Studio Practice – Gabby's Blog

Bathroom Project Reflection

My design concept for the bathroom project started with an initial investigation into Issey Miyake’s Spring 1995 collection, which informed all the decision making from colour detail to fixture silhouette within my space. Miyake’s collection featured the creation of his iconic Minaret Dresses, which are uniquely pleated garments that fold flat and can be described beautifully as a “kinetic sculpture” (Google Arts & Culture, 2022).

(Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, 2022)

My research included using the silhouette inspiration from the Minaret Dress to experiment and design bespoke bathroom fittings such as a sink, shower and bath. Ultimately my space concluded with the bath design, which sits in the centre of the room and is the focus point of my design. The freestanding round bath by Lusso (2022) helped inform the design of my bath and the specifications. Designing a bespoke bathtub was a new process for me, therefore it was helpful to look at other design products to begin my research and design process.

The overall space encompasses the colour palette of Miyake’s Spring 1995 collection and intends to reflect the same atmosphere. The tiles on the floor start of rounded, highlighting the bathtub and to resemble the Minaret Dress when it is in its flat form. These then turn into a more standardised square floor tile, which is an area of the design which I think should see further experimentation. It would be interesting to see what the design could look like had the tiles continued in the round format, or even if there was a level around the bathtub, truly highlighting this as the main focal point of the design.

References

Image 1 – 4 – Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences. (2022) Dress by Issey Miyake. Available at: https://collection.maas.museum/object/142953 (Accessed: 14 November 2022).

Image 5 – 7 – Keeble, G. (2022). Bathroom Project [Photograph].

Borelli-Persson, L. (1994) Issey Miyake Spring 1995 Ready-To-Wear. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-1995-ready-to-wear/issey-miyake. (Accessed: 14 November 2022).

Borelli-Persson, L. (2016) See Technology in Motion in Issey Miyake’s Spring 1995 Collection. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/issey-miyake-spring-1995-archives-technology. (Accessed: 14 November 2022).

Google Arts & Culture. (2022) Miranet Dress. Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/minaret-dress/8QHnM6altXg3Yg?hl=en-GB. (Accessed: 14 November 2022).

Critical Reflection of Live-Work-Collect Studio Design

My design creation for Project 1: live-work-collect studio has been designed for a fashion illustrator, who uses her space to display her collection of vintage Vogue magazines. It was important as the designer to create a space which replicates her needs for work, but also allows her to divide the room up so that she can unwind peacefully.

My creation utilises retractable translucent screens which partition the room. These dividers explore the use of transparency, allowing the light from the beautiful bay window through, whilst still providing a level of privacy. These partitions expand on the precedent study by Molo Designs which I previously explored, but where their partition used wood and was opaque, I intend mine to be crafted from a translucent material.

Overall, I am happy with the overall concept my room embodies, however I would like to work on the integrated furniture which showcases the collection. My plans currently have a rectangular bookshelf which displays this; however, it could be interesting to explore a display case which mimics the curvature of the pleated partitions. I will continue to work on my design after the feedback session, and hopefully continue to understand the relationship between a fashion illustrator and the use of the space she inhabits.

References

Image 1 – 4 – Keeble, G. (2022) Live-work-collect studio design [Photograph].

Cornelia Parker Review

Cornelia Parker’s exhibition (2022) highlighted the hidden beauty in everyday objects, which I think will have a profound impact on how I view common objects going forward. This concept sent me into a reflection to understand why I felt that it is so important to notice the little details. Viewing this exhibition also gave me a sensation of admiration for Parker as an artist, especially upon entering the exhibition and seeing the installation of Thirty Pieces of Silver, which truly embodies this idea of creating striking art from objects we are familiar with.

The piece of work which I was drawn towards the most within the exhibition was the War Room. Parker’s use of space and light within this installation compelled me to walk in and take in the striking view. I particularly found Parker’s use of repurposing the offcuts of the material used to create the annual poppies really meaningful. Having come from a background in fashion, which is an industry which produces alarmingly high amount of waste through fabric offcuts, I loved how such striking art could be produced from these waste materials.

“The fact that the poppies are absent is poignant, because obviously a lot of people didn’t come back from the First World War, and other wars since”
(Parker, 2022)

On reflection, this exhibition helped me to understand the beauty within ordinary objects. Most people, including myself, would not typically see these items as she does, and would not think to create such striking works of art. To me this is what made this exhibition so unique and memorable.

References

Parker, C. (2022) Cornelia Parker [Exhibition]. Tate Britiain. 19 May – 16 October 2022.

Cornelia Parker (2022) Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/cornelia-parker (Accessed: 12 October 2022).

Image 1 – Parker, C. (1998-9) Thirty Pieces of Silver [Installation]. Tate Britain (Viewed: 4 October 2022).

Image 2 – Parker, C. (2015) War Room [Installation]. Tate Britain (Viewed: 4 October 2022).

Wearable Architecture

As a fashion design graduate, I enjoyed diving straight into Week 1’s task of designing a piece of wearable architecture. When I initially heard the brief of choosing a place that we have experienced personally as the inspiration, my mind immediately was drawn to the British Museum. I grew up in museums around London, and therefore wanted to look to somewhere where I had such great memories growing up.

The glass and steel roof of the British Museum is fundamentally beautiful and has so much detail. This feature lets in an abundance of light and truly highlights the Great Court’s magnificent space. Designed and constructed by Foster and Partners in 1999, the glass and steel spectacle use 3,212 panes of glass, of which no two are identical due its curvature.

Observing the detail within this space led me to use origami to convey the triangular panes of glass. My intention was to fold long strips of card to then manipulate around the body. My design process was very fluid, as I started by creating the origami before I knew where I wanted to situate the wearable on the body. I used my dressmaker’s mannequin for this process and to experiment with different looks, where I ultimately landed on creating a headpiece. I achieved my final look by curving the origami strips around a wire wreath, which I attached to a headband to make it functional. Creating a headpiece truly delivered the beauty of this roof by imitating its round curvature detail.

On reflection, this project was a great way to combine my two areas of education, fashion and interior design, and is a process I would love to experiment more with in the future.

References

Image 1 – Dunn, A. (2005) British Museum Great Court Roof. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:British_Museum_Great_Court_roof.jpg (Accessed: 29 September 2022).

Image 2 – Keeble, G. (2022). Wearable Architecture Front View [Photograph].

Image 3 – Keeble, G. (2022). Wearable Architecture Back View [Photograph].

Image 4 – Keeble, G. (2022). Wearable Architecture Experimentation Front View [Photograph].

Image 5 – Keeble, G. (2022). Wearable Architecture Experimentation Back View [Photograph].