My Illustrated Revolution: How fashion industry is and how it should be
Project finalising my Graphic Art Masters degree. Created over a period of six months and finished in May 2022.
Visually communicates what the fashion revolution stands for.
It combines a series of illustrations screen-printed on upcycled garments and given second lives by digital photography.
The Concept :
The key concept of my work is to raise public awareness about what is wrong with the fashion industry and what can be changed. My work speaks about how and in which areas the fashion industry can improve.
One of the main purposes of my project is to raise questions, not to give plain answers. I want people to be curious and inspired, awake their senses, and open conversations about how the fashion industry and other industries should change the way they function today.
My project is an undefined campaign that is a part of the Fashion Revolution.
The Creation :
My work aimed to create an up-cycled, second-hand suit.
The suit was made from three elements: a trench coat, trousers, and a long sleeve shirt, bought from second-hand charity shops in Bristol.
I visualised the fashion revolution principles by creating a series of illustrations. I have applied the technique of screen printing to manually print the designs onto the three garments.
For a professional exhibition, I have taken pictures of them and edited the pictures ready to be later printed on a large scale and presented in a gallery.
Footage from the work - documentation of the project in progress, screen printing on garments in the printing on textiles facility building at the University of the West of England in Bristol, 2022
The final outcome :
The practical outcome of the project directly meets the context I have applied to my work during the time of the creative process. The genre of sustainable development in the fashion industry is present in every part of my work. Beginning from the up-cycled materials I have chosen to use as a base layer for my project, through themed illustrations that underline the problem of fashion and express the demand for change, ending on a fashion magazine-like Photographies that gave the garments second life.
The part of the project that worked particularly well are the Photographies I have taken at the end of my creative process. The pictures are depicting the illustrations in the best feasible way. While taking the pictures I was trying not only to arrange an interesting composition but also to show the parts of illustrations that are the most informative. I decided to put the garments on human bodies. Because of the varied silhouettes of the models, the garments looked different on each person. That gave me a plethora of possibilities to take shots from not straightforward angles to awaken the imagination of the viewer and to catch their attention. I have managed to achieve my goal. I created the pictures that are clear and eye-catching, at the same time they are interesting and it is easy to notice the message they apply.
Exhibition :
The project has been exhibited in Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol, UK between 11.06.2022 and 19.06.2022 as a part of University of the West of England Art Show 2022
Art techniques used in the project
visual communication
art activism
illustration
screen- printing
photography
Software used during the project production
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Procreate