Last week Digital Fabrics was asked by St George TAFE to exhibit the scarves their students designed for a competition for us.
For those who couldn’t make it we took the liberty of photographing our space for all to see. What do you think?
You Design We Print
Digital Fabrics Exhibition at the MUSE, ULTIMO
Printed scarves on show
printed samples table
wall of printed scarves
Last week Digital Fabrics was asked by St George TAFE to exhibit the scarves their students designed for a competition for us.
For those who couldn’t make it we took the liberty of photographing our space for all to see. What do you think?
You Design We Print
Digital Fabrics Exhibition at the MUSE, ULTIMO
Printed scarves on show
printed samples table
wall of printed scarves
Day of the Dead Skulls
Leading on from last week’s post on Halloween (did you spook or get spooked?) Dia de Muertos is forming the base of our inspiration for creation this weekend. The Mexican Day of the Dead festival which celebrates the life of family and friends who have passed has become quite a fascination with popular western culture in the past few seasons and it’s easy to see why.
Brightly coloured tattooed skulls (known as sugar skulls) have adorned t-shirts and hoodies. Simple black and white imagery could be seen on scarves and tote bags on every second person and even models were done up in makeup resembling adorned skeletons for Lena Hoschek’s spring/summer 2013 catwalk show in Berlin. For a while there it could be found everywhere and it might be too early to tell if the trend has past or just lying low for the moment.
While we wait to see where this trend takes us, why not take a moment to reflect on life and death and then turn it into a creative celebration of the circle of life.
Day of the Dead symbols from a font on www.fontbros.com/
Images from Lena Hoschek’s spring/summer 2013 catwalk show in Berlin.
Spooky Scene by Poofy on Flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/enchanticals/galleries/72157627899470504#photo_2950228894
Next week is Halloween people. Time to get your print scare on.
Now Australia has only in recent years, embraced the whole October 31st party vibe, that is more traditionally seen as an American festival of all things spooky. And while there may be complaints from some about our country becoming too “Americanised” this is one occasion which should be taken on board whole heartedly, or less heartedly if you’re inclined to dress up as a heart eating monster this year. Simple because you get to dress up as anything you want to, scary or not and how often do we really allow ourselves this chance?
Trending this year are popular shows from the past couple of years, notably Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen, the Breaking Bad boys and somewhat more random, Duck Dynasty a ‘reality’ show about duck hunters.
Now you could jump on this band wagon, let Yahoo! do the work for you with their recent top ten’s lists (see below) or you could use that imaginative spirit that was born for an all hallows eve festivity and get crazy with your outfit!
With Halloween right around the corner, Yahoo has released the lists for the top 10 searched Halloween related items this season.
What better way to scare (or impress) the boo out of your friends than rocking up in an outfit that you not only made yourself, but had the fabric printed specifically for it as well! Think cobwebs and creepy crawlies with splashes of suspicious colour or eerie scenes of mist through an abandoned street. It is also no coincidence that Mexico’s Day of the Dead follows up Halloween on November 1, so there’s some great inspiration right there.
If this post seams a little excited, it’s because it is. Purely because there’s so much creativity that comes with dressing up for an event like this, it’s hard not to see the potential for Halloween to play muse and feed into your print designs. So turn the lights down low, light a few candles and let the shadows take you to the witching hour.
A designer edge for Halloween (L-R)
Dolce & Gabbana, Christopher Kane, Ashish (sweater), Mary Katrantzou (skirt)
We are still looking at aerial shots in the office for inspiration after some research we discovered these beautiful photographs by photographer Joseph Ford
Ford teams aerial photographs with designer garments, giving a visual for how we can translate environmental inspiration into collections or prints.
Aerial: Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro, Sicily
Jacket: K-Way
//www.josephford.net
www.josephford.net
Aerial: Sicily
Jacket: Barbour
www.josephford.net
Aerial: Macari, Sicily
Sweater: Missoni
www.josephford.net
Aerial: Sardinia
Blazer: Missoni
Aerial: Morocco, Merzouga
Jumper: Kenzo
Background shirt: APC
Images from Joseph Ford
We are still looking at aerial shots in the office for inspiration after some research we discovered these beautiful photographs by photographer Joseph Ford
Ford teams aerial photographs with designer garments, giving a visual for how we can translate environmental inspiration into collections or prints.
Aerial: Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro, Sicily
Jacket: K-Way
//www.josephford.net
www.josephford.net
Aerial: Sicily
Jacket: Barbour
www.josephford.net
Aerial: Macari, Sicily
Sweater: Missoni
www.josephford.net
Aerial: Sardinia
Blazer: Missoni
Aerial: Morocco, Merzouga
Jumper: Kenzo
Background shirt: APC
Images from Joseph Ford
At Digital Fabrics we love Flowers and anything Flora or Flora inspired. This weeks Flora inspiration comes from Isabelle Menin a Belgian photographer.
