fashion

Hawthorne & Heaney for London Craft Week 2021

October 5, 2021 by Natasha Searls-Punter

London Craft Week is alive and kicking this week in London after a skipped year becuase of Covid and delayed from it’s usualy May slot. However, if you are in London between now and the 10th October, there are lots of events, open doors and workshop on to get involved with. We are very excited to have our own little addition to the events, with live embroidery stitching taking place by a member of the Hawthorne & Heaney team each week day. They will be working on a range of hand embroidered pieces such as Broderie Anglaise, with one of our goldwork samples also on display.

We can be found upstairs from our home, at 32 Savile Row. Fast becoming the place to take a minute to yourself or grab a spot of lunch on Savile Row, The Service. The coffee is fantastic and the surroundings make you feel like you’re in your own movie when you are so surrounded by style. As they have ever changing tailoring and art inspired displays, it’s really fun to be working in amongst it all so we look forward to perhaps seeing a few of you over the next few days.

Follow the link for a look around on our Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CUmmBAyFA43/

Hawthorne and Heaney studies virtual tour of Rei Kawakubo’s collection: Collecting Commes

May 13, 2021 by Intern

A global Pandemic would have thought to close a lot of opportunities to explore and continue with normal livelihood, however one could say it has opened a lot of opportunities for us to stay in touch with radical discoveries more through virtual experiences. The NGV exhibition, “Collecting Comme” features Rei Kawakubo’s contemporary fashion collection.

Cloak from the Blood & Roses collection, 2014 by Rei Kawakubo’s

Rei Kawakubo’s, features 65 garments from over 40 collections, she wanted to make clothes that didn’t exist before. Not only in her fashion, it’s the way clothes are made to reinvent a new style. She overturns conventional ideas of existing fashions and beauty, through this she disrupts normalized characteristics of the fashionable body.

Takamasa Takahashi, a Japanese fan of Rei’s work who collected her work since the 1970s, and put together most of the Collecting Comes, he was purchasing clothes for himself even though the garments were from a women’s collection he felt they could define his character. He would buy a pair of wide, quilted cotton pants, to him the collection held a baggy and genderless style. This notion of breaking typical rules of fashion entices many who seek to find their own fashion which is not the normalised feminine or masculine shapes and colour used in present fashion as we know today.

Installation view of Collecting Comes, 2020 by Rei Kawakubo’s

Transcending Gender collection, 1995 by Rei Kawakubo’s

However, in this exhibition Rei’s work upheld a higher strain on women’s wear, as we can see from this exhibition, the shapes are still androgynous, however the fabrics, colours and the garment making still holds very feminine features, making folds into a flower shape or using bold colours like vibrant reds although, they still hold neutral colour scheme and feature masculine shapes of blazers. Leaving a controversial question when looking at her clothes as you are not left with a certain idea of who will be wearing them.

Collecting Comes, 2020

One of my favourite from Rei’s collection is this plaid poncho garment, although this could be mistaken as skirt used as a scarf. This notion of using ‘deconstructed’ clothing form reinforces the contravention of a new reinvented way of making clothes. Rei is always overlooking normalized fashion and makes it her own with undefining meaning. The purpose through her fashion proposals, reframes predetermined concepts of attraction and rearticulating a new connection between body and dress.

Rei Kawakubo’s collection is very exciting and fresh, the geometric shapes and symmetry used disrupts usual characteristics of typical fashions of the body. Breaking the rules of gender fashion Rei Kawakubo’s collection leaves us refreshed with a new approach to fashion, given though the convenience of the virtual tours.

Words written Mohini Patel

Photo’s sourced from collecting comes ngv online exhibition https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/collecting-comme/

Hawthorne and Heaney watch CHANEL: Journey of a Collection by Loic Prigent

March 22, 2021 by Sophie Reynolds

Whilst going down a loop hole that is YouTube, I came across this wonderful hour long video/documentary by Loic Prigent that was filmed in June and July 2020, after the lockdown in France. The house of CHANEL commissioned him three short black and white videos for their social platforms which gave him access to the making of its new Haute Couture collection. The video shows design process through to the final show, and even shows the highly secretive way in which they create the woven fabrics.

Clip from CHANEL: Journey of a Collection, YouTube

It is fascinating not only because it gives you insights into the production of their couture collection, but it also seems really raw and a genuine ‘fly on the wall’ view of what the atelier is like.

So feast your eyes on the beauty that is CHANEL!

