CATALYST MAGAZINE ‘The Ritual Issue’

The Line Up 

An elevator ride through Building 8 takes me to the infamous Level 10.

With a whole lot of coffee, ice-cream runs to 7-eleven and impromptu dancing around tables, Level 10 is a hub of creation, innovation and a little crazy. The space is reserved for fourth year students of RMIT’s Fashion Design (Honours) degree (just don’t tell anyone I’m here).

Stress and moods run high at times. Dubbed ‘special time’, frenzies typically seen at fashion week are common. But with movie screenings and birthday festivities, it’s a supportive community that breeds talented creatives.

“It’s a passionate, unique space,” Grace Alateras says.

Grace, described as an “overarching everything”, makes up one part of a five-pronged group. Grace’s practice focuses on the re-conceptualisation of modern street wear. Her graduate collection, Eponymous, focuses on the dissemination of the ‘logo’, and the ways in which branding can be physically embedded into menswear.

But what’s this elusive group I speak of, you ask?

‘The Line Up’ was born of a group assignment last semester. The project focused on doing a mock-showcase, to explore the ways in which students disseminate their work. The showcase’s execution was never a part of the assignment, but those behind The Line Up are taking it to the next level to manifest their idea into an actual event. With the name conceived of a Google search, the collaborative work of Grace Alateras, Madeleine Sinco, Katie Barter, Alinda Tralongo and Victoria Bliss is set to make a big fashion statement.

“It’s been the best group assignment all of us have ever worked in,” Madeleine says.

Madeleine Sinco plays on the notion of nostalgia in her designs, utilising personal memories and drawing on emotions as the basis of her ideas. In the process, Madeleine diffuses sentiment through her practice, creating an ageless aesthetic through the fusion of young and old. Walking Backwards Into the Future features phrases like ‘Forever gold never old’ sequinned onto garments.

“It’s so rare to be able to do a showcase,” Katie says.

Unless you’re a student of London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins, that is. Katie Barter tests alternative processes of wear within garments and accessories, exploring the relationship between the body and cloth. In Handle With Wear, Katie creates tactical experiences that enhance notions of intimacy. The collection stands as a visual language of touch.

Forever New scholarship recipient, Victoria Bliss, explores the innovations that come about through the relationship between European and Australian fashion cultures. Her collection, Indomitable, is inspired by the history of Scotland, the Jacobite rebellion and the battle for gender equality. The themes are manifested through tartan, pleating and weathered chain, a nod to identity and heritage.

The group’s final member, Alinda Tralongo, exposes the figure within the clothes through the use of layering techniques. Her collection, Fragmented Perceptions, focuses on an individual’s perception and desires of the ideal body and its proportions. Neon is coupled with reflective embellishments, reinforcing the collections name, with no full image reflected in each surface. In essence, the collection both hides and exposes the body.

The Line Up will be a two-part event, fusing runway and exhibition to create a uniquely interactive experience. It will marry the five designers collections in one space, offering a platform to showcase their work to industry figures outside of the university sphere.

“That’s why we called it an interactive runway. It’s a non traditional event. It will be interesting to see the transition of people actually getting to view the projects in a much more in depth matter than flashing past them on the runway, and digest them and talk to us,” Grace says.

But with all of their collections visually different, the cohesion will be more subtle, drawing on the similarities in design processes and attitudes.

“I don’t think has to be a lineage between all our work, it’s so beautiful that everything is different. We’re not all doing bridal wear or activewear,” Katie says.

The event will be hosted in L1 studios, which will provide a “blank canvas” for the designers to make what they want of the space. The raw quality of the unpainted walls, concrete and hardwood floors, provides the perfect union of a grungy yet polished aesthetic. Much like the view from Level 10, the buildings of Melbourne’s CBD are visible from the rooftop with the night sky providing the backdrop to the runway.

“L1 is such an amazing hub of creativity, and to have the opportunity to exhibit our work on the rooftop right in the CBD among the Melbourne skyline is a really nice homage to our four years at RMIT. To present The Line Up at dusk in the multi-storey venue will be a really rewarding moment for us all,” Victoria says.

A designer’s collection is often “there and gone within a minute and 25 seconds” on a runway. The event’s post-runway exhibition will provide guests with a chance to further explore the meaning behind each project. An interaction can be made with both the designer and their pieces to start a conversation around the work.

