CONTENTS
INDULGE textiles to buy, collect or simply admire 15 HOW TO Repair moth holes with a jersey tiger moth patch By Joan Gorman 27 DIAPHANOUS DETAIL Camille Lescure’s embellished textiles 30 INSIDE THE CUPBOARD The Royal School of Needlework archives By Dr Susan Kay-Williams 54 TEMARI Time-honoured Japanese crafts come together in a joyous partnership By Barbara B Suess
GLOBAL textiles from around the world 18 SHOW AND TELL Photographer Oleg Oprisco’s fantastical worlds 60 BASHOFU The traditional banana-fibre textile culture of Okinawa By Tim Parry-Williams
ANECDOTE textiles that touch our lives 32 A REMEDY FOR RENTS The Whitelands College Darning Samplers Dr Vivienne Richmond 36 A STITCH IN TIME How Fine Cell Work is changing lives By Katy Emck, 40 TEMPLE BLESSINGS Salvaging waste from a centuries-old ritual 96 FABRIC SWATCH No 30: Sashiko: Sarah Jane Downing on the time-honoured stitch Illustrated by Fred Campbell
ATTIRE critical reporting of fashion trends 22 THE GOLDEN HOUR Bora Aksu’s summer dressing By Sarah E. Braddock Clarke 42 THE WHOLE TRUTH The well-worn problem of clothes moths and how to combat them By Eirlys Penn 70 PATTERN, COLOUR AND LIFE A new exhibition explores the family and ideas behind the Missoni fashion house By Liz Hoggard
CONCEPT textiles in fine art 46 MENDING The ancient art of making a wHOLE By Eirlys Penn 50 SPATIAL AWARENESS Christiane Löhr’s ephemeral sculptures by Dr. Uta-Christiane Bergemann 64 CONTEMPLATING CLOTH The weaving of Jun Tomita By Tim Parry-Williams 68 TSUNAMI ZAIKU Mariko Kusumoto’s interpretation of an ancient Japanese craft By Patricia Harris & David Lyon
INDUSTRY from craft to commerce 16 THE REALITIES OF BEING A DESIGNER We asked eight designers for their advice on what to expect from a creative career 56 FUJI-YOSHIDA Weaving Town By Tim Parry-Williams
SHOWING AND TELLING Photographer Oleg Oprisco’s fantastical worlds
Between seeing the image on the page and letting it seep into your imagination, consider the world and thought-process that went into that photograph.The colours, the mood, the face and above all, the story. Did that really happen? How and why? Today the more magical the image, the further away a genuine scene, character or imagination can seem as we rationally imagine laborious hours on a computer artificially conjuring up a fantastic scene, as if only to trick us. Or not – when the Ukrainian photographer Oleg Oprisco is on the credit. The cover photographer for this issue of Selvedge is as committed to making his art a reality as his results are enchanting. Rather than being drawn further away from the fantastical, a conversation with Oleg serves to heighten the potential for story-telling imagery and performance.
You use film cameras. That’s quite rare nowadays, what stops you from using digital? Hard to tell in a few words. Firstly the difference in the process of shooting. I shoot for 12 frames and there is always something different in each frame. You press the shutter button but do not know what happens because you see the scene before pushing the button and after, but not at the time of the shot. It is a crazy mix of luck, calculation, planning and luck again. Secondly it is the properties of the film and optics which is available for medium format. The film gives a unique colour, longfocus lenses give a unique depth. I have tried many times to use a modern digital medium format camera, but I can't find a platform which guarantees the same quality. During my workshops my students come with equipment that has cost thousands of dollars but I still
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use the old camera Kiev 6C (about $50 at a flea market in Kiev). Digital cameras make us think that technique is just a tool like a pen or a brush – it’s not true.
How do you go about planning a shoot? Do you plan a series or individual images? I always plan one frame. and all preparations are for just one frame. Before the shooting everyone involved knows what the final image is going to be like. I have a set idea of what I want to capture.
What are your thoughts on post-production editing – do you digitally edit your images? I spend a lot of time preparing for the process, so all of the effects are real. Of course, each frame is scanned and edited on the computer but the base is created on the filming location. I think it is important to remember that post-production can never make a bad photo good.
It’s interesting that you use film but present your images in squares – reminiscent of an instagram feed. Is this a conscious decision? This isn’t deliberate, everything I do is simple. I use medium format film (6 x 6 cm), so the image is square anyway.
Do you work with a team or are you involved in every aspect of a shot? I'm used to doing everything myself. I don't have assistants, so sometimes the preparation for shooting takes several days, many experiments and test shootings. For example, one of my frames involves a burning umbrella – it took six days of shooting and more than 50 umbrellas before I got the right shot.4
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Turkey’s geographical position naturally makes it a melting pot of different cultures, with influences from the East – the Orient – and from the West, the Mediterranean. The ancient route, the Silk Road spans two continents from the Far East to the West in its trade of textiles and in particular as its name suggests – silk. Bora Aksu is interested in the heritage and convergence of different cultures and in his search for a balance between the old and the new he celebrates both richness and diversity.
