I thought it would be good to show you some of the inspiration behind the new, AW13 collection from Kelly Shaw. You may struggle to see the over all connection between the inspiration and the final designs, because the Autumn / Winter season is much shorter than the Spring / Summer season, so essentially there is less time to develop your ideas. Plus the fact that I wasn't sure I was even going to have the funding to continue... by the time the funding was awarded, it was Christmas! So as I said in the previous post, I had less than a month to put this all together!!! I do feel that the "theme" could of been explored a lot further but at the same time I'm happy with how everything turned out. So, without further a do...!
The "Rioting Clown" print best describes the over all concept behind the collection...
...this was another collaboration with artist Richard Malone who is also currently working at Louis Vuitton in gay Paris, don't cha know(!)... so I was extremely fortunate to work with him once again. The initial idea came from this Chinese propaganda Print...
...which I found in "Propaganda Prints: A History of Art in the Service of Social and Political Change" by Colin Moore, at the library in the Victoria and Albert museum (which if you haven't been by the way is a fantastic source of inspiration for any creative project whilst providing a very humbling space to work in!)...
The Chairman Mao print is frightening for obvious reasons, but for me it also has a certain sense of comedy value. This sort of worship of one man is mostly incompressible in this day and age but our devotion and worship to money is still widely acceptable and pretty much the "norm". My version of the print is a kind of satire look at the way in which our generation is obsessed by money... It's all we hear about in the news, it's all we ever seem to moan about (the lack of it!) and it just seems to be at the centre of any conversation. The economy this and the economy that!!! It does start to get on your nerves but it's clearly relevant to our day to day lives. The thing that I find most interesting about it is the subject of equality and the distribution of wealth. The age old story that as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer...
In my "Rioting Clown" print, this is illustrated in the council estate where the crowd have gathered. (Interestingly I have started to notice a trend within the fine arts. Many painters have started to focus their work on very urban landscapes of tower blocks and boarded up shop fronts. This was particularly evident at the RA Summer Show last year). Anyway, amongst the money worshipers in my print, there are rioting clowns and protesters, to sort of flag the idea's of some of the radical thinkers out there, such as the Occupy movement. The clowns that pop out from the crowd from time to time are inspired by Pierrot, an infamous clown used throughout history as the artists alter ego...
Pierrot felt somewhat isolated against his fellow man because of his revolutionary views... Sometimes the inspiration behind my work is serious and somewhat depressing and to others possibly even boring(!). But I truly do believe that in a world dominated by financial gain, the role of any artist or designer is to try and make the world a little bit better by seeking truth and real beauty. My own work documents the status quo and because the content is so serious, I try and make the clothes as fun as possible. This is why I always tend to opt for childlike, over sized silhouettes, playful petticoats and "in your face" statement prints. That's not to say that there are not some sexy little numbers too :)...
I have always been inspired by people who stand up for what they believe to be right. These people can be radical forward thinkers, whose thoughts are sometimes too "ahead of the times" and many other people find it hard to understand the importance of their actions. I therefore cannot fail to mention at this point how important the Suffragette movement has been for me in my work...
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... here it is clear to see where the inspiration came from for my "If You Stand For Nothing You Will Fall For Anything" screen printed dress...
The statement itself was ripped out of a magazine many years ago and is still stuck on my wall next to my sewing machine! (I couldn't tell you exactly which magazine it came from... possibly Dazed and Confused)...
Another fascinating thing that I found at the V&A library was a dusty, old forgotten folder full of newspaper clippings and posters about various exhibitions that were put on in the 70's by the Union of Social Artists. The folder was donated to the library by artist Maureen Scott, who played a prominent role within the movement...
I also found a book that was produced for an exhibition held at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1975 called "Art For Society - Contemporary British Art with a Social or Political Purpose". The idea that the arts play a crucial role in sustaining a healthy and happy society appeals to me and is another great driving force in my work. The statement "In Pursuit of Change in Education and Society" really does hit the nail on the head. If the arts can act as a mirror to show people what is happening in the world and suggest ways for positive change that we can ALL benefit from, then in my mind that can only be a good thing...
This image from Meme Wars which I have mentioned before in an earlier post is interesting because it has an extremely socialist message, whilst the style is historically typical of government propaganda posters. It was the author of Meme Wars, Kalle Lasn who initially started up Adbusters Magazine. "Adbusters magazine has challenged consumerism, championed the environment and provided a platform for some of our greatest thinkers. In 2011, they instigated Occupy Wall Street, sparking a huge international movement".
I am always surprised when I hear people sigh at the mention of the Occupy movement. Although some of their views may be too extreme to understand, they simply want the world to be a better and more comfortable place for the majority of people, rather than just a select few. Again, this cannot be a bad thing! For the people that roll their eyes and state that the Occupy movement has failed I would say that I strongly disagree. Firstly, it has made people more conscience of the fact that the rich and powerful have been behaving incredibly irresponsibly which has had a detrimental effect on society as a whole. But more importantly for me it has inspired a new generation of artists wanting to spread that message further and at the same time, think about how we can improve our industries. We all know that fashion, music and fine art is largely dominated by MONEY over style / quality / innovation...
... It is a trend that we see across the board, not just within our cultural industries. We sometimes feel helpless about change and ask ourselves, how on earth can I change anything? What would I want to change, even if I could? But these are the important questions that we should all be asking ourselves because THIS IS NOT IT, or at least it doesn't have to be if that's what WE decide. If we are not happy with the way things are in life I certainly believe that we DO have the ability to change them. Stand up for what you believe to be right and you will see. As Gandhi stated more eloquently in one short sentence rather than a massive ranting blog post (!)... "we must become the change we want to see".
Power to the people folks :) x x x