“That’s what sets RMIT apart. We’re not just encouraged to design things because they’re a pretty colour and a nice cut. There’s meaning behind all of it, a backstory,” Madeleine says.

“There’s a back novel,” Grace adds.

To facilitate the event, the group used the crowdfunding platform, Pozible. The campaign gained a lot of traction once Australian photographer, Sonny Vandevelde, was snatched for the show. You know the photos are going to be more than just Instagram-worthy, with Sonny having shot backstage for all the high-end couture houses like Chanel, Dior and Prada.

“It’s been insane, we have an overwhelming amount of support,” Grace says.

The Line Up succeeded in raising the entirety of their budget in the first five days the campaign was released to the public. Not forgetting to mention the long list of sponsors they scored for the event, including Green Kettle Brewery, Four Pillars Gin, Cobs Popcorn, Creffields Digital Print, Made Group, Making Media, Nelson Alexander, Design Make Produce, So Textiles, makeup by Yves Saint Laurent and hair by Redken.

With a thesis to write, graduate collections complete, countless emails to reply to and a group chat with over 100 messages an hour, there’s much to be done before that bottle of Green Kettle Brew can be popped.

“You’ll be putting in zips and replying to an email simultaneously,” Alinda says.

Because they’re students too and they understand that money is often, at times, nonexistent, they’ve made pricing options to satisfy our sad little bank accounts.

“We wanted it to be affordable because know that most of the audience is going to be our peers. It’s the price of a coffee,” Madeleine says.

The show’s definitely worth forfeiting one morning’s dose of caffeine for.

facebook.com/thelineup16

l1studios.com.au

CATALYST MAGAZINE ‘THE GREAT UNKNOWN ISSUE’

First published in Catalyst Magazine ‘The Great Unknown’: Issue 3, Edition 72

Time to ditch your washing machine?

 Nanotechnology making textiles self-cleaning in light

Research from RMIT University has been gaining media attention recently. A team of researchers at the Ian Potter NanoBioSensing Facility and NanoBiotechnology Research Lab have developed a technology where textiles can become self cleaning in the presence of light. It’s a solution based process to deposit metal nano structures onto cotton textiles.

Needed to read over that a couple of times? Yeah, me too. To break it down, the team have grown nano structures which break down organic matter (such as stains) when exposed to light. When cotton is dipped into this solution, it becomes covered in the nano particles. When exposed to light, the particles get “excited” and during that stage they clean themselves. Excited when lit. Now that’s a concept I can get my head around.

Dr Rajesh Ramanathan, one of the lead researchers, tells me it has been a three to four year process to develop this technology. It’s a world first development for this type of application. The team’s decision to use a particle which absorbs sunlight is unlike any previous efforts.

“Most of it is absorbing in visible light or infra-red light which is harmless to the body, unlike UV light. You can’t get commercial UV light at home, you would kill yourself. Therefore all the processes would be eco-friendly,” Dr Ramanathan said.

Not only lauded for its eco-friendliness, the development is also being applauded for its efficiency and cost effectiveness.

“The process that we’ve developed is similar to the dyeing process, which is already being used in the industry. It’s not that difficult for this process to be integrated into the mainstream,” he said.

Dr René van der Sluijs, Textile Technologist and Project Manager at CSIRO’s Manufacturing Flagship, says that this sort of research will be going on “on all the time”.

“Everyone is looking at improving the performance of cotton. I think one of the major things is that Australia is seen as having one of the highest quality cottons in the world. Though the use of cotton is decreasing amongst other fibres like polyester, it’s still a very important fibre and still used quite a lot in some fabrics,” Dr René van der Sluijs said.

With fashion giant H&M leading the force for sustainably sourced cotton (all cotton to be sourced from either organic cotton, recycled cotton or cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative by 2020), local brands are slipping at the way side. Cult Melbourne label gorman was originally founded in 2007 on their use of organic cotton. The label now vows to have just 20 percent of their label under the gorman organic collection.

“Another thing with cotton is trying to get it into the high-end market. With the work done by RMIT and others, is to try and capture the markets that we’ve lost to man made fibres. Cotton finds it difficult to compete with more functional fibres, and so that will certainly help to maintain cotton’s marketshare and to make in-roads into some of the markets we’ve lost, such as sportswear,” he said.

The RMIT team are currently working with industries to develop this technology further. Though the names of the companies they are planning to collaborate with are being kept under wraps, Dr Ramanathan managed to give me a little insight.

“We’re planning to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three companies. I can tell you all three of them are very big on the international scene,” he said.

