During the first semester of University we have a ‘Research and Communication Skills’ lecture conducted every Thursday between 11-13:00 in which we learn the valuable skills of researching and academic study, in terms of by given weekly-set tasks based on various subject’s such as ‘Academic Integrity’ and ‘Ethics’. From this, I found in particular the gathering and researching from primary and secondary sources beneficial to my studies as it allowed me to use the knowledge and skills I have learnt; apply to my sketchbook work – in terms of using the library and other forms of sources from the internet. Similarly, I gained different techniques and diverse ways of collating information and research and presenting it in a literary manner but in my bibliography my Harvard referencing could be pursued more efficiently.

One of the tasks which was provided to us was ‘How to use Online Resources?’ which was all about gathering research/information in a manner of different sources via the library and the internet. This included looking into a wider spread of diverse and varied sources by researching into primary and secondary materials such as:

• Books,
• Journals,
• Articles,
• Websites,
• Newspapers etc.

After collecting the required information we’re expected to Harvard Reference throughout in which the task ‘Academic Integrity and Plagiarism’ was specifically based upon and given out as a set-task to complete. I found in particular Harvard referencing every piece of information (text and image) was very time consuming meaning I had to account for this every time I started writing a piece of text. On the other hadn’t, I did find that gathering information and Harvard referencing for a array of diverse primary/secondary sources to be useful and relevant – it enabled me to find information/Harvard reference quickly more clearly and I found the whole process easier to grasp upon each time.

The main thing I found in particularly hard to do was keeping to the word count/limit for each task just purely based on the fact that on written tasks, especially the ‘Reflective Writing’ and ‘Ethics’ task, when analysing images I come up with multiple ideas – in which need to be narrowed down and become more conformed and precise to keep in the 250/500 word limits. To adapt from this, I feel by sticking with 1 main final idea and creating 2/3 alternative interpretations based upon the original idea the outcome will be the same as having a diverse range of ideas but becoming more concise and keeping within the word limit.

To conclude I found that these lectures left me enriching my knowledge and skills for my other projects enabling me to find research from a wide variety of diverse sources.

Out of the two images provided, I decided to choose the Duncan Quinn advertisement as in comparison to the American Apparel ad I felt it supplied more substance to analysis issuing multiple ethical issues to scrutinise and inspect in-depth. ‘Duncan Quinn’ is a menswear fashion designer mainly focused on designing unique ties and accessories for men – in which the advertisement he produced appears quite contradictive ’as it contains a women model (no relevance to his branding) as well as the male model not even wearing anything which slightly resembles ‘Quinn’s renowned designs. Adding on from this, the infamous magazine brand GQ stated that the brand is like “Saville row meets rock’n’roll (GQ Magazine, 2008)” in which I feel doesn’t correlate with the 2008 ad purely because rock’n’roll is all about conveying imagery of edginess and hard aesthetics but the advertisement displays quite sensual and incendiary (in terms of being quite provoking and stirring conflict).

Duncan Quinn 2008 Ad Campaign:

Focusing more on the male model himself, I feel he creates a perturbing and distressing aura by giving the customers viewing the ad direct eye-contact seeming quite off-putting and quite frankly disturbing – as well as appearing quite dark and sinister due to the environment and his actions in the advertisement itself. As well as this, the male model’s smug, sexist and provocative and violent actions exudes dominance and gives the appearance of him being superior to women which causes controversy as this doesn’t display acts of equal rights and denotes women as less of importance and unwanted. The un-comforting and unsettling aesthetics of the female model is caused by the fact she is “…strangled and bloody half-naked…(Winn 2008)” which depicts an image of women being sexually objectified and enslaved; dominated as sexual objects due to, the model in the ad, being faceless and the main subject of her in focus is her body. Furthermore, the female model is wearing very little clothing (just in her lingerie) therefore exposing her naked body in which I feel is unfair as in comparison the male model is fully clothed which appears to give him a sense of pride and in control – but in fact it is unfair and unrighteous as states the message that women are of less importance and unequal to men.