Clip from CHANEL: Journey of a Collection, YouTube

Words written by Sophie Reynolds

Photo’s sourced from YouTube; CHANEL: Journey of a collection by Loic Prigent

Hawthorne and Heaney Explores the Online V&A Museum Exhibition – Schiaparelli and Surrealism

February 17, 2021 by Intern

With London being placed into tier 4 and the closure of all things deemed as non-essential, I decided to explore some of the virtual exhibitions available online and came across the Schiaparelli and Surrealism collection displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer who challenged the concepts of dressing, playing with silhouettes and traditional tailoring. She was heavily influenced by the Surrealism movement and the Surrealist artists of the time such as Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray and Bebe Barnard.

Surrealism is an avant-garde movement introduced in the 20th century that was heavily influenced out of the Dada movement. Its focus was to release the imagination of our unconscious mind, by juxtaposing images and ideas. With the freedom of the movement and the collaboration with artists and photographers, she stretched her creative boundaries, creating unique fashion statements.

Evening Coat- 1937 Elsa Schiaparelli and Jean Cocteau

This dark blue silk jersey evening coat was a collaboration with Jean Cocteau, who drew the facial features positioned on the centre back of the coat. Cocteau was obsessed with the effect of double imagery, as did many of the other surrealist artists. Looking closely at the artwork on the back at a first glance, you wouldn’t spot the vase shape containing pretty pink gradient ribbon roses. Instead, the focus would be on the facial forms. The beautiful gold embroidery detailing helps to distinguish both of the shapes as well as adding the glamour and luxury to the tailored coat.

Tear Dress – 1938 Elsa Schiaparelli

I’m sure you will find this dress stunning and intriguing too with the use of colour and print replicating rips and tears to mimic torn flesh. An idea that appeared on women in Dali’s paintings. The veil has the same effect also, however, includes an appliqued fuchsia chiffon underneath the cream fabric. A good contrast to the abstract print. It makes the viewer look into the work and use their imagination to understand the reasoning behind the idea and the design.

Skeletal Dress- 1938 Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali

Skeleton dress was the most significant garment creation in the collection made with black crêpe sheath and a raised skeletal form using the trupunto technique. The technique involves adding wadding into the back of the fabric after stitching a shape, forming a raised platform on top of the surface. Adding in hooks to link the bones together such as the leg connecting to the pelvis, added a style included in jewellery. The design itself, was sketched by Dali.

Velvet High Heel Hat 1937-38 Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali

One of my favourite pieces of this collection, was the velvet high heel hat, part of the Autumn/Winter 1937-1938 collection. I liked the way the hat has been thoughtfully positioned on top of the head with the bottom of the shoe face upwards. The idea came from a photo of Salvador Dali with a shoe belonging to his wife, placed on his shoulder. This influenced other ideas to come, placing unusual found objects on the head in three-dimensional structures. One of her other hat creations consisted of a lamb chop meticulously placed above the head to match the design featured on the summer jacket of 1938.

It has been a great way to view and revisit some of the fantastic artwork available online. Google Arts and culture have a vast selection of exhibits that are free and not just from the UK, but also some located all around the world. Worth checking it out.

Words written Jessica Westley

Photo’s sourced from Google Arts and Culture- V&A online exhibition

(This was written before the national lockdown)

Hawthorne and Heaney explore the online Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion exhibition

January 21, 2021 by Intern

With the new National Lockdown measures put into place with the message to stay at home, it has given the perfect opportunity to search for art exhibitions online, exploring work displayed all over the world by various designers. I came across Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion online exhibition by the British Fashion Council.

Vivienne Westwood is one of the most recognised women in fashion, known for her positive activism approach to her collections, displaying issues and disasters happening in the world today. She started designing in 1971 with her partner at the time, Malcolm McLaren in their shop located on the Kings Road, London. It became one of the most desired shops of the time, defining the street culture of Punk and Seditionaries. With the change of fashion over time, Westwood decided to turn to traditional Savile Row tailoring techniques, introducing her own flair and style to garments.

Vivienne Westwood climate change protest outside London Fashion Week

Westwood has spent years speaking out about climate change and the overconsumption of resources that are damaging the planet we live on. She supports charities such as Cool Earth and the environmental Justice Foundation. Her 2016 Spring/ Summer Collection ‘Mirror the World’ campaigned climate change well, using the challenges faced in modern-day Venice and using it as a mirror to show the world what we are all causing.