So when can we expect to throw out our washing machines? Not for another three to five years, Dr Ramanathan hopes. For now I’ll continue to be ignorant about how to use one as I’ll just have to throw it out eventually. Logical? Totally. Scientific? Not so much.

CATALYST MAGAZINE ‘The Passion Issue’

First published in Catalyst Magazine ‘The Passion Issue’: Issue 2, Edition 72 under Regulars: Fashion

Designer spotlight: Anna Lindell

Swedish-born Anna Lindell doesn’t cycle in Melbourne. It’s probably down to the tram-bus-car-pedestrian situation. But while this 2015 RMIT Bachelor of Fashion Design (Honours) graduate might not be reinventing the wheel, she sure is repurposing the tyre.

The success of her graduate collection didn’t come from using traditional textiles. Walking into a bike repair shop in Richmond one day, Lindell picked up broken rubber tubes and just started experimenting.

“I used to study a bit of sustainability and eco friendly approaches to living when I was younger, so it has always been an attractive aspect to me,” she says.

She ingeniously sliced down bike tyre tubes into smaller strips and then into yarn balls. And while the baby powder stains from dusting her knitting needles may have left their mark at RMIT, Lindell is making her own stamp on Australian fashion.

Lindell’s graduate collection landed her a spot on the National Graduate Showcase runway at this year’s Virgin Australia Fashion Festival. Hand picked as one of the nation’s leading gradates, she was one of 12 to be nominated for the coveted title.

“It’s a time where you’re not pressed by the industry. You don’t have to make money out of your collection, you’re not working for a company trying to make money. It’s absolute freedom. Years and years from now I think I’d like to go back and look at other graduates and look at what they’re doing,” Lindell says.

Though Lindell may say she doesn’t like being the centre of attention, she’s been featured in Fashion Journal and Melbourne Girl. While others are jet setting overseas, we have the privilege of keeping Lindell close.

“I like Melbourne and their culture in arts and fashion, so I think I’m going to stay here for a little bit longer.”

 

Interview with Anna Lindell of A Thora

Image courtesy: https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/fashion/article/vamff-national-graduate-showcase-2016#gallery-25

I sat down with the intelligently graceful Anna Lindell to discuss her time at RMIT, her glorious graduate collection and her feelings about the upcoming VAMFF runway. Cue fangirl squeals…

What was RMIT’s Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) like?

It was intense. I really enjoyed the course its quite a rollercoaster. Especially in fourth year, the amount of time you spend up there with the same people, and a lot of us would have a little corner each. A part of me misses it now, partly because I don’t have the studio space anymore. It’s a really good environment to be in. It’s such a nurturing environment. So even though it was really hard work, the people you are surrounded are really great which makes it.

What’s your graduate collection about?

It’s all made from bike tubes, a little bit of traditional textiles, but mainly bike tubes. A lot of people ask me how I came up with it but I don’t know exactly how I started using bike tubes. I started with the idea that I wanted to recycle something, and I always liked to play around with unusual materials.

I walked into a bike repair shop in Richmond and asked if they had any . At that point I was looking to see if they had any waste, they also had bike chains. He showed me big tubes of the rubber, the broken tubes. I just started experimenting.

Do you cycle?

I love to bike, but I actually don’t bike in Melbourne. I don’t have my own bike here. When I was in Amsterdam and back home in Sweden that I bike a lot. I sound like a bit of a chicken but Melbourne driving it a little bit intimidating for me to bike. I’m pretty sure I would get hit by a car on day two.

Did you encounter any difficulties in the process of making your graduate collection?

Sometimes the machines wouldn’t always work with the rubber. I remember the rubber used to stick to the machine as it would get really hot, and even when I was knitting. I sliced them down into smaller strips into a yarn ball and knitted it together. They used to get stuck on the needles so I used baby powder. Everyone else on level 10 was hating me because there was baby powder all over the floor.

How did you react when you found out you were picked to show at VAMFF?

I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think they sent anything through to the ones that were selected. My closest friends were asking who got in and I assumed I hadn’t because I didn’t hear anything. I remember I had a missed call from an unknown number. I was waiting for a call from Readings about this book for my friend, and wasn’t stressed to call this number back because I assumed it was from them. I called back the day after and was a bit like ‘oh my God’. It was jaw dropping. It took a while to sink in, how big of a deal it is.

This means that you’re hand picked from all the graduates out of Australia, you’re one of the best!