Online, I found a quote which relates well with the whole ethical issue of subjectifying women as sexual objects and displaying them in a provoking, unequal and sensual way – which can be seen as dehumanising and inhumane. For example, the quote states “Yet sexualised images can dehumanise women, leaving an unresolved paradox (Bongiorno et al. 2013)” which backs up the argument on the basis that they agree in terms of that women shouldn’t be portrayed in this kind of way as it is seen as dehumanising which can cause some disturbance and distressing imagery for some viewers. Lastly, I found that this quote also worked well as it’s talking subjectively about the ethical issue of women’s rights and being sexually objectified due to the fact that the ad was issued in 2008 and this quote was stated in 2013 which shows how this ethical issue hasn’t progressed and is still an “unresolved paradox (Bongiorno et al. 2013)”.

References:

1. Duncan Quinn. 2017. Bespoke Atelier and Lifestyle Destination for Discerning Gentleman. [ONLINE] Available at: http://duncanquinn.com [Accessed 28th Nov. 2017].
2. Wikipedia. 2017. Rock and Roll. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll [Accessed 28th Nov. 2017].
3. Winn, S. 2008.Trend Hunter: Disturbing Sexist Ads, Duncan Quinn Suit Campaign Depicts Strangled Woman. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/duncan-quinn-suit-ad-depicting-strangled-woman [Accessed 28th Nov. 2017].
4. Bongiorno, R., Bain P. and Haslam, N. (2013). When Sex Doesn’t Sell: Using Sexualised Images of Women Reduces Support for Ethical Campaigns. [ONLINE] NCBI. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3867429/ [Accessed 28th Nov. 2017].

Out of the two articles provided, I decided to choose the first article given which was an extract from the Fashion Media: Past and Present edited by Djurdja Bartlett, Shaun Cole and Agnes Rocamora book titled ‘TASTE, FASHION AND THE FRENCH FASHION MAGAZINE by sanda miller’ which I thought would be a more interesting and diverse topic to research, analyse and write in-depth about.

After giving the article a brief read it allowed me to gain a quick overview of the basis topic of subject the article is specifically explaining. The whole article discusses the overall impact and evolution of fashion magazine and fashion illustration’s and how different social classes/ social diplomats and the hierarchal system focuses on the 17th/18th century – how the ‘French Revolution’ affected the fashion industry of that era, and in-contrast to today’s modern era (in correspondence to taste in fashion). When reading through the article, I found that the first segment discussed the views on the revelation of magazines (in France, referred to as Gazette’s) in which first came around in 1672 and how it’s re-emergence gained popularity from 1724 to today’s modern era. Then the article follows on focusing on societies development on taste and how people respond to the artwork themselves as well as talking about philosophical aesthetics and how people’s individual psychologies determines their own opinions not “personal avowals (Bartlett et al. 2013)”. This specific paragraph also discusses the contrast between two societies by stating one of the groups as “ill-educated (Bartlett et al. 2013)” and “largely uneducated public (Bartlett et al. 2013)” and in contrast the other group stated as “art critics (Bartlett et al. 2013)” to show the difference in their intellect and intelligence discussing about a “… complex iconographical programme… (Bartlett et al. 2013)”. Moving on from that, the article then confers about a new emergence of a journalist/reviewer/art critic in which in France at the time was ‘Denis Diderot (1713-1784)’ in which in this time-era denotes the points of development and progression of magazines and art critics. The overall paragraph then ends on how the start of the first publicised fashion magazine in France revolutionised the industry developing people’s understanding on the subject and broadening their tastes and opinions in the art community. Lastly, the final paragraph entails the topic of conversation about fashion illustrators and plates in which they created – as well as discussing the differences and similarities of both Fashion Plates and Costume Plates. However, the writer also moves on to question how the ‘French Revolution’ had affected the taste of fashion? In which led to the occurrence of a new society/customer focal point described as “urban, female leadership (Bartlett et al. 2013)” and the fact fashion magazines soon begin to globally dominate the world. Reading further into this specific paragraph and analysing in-depth, I feel that the up-rise of the fashion plates were quite politically driven and almost used as ‘propaganda’ – as well as used to gain inspiration from.

