely different medium.
Inspired by sources such as surrealism, historical forms and modern cuisine… she uses a limited range of materials, silk organza, silk taffeta, silk velvet, fine glove leather, strip straw and occasionally felt. These are manipulated using hat forms she designs herself. Every component is hand dyed and hand sewn, and many hats are one-off pieces bought by collectors or museums. This mushroom hat made with gloving leather and the glorious swirl of silk 'cakes' shows how texture plays an integral part in getting the feel of the original item despite using completely different medium.
“I begin to make a hat by building it up as a maqette [i.e. as a
model on the head] this means I get the balance right, everything has to work
on the head, and the finished hat must look witty.”
Deirdre
trained in Theatre Design at Central St Martins and has exhibited her work
widely within the UK
She has
exhibited her work widely within UK and
internationally, including the Victoria and Albert
Museum London, Crafts Council London, The Royal Festival Hall
London, The Kelvingrove Museum Glasgow and at Julie Artisans' Gallery in New York. Her work
is in various public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum London,
the Philadelphia Museum of Art USA,
and the Hat Museum
Moving from the miniature pieces of Deidre Hawken to the works of...
Janet Ecelman who works at the other extremity – taking spirals to a huge scale. I first became aware of Ecelman when the Make Lace not War exhibition took place inPowerhouse
Museum , Sydney , Australia
Since graduating from Harvard College Bali , Indonesia India .
She combines ancient craft practices,
such as traditional Lithuanian lace designs in Trying To Hide With Your Tail In The Air- see right, with cutting-edge technology to
create what she describes as ‘an oasis of sculpture’, delicate enough to be
choreographed by the wind. This sculpture utilises regional patterns of Lithuanian lace in a 3-dimensional sculpture that is permanently suspended between trees at an outdoor sculpture museum. According to the museum director, during its first five years, the sculpture has required no maintenance and remains true to its original colour and structural integrity.Hand-knotted nylon lace, stainless steel, enamel paint, steel cable, and two oak trees; 30 ft. height x 12 ft. width x 12 ft. width.Location Museum Vilnius , Lithuania, 1998
She created her first permanent installation, She Changes, shown to the left in 2005 in Porto, Portugal.
According to Sculpture Magazine, her work inPortugal charts "a bold new direction for sculpture" and is "one of the truly significant public artworks in recent years."
2011 Guggenheim Fellowship her works, in mainly urban spaces, sees building-scale sculptures that join with forces of nature: wind, water, and light. Using unlikely materials—from fishing net to atomised water particles—to create dynamic, accessible art environments in cities worldwide. When Idol Magazine asked Janet Echelman to describe her work in three words, she answered ‘voluptuous, ethereal, and monumental’. She also noted that she had, ‘sought inspiration from whatever was around me’ adding that she ‘saw her art work as a catalyst for a contemplative experience … to learn and to hear your own inner voice, and to develop a relationship with it- it is your greatest resource. Give everything you can to grow, develop and nurture it’
Perhaps my favourite title and detail is this piece made in 2009, Her Secret is Patience, installation, Phoenix, Arizona, using a combination of hand and machine knotted high tenacity coloured polyester. Video detail is available on her website: http://www.echelman.com/
Tsunami 1.26 Commissioned by Denver
Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Programme to link 35 countries in Western
Hemisphere effected by 2010 earthquake shortened day by 1.26micro seconds 230
ft. long x 63 ft. x 30 ft. This piece was shown in Syndney Australia in 2011.
On March 3, 2011, Echelman during the Threads of Discovery session made a keynote speech, Taking Imagination Seriously. Echelman had been recognised by TED, an organisation with an inspiring list of initiatives and individuals who have 'ideas worth spreading' acknowledged. This shows one of her 10 minute presentations. http://www.ted.com/talks/janet_echelman.html.
While all three artist use very different materials the essence of their individuality is to chose textiles which complement their designs and make a statement that goes beyond the piece being made.
Moving from the miniature pieces of Deidre Hawken to the works of...
Janet Ecelman who works at the other extremity – taking spirals to a huge scale. I first became aware of Ecelman when the Make Lace not War exhibition took place in
Since graduating from She combines ancient craft practices,
such as traditional Lithuanian lace designs in Trying To Hide With Your Tail In The Air- see right, with cutting-edge technology to
create what she describes as ‘an oasis of sculpture’, delicate enough to be
choreographed by the wind. This sculpture utilises regional patterns of Lithuanian lace in a 3-dimensional sculpture that is permanently suspended between trees at an outdoor sculpture museum. According to the museum director, during its first five years, the sculpture has required no maintenance and remains true to its original colour and structural integrity.Hand-knotted nylon lace, stainless steel, enamel paint, steel cable, and two oak trees; 30 ft. height x 12 ft. width x 12 ft. width.Location She created her first permanent installation, She Changes, shown to the left in 2005 in Porto, Portugal. According to Sculpture Magazine, her work in
2011 Guggenheim Fellowship her works, in mainly urban spaces, sees building-scale sculptures that join with forces of nature: wind, water, and light. Using unlikely materials—from fishing net to atomised water particles—to create dynamic, accessible art environments in cities worldwide. When Idol Magazine asked Janet Echelman to describe her work in three words, she answered ‘voluptuous, ethereal, and monumental’. She also noted that she had, ‘sought inspiration from whatever was around me’ adding that she ‘saw her art work as a catalyst for a contemplative experience … to learn and to hear your own inner voice, and to develop a relationship with it- it is your greatest resource. Give everything you can to grow, develop and nurture it’
Perhaps my favourite title and detail is this piece made in 2009, Her Secret is Patience, installation, Phoenix, Arizona, using a combination of hand and machine knotted high tenacity coloured polyester. Video detail is available on her website: http://www.echelman.com/
Tsunami 1.26 Commissioned by Denver
Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Programme to link 35 countries in Western
Hemisphere effected by 2010 earthquake shortened day by 1.26micro seconds 230
ft. long x 63 ft. x 30 ft. This piece was shown in Syndney Australia in 2011.On March 3, 2011, Echelman during the Threads of Discovery session made a keynote speech, Taking Imagination Seriously. Echelman had been recognised by TED, an organisation with an inspiring list of initiatives and individuals who have 'ideas worth spreading' acknowledged. This shows one of her 10 minute presentations. http://www.ted.com/talks/janet_echelman.html.
While all three artist use very different materials the essence of their individuality is to chose textiles which complement their designs and make a statement that goes beyond the piece being made.