Society, culture, identity are on the move, ever-changing and evolving. This gives rich pickings to be communicated through clothing where ideas of multiculturalism, relevant to our post-postmodernist times, are indicated by a complex system of signs where so many factors go to make the whole. Bora Aksu orchestrates his carefully chosen elements to create harmony, enjoying how the parts relate and converse.
His chosen palette of subtle pastels for Spring/ Summer 2016 adds an elegant sense of bohemian romance and mystery with its porcelain whites, misty greys, blush-rose pinks, punctuated with the depth of blacks and juxtaposed with brights – citrus yellows, burnt oranges, deep pomegranate reds – all seemingly plucked from an orchard garden. Floral imagery, where pattern builds on pattern suggests the layers to be found in a mature garden with its borders and rich planting.
When worn, the filmy fabrics flutter and flare out around the body in a flattering way. Lightness and weightlessness are key. The clothes are sensual and work well with the female form, using cutting that is not over clingy but describes the body in a delicate way. In motion each layer is animated – textures shimmer and forms become indistinct. Silhouettes are difficult to decipher, but all the more intriguing because of this. This approach stems from an Oriental stance whereas the more Occidental elements of tailoring and haute couture create a strong foil.
Accessories included flower-inspired headpieces (almost crowns), delicate floral make-up ‘tattoos’ positioned high on foreheads, on hands and twining up arms with shoes featuring magical garden illustrations.
Shown in the strongly urban setting of the 1920s Brewer Street Car Park in the heart of London’s Soho, 18 September 2015, Bora Aksu’s Spring/Summer 2016 collection – which, incidentally, opened the official schedule of London Fashion Week – immediately transported the audience to a different place where landscapes stretched and horizons shimmered.
Memories as a child are fleeting and ephemeral and this is the impression that remains on viewing the collection. The idea of wearing such clothes and lounging in a summer garden, where time itself relaxes, is presented – no cares, no worries. Beauty, desire and serenity are conjured up – long may such thoughts linger. Sarah E. Braddock Clarke
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Firstview
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“The rainbow comes and goes, And lovely is the rose; The moon doth with delight, Look round her when the heavens are bare; Waters on a starry night, Are beautiful and fair...” An extract from William Wordsworth’s poem Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood.
The French jeweller Camille Lescure’s embroidered textiles evoke a fairytale vision where detail and light prevail. Exquisitely grazing, just holding the skin, these fragile textures and surfaces are all too close to tearing and yet they are worked and embellished as though a valuable, sturdy canvas.
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photographs by L
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TEMPLE BLESSINGS Salvaging waste from a centuries-old ritual
“The temple bell stops – but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers.” – Matsuo Bashō (1644- 1694) as translated by Robert Bly. In Hindu temples across India, devotees offer gifts of flower garlands to invoke the blessings of deities. Every day, wilted blossoms are replaced with fresh garlands, pleasing the gods with their fragrance and colour. The previous day’s blessed offerings, or nirmalya, are carefully gathered and disposed of in water, as is Hindu ritual.
and seamlessly in unison. To create various textures, the petals, husks and skins are used whole or pulverized, wet or dry. For Adiv’s “idli technique” – named after a similar looking and popular Indian food – the fabric is layered with petals and neatly folded onto itself forming a small packet, like a parcel. Each packet is then steamed for 30 to 40 minutes before it is unfolded, shaken free of petals, rinsed, and hung to dry.
The Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai, one of the country’s most visited, sees approximately 4.8 million worshippers a month. Bearing gifts of flowers and coconuts, they call on Ganesha, god of wisdom, knowledge, and new beginnings. Stalls line the temple complex displaying sweets and flowers. Each of the vendors sells over 20 kilograms of flowers a day, meaning that over 500 kilograms of flowers are discarded by the temple daily to make room for the next day’s offerings.
In response to this Adiv, a natural dye workshop in Mumbai, has partnered with the Siddhivinayak Temple to receive its discarded nirmalya. Marigolds, roses, hibiscus and coconut husks are collected, sorted, and used to dye cloth. Onion skins and pomegranate husks donated by local food vendors are also used. Only ingredients that are ayurvedic, pharmaceutical or food grade are used for dyeing and everything is composted at the end of the dyeing process.
Dyeing is an elemental exercise. Just a few items are required: water, petals, fabric, mordant and, when needed, a steamer. Each piece of cloth is prepared one at a time, often by two people working swiftly
Occasionally, a petal or two will evade inspection and remain stuck to the fabric – a welcome sign of work done by human hands. The process produces a monoprint, where the petal’s shapes are transferred directly onto fabric leaving an imprint of permanent colour. Depending on weather and humidity, the same flower yields surprising dye variations of colour and lushness.
The fashion label dosa began collaborating with Adiv in December of 2014.The organisation, founded in 2006 by Rupa Trivedi, is a business and social venture in Mumbai dedicated to natural hand dyeing. Adiv empowers its young, self-taught artisans through steady employment and creative freedom. Each came to the centre with zero dyeing experience, learning new techniques through trial and error. Two Saturdays a month are dedicated to experimentation. Workers keep a daily journal of processes to ensure that results can be duplicated. What began as two pots in a kitchen has grown to foster a small group of young men and women into skilled, steady income earners. As Adiv expands, new jobs and new opportunities continue to be created. www.adivpurenature.com www.dosainc.com
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