To evaluate further, I looked at a quote which was “There is room for a good deal of explainable variability since different works of art will appear to different temperaments or at different stages of life. (Bartlett et al. 2013)” from the article in the second paragraph/chapter stated as ‘TASTE AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE CRITIC’ due to the fact it linked well with what I was expressing in my second paragraph about the main subject choice of the article – and discussing the topic of different social classes and how art is seen diversely between a multitude of people. Overall, this quote is discussing the topic of conversation about the arrival of the ‘art critic’ suggesting that in that era’s (the ‘French Revolution, 16/17^th Century) society it’s beginning to become less constricted and constraint and more open and accessed to a wider range of people. By using word choices such as variability and temperaments it emphasises the articles point purely on the basis that together both insinuate that, in this specific moment in time, the art critic is “explainable variability (Bartlett et al. 2013)” meaning its spread inexplicably but at “different temperaments (Bartlett et al. 2013)” linking back to the main theme of the article on a wide spectrum of social hierarchy and their individual personalities and acquired tastes (within the fashion industry). Moreover, the quote also implies not everyone thinks in the same way as people’s mentality’s have evolved to contain a wide array of views and opinions. Furthermore, hidden in the text I can relate it back to the way art affects a diverse spread of societies as art is so malleable and easily altered due to the distinct communities of people having “…different temperaments… (Bartlett et al. 2013)”.

Article 1: ‘Fashion Media: Past and Present – Edited by Djurdja Bartlett, Shaun Cole and Agnes Rocamora’.

Article 2: ‘Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara 2nd Edition – by Mark Tungate’.

Developing my analysis further, I decided to find another piece of text from a different book/article which relates back to the main subject of the first article as well as linking to the fashion industry – focusing on the magazines, fashion illustrations and art critique especially. So, when looking for another piece of text similar to the ‘Fashion Media: Past and Present – ‘TASTE, FASHION AND THE FRENCH FASHION MAGAZINE’ by sanda miller’, I came across the book ‘Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara (2^nd Edition) by Mark Tungate’ in which endeavoured a chapter about the subject of fashion illustrators stating the fact they’re a form of media to express taste in fashion – linking in with the first article I analysed. I particularly liked the quote from the second article I read which was “the expressionist, abstract aesthetic of illustration is increasingly seen as a fresh, more subtle – and attention-grabbing – alternative to computer graphics and photography (Tungate, 2012)” mainly as it expresses multiple views based on the miscellaneous and diverse array of fashion illustrations and how they are “…abstract… (Tungate, 2012)” and “…alternative… (Tungate, 2012)” which correlates back well to the first article which discusses how the art industry back in the 16^th/17^th century in France was quite varied and contained “different temperaments (Bartlett et al, 2013)” in which corresponds perfectly with the second article’s discussion on diverse, different and distinct views upon alternative and abstract artworks.

In addition to that, another book I came across was ‘Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity’ which an extract from Chapter 2: The History of Fashion articulated similarly to both texts the ‘Fashion Media: Past and Present – ‘TASTE, FASHION AND THE FRENCH FASHION MAGAZINE by sanda miller’ and the second book, ‘Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara (2^nd Edition) by Mark Tungate’. In particular, the quote “Fashion speeded up and proliferated to keep pace with modern life. Going off in one direction it matched and expressed the compartmentalized, obessionally sub-divided life of the bourgeoisie. (Wilson, 2009)” I find relates well with the first article written by sanda miller due to the fact they both discuss points stating fashion has “proliferated (Wilson, 2009)” and is progressively evolving as well as being “speeded up (Bartlett et al, 2013)” – similarly the sanda miller text conveys the same idealism stating that “…the emergence… (Bartlett et al, 2013)” of taste and fashion “…gradually acquired the wider intellectual profile… (Bartlett et al, 2013)” soon gaining “global dominance (Bartlett et al, 2013)”.

