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1. 2. Galler y lo w ell, F Chloé Rosetta B 3. alk er Wim T 4. 1. Back in the 4th century, scribes used oak gall ink because of its indelibility and permanence. Derived from peculiar and perfectly spherical structures known as oak galls, created when a gall wasp lays an egg on an oak tree and simultaneously injects a hormone into the plant tissue causing it to grow a cocoon-like shield around the developing larvae. Once the wasp has hatched, the tannin-rich galls can be crushed and transformed into black ink by mixing the resulting powder with water and sulphate of iron. Artist and textile designer Amélie Crépy uses stencils and washes of oak gall ink on linen to make 49 x 49 cm cushions. £480 each, from ••• info@ameliecrepy.com 2. This handsome Georgian wingback chair, built in England around 1780, has undergone extensive restoration and reupholstery in robust hemp from the 1800s, masterfully dyed by Polly Lyster with indigo and weld. Bonfield Block-Printers ornamented the hemp with block prints from their “Lost” series in an iridescent blue. Thus, a scrimshawed comb, an engraved thimble, a clay pipe, and a rebus talisman – longlost, lamented objects – adorn the chair. Some tales appear in full; others are fragmented. Generously proportioned, the piece is a joy to sit in. And, being a wingback, it has an enfolding quality – the perfect place to lose oneself in reverie and reflection. 87 x 104 x 87cm £4750 ••• @bonfieldblockprinters, @thedyeworks, @hareinthechair, @thomasevansupholstery 3. Isobel Napier describes her work as “recreating the intricate patterns, threads, and textures of fabric, transforming solid forms into delicate, ephemeral creations.” She laser cuts paper to make work that references the delicacy of fabric in a practice that blends precise digital design with elements of chance. This approach reimagines the language of textiles as she celebrates the inherent qualities and transformative possibilities of her chosen mediums. ••• Atmospheres: A Collaborative Exhibition by Celia Dowson & Isobel Napier Flow Gallery 1-5 Needham Road London, 6 July – 23 September 2023, flowgallery.co.uk 4. How did Virginia Woolf navigate her disdain for fashion alongside her love of clothing? How did Vanessa Bell’s handmade clothing form part of her creative life? These questions are explored in the exhibition Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion, curated by writer Charlie Porter. Expect a multi-layered experience featuring catwalk fashion by Dior, Fendi, Burberry, Comme des Garçons, Erdem, and S.S.DALEY and personal items belonging to members of the Bloomsbury group, including Virginia Woolf and Lady Ottoline Morrell. You’ll discover how Bloomsbury art and life have inspired contemporary fashion designers through the energy of the group’s extraordinary home at Charleston. ••• Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion 13 September – 7 January 2024 www.charleston.org.uk l Mad ani Waleed A SELVEDGE 6
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7. 5. e rc e r t + C o m m S ø l v e S u n d s b ø / A 6. 5. NEWGEN was established by the British Fashion Council in 1993. The initiative supports the best emerging fashion design talent in the UK, and aims to build creative, responsible businesses for the future. It has helped nurture the careers of hundreds of designers and businesses, launching many of them onto the international stage. Alumni featured in the exhibition include Lee Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Erdem, Henry Holland, J.W. Anderson, Mary Katrantzou, Molly Goddard, Roksanda, Simone Rocha, and many more. REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion will celebrate over 300 young designers – the NEWGEN alumni – and their impact on the global fashion scene. ••• REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion The Design Museum London 16 September – 11 February 2024, designmuseum org 6. Recent graduate from the Royal College of Art, Xiaoyu Zhu, knitwear designer and artist from China specialises in the use of silk, beloved for its movement and weight. She creates pure silk fur as luxurious as real fur. Inspired by Chinese calligraphy, her pieces begin with origami experiments and end as one-piece laser-cut lace. Any offcuts are transformed into textile jewellery. By combining electronic technology, sensing techniques, laser cutting, and traditional knitting, she explores the subtle resonance between humans, nature, and technology. Through mathematical calculations, her textile manifests the vibrations of nature. Xiaoyu Zhu is one to watch. ••• @ xiaoyu_zhu_ Image above: Erdem, Autumn/Winter 2008. Image left: Tim Walker Rebel Riders at Charleston 2015. Image top right: Victoria Villasana. Image top far right: Hazara prayer cloth. 7. Hazara prayer cloths are typically square and 30 to 35 cm wide. Often showing religious references such as a mosque, they are said to refer to the shrine in Karbala, a holy site for Shiite Muslims of which the majority of Hazara are adherents. Many show paired hands as a reference to prayer. Nonetheless, there is a great diversity in the distribution of Hazara within Afghanistan, concentrated in the centre of the country. These (mohr posh) prayer cloths often refer to religious themes, such as scripted references to Ali, and often have a small rectangle for placement of the (mohr-i-namaz) prayer stone. They are executed in silk or cotton counted-stitch embroidery on a cotton ground. Nearly all the surviving cloths of this type are 20th C. Victoria Villasana (b. Mexico) is influenced by history, culture, and human relationships in our fragmented post-digital world; the expression of her work is revealed in the uncut thread which breaks the frame. She draws inspiration from the craftsmanship and textile traditions of Mexico paired with images across cultures. Villasana comments: “I want to honour these ancient traditions, but I do not simply want to copy them. Textiles are a comforting element in our psyche, from the pieces made by ancient cultures to the blankets our grandmothers used to make.” Twin exhibitions examine the use of textiles past and present to express ideas of culture and community. ••• Culture, Cloth & Community Cloth is on show at McNicols Civic Center Building, Denver, USA, 15 September – 17 December 2023, mcnicholsbuilding.com