‘Mirror the World’ Spring/Summer 2016 Collection by Vivienne Westwood

The collection exploited the problems in Venice which include the lack of repair, mass tourism, cruise ships and overall climate change. With Venice being an ‘emporium of culture,’ Westwood used this with the reference to carnivals in a way that people dress and disguise themselves from their own identity and the life they may lead, linking back to the primitive era. Similarly, we are hiding away and masking the negative problems that affect the world.

‘Mirror the World’ Spring/Summer 2016 Collection by Vivienne Westwood

Watching the collection catwalk there were constant links made to nature and the environment in the choice of fabrics, clashing prints and slogans. There were some very interesting material choices used to create structure, shapes giving tailored looks which some may find risky to wear. Some of the pieces had added accessories which looked like they were sourced from emporiums and vintage stores. They were reformed to add bling and express the idea that old things can be reused to make something new. The hair and make-up complemented the looks well, both being conceptual and emphasising cracked or broken mirrors, expressing and exposing the ever-growing damage.

‘Mirror the World’ Spring/Summer 2016 Collection by Vivienne Westwood

Looking through this exhibit, it has opened my eyes to the destruction we all contributing to climate change. It’s interesting to see how Vivienne Westwood portrays these issues and the way she feels so well through her garment structures, fabric choices and accessories. It is extremely important at this moment in time to consider how we can do our bit to slow down damage to our planet, whether that be recycling, choosing alternative travel options or upcycling old clothes. This exhibition was available on Google Arts and Culture, where there are a huge variety of displays which are free to view and definitely worth looking at.

Words written by Jessica Westley

Photo’s sourced from Google Arts and Culture – British Fashion Council (Vivienne Westwood Exhibit)

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits The House of Bandits Exhibition

October 30, 2020 by Intern

On the 16th of October I got the opportunity to visit the House of Bandits exhibition, which is based at Rembrandt House in London, just down the road from Savile Row. This exhibition is part of the Sarabande foundation created by the late Alexander McQueen to support the new and upcoming visionary talent of today. Offering both studio space and scholarships the foundation has helped many inspiring artists to date.

One of the artists in particular who I went to go see was Esna Su. She creates handcrafted pieces which explore ‘the subtle issues of identity and memory and how these are shaken in the context of political instability’. Within her work she uses the traditional Turkish techniques of weaving, twinning and crochet. As a fellow weaver myself I can understand the complexity and detail that goes into her woven pieces.

Below you can see the process that Esna Su goes through to create some of her final creations. When it comes to knitting, Su uses strips of vegetable leather and knits them together. She lets the designs take shape in their own way as once the leather is dry the organic shapes are exposed. In her own words ‘’through irregular and hollow shapes, she exposes the burden of displacement but also sketches an aspiration towards protection and preservation’’.

“It’s a big part of my life being at Sarabande and I’ll always remember my time with a big smile. I would never have been brave enough to do this without the support of Sarabande.”

Along with Esna Su’s work was another Turkish artist called Berke Yazicioglu who showcased his woven wall hanging which had a particular inspirational point of view. The following designs shown below are woven representations of Igor Stravinsky Rite of Spring. Listening to this piece he used the sound colour theory by different sounds, notes and instruments meaning different textile aspects. For example, the beat inspired the framework, the instruments represent a specific colour and the notes equal to a certain colour tone.

This exhibition is free. And for specific artists you can buy tickets. This is a great exhibition to help support fellow designs and is one to check out.

Words and Images by Isabelle Humm

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

March 24, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

As a member of the V&A, I try to visit most of the temporary exhibitions they put on in the fine institution that is the Victoria and Albert Museum. At the start of March, they opened their doors on their newest addition ‘Kimono:Kyoto to Catwalk‘.

Held in North Court of the building, this exhibition brings a little Asian influence to their corner of the world. The Kimono is a fascinating piece of social history, carrying so much culture and responsibility within its relatively simple folds.

Kosode: From Edo period demonstrating Yuzen dyeing (Cloth tube fitted with a metal tip used to apply a thin ribbon of rice paste, then dyes are brushed within the paste boundaries) 1730-70

I won’t go into all the history as you should be able to make your own discovery of the exhibition and enjoy it fresh yourself, but I will show you a few of my highlights which may stir your interest. For an embroiderer or anyone interested in textiles, the exhibition is full of wonderful examples of hand embroidery and lesser known textile techniques. They draw a lot of attention to them, which was something I had not necessarily expected of the exhibition but was delighted to realise. As the basic form of a kimono is very clean and unfussy, once the structure of the garment has been addressed and the pattern explained there is not very much more to say about the shape. It is the varying and evolving elements of the details displayed on them which holds all the intrigue. Even though this is a fashion exhibition it is the textiles that does the lion’s share of the talking.