Article 3: ‘Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity – by Elizabeth Wilson’.

References:

1. Bartlett, D and Cole, S and Rocamora, A (2013) Fashion Media: Past and Present, 1st Edition, London/New York, Bloomsbury Academic.
2. Tungate, M (2012) Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara, 2^nd Edition, Kogan Page.
3. Wilson, E (2009) Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity, I B Tauris & Co Ltd; Rev. ed edition.

Simone Rocha Visual Reference Moodboard:

In this instance for this research task, I chose ‘Simone Rocha’, newly found designer and daughter of re-nowned fashion designer ‘John Rocha‘, in which I looked into her Autumn/Winter 2016 Collection as it was truly mesmerising and the garments themselves were beautiful and clearly linked to her main theme/basis idea for her final collection. Adding on, her main form of inspiration came from the idea of ‘Motherhood’ which came to mind after giving birth to her child Valentine due to the fact she took in everything from the wardens dress, surgeons medical attire, hospital decor and even historical influences in which she researched further once developing the start of her final A/W 2016 collection. Below is a selection of images from her Autumn/Winter 2016 Collection:

Simone Rocha A/W 2016 Collection: Catwalk Image 1:

Simone Rocha A/W 2016 Collection: Catwalk Image 2:

Simone Rocha A/W 2016 Collection: Catwalk Image 3:

Simone Rocha A/W 2016 Collection: Catwalk Image 4:

Simone also used references of ‘gothic horror’ to coincide with her quite sinister and dark hospital theme as well as taking references from sweet and tranquil themes and ideas such as motherhood and childbirth. The whole gothic horror visual reference was played in her garment designs in basis with colour schemes and material/fabric selection of choices due to the fact they contrasted strikingly with the theme and idea coinciding well together as the blend of thoughts, notion and ideas worked successfully. As well as this, she also took reference from what she wore in the hospital herself which was the ‘hospital/medical dressing gowns’ in which created quite an ill-fitting and loose silhouette which she found inspiration from and leading her into the victorian silhouette, Edwardian references and surgical background.

‘Gothic Horror Reference’ Kenilworth Castle:

‘Medical Gown Reference’:

Image Analysis:

Smock by Leslie Poole for Annacat. Small smock from Little Things.