Isabelle Menin began her artist career focusing on painting, after several exhibitions, she decided to quit painting and to work with digital photography. To achieve her technique she takes photographs, scans fragments of nature and plays with texture and color, transforming and mixing them to create a rich and gorgeous faux nature.
vivos voco by Isabelle Menin
dark happiness by Isabelle Menin
adorata by Isabelle Menin
false niagara by Isabelle Menin
silence is blue by Isabelle Menin
happiness is a warm gun by Isabelle Menin
Images from IsabelleMenin.com
At Digital Fabrics we love Flowers and anything Flora or Flora inspired. This weeks Flora inspiration comes from Isabelle Menin a Belgian photographer.
Isabelle Menin began her artist career focusing on painting, after several exhibitions, she decided to quit painting and to work with digital photography. To achieve her technique she takes photographs, scans fragments of nature and plays with texture and color, transforming and mixing them to create a rich and gorgeous faux nature.
vivos voco by Isabelle Menin
dark happiness by Isabelle Menin
adorata by Isabelle Menin
false niagara by Isabelle Menin
silence is blue by Isabelle Menin
happiness is a warm gun by Isabelle Menin
Images from IsabelleMenin.com
Range of products on offer at Front Row Society
(L-R) Pansy Patch Scarf by Emma Smyth, Sinner Tank Top by Ivano Tella You See Your Tribe leggings by Saori Ito,
Here is an innovative brand and design house making one long front row for customers and designers to sit side by side. Based in Berlin, Germany and conjured by local Florian Ellsaesser, Front Row Society is all about “design with a story”. Fostering a collaborative open collective of designers, FRS gives their customers what they want by making them the designers.
FRS scours the whole globe for new, fresh and exciting talent through their design competition challenges. Posting a new challenge every few months, FRS gives anyone the opportunity to put forward their designs which are then voted on by the general public to get a shortlist before celebrating the five or so winners. The winners do get a cash prize but they’re also showcased on their website including the info on what challenge they entered and where the hail from.
Announcement of the winners of the most recent challenge, the Rockabilly Bash Shirt
The aim of the game for the challenges is all about prints of all varying capacities. They cycle through a range of different products from scarves and leggings, to swimwear and bags. This month’s challenge is for Autumn handbags with the theme being Pure Math or Art Deco. FRS also helps out with relevant tutorials applicable to the varied contests.
It’s a great way to engage the customer, making them not only the audience of an ever changing and exciting show, but putting out a hand to pull them on stage too. Designer or customer or vice versa. One is not necessarily the other but they could be both, which is great news for either!
Battlefields II range by Stefano Popovski
Rucksack, Handbag and Clutch
It’s not the only way they create and develop their ranges but it plays a big part and they still reference the designer at all stages which is a nice indication that there’s a mutual respect happening across the seasonal lines.
So have a burl, flex your repeat design muscle and even if you don’t win you can always come to Digital Fabrics to get your spanking new design printed and then do with as you please! Now if that’s not exciting, the weekend is sure to be dull, enjoy!!
Scarf prints
(L-R) Intertwined by Emma Smyth, Coral Melody by Oana Soare, Syncretic Cycle by Valentino Fiammetta
image from : www.grant.org/plewins/india2000/Artists/block.html
Block printing on cloth for the clothing market has been in circulation since the time of the Ancient Egyptians. India and China both too have rich histories in printing cloth to be worn as garments. In Peru, prior to the settlement of the Spanish in the sixteenth century, the Incan society had a highly developed method of printing. In the seventeenth century, with high society in Europe driving fashion trends, the popularity of hand painted and block printed calico from India increased rapidly. The superiority of fine fabric and bright designs from India lead to their ban in France and England until they were eventually lifted in 1759 as the European mills perfected the art of copies.
Mid eighteenth century saw the start of the industrial revolution and the introduction of new technologies. Block printing was replaced by mechanised roller printing. Mass produced textiles for both the home and for fashion began. Although the high volume of printed fabric tended to lessen the quality of the designs, it also made them far more affordable which in turn showed an increase in middle to lower class people wearing printed fashions.
Flatbed screen printing was introduced in the 1930’s with improvements in stencil application throughout the years. Fibre developments and metal verse wooden screens also saw dramatic improvements to the accuracy and multi coloured designs printed. The 1950’s mechanised flatbed printing and in 1962 rotary printing was introduced.
Digital textile printing in the late 1980’s radically changed textile design and production for the fashion industry. Dye sublimation printing furthered this impact in the 1990’s. The creative possibilities, aesthetics and photographic replication have considerably increased a designer’s choice for quality printed fashion textiles. This digital fabric printing technology is constantly being improved and modified; opening doors to all areas of innovative fashion design the world over.
Take a closer look in our other article on digital fabric printing prospects.