Everyone tells stories. Powerful narratives like ancient Greek myths and the fairy tales of our childhood’ taught us how to relate to certain values and how the impact of stories shape our lives. When fashion designers and brands use these very same narratives, they become the storyteller, the expert of storytelling and clothing comes alive.
For this project, students were challenged to step into their shoes to design, illustrate, sew and embellish their very own interpretation of the stories we know and love.
Supported by: Melanie Kyles – International contemporary textile artist.
Mentored by: Jennifer Barrett (Fashion) & Charlotte Liddle (Textiles).
Project Contributors: Melanie Kyles & Dr Emma Whipday, Lecturer in Renaissance Literature, Newcastle University
Project Outline: A designer using storytelling as inspiration is the first step in forging the connection between the consumer and an individual piece of apparel. Recognising a character or a story in the details of a garment attracts a consumer immediately before they even decide whether they truly like the garment in full. When storytelling in fashion is done right, it opens up a whole world of creativity.
Like timeless stories, fashion can create influences and characteristics and illustrate certain values to escape the mundane. Clothes can become the door for an audience to experience alternate realities. Where there is fantasy, there can be fashion.
The Brief:
This project will appeal to those who enjoy getting hands-on and getting stuck into the making part of the fashion process. You will be using a famous piece of writing as inspiration for your work and looking at parts of the story which resonate with you to create a customised panel of fabric for a top-secret finished garment. You will be using techniques such as embroidery, hand and machine sewing, applique, and embellishment to personalise your panel.
Your panel will be unique to you and your own personal representation of the story but will be sewn together, along with those panels from other students, to reveal one final exciting garment. You will be provided with colour palettes and a kit of goodies to use within your design to ensure that the finished garment is cohesive and comes together as one piece.
Project Results: Please view the final results of the Ada Gibson from Longbenton High School, Caitlyn Brydon, Caitlyn Watson, Dior Ferry, Lilly Whittaker-Smith, Megan Latimer and Sahasra Pydi from Burnside College:
Development work:
Thank you & Well done!
All we have left to say is thank you and well done, not only to the students but to the teachers at Burnside College & Longbenton High School, to North Tyneside Learning Trust, to the parents who helped along the way, the companies that have supported and contributed to these briefs and the TICE team that plugged away at the project week after week.
To the students – we hope you have enjoyed this project, we hope in years to come that you can proudly present an industry written project you did, achieved, quite frankly smashed. Well done and congratulations from everyone here at TICE.