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1.

2.

Galler y lo w ell, F

Chloé Rosetta B

3.

alk er

Wim

T

4.

1. Back in the 4th century, scribes used oak gall ink because of its indelibility and permanence. Derived from peculiar and perfectly spherical structures known as oak galls, created when a gall wasp lays an egg on an oak tree and simultaneously injects a hormone into the plant tissue causing it to grow a cocoon-like shield around the developing larvae. Once the wasp has hatched, the tannin-rich galls can be crushed and transformed into black ink by mixing the resulting powder with water and sulphate of iron. Artist and textile designer Amélie Crépy uses stencils and washes of oak gall ink on linen to make 49 x 49 cm cushions. £480 each, from ••• info@ameliecrepy.com 2. This handsome Georgian wingback chair, built in England around 1780, has undergone extensive restoration and reupholstery in robust hemp from the 1800s, masterfully dyed by Polly Lyster with indigo and weld. Bonfield Block-Printers ornamented the hemp with block prints from their “Lost” series in an iridescent blue. Thus, a scrimshawed comb, an engraved thimble, a clay pipe, and a rebus talisman – longlost, lamented objects – adorn the chair. Some tales appear in full; others are fragmented. Generously proportioned, the piece is a joy to sit in. And, being a wingback, it has an enfolding quality – the perfect place to lose oneself in reverie and reflection. 87 x 104 x 87cm £4750 ••• @bonfieldblockprinters, @thedyeworks, @hareinthechair, @thomasevansupholstery

3. Isobel Napier describes her work as “recreating the intricate patterns, threads, and textures of fabric, transforming solid forms into delicate, ephemeral creations.” She laser cuts paper to make work that references the delicacy of fabric in a practice that blends precise digital design with elements of chance. This approach reimagines the language of textiles as she celebrates the inherent qualities and transformative possibilities of her chosen mediums. ••• Atmospheres: A Collaborative Exhibition by Celia Dowson & Isobel Napier Flow Gallery 1-5 Needham Road London, 6 July – 23 September 2023, flowgallery.co.uk 4. How did Virginia Woolf navigate her disdain for fashion alongside her love of clothing? How did Vanessa Bell’s handmade clothing form part of her creative life? These questions are explored in the exhibition Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion, curated by writer Charlie Porter. Expect a multi-layered experience featuring catwalk fashion by Dior, Fendi, Burberry, Comme des Garçons, Erdem, and S.S.DALEY and personal items belonging to members of the Bloomsbury group, including Virginia Woolf and Lady Ottoline Morrell. You’ll discover how Bloomsbury art and life have inspired contemporary fashion designers through the energy of the group’s extraordinary home at Charleston. ••• Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion 13 September – 7 January 2024 www.charleston.org.uk l Mad ani

Waleed A

SELVEDGE 6

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