That still hasn’t kicked in. It’s a weird feeling but it does feel really great.

Can you imagine if you were to win, what your capsule collection with Target would look like?

I can but I don’t want to jinx it! I’m trying to visualise already what the capsule collection would look like. I’m not even that superstitious.

Is this your first time showing at fashion week?

I was selected for the mid-year show at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. I think that made me feel a little bit calmer for VAMFF, I know what they’re talking about when they mention fittings and everything like that. Because I also had uni and assignments at the time of MSFW, it was hard because you had to be completely focused on the runway even though you weren’t being marked on it.

What’s the whole process like, from fittings to catwalk?

It’s quite surreal. I experienced a little bit of it from my internship, all your hard work is over in a few minutes. Because it’s my own work this time, I’m very critical of it always, so you look at the faults. Nobody else would see them but you look at the runway picking out the things you could improve on. That’s also what you bring with you the next time you work, the improvements you want to make.

They put everything on right but there was one dress they put on inside out. I finished off one of the knitted dresses, you’ll have little finish ends and you could see them and I was just like ‘oh my God’. I don’t know if my friends were just trying to be nice but they said you couldn’t notice. I had to tell myself to calm down; it’s fine! In the rehearsals there are a few more mistakes. It almost makes you more nervous as to what could happen in the real show. Afterwards when it’s finished its euphoric.

If you were to start your own label would it be here in Melbourne?

Either here or in Scandinavia.

When do you predict you would start your label?

I would like to have industry experience first; internships and full-time jobs. Learn from other people’s mistakes. I’ve done one internship, and am currently looking into doing one now. I did one for Iris Von Herpen in Amsterdam for three months during the long break. End of november to mid-March.

How was your internship experience?

It was good. It was also really hard work. In a way it kind of prepped me for the final year of my course as we used to work six days a week, in the studio sometimes, and it would be from 9-6 or seven-ish; reasonable. As it got closer and closer to her show we would be there from nine in the morning until 12 at night. There was also a really good intern team who were strict but supportive. A really good close knit group of people. The designer herself is Dutch and there were only two other people who were Dutch, the rest of the interns were from Italy, France, all over the world.

How did you land your internship?

I can’t remember exactly what it was but I read an assignment from RMIT and I came across this designer and I really liked her stuff. At the start of the course I found it really hard to find what it was I was really interested in fashion, it took me a couple of years to get there. I read about this designer and I thought it was brilliant how she used a lot of 3-D printing and a very futuristic approach. Even though I don’t particularly do that, I think that’s when I started realising you don’t only have to use textiles in fashion.

With everything going digital, where do you think the future of fashion is going?

I think there’s still a long way to go before everything is 3-D printed or everything is going to be digitally made, but I think we’re going to get closer and closer to an in-between. I think there will always be traditional textiles. I think couture, avant garde stuff will always be there but the way we do it will change. I think it already has changed quite a lot.

Can you imagine a time when traditional hand operated machines like screen printers become obsolete and are replaced with these new technologies? 

I wouldn’t like to think, because I think the imperfection you get from hand always adds something different. Everything digital is very perfect and immaculate but when something is made by hand its a one-off, original. Even if it’s a little touch it makes all the difference.

Is that uniqueness something you want to bring to your future collections?

Yes, I think it’s something everyone always aims to. It doesn’t always turn out that way. It can be a small detail, a technique, but you always want it to be for yourself but also mainly to open up someone’s eyes to something new.

What do you think of Australian fashion in general?

I think it’s growing and they’re working really hard. You’ve got some really good designers. I love Dion Lee. Melbourne has got some really strong labels like Life With Bird. There’s a good market for it.

Do you think what’s going on in the world influences fashion?

Definitely. I think especially now there’s a lot of unisex clothing which started a few years ago. I think as a designer it’s really beneficial to read a lot of newspapers, and try to keep up to date with things outside of fashion. I look back on it now and there were all these stories about unisex bathrooms and a few fashion designers will pick up on that and say ‘hold on, something’s changing’ or relationships between genders are changing and they’ll base a collection around that. It could even be a side concept to your design concept.

Where do you typically draw inspiration from?

Usually it starts with reading. Sometimes philosophical readings about fashion and the body, and the relationship between the two. I always go into that relation, how the two work together. And then often it goes into the material, and then build them into the body and see how it works.

How does it feel having graduated from the same uni as Toni Maticevski?

