ABOUT
After completing the Masters in Fashion from Central Saint Martins, I went on to be a design consultant, researching and creating concepts for an array of luxury brands including Chanel, Burberry and Louis Vuitton. The breadth of my creative interests extend beyond fashion, textiles and accessories to writing, broadcasting and photography - I have had a couple of books published, presented fashion related slots on national radio and tv, and my art direction work was exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Themes on desire and identity creep into my work and has led to a fascination with the idea of 'original'. I continue to consult as well as studying a Phd in fashion and looking at speculation to change behaviour.
THE THEORETICALÂ WORK
To summarise, the PhD looked at speculation as a tool for evolving fashion design. A very specific term was created of 'Incentive Aesthetics'. The term was used as a tool to create discussion and speculative design as a way to look at more sustainable futures in luxury fashion
THE DEFINITION - INCENTIVE AESTHETICS
The title of the PhD was - The Ever Evolving Object:
The role of ‘incentive aesthetics’ in the future of luxury fashion and its effects.
​
The definition of Incentive Aesthetics, is a term I created as an original contribution to knowledge. Incentive Aesthetics are broadly defined as the development and deployment of technologies that provide a change in aesthetics and consequently a change in the consumption of luxury goods.
​
In laymans terms: Something that is real or not real that can change the way a garment or object looks!
​
The video is a section of a lecture given to second year BA students at Ravensbourne University 2021
THE PRACTICAL PHD WORK
Much of the practical associated work for the PhD is created as perfomative objects or narrative tools. Satire, humour and pop culture is used to get large conceptual issues out to a broader audience.
MOVABLE PIGMENT
Creating 'visions' of IA was important but it was also clear that we build meaning and behaviours around objects all the time through what we are told - essentially through marketing.therefore the use of stock generic. imagery and 'projecting' a narrative onto it seemed apt for the study. We see this sort of imagery in advertising all the time.The stock imagery of particles was used to help visualise the notion of tiny 'nano drones' of colour moving on and off a base fabric - this Incentive Aesthetic was called 'movable pigment' IA.
EDIBLE FABRICS - FIRST TRY
Once the notion of movable pigments had been established, the concept of a removable pattern or colour left 'room' for a much more recyclable 'base fabric'. This is where the idea of edible base fabrics originated from. The film shows the first time I consumed a fabric - in this case a bio design by Cassie Quinn. I appropriating existing slogans to help with the introduction of these new concepts - in this example of edible materials, it was the Bart Simpson meme 'eat my shorts'.
EDIBLE FABRIC - EAT MY SHORTS
The act of trying Cassie's fabric Bio fabrics for the first time had been both funny and exciting with some tension! We realised we could capitalise on this by building it into a performance piece. We introduced Incentive Aesthetics at talks and conferences by re doing this act as a performative tool to establish our practice and research.
THE PRACTICAL PHD WORK
Much of the practical associated work for the PhD is created as perfomative objects or narrative tools. Satire, humour and pop culture is used to get large conceptual issues out to a broader audience. See below for information on the Exhibition. Also below is a link to a feedback form - give your say on the Neon Glossary!
NEON GLOSSARY
​
An object to assist Incentive Aesthetic. In using the 'pop culture' material of neon to express the new terminology. The physical sign could be used in performances or exhibitions and the virtual one could be used in animations of Incentive Aesthetics in action. This example is for the phrase 'Fashion Methadone'. This refers to the objects and period of time we need to wean ourselves away from one way of engaging with Fashion to another. The neon can represent also a distopia or utopia.
GIFS
Following on from the physical neon signs it seemed a natural progression to change the terminology again into a popular culture format such as GiFs.
The phrases; Fashion methadone Edible Materials ( latterly Fabrics to be more explicit) and movable pigments were turned into low tech gifs for social media
THE PRACTICAL PHD WORK
Much of the practical associated work for the PhD is created as perfomative objects or narrative tools. Satire, humour and pop culture is used to get large conceptual issues out to a broader audience. See below for information on the Exhibition. Also below is a link to a feedback form - give your say on the Neon Glossary!
EDIBLE FABRIC
One of the practise runs of the performance of eating the edible fabric samples. This example was in a studio with Cassie Quinn
PRACTICAL PHD WORK
Much of the practical associated work for the PhD is created as perfomative objects or narrative tools. Satire, humour and pop culture is used to get large conceptual issues out to a broader audience.
THE SKETCHBOOKS
The practical outcomes had supporting sketchbooks ( this is 1 of 3) which were intrinsic to the process. They were used to hone in on the definition and concept of Incentive Aesthetics. The process of sketch booking with screen grabs then 'coding'  The 'Elito' Method and Word clouding (based on the words that were  most frequently used while articulating the sketchbook to myself) were used initially. While the Elito method organised thoughts the word clouds revealed the strategies and tactics that I had deployed both consciously and subconsciously. The sketchbooks not only lead to the practical outputs this methodological appraoch became in its self potentially a contribution to knowledge. This film demonstrates one of those 'talk throughs' retrospectively with sketchbook 1.