To research further, I decided to analyse this specific image (shown below) from my ‘Simone Rocha Visual Reference Moodboard’ as I feel it envisions the whole collection in one and I can truly see how the Simone Rocha Autumn/Winter 2016 Collection took inspiration from this in particular. The image I chose was an old-style inspired 1970’s smock designed by a fashion designer known as ‘Leslie Poole’ for the brand Annacat which was taken by Barry Lategan and scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, March 1971, which contains a mature women with a child both wearing the infamous smocks posing displaying the garments in a subtle and elegant manner – in which I assume is for an ad campaign for one of the iconic and most well-known fashion magazines ‘Vogue’. The way the image is composed comes across quite subdued and minimal just purely on the fact both models, mother and child, are acting in way in which is quite affectionate and loving therefore not distracting from the garments itself – but still creating a dynamic, high-end and commercially viable ad campaign. As well as this, the way the models are posing; holding out the smock so its fully open, is eye-catching and distinct as it enables the viewer of the image to clearly see the detail and design elements of the garment up-close. On the other hand though due to being vintage and taken in quite an old-style (assuming 1970’s the image was taken with a fuji/canon film camera) which meant the image won’t be as crisp or crystal-clear/high definition as it is it todays modern technology – therefore leaving the image in an unfocused and non-clear state. Below the image on the website it does specifically say that it’s ‘Glorious Pre-Raphaelite…’ is what the main visual reference they gain from looking at this image in particular. This is a particular style/art movement/society which was carried throughout the mid-late 1800’s founded in London by young artist’s such as ‘William Holman Hunt’, ‘John Everett Millais’ and ‘Dante Gabriel Rossetti’ all of which started this secret society opposing the works produced by The Royal Academy – after which they became highly influential. In comparison with this image, the work of Sir John Everett Millais’, Bt ‘Ophelia’ 1851-2 Tate. Painting, I find links in well with my desired image purely on the basis that what Ophelia is wearing has a vague resembalance to the Leslie Poole 1970’s smock. The image in particular is based upon a scene out of one of Shakespeare’s infamous plays ‘Hamlet, Act IV, Scene vii which consists of the storyline where Ophelia is driven to suicide – out of pure madness (drowning herself in the river), when her father was murdered by her lover Hamlet. In particular, I find that the storyline carries a similar theme alongside Simone Rocha’s motherhood theme as it contrasts in the fact they’re opposites and both discuss the ideas and notions of love and affection and how people are treated by it. Simone Rocha’s collection was inspired by motherhood in the sense of creating new life and bringing into the world in a warm and welcoming environment taking inspiration from her surroundings. Where as, Shakespeare depicted a more sinister and dark sense of “motherhood” – from a fathers side of view, showing that love can be quite darkening and untruthful leading to more heartfelt and saddening emotions and feelings – which I feel would’ve taken Simone Rocha’s A/W 2016 Collection down a  whole ‘nother avenue of inspiration. Linking it back, the Ophelia painting works will in context with the original image of analysis I was researching into purely based on the style of dress the character was wearing as it was of old-victorian-style of which contained design elements such as gathers, lace, length, volume and even bishop sleeves – vaguely seen in the painting for reference, which allows me to see the connection more clearly.

Ophelia 1851-2 Sir John Everett Millais, Bt 1829-1896 Presented by Sir Henry Tate 1894 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/N01506.

References:

Information:

1. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2016-ready-to-wear/simone-rocha – I used the ‘Vogue‘ website to locate my chosen designer’s collection and find out more about her inspiration and visual references she used within her design work.
2. http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/29944/1/simone-rocha-s-twisted-take-on-motherhood – To gain a more in-depth analytical in-sight into my chosen designer’s collection I came across this particular website feature/article which went into vivid detail about her thoughts and ideas of the her final collection.
3. https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/kz8yvx/simone-rocha-fallwinter-16-explores-the-reality-and-fantasy-of-motherhood – This website was incredibly helpful as it included specific quotes in which Simon Rocha (my chosen designer) had spoken at the time about her influences and visual references for her garments.
4. https://www.independent.ie/style/fashion/fashion-news/motherhood-proves-to-be-inspiration-for-simone-rocha-as-she-debuts-latest-collection-at-london-fashion-week-34473798.html – An article in which gave me a closer look into Simone Rocha’s final collection.
5. https://emmapeelpants.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/inspirational-editorials-these-smocks-are-the-shape-of-things-to-come/ – This is the website where I found more contextual and background information on the image itself I specifically decided to analyse more in-depth to.
6. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/pre-raphaelite – Background information on the secret society of the ‘Pre-Raphaelites’ opposing the Royal Academy.
7. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia-n01506 – This site allowed me to look into a painters infamous painting researching more in-depth into the art’s history and contextual background.