He’s brilliant, he’s done so well. He’s a bit of a hero at RMIT, they always using him for marketing. We’re all thinking ‘are we living up to that? Pressure’s on’. He works really exceptionally and he knows how to communicate his work.

Do you have any favourite Insta accounts that you follow?

I follow Dion Lee, and Iris Von Herpen which I love because I get to see previous work and collections I’ve done which is fun, and Houssein Chalayan. Dion Lee I like because he works so great with materials, all of his textures, which they do close ups of and I love.

Any advice for starting a career in fashion?

It’s hard. I think as a newly graduate a lot of people will intern for free. You’ve really just got to make connections and if you really like a company, like a small label, you have to really hassle them to get a foot in. Even if they don’t have vacancies try and talk to them and get a communication started. If you do internships see if there are possible placements after you finish. I find Melbourne a bit tricky, I know there would be more opportunities in London and cities like that. But I also do like Melbourne and their culture in arts and fashion, so I like to hope there’s something here. I think I’m going to stay here for a little bit longer, and possibly go to London at the end of this year. I would like to go to New York because all my friends would be there but I think London suits me better fashion wise, they’re a bit more conceptual there.

Any last words for third years going onto their final year?

We were all quite terrified for fourth year. You would be in third year looking at the fourth year’s work and you would say to yourself ‘oh my god there is no way I’m going to do that when I get there’. But then you get there and you have to do the thesis. It’s fine. You should be prepared, have a really good break beforehand. Keep your head around concepts a little bit but there’s no need to freak out going into fourth year. Be excited and enjoy it even though it’s a lot more freedom, but I’ve also never worked as hard at uni. Get sucked into it and it’ll be fine. You’ll cry a few times, but maybe that’s just me.

Pants made out of plants? RMIT totally went there

RMIT Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) students collaborated with the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show again this year in a floral delight for the senses.

The students were required to create living fashion using flowers and plant materials fixed onto a mannequin.

“RMIT University’s Bachelor of Fashion (Design)(Honours) has been working with the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show for fifteen years,” RMIT academic and event coordinator Tassia Joannides said.

This year’s theme was ‘HOT HOUSE: Danger, Desire, Delight’ which the students were required to respond to in their designs

“The contrast between danger and desire stood out to me, and the famous Macbeth quote (“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath”) came to mind as an inspiration piece that formed the basis of my developmental research,” student Amy Mitrione said.

Student Angela Wilkes used the symbol of forbidden fruit as “used by evil to ignite desire in the victim and lure them into danger” in response to the brief.

“The image of Forbidden Fruit wasn’t what I had initially envisioned, but it surfaced after looking into a variety of things that can be quite deceptive; appearing enticing and perceived as beautiful but beneath the façade offer deep danger,” Angela said.

The designs enticed the crowds in the 21st year of the show. Gasps, wide eyes and contemplative stares were visitors’ reactions. Pants made out of plants? Student Michelle Attwood went there.

“I focused on the otherworldly part of the hot house theme because I’m always very interested in the unique aspects of design. When I’m developing concepts I always find the unusual and surreal areas of design the most interesting,” Michelle Attwood said.

Michelle used the ever-changing cycle of nature in her design with the flowers blooming over the course of the show in a “stunning effect”.

Preserving the living plant material and flowers were an integral part of the design process, with the fashion students having to think critically about material choice.

“As a fashion student, working with plant materials was definitely out of my comfort zone and a huge challenge, “ Amy said.

Angela dried slices of fruit and used whole apples as they wouldn’t require watering.

“Ever since coming to the RMIT Fashion Open Day in 2012 and seeing the incredible creations of past students, I have wanted to participate in the Flower Show, and now its finally happening,” Angela said.

The show provided the students with an experience exhibiting for a contemporary fashion enterprise; “professional install and de-installation methods appropriate to their designs, and general exhibition conduct”.

The students had a small timeline in which to complete the entire process from conception to creation.

“The students were incredibly professional, working many hours as a part of our intensive event schedule, and showed great teamwork by assisting each other during installation, especially as the strict deadline for judging approached,” Tassia said.

“The final installation for MIFGS was a long two-day process, and we used every minute of the time given to us to install!” Angela said.

The designs were shown in the Great Hall of the Exhibition Buildings, open to the show’s expected 110,000 international, national and local visitors.

“It’s such a fantastic opportunity to have your design displayed in a wonderful exhibition that is viewed by hundreds of thousands of people,” Amy said.