EXHIBITION - NEON GLOSSARY
Several of the phrases used within the research were going to be made into large neon signs and exhibited. Next to them was a QR code so that the public could give their feedback comments and understanding of the terms created. The initial sign 'Fashion Methadone' was put in a public area in Kings Cross London. It caused a lot of controversy so the link to this film, accompanied the email that was sent out when the sign was removed. at one stage.
​
Link to the film below.
PRACTICAL PHD WORK
Much of the practical associated work for the PhD is created as perfomative objects or narrative tools. Satire, humour and pop culture is used to get large conceptual issues out to a broader audience.
THE BUTTON - A SHAMENIC TALKING TOOL
explain the influendces and how it became clear that a real hurdble when discussing this came down to quite a practical questions how would you turn this 'material' on to get over this simply creating a speculative object - a switch or a button.....its purpose to be a button to instigate discussin but a literal button to resolve the impeediiment of logistics and help the audience 'suspend believe to think in more speculative wasy. There were many directions the aesthetci of the buton could go in - which were reserached in teh sketchbooks. The button would probably be re invented for different audience. My own preference of a shamanic tool that was a mix of organix hand craft with digital features in the resrach video here - the inspiration was the kibble kift movement ( see sketchbooks).
THE BUTTON - PRACTICAL ITEM
showing how it could attach - a demonstration
OTHER PRACTICAL WORK
Much or this work happened during my research and was a response to different issues in society - often disrupting or working as a narrative tool as well as a practical output such as the scrubs
CSM LOVES NHS
This project originated in my research and beginning to think about social design and how I could activate a body of people to take part to help society. The clip is from BBC news as the project went from activating the students to make scrubs ( at home and with a downloadable pattern we devised) to the general public also wanting to take part
MAKING & THINKING
Creating 'visions' of IA was important but it was also clear that we build meaning and behaviours around objects all the time through what we are told - essentially through marketing.therefore the use of stock generic. imagery and 'projecting' a narrative onto it seemed apt for the study. We see this sort of imagery in advertising all the time.The stock imagery of particles was used to help visualise the movable pigment IA.
OTHER MEDIA
I regularly get to speak on the radio usually about fashion in the most layman pop culture way. I use this as a vehicle to introduce different aspects of my research. In this clip I begin to talk about the idea of being able to use fashion as a service and having fabrics that change - ultimately ending talking about fabrics having a duality.
PRESS COVERAGE
press coverage and public outputs such as conferences panels and talks
PRESS COVERAGE
press coverage and public outputs such as conferences panels and talks
OTHER PRACTICAL WORK
Though not always directly linked to my PhD and some of the work is from before I started the research - it shows my interesting in revisiting objects, trying to find beauty in the forgotten the lost or the underdog in society. Whether that is an elastic band or a flatmate
CHANEL MAGIC EYE
A series of fabric prints sold to Chanel. They were based on the 1990s optical illusion 'The Magic eye' where you see 3D images by focusing on 2D patterns. Working with an architect to create the 3D Chanel Logo that was concealed in the pattern. This was the first notion of revisiting an item. That when you looked at the pattern first time you might not see the hidden logo. The print was one of a series using in the pattern materials associated with Chanel such as the pearls, houndstooth tweed, and quilting.
​
ELASTIC BAND JEWELLERY
Jewellery including bracelets rings and earrings made from disgarded elastic bands found in the street. The elastic bands were cast in 18 carat gold. This was another example of looking at the dismissed and disgarded in my work. Also the juxtaposition between a cheap and expensive material, low and high end.
HUNTER - FAMILIAR STRANGER
Familiar Stranger was the name of my MA collection. Based around the notion of something you think you know but don't really know at all. The work focused on the then little known and struggling brand Hunter. After visiting their factory in Scotland and re working their product a very successful range was realised and sold. This photograph is from an editorial piece by Tim Walker in Vogue Britain. This was the beginning of investigating if the meaning of an object and the desire of an object can be changed.
BOOKS
Initial book published in 2008 based on a collection of notes that flat makes wrote to each other. This was the first use of popular culture ( a gift book and humour) to look at a more serious social issue and social dynamics - that many people were being forced to live together because of the price of housing.
​
A second book was realised based on a collection of love notes letters photos and e mails about love and relationships.
(VERY)Â SPECULATIVEÂ WORK
This section could be seen as 'pie in the sky' or thinking out the box or any other cliches of not run of the mill! These are speculative notions that I am interested or intrigued in, that are in relation to 'wicked problems'.
ADDICTIVE BROCCOLI
In a world where children ar allowed to drink energy drinks and eat items that are high in fat sugar and salt - the question of why is making a vegetable addictive ethically wrong if it can help solve problems such as obesity and heart disease?
THE SPACE DUMP
Jeff Bezo founder and chairman of Amazon has claimed that is interest in creating rockets that can go to space is a childhood ambition and an adventure. he has also talked about creating human colonies. Is it a space dump? Is the actual reason that companies such as Amazon create a huge amount of waste? This is less about humans going to space and more about using space as our giant land fill, or space fill? This would solve huge environmental problems - but would it be ethical?