Portfolio overview: Boro project (Fashion Folio CSM '14-15)
This is the project I made during Fashion Folio CSM ( 2014-15), and used to support my application to the Graduate Diploma course.
Research & Development:
Boro: "a class of Japanese textiles that have been mended or patched together. The term is derived from Japanese boroboro, meaning something tattered or repaired.
As hemp was more widely available in Japan than cotton, they were often woven together for warmth. [...] Furthermore, during the Edo period fabrics made from silk and cotton were reserved for only a select portion of the upper class.
Boro thus came to predominately signify clothing worn by the peasant farming classes, who mended their garments with spare fabric scrapes out of economic necessity. In many cases, the usage of such a boro garment would be handed down over generations, eventually resembling a patchwork after decades of mending." - Boro (textile), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boro_(textile)&oldid=831151128
Using Sashiko stitching, distressing and painting, this project focuses on creating beautifully weird textile samples instead of trying to replicate the traditional Boro look with patchwork.
References to the classic American denim plus white shirt workwear are added to the Japanese influences to further inform materials and silhouettes, and larger versions of the samples are used for drapings on an actual person for Design Development, resulting in both oversized, exploding shapes and minimalistic white shirts.
Silhouettes & garment construction studies:
Finished looks:
