'Inside/Outside'

This project was for Burberry, London. The brief was set by Christopher Bailey, the design director for Burberry Fashion House. It was called 'Inside/Outside' and entailed designing a collection of fabrics that would make the most of the qualities in the chosen discipline (my discipline was 'stitch'). The project emphasis was on sustainable luxury and an awareness of craft skills and new technologies.

The inspiration for my collection was a series of photographs that were about looking through something, so you only get a feeling of what you are looking at and not the whole picture. I wanted to achieve a feeling of dipping in and out of focus, an atmosphere rather than an object. The photographs were about contrasting textures and layers and I achieved this in the fabric designs by combining materials and working in layers so that when you cut into the top layer of fabric there is something unexpected beneath.

The designs were made by felting layers of silk together, then embroidering onto the felted surface with wide stitches. These stitches can then be partially cut through so you can see the felted surface underneath.

Inspiration photograph

Cotton and silk

Cotton and silk

Plastic and cotton

Plastic and cotton

Silk, cotton and felt

Plastic, silk and cotton