The show allowed student to “engage with a large public audience”, with the winner being interviewed for the Better Homes and Gardens’ MIFGS special and others being featured in newspaper articles and publications.

And while watching endless re-runs of Friends this weekend might seem ideal, a little sunshine never goes astray. Be warned: hay fever sufferers pop a pill pre show. Nothing like an itchy nose and red eyes to ruin an afternoon.

The show runs until Sunday 20 March. For more information on how to purchase tickets visit www.melbflowershow.com.au

CATALYST MAGAZINE ‘The Synthetic Issue’

 

First published in Catalyst Magazine ‘The Synthetic Issue’: Issue 1, Edition 72 under Regulars: Fashion

Designer Spotlight: Bella McGoldrick

A new year brings the promise of golden opportunities, a gym membership and countless green smoothies. For RMIT Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) graduate students Bella McGoldrick and MeiMei Xu, 2016 is a year to plan, promote and create. While others are hitting the pavement, these graduates are forging a path to greatness.

Multi-hyphenate Bella McGoldrick (designer, illustrator and all-round cool girl) is enjoying a less busy schedule having graduated from RMIT last year.

“It’s not what you think fashion is,” McGoldrick says.

“Everyone’s running off zero sleep, coming in their pyjamas. It’s disaster zone all the time with roaring fights with security guards, and so much coffee and KFC.”

McGoldrick’s successful graduate collection earned her a spot on the catwalk, with her garments gracing the runway at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2015.

Excessive Elegance explored the “loss of fashion through the fashion image”; the ways in which clever marketing can make an unwearable product desirable. Cue purple and fluro yellow feathers and heavy embellishment.

It’s the “shove it in your face” style of McGoldrick’s designs that make them unique. That’s not to say she wasn’t questioned.

“I want people to feel uncomfortable,” she says.

“What I learnt from my final year is to trust yourself. There will always be people who don’t like your stuff, but the only way it’s ever going to be truly successful is if it’s purely you.”

Already having spent part of her course in Paris (winning the Sophie Hallette prize at the Paris College of Art) McGoldrick is jetting off to New York in June. Taking advantage of her J-1 Visa, she’ll be staying in a tiny apartment and woking at a bar or in retail to get her through. Fashion over dinner? Always.

With her name already sprawled across a billboard she had made for her graduate presentation, McGoldrick is gaining international recognition.

A personal Instagram already worth gawking at, it’s Bella’s second page (@bm.illustrations) dedicated to her fashion illustrations that is all kinds of lust worthy. Her hobby-turned-business began with friends’ birthday cards, now moving on to McGoldrick gaining corporate gigs. Supermodel of the moment Gigi Hadid even gave her a like. Coincidence that she shares the same name as Gigi’s sister? Pure fashion destiny.

Designer Spotlight: MeiMei Xu

Moving to Australia eight years ago from her birthplace in Beijing, China, fellow graduate MeiMei Xu is making a name for herself on local ground.

Having just returned from a well deserved holiday back home, Xu is back exercising her creativity once again. In a period she describes as the “time to show off,” Xu is busy researching and designing projects for her own label.

“I often get inspired from loving others and being loved,” Xu says.

“I am visiting many art galleries and museums, enjoying admiring good art.”

In a world where a “thumbs up” Like constitutes fashion’s worth, an ability to narrate and question is something of a rarity. Xu’s designs are more than a pretty dress on a rack.

“I design pieces that can narrate a certain mood through their details,” she says.

“I want to design things that question superficial artificiality and express the simplicity of being beautiful.”

“Intense, inspiring, rich and challenging” sum up Xu’s four years at RMIT. Xu tells me she is sad that she no longer has access to RMIT’s special machines. But who needs a machine when you’ve got Xu’s imagination?

Her graduate collection WRAPPAGE featured six outfits that demonstrated the act of unwrapping a carefully wrapped package, from bubble wrap to gold lining.

Exploring physical and psychological notions of concealing and wrapping oneself, Xu wanted to highlight the “excitement, curiosity, fragility and vulnerability behind layers of packaging”.

Though Xu’s designs may grace the word ‘fragile,’ her career accolades say otherwise. Fashion Journal, Broadsheet and METAL magazine form only a sample of the publications she’s been featured in. Recently, her short film STIUS featuring her second year collection was nominated as one of the finalists for the Virgin Australia Fashion Festival’s Fashion Film Series for 2016.

