Ellen Crabtree
burma
Inspired by the postal acronyms used in WW2 the collection focuses around young love; the desire of a man seeing his wife after a long stint at war, to be greeted by her in her nicest lingerie, hand made from scraps of silk and adorned with needlecraft. The influence for the colour palette takes its inspiration from women’s war uniforms and the typical subtle colours of the 1940’s, to create a cohesive and minimal aesthetic.
The proposed fashion theme includes elements of androgyny and contrast, echoing the idea of a woman wearing her husband’s jumper over her delicate lingerie, his mac over her woollen undergarments. This contrast should also become evident through the use of exploited fabrics; nude silk satins, laces and chiffons and fine 12 gauge knits paired off against thick and chunky aran weight hand knits and more robust knitted and bonded outerwear pieces.
Drawing from my research, the designs are influenced by a mix of historical and contemporary fashion examples. While also looking into the idea of the made-do-and-mend philosophy of customising clothes; thus exploiting different techniques of embellishment and aesthetic alterations. As my research has organically directed me to look at ahistorical era for inspiration, the collection primarily employs natural fibres and yarns complementing my findings.