Images:

1. surgical gloves – Simone Rocha was inspired by medical wear and focused on the surgeons surgical gloves and designed similar gloves in which took a more victorian elegant twist.
2. tulles fabric samples – This was her own take on the hospitals old Edwardian style curtain furnishings and bed sheets taking reference to her sense of touch and sight.
3. 1950s matrons smocks – After childbirth, Simone Rocha was inspired by her midwives hospital attire so focused historically into 1950s matron smocks for the basis of her garment design ideas/ and entirety of her final collection.
4. lancaster house decor  – Lancaster House was Simone Rocha’s location for her final location in which she still took inspiration for her garments mainly from the decor.
5. historical witches – After looking into multiple visual reference for her collection she could see links to quite dark gothic horror so researched into ‘historical witches‘ aspects to tie-in a more dynamic and distinct theme.
6. edwardian hospitals – Since her main theme is based on ‘motherhood’ and she got her final collection idea from the birth of her child ‘Valentine‘ she researched into Edwardian hospitals assuming for contextual background information and to enhance her garment design ideas and final collection outcome.
7. victorian fashion – These were the main silhouettes formed as inspiration for her final collection garments in instance with the ‘1950s matrons smocks‘.
8. https://showstudio.com/collection/simone_rocha_london_womenswear_a_w_2016/instagram_119991 – I used this website as it contained images in which I feel showed of Simone Rocha’s A/W 2016 Collection of in a aesthetically pleasing way.
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction#/media/File:Kenilworth_Castle_England.jpg – Kenilworth Castle Image – No Reference Needed (on the website stated as a free image).
10. hospital dressing gowns – Used as a visual reference for what Simon Rocha was inspired by during her stay at a hospital during childbirth for her final A/W 2016 Collection.
11. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia-n01506 – This site gave me an image which I used for a comparison with another image I was analysing.

For this task at hand, I decided to pick a book in which wasn’t traditionally linked to fashion to broaden my thinking on the subject and to look into a more obscure idea and the notion to develop further. So when I went searching in the WSA library, I came across this book ‘“ doing a Dyson” by Tony Muranka and Nick Rootes’ which instantly caught my eye due to it’s quite individual and zany design concept – as it’s aesthetic is quite non-traditional and abstract. This particular book is about the story of ‘James Dyson’ British inventor, industrial designer and founder of the iconic and well-profound Dyson company. I found it particularly intriguing purely on the basis that it contained blueprints of designs and imagery/photographs which were fully enriched with interesting details not just about the company and ‘Dyson’s design ideas but about his life and how he became the most influential designer of his time – being the first to invent the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner.

Book: A book ‘-doing a dyson’ by Tony Muranaka. (Muranaka, Tony (1996) doing a dyson, Dyson Appliances Limited).

The next stage in this plagiarism and integrity research task was to look into a website which links in with the book I researched into, by doing so online I found a runway collection in which James Dyson collaborated with widely renowned fashion designer Issey Miyake. This was ‘Issey Miyake’s Spring/Summer 2008 Runway Collection’ on the theme of “The Wind” in which James Dyson produced and installed a large wind machine on the runway to show and see how the interaction of wind affected the garments – he was also the stage manager in which meant he was in-charge of the set of the Paris Collection show. Issey Miyake’s team took influences from James Dyson’s vacuum cleaner and dismantled its structure and analyzed its construction in the search for new fresh and inventive perspectives on shape and formation of new ideal garments in which expands the realm of possibilities for wind and the garments to co-exist with each other.

Website: A website displaying the ‘Issey Miyake’ and ‘James Dyson’ collaboration Paris Runway Fashion Show Collection. (Fairs, Marcus (2007) Dezeen (2006) Available from: https://www.dezeen.com/2007/10/05/the-wind-by-issey-miyake-with-james-dyson).

Lastly, I found this article which linked in with the Dyson company as it was about a London-based designer known as ‘Ryan Yasin’ whose background in aeronautical engineering helped him develop sustainable clothing to fit babies through to their toddler years. This article led onto explain how his origami-inspired range of children’s clothing in which was made from durable pleated fabric which in itself expands to fit growing babies and toddlers, therefore, being awarded the prestigious ‘James Dyson award’ just of the age of 24. As a little background information, the James Dyson Award is an international design award which celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generations of design innovators/engineers.

Article: An article written by ‘Rebecca Smithers’ about a London-based designer winning the James Dyson Award 2017. (Smithers, Rebecca (2017) Origami-inspired clothing range that grows with your child wins Dyson award. The Guardian, Thursday 7th September 2017).

