"Maria is a princess in trouble, running from an unwanted engagement, with the help of four impossible dresses. A 1950's crinoline provides unexpected buoyancy as she sets sail with the help of the glittering fishes. Combining digital textiles with the glamorous silhouette hints at otheworldliness, contrasting with Maria's scrappy pragmatic personality."
"The faces were all icons that I think are great people who should be celebrated and who the younger generation should look up to - rather than looking up to Kim Kardashian etc. The faces I choose were Frida Khalo, Aung San Suki, T.S. Eliot and Gloria Steinmen. The faces were painted using acrylic and then hand embroidered. The work was inspired by my drawings and the use of line - line becomes very important with the use of thread. I wanted to make the clothes beautiful inside and out / kind of representing the inside and outside of those icons I painted.
I've also always been a very messy person and I wanted that mess to be made to look beautiful - inspired by Francis bacon and images of his studio." Matilda Barrowcliff.
"The style of my work as textile designer is influenced by abstract drawing and exotic colour. Textured mark making is my pathway to inspire my future textiles for fashion. A use of contrasting surfaces combined together create mixed media fashion pieces. Generating an individual style for my graduate collection Inflorescence. A unique collection that is influenced by botanical nature around us, Creating modern textiles that show exciting outcomes from a 3D perspective. Looking more specifically at how the structures found in nature can be seen in a creative way. Designing textile prints and sculptures that have been inspired by the beauty of exotic flowers from an abstract focus, Bringing together tactile aspects of soft and hard surfaces to construct, develop and produce handmade embellishment. As a designer of the future creating an unexpected approach to embellishment. Shows strength in adventurous ways that are are developing the focus to fit within a fashion context. Designs that are seen with the intention to sit alongside accessory pieces that also involve detailed embellishment style and content. Working within a playful colour palette that shows the aesthetics of photography and drawings. With particular interest of attention to detail. Striking colour impacts the possibilities of my Inflorescence as a collection." Holly Graham
"My work is all about sustainability; everything I’ve made is from waste. I contacted loads of fashion industry companies and asked them to give me their offcuts or damaged fabrics. I’ve put them through a process to pleat them, essentially making a new fabric. I wanted to revitalise waste and show that you can make beautiful things from other people’s rubbish. Craft is a big part of my work and I used a lot of hand processes which take hours to do. The idea is that I want people to treasure fashion rather than it be something disposable.
"I’ve got six different garments under the same theme but they’re all different fabrics. This coat, for example, is made from salvaged material which companies cut off at the edges after it’s been marked by the machinery. I’ve also got garments made from plastic waste, netting and all sorts of different materials brought together. I’ve always been interested in sustainability but this project was my chance to make everything I did as sustainable as possible. I had to think about everything down to the organic threads. It’s been a real challenge but I’ve learned so many zero-waste techniques for making by doing it." Fiona Cartmel
