Studio 1: Editions of You

Studio philosophy

‘Editions of You’ (Roxy Music, 1973) inspires this studio.

Well I'm here, looking through an old picture frame, just waiting for the perfect view.

As designers we can’t wait, we create the view. Your vision is the future. Developing a design practice involves discovering and refining our own style or handwriting, to create distinctive, highly personal work.

We live in the age of the 'selfie', where projecting multiple images of ourselves into the world has become part of our everyday life.  When sending out your design work to the waiting world, you equally send a version of yourself and of your individual vision. 

This studio will look at how the designer retains an identity when both working for industry producing mass market items, and also when creating one-off items. We will ask you to consider how you express yourself in your work, whilst developing a commercial portfolio that is relevant to your industry.

The distinctive feature of textile and surface design is pattern repeating endlessly. 'Editions of you' looks at the nature of multiples versus limited edition prints, and one off design. Does a limited edition number of prints add value and how can a one-off design become truly original?

Project Briefs
Through photography, drawing and mixed media, you will develop your ideas, taking them into designs for print and stitch for fashion and interior textiles.  Skills will be taught in stitch, print, fabric dyeing, illustration, pattern cutting, and software, through an exciting range of live projects.

Projects for print and embellishment in both fashion and furnishing will be realised in set briefs. Joining the School project 'the Huguenots of Spitalfields', the studio will work with archive materials. Using your own interpretation of 'vintage' imagery, you will develop designs for contemporary use.

In Level 6, you will develop your final major project, with the choice of incorporating any of the set projects, or working to your own brief on a subject that you passionately want to explore. Outcomes will be for the printed and/or stitched surface, either as material collections, finished garments or products.

Study Trip:
Fashion & Textile Museum, V & A, Warner Archive,  V & A's Archive of Art and Design, Somerset House, Surface Design Show, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, Printall Studios, Craft Central, Museum of London, Contemporary Applied Arts, Maison Objets (Paris).

Studio Project Partners: 
Spitalfields Festival, Eyefix Studio, Flock, Marks and Spencer.