References:

Images:

1. https://www.espares.ie/product/es965976/doing-a-dyson-book – This is just where I found an image of the book I researched into just so I can see the look and design of it for reference.
2. https://www.dezeen.com/2007/10/05/the-wind-by-issey-miyake-with-james-dyson/ – This was the site in which I found the Paris Fashion Runway Show Collection inspired by James Dyson’s vacuum/hoover designs.
3. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/07/origami-inspired-clothing-range-that-grows-with-your-child-wins-dyson-award – This link is where I found the article I researched into.

When set this particular task, I started off by scoping the WSA library (after the lecture given) for an interesting topic of research in which I came across the book ‘Techno Textiles: Revolutionary Fabrics for Fashion and Design’ which once read through slightly I could see multiple images which enticed me further. Furthermore, I found in particular an image which shows a women model wearing a ‘Shirt and Unisex trousers in ‘Milk Microfibre’’ taken by an unknown photographer on July 1996. I chose this image as it contained multiple subjects of choice in which would lead me into different paths and avenues to find more in-depth research on. For example, one subject choice I could possibly research into would be the start of the ‘Unisex revolution’ upon which only started within the 20^th Century and societies are less conformed and structured now and lean more towards the gender-neutral/androgynous aesthetic due to becoming more open and acceptable in people’s views and ideas – the main designers who carried this movement forward were the likes of ‘Ann Demeulemeester’ and ‘Gareth Pugh’ who dubbed terms such as ‘gender-neutral’ and ‘Agender’. As well as this, this image also intrigues me to focus more on the fabric itself researching more in-depth into the ‘Milk Microfibre’ as that is the main focus of the books objective (as it looks into the specific techno textiles used within the garments themselves).

I decided to look on the internet for another image in which relates to the image which I got from the book from the library so I chose to look down the Unisex Revolution route and came across this particular image which came from searching on ‘Pinterest’ and is from ‘KTZ’s Fall 2017 Menswear Fashion Show’ which I found intriguing just purely for the fact I can clearly see development from the first image I chose which was taken in 1996 and this current image taken this year. I feel that this proves that societies are more open-minded and have less bias views on these particular subjects as barriers are crossed within fashion based upon gender clearly seen in both photos.

Furthermore, the next task specifies looking into museum exhibitions and archives to broaden our understanding of the image itself so I took it upon myself to look onto ‘Google’ and search for a museum exhibition/archive. Therefore, I came across this particular website which explained about a designer’s collection being shown in an exhibition which was based upon uniformity and neutrality which I found linked successfully with my images as they all convey the same message of conformity and gender-neutralism (expressing designs which fall within ‘unisex fashion’).

‘Shirt and Unisex trousers in ‘Milk Microfibre July 1996’:

‘KTZ Menswear Fall/Winter Fashion Show 2017’:

References:

1. Techno Textiles: Revolutionary Fabrics for Fashion and Design – A book sourced from the ‘WSA Library’.
2. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/847521223597479541/ – An image taken from a search within the website ‘Pinterest’.
3. https://www.radhourani.com/blogs/projects/15589821-5-yrs-of-unisex-phi-exhibit – A website in which gave me a deeper in-sight into ‘Unisex Fashion’ purely due to the fact the specific designer created a whole entire collection purely based upon the idea of gender-neutralism.