“I was lucky enough to be involved throughout the entire process: script writing, soundtrack composing, sound designing, film editing. It involved lots of conversations, late nights and many amazing people who I look up to and love,” she says.

With Xu describing fashion and film as the “perfect couple,” her and the STIUS team “definitely long to collaborate again”.

 

 

 

 

RMIT FASHION STUDENTS BLOOM AT MELBOURNE FLOWER SHOW

Published on Catalyst’s online site:

http://rmitcatalyst.com/rmit-fashion-students-bloom-at-melbourne-flower-show/

Last week,  Melbourne hosted its 20th Annual International Flower and Garden Show at the Exhibition Gardens. The event for the oldies with all the flowers? Though seniors constitute the overwhelming demographic of the show (complete with tea rooms selling scones with jam and cream) the event also makes host to just sprouting youngsters new to the turf.

Third year RMIT Bachelor of Fashion (Design) students were involved in creating “pieces that explore ‘emergence’ using flowers and plant materials,” according to Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show’s exhibitor list.

“New talent was celebrated… RMIT fashion design students wowed the crowds with the ‘living fashion’ pieces in the Great Hall,” Haystak said in their media release.

Winners of the exhibition included Renae Cusmano taking first place, with second place awarded to Felicity Mawson. Anim Lan and Sherry Kwok tied for a third place position.

“To come first in the exhibition feels amazing, it feels a little surreal. I never expected mine to be chosen,” first place winner Renae Cusmano says.

“During your life if you change jobs, or change through adolescence, one piece moves to let a new emerge. Plants have a cycle, we have a cycle. Everything develops and changes in different ways.”.

For Alinda Tralongo, this body of work allowed her “to explore and represent the theme of ‘emergence’ in a deeply concept and symbolic piece”.

“I wanted to depict the notion of making the invisible visible in showing how through the visual and aromatic aid of plant matter, support structures are able to become prominent in a setting or entity,”  Tralongo says.

Qianling Ye (Serlin)’s sliced lotus dress allowed her to witness the “whole process of sliced lotus from alive to dead, which is exactly my concept; exploring emergence as a process of growth and decay”.

The students had a tight deadline in which to complete the “work: inspiration, then research, personal thinking, concept, design, experience and countless problems,” says Ye, around three weeks in total.

“You don’t imagine what you can do in such a short amount of time,” Cusmano says.

“It was definitely an exhilarating experience. It was a rush and a taste of what really happens in the world of deadlines. It was crazy and fast paced…yet 100% worth it,” says Francesca Carolillo.

Tralongo said it “allowed for us students to gain an understanding of the restrictions and regulations exhibitors are confronted with when wishing to display work. As well as bring forward the skills needed to exhibit in such a large space, such as organisational skills, time management and budgeting”.

The students were also responsible for maintaining the exhibition.

“It’s sad to see the flowers wither away by the end of the week, but we took it in turns to maintain each others’ during the week. We tried to keep them as fresh as we could. Two of us had to go morning and night, before the show opened and closed to water everyday,” she said.

Cusmano found it “interesting working with a different medium and a completely different space. It was an amazing experience, needing to find different ways of thinking to create an outcome with flowers rather than fabric”.

“It was difficult as the shape I originally wanted wouldn’t support, so I couldn’t have as much of a cocoon shape as I wanted. I did quite a few samples to find my ideal textures and flowers. I just wanted to try and find a flower that was really pretty and would last the longest, which I found in gypsy flowers. They were very vibrant, and I wanted to keep as much life as I could in the piece,” she said.

Ye also faced some difficulties, where she “spent the whole battle in a sliced lotus jigsaw”.

“Normally it takes 4-5 days for the sliced lotus to dry entirely, but time is limited. Faced with the issue of drying the lotus, I create something new to fix the problem,” said Le.

For many of the students, the exhibition was a learning experience in the broader context of fashion.

“Fashion these days is more disposable. Fashion materials last so much longer than the amount of time we use them for. Working with the plant matter, where they only survive for a certain amount of time with the proper soil and light, made me realise we should use as much as we can, and not dispose of fashion so easily,” said Cusmano.

‘With the experience of this show, I started to change my mind and think that fashion is not just about the garment, it’s about the whole picture, the whole process.

“I feel excited when people talk about my work and they say they like it, which is the value of design, in my view,” said Ye.

With a little water, direct sunlight and a some love, these flowers will soon be ready to bloom.