Poppy Waddilove - Illustrator

One of my bestest friends, fashion illustrator Poppy Waddilove - check out her amazing blog -

http://poppywaddilove.tumblr.com/

Campaign for Wool

Having based my final major project on wool - its qualities and how it reacts to different print processes I wanted to think back to the manufacturing side of things. Brought up in West Yorkshire into a textile manufacturing family I have been very aware of the changes in the  industry - most notably the move of bulk manufacturing from the UK to abroad.

The Campaign for Wool -http://www.campaignforwool.org/ was initiated by HRH The Prince of Wales and aims to highlight the probems the wool industry faces and what can be done, raising awarness for a product which has been used for centuries in many different areas - high fashion, interior, product etc etc.

What is the Campaign for Wool? - (taken from website)

'The Campaign for Wool was initiated in October 2008 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who had observed that the wool industry was facing enormous and unprecedented challenges.

The price of wool had plummeted to the point where farmers were being paid less for their sheeps’ fleeces than the cost of having them shorn.

At the same time, sheep numbers were declining across the world, from Britain to Australia and New Zealand, and some farmers were losing confidence in the future of the wool industry.

A parallel threat came from new man-made synthetic fibres, often oil-based, which were providing stiff competition in the areas where wool had traditionally triumphed – fashion, carpets and insulation.

The Prince of Wales formed an apocalyptic view of what the future for wool might hold, unless something could be done. Without a thriving wool industry, and with further declines in the sheep population, the physical appearance of our landscape could change forever. Imagine the Cumbrian uplands deprived of sheep, or the Scottish and Welsh mountains, or the sheep stations of Australia and New Zealand. Were we really to enter an era when the wool trade, which has thrived and prospered since the Middle Ages, would be sidelined by man-made fibres?'

Costume Designer - Edith Head

While exploring the relationship between fashion and cinema, at the moment, looking closely at Haute Couture in film, I have become interested in the work and life of (the late) costume designer Edith Head. She has designed for films such as 'Anthing Goes' - 1956, 'Sylvia' -1965 and 'The Yellow Rolls Royce' - 1965, to name a few.

Many of the famous Hollywood stars for over four decades have been dressed by her and she has been recognised as a hard working, adaptable designer - winning 8 academy awards for her work and given a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

As well as her work, it is her personal style which is very much a source of inspiration