The specific exhibition I decided to research into was the ‘Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between’ exhibition due to the fact that it was a current and recent up-to-date exhibition in which has been seen profusely by others. The exhibition was open on May 4^th, 2017 to September 4^th, 2017 at ‘The MET Museum, Iris and B.Gerald Canton Exhibition Hall, New York, USA’ previewing the works of Rei Kawakubo’s earliest collections, dating back to 1981, to her latest collections today – showcasing 140 examples (following nine dominant and recurring aesthetic expressions) in which created quite a thematic style exhibition as its shown in a more uncongenial way through taking the viewers through the designers development stages over a period of time rather than a more conformed and traditional array of exhibitions. The exhibition is all about her unsettling aesthetic brought on by expressing themes of:

• ‘ABSCENE’ and ‘PRESCENE’,
• ‘FASHION’ and ‘ANTI-FASHION’,
• ‘MODEL’ and ‘MULTIPLE’,
• ‘HIGH’ and ‘LOW’,
• ‘SELF’ and ‘OTHER’,
• ‘OBJECT’ and ‘SUBJECT’,
• ‘CLOTHES’ and ‘NON-CLOTHES’.

All of which creates an intense and invigorating atmosphere just purely due to the fact its presented in quite an interstitial artistic manner. This basically implies that the exhibition itself is an art form which falls between the familiar boundaries of common genres/media, therefore making the work more difficult to categorize and comprehend in a way where it will fit within a singular artistic discipline. By having such an unconventional layout and previewing such avant-garde and conceptual design ideas/concepts it gives me an in-sight into another designers varied-style of working in terms of fashion design (i.e. Rei Kawakubo’s adaptations of the uses of avant-garde couture and conceptualism). I like the fact that the exhibition has such a wide and broad variety of themes, ideas and concepts as it allows you to see her, the designer (Rei Kawakubo), development through the stages of her career (which in itself gives me inspiration through the design development and design process). As well as this, I feel that the exhibition once seen and taken all of it in it will leave you broadening your own potential of creativity allowing you to have no limits and break the boundaries of conformity. I felt whilst looking at this particular exhibition it was quite intuitive and contained a vast amount of intellectual design in contrast to other exhibitions I could rarely see therefore in my opinion I feel if I was to have attended this exhibition I would have thoroughly enthused myself into it and gain a lot of knowledge, creativity and experience from going.

https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/rei-kawakubo-comme-des-garcons-art-of-the-in-between 

Main Entrance to the ‘Rei Kawakubo/ Comme des Garçons’ Exhibition:

Inside the ‘Rei Kawakubo/ Comme des Garçons’ Exhibition:

References

Information:

1. https://fashionunited.uk/news/culture/the-10-must-see-fashion-exhibtions-of-2017/2017010322981 – Due to the fact that I had not been to any exhibitions recently I decided to research online and see what kind of exhibitions happened recently this year, in which led me to this specific website in which I found the exhibition (with a little description of what the exhibition is about and when it took place).
2. https://www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2016/rei-kawakubo – When looking on the first website I researched, I found that it was very vague and did not leave me with enough information about the exhibition so I searched and found this website which led me to more in-depth and analytical information on the exhibition – allowing me to focus more and known more about the exhibition itself.

• Video: ‘Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between – Gallery Views.’ – On the website stated above, I came across this video in which spoke about the different key themes the exhibition has to offer and how each one is portray in juxtaposition of each other (as they all contained opposites of some form).

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_art – Researching more about the exhibition itself, I came across this phrasing in which I did not truly understand so I looked up the definition and researched into the basis of the idea more – therefore allowing me to understand and connect more with the exhibition and what it is truly based upon (and to gain a better understanding of the word).
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambiguity – Researching more about the exhibition itself, I came across this phrasing in which I did not truly understand so I looked up the definition and researched into the basis of the idea more – therefore allowing me to understand and connect more with the exhibition and what it is truly based upon (and to gain a better understanding of the word).
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrospective – Researching more about the exhibition itself, I came across this phrasing in which I did not truly understand so I looked up the definition and researched into the basis of the idea more – therefore allowing me to understand and connect more with the exhibition and what it is truly based upon (and to gain a better understanding of the word).

Images:

1. https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/rei-kawakubo-comme-des-garcons-art-of-the-in-between – took some images from a slideshow on the ‘Vogue’ website so I could see what the exhibition could look like and how it was displayed visually and aesthetically.