Paris- Première Vision.

I took a quick flight over to Paris last week to do some further research at Première Vision, a large exhibition of  all things related to Textiles. Presenting trends and forecasts relating to the up and coming Fashion, including Menswear, Womenswear and Kidswear, with specific categories such as Lingerie, Knit, Swimwear, Embroideries, Vintage, Computer Graphics and so on . It allows companies to network with others within their industry and gives each of them the opportunity to meet new and old exhibitors, whether it be print studios or technical fabric suppliers. I had my recent prints on sale through a freelance company I work with in London and New York, therefore I found it hugely beneficial to go and check it all out, as it has been sometime since I was last there.

The doors opened and the buyers were on a mission to purchase the ‘new and latest’ prints for A/W 2011/12 at Indigo, this being just the print section of a much bigger exhibition consisting of six halls. Pluriel Expert Trails is “designed as actual buying guides, aimed at helping you conceive your collections, discover new fabric developments and suppliers, and organise your sourcing throughout the 6 shows that make up Première Vision Pluriel”. I took a lot of notes, caught up with some old friends, mingled and enjoyed the buzz on the first day of the show.

Première Vision also surveyed a panel of international buyers in June 2010 to identify their fabric and decoration needs for actualisation products for Spring Summer 2011. Fabrics addressing these needs were presented in the ‘Actualisation forum’ in one of the halls. There is also TextPrint which allows new talent within the print industry to exhibit their graduate work. Understandably they are very tight on security at this show, therefore taking photos is not easy. I have however included a few taken from the Première Vision website.

It was very informative and fun. Spending three days in Paris with friends and colleagues, going on shop reports and purchasing some inspirational vintage scarfs went down a treat!

N x

My Hand-Made Purses.

I have been on the sewing machine again and made my own purses. Last week I had a clear out and came across some of my old university printed fabrics and decided to put them to use! I hope you like them.

N x

Into the Wilderness.

Another trip away, further north this time, to the west of Scotland to a small village called Gairloch. Quiet and relatively remote, with the most beautiful views of Skye and gorgeous beaches, YES beaches! I popped into the local museum there to find an exhibition on Textiles and Fashion by Katherine Butler called ‘Into the Wilderness’. A graduate from Fashion and Design specialising in knitwear. With a focus on traditional techniques such as hand-spinning, hand-knitting and hand-sewing her mixed use of fleeces, felt and furs were beautifully presented. Her use of the above and natural ‘highland inspired’ tones and colour I liked very much as well as the cut of garments and silhouettes, encompassing the nature of the Scottish Highlands. It was a lovely hour spent looking at a jammed packed portfolio of research and development, it brought a lot of my own Art School days back to me! I purchased a few hand made gifts also. Enjoy the few close up pics I took.

N x

Beautiful cut section to a dress!

Another lovely hand woven knit.

Mixed use of fabrics, photo of garment on mannequin.

Brit Insurance Designs of the Year.

I was in London last week and went to the ‘Brit Insurance Designs of the Year’ exhibition at The Design Museum. It was very interesting, and broken down into several categories such as Fashion, Furniture and Architecture to name a few. Click on the link above and check out the website. There are some very impressive design contributions and the way they impact our lives from every day use as well as presenting us with strong global and social messages. The Graphics exhibit was very cool and I liked a few of the magazine covers which encouraged me to look into a few more printed editions, of which I have included at the bottom of the page!

N x

Graphic: 032c- Contemporary Culture magazine from Germany shortlisted for the best of international design. http://www.032c.com

Product: 'Folding Plug' designed by Min-Kyu Choi. http://www.minkyu.co.uk

Architecture: 'Monterry Housing'-Elemental.S.A.Chile. http://www.elementalchile.cl

Graphic: 'The New Yorker, 2 Nov 2009 edition, USA. http://www.newyorker.com

Graphic: Corporate Diversity, Swiss Graphic Design and Advertising by Geigy 1940-1970. http://www.museum-gestaltung.ch

Here are a few more designed covers from Geigy that I also like…..

Another lovely graphic cover from the chemical and pharmaceutical company JR Geigy AG who produced a large body of work across identity, advertising and package design during the 1950's and 60's.

'Dyestuffs'-Geigy cover

'It's Nice That'- another graphic printed publication at the exhibit.www.itsnicethat.com

Nice patterns.