Chiara Lamon - Fashion and Textile Design

Overview

This project wants to be a reconciliation with our embodiment through the study of the body as a mutable, dynamic and malleable entity – embracing it in its multiple ways of being and expressing itself. This project visually explores the body and challenges the way we experience it, building upon the concept of the “body multiple”, for which our bodies cannot be read as individual standing entities but are continually evolving and morphing shape, extending our embodiment to new forms of expression. This project studies not only the representation of the body in movement, but also the simultaneous representation of the different versions of the self. This concept of multiple and malleable identity is eventually translated within a tailored fashion approach, working with both sculptural and dynamic solutions for the body. 

Aims & Outcomes

The project takes inspiration from avant-garde movements like Italian Futurism and Cubism, which respectively explored how the essence of the body in movement and through space could be represented in one single image. By the means of photographic investigations, the aim was to study body expressivity and dynamism in its shapes, textures, and multifaceted nature. The project explores the idea of multiplicity and layering, through paper folding and free draping on the mannequin, eventually pointing to the interpretation of the concept within a tailored approach. A fundamental aspect of this project is the spontaneous and experimental approach: as the body naturally develops and expresses itself, the same happens with the development of the pieces. Through the garments the project points to represent the body as an experience, infusing on the figure multiple layers of identity and dynamic folds for a multifaceted and morphing representation of the self. 

Gallery

Student statement

As an International student from Italy, my course experience at Gray’s helped me develop an extensive critical and conceptual approach within my studio practice, offering me an alternative to a mainly market-based design experience I was offered in my home country. Through the course of my studies, I had the chance to develop my personal analytical thinking-through-making methodology, broadening both my technical and creative understanding of the practice. Blending my experience with the Erasmus programs also gave me the chance to work within different perspectives and approaches, challenging my knowledge and skills in new contexts. The whole learning pathway shaped my creative process with a mix of conceptual and practical thinking, exploring connections between design, art and contemporary practices. This gave me the chance to look at fashion design with new eyes, exploring alternative possibilities for the practice within a conceptual and meaningful approach.