Design for a Kimono 1800-50

The historical examples at the start of the exhibition were very strong, the pattern books were a surprise but of course it makes great sense to sell such a garment in this way, with patterns being chosen and customised from a book rather than remade examples. The women of the elite military class could have designs made specifically for them, particularly for special occasions.

Detail from Kimono of a Geisha- a very elaborate example demonstrating the parallels between fashion and the theatre in 18th Century Japan

On the embroidery front, there are many great examples of goldwork and silk floss/ silk shading styles throughout the exhibition. The lion above is quite an extravagant example, taken from the back of the kimono shown in the first image of this blog. Amazingly, the lion is only a very small part of the work on that kimono probably only measuring about 20-25cm high and isn’t even the main centre back motif. However I’m sure you will agree it is an exquisite use of Japanese thread (cotton core wrapped with gold leaf paper).

There are also a few pieces that feature a dying technique called Shibori which you may have heard of. It’s use is using much larger scale and bolder than the examples on the kimonos where it is used to create very small and delicate designs, creating a much more subtle and quietly expensive impression. The technique is quite labour intensive as it require parts of the fabric to be tied off very tightly before dying so they are left in negative as can be seen in the white squares pattern.

Uchikate- Outer Kimono for a young woman featuring Shibori and embroidery 1800-50

When Japan opened up its began trading with western countries such as Holland and Portugal, we can start to see the cultures influences each other, as Japanese kimono makers start to make kimonos from cottons South-east Asia and foreigners eager for everything Japanese started to use Japanese fabrics for their own pieces.

Day Dress: Misses Turner 1876-8

Japanese influenced robe, Victorian Era

Towards the end of the exhibition they turn the attention to more modern applications and influences of the Kimono. This includes pieces from modern fashion houses such as Dior, Commes De Garçons and Alexander Mcqueen. This room brings the exhibition full circle, they also demonstrate the cyclical nature of fashion as you can pick out the elements of kimonos that have influenced that ‘new’ piece.

‘High Voltage Power-Lines’ Yamawaki Toshiko 1956

Evening Dress: also by Yamawaki Toshiko (1956) featuring Obi like bow and scrolling asymmetric designTextile details, couched goldwork and red embroidery imitating kanoko shibori

While this last room holds many beautiful pieces, the real gems of this exhibition are the historical pieces. Many people will be familiar with what a Kimono is on sight from walking through the Asia exhibits, but this exhibition delves so far into this garment and unpicks the elements of it. The V & A puts on lots of great fashion exhibitions and in London we are spoilt that we have fashion specific exhibitions at all. But as this one puts so much detail into the textiles and processes, it has something special to offer in my opinion.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Luke Edward Hall

February 27, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Hands up, who wants to live in a space like this?Luke Edward Hall

If you are anything like us then you haven’t got enough hands to express that completely. This shot is from the cottage of Luke Edward Hall, artist and designer who curated this space in his destinctive style. Hall graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2012, setting up his studio in 2015 and has not stopped since.

Luke Edward HallHawthorne & Heaney

His historically influenced, slightly eccentric flair has sucessfully been adapted to many different outcomes, having collaborated with the likes of Lanvin, Burberry, Berry Bros. and Rudd on wine labels, slippers with Stubbs and Wootton, ceramics with Richard Ginori and home accessories with The Rug Company.

Luke Edward Hall

Since 2018 we have had the pleasure of working on the occasional piece for him, using our skills to bring his style to an embroidered textile outcome. Once upholstered they make for really striking center pieces.

Luke Edward Hall Luke Edward Hall

We work very closely with the original artwork to maintain the immediacy of Hall’s illustrations, to emulate their charm in stitches. Thinking carefully about the way that would have been drawn initially, the order of the strokes and the charater of the drawing medium used.

Hawthorne & Heaney

Hall’s choice of colour is always spot on and is one of the main features that gives his works such a destinctive style.

Hawthorne & Heaney

To find out more about Luke Edward Hall, check out his website or his unsurprisingly beautifully curated instagram account.