ONE TO WATCH: Georgia Loveridge

When you meet Georgia Loveridge you would be forgiven for assuming she is your usual 21-year-old London-based Textiles student, living and learning at UAL's Chelsea College of Arts (one of London's most renowned Textiles art schools). 

But it is only when you go on to chat with the young student that you realise the level of enthusiasm - and talent - she has for the art medium she works with. Working predominantly with digital printing of fabric creations in exciting textures and bright colours, Georgia's work champions STITCH style: it's fresh, diverse and inspired. 

Her talent is such that fashion power house Louis Vuitton (menswear team), actually ended up buying one of Georgia's designs. "It was a good moment," she modestly describes.

So what inspires Georgia's unique designs? "Contemporary and post modernist art," she says. "But interestingly I also love the more retro too, like 50s architecture and interiors, and family photographs from the 60s and 70s."

"I chose to study textiles because I felt comfortable in that specific medium, and I've always enjoyed translating art work onto fabrics. I really like the idea of being able to wear art - with all the thought process, inspiration, and craftmanship behind it."

Some of Georgia's work

Georgia works as a digital printer, layering different brightly coloured fabrics together in different cuts and shapes before digitally printing her work. "I'm often working in quite a 'flat' way," she says. "But I love collage and layering up different materials to get a mixture of textures, which I then develop into these digital prints."

As any artist, however, Georgia is always striving to improve. "I think I have just become more sure of my own way of working, so slowly my designs are becoming more refined and achieving a better final outcome - I used to really struggle with this part of it!" When questioned about the future, she reveals the likelihood of a possible shift into another expression of textiles: "I can see myself moving more towards interior textiles rather than fashion textiles."

As previously mentioned, Miss Loveridge had unexpected success when some of her work was sold to the menswear team at Louis Vuitton, an achievement that she ranks as her proudest artistic moment yet. "I was so proud and pleased with it. I feel the colour combinations came out really well, and Louis Vuitton must have agreed too!"

Georgia's work that was sold to Louis Vuitton's menswear team

I decided to drop in the ultimate STITCH bombshell and seek Georgia's opinion on the future of textiles. This blog so far has focused primarily on diverse and exciting new ways to see textiles (and fashion) as art, and Georgia's inspired digital textile prints are no exception to this rule - challenging the usual expectations of how textile art should look (and a far cry from the image of knitting and stitching that the word "textiles" usually evokes!). 

"I think textiles have - and are always - evolving, much like fashion design itself," she says. "I think innovative textiles are needed for the fashion industry to make clothing exciting."

"There are always aspects of fashion that definitely act more as a work of art than actual wearable pieces of clothing. Couture pieces would be the most obvious display of that! Just like pieces of art they go for thousands, so there's not really that much of a difference."

Whether you like her innovative take on textile art or not, there's no denying that Georgia's work is very different, bringing new and fresh ideas to an evolving medium. Her inspiration only confirms our belief that art students really are the ones to watch. Aside from the obvious - they are students, learning new things and are the artists of tomorrow - today's art students are working in the most exciting time for their field, a century when barriers have been broken down and the rules around what art can and should be have been redefined. The most unique ideas are emerging all the time, and Georgia sits proudly amongst the throng. Her marriage of the old medium of textiles, with a very modern technique of digital printing, puts this unique twist to her work and signifies her ability to keep up with the 21st century art pace.

It is for this reason that STITCH - and Louis Vuitton - think you should watch out for Georgia Loveridge. Her digital prints could very well be seen inside your house in years to come...

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT STUDYING TEXTILES AT CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ART, click HERE

SPOTLIGHT: Wendy Moyer

Sculpture is one of the art world's oldest and best used forms, allowing artists to bring their inspiration away from the wall and into a multi-dimensional, touchable, textured and altogether more realistic piece. This can be achieved using any number of materials, from clay to paper mache and chicken wire. However, textiles is one medium that seems unimaginable to sculpt and work with in such a way.

That was until an elongated Google browse happened upon Wendy Moyer. STITCH is constantly looking for textiles artists, simply just to admire their work, but something about Moyer's 3D material sculptures caught the eye more than the usual barrage of embroidery and knitting. Aside from the obvious (clothes), I suppose I had never quite entertained the idea that you could mould the edges of scraps of fabric in order to create something stiff that didn't hang or lie flat.

Moyer uses heat to melt mainly synthetic fibers into her sculptures - a technique she found purely by chance whilst singing the edge of a piece of fabric to prevent it from fraying. She realised that if you held the flame on a little longer, synthetic fabric became really mouldable. Moyer now uses this method (often coupled with use of wire and hand stitching) to create a variety of fabric sculptures, focusing predominantly on natural elements and flowers.

"Fire as used with fabrics, particularly synthetics, is a bit like alchemy changing a once soft material - whose natural inclination was to fold and drape - into a rigid material that will hold its fold or drape forever."

(from interview with textileartist.org)

"Flor de pasion"

The talented textile sculptress collects fabric scraps from up-cycled, unwanted or shop "seconds" clothing to create her masterpieces. Moyer will search through local "mercados" in Mexico to find textiles to use for her projects, often originating from well-known brands like Calvin Klein and Banana Republic.

This is just one aspect of Moyer's work that is so interesting - she expertly gives old, unwanted and otherwise unloved clothes an entirely new lease of life. Thus the previously unwanted items can be admired every day on the walls or coffee table of someone's house, rather than in an old wardrobe or market stall gathering dust.

"Flor de la noche"

The unique approach she has taken to the marriage of textiles and art is completely awe-inspiring. Sculpture has been given a modern twist, and her beautiful flowers are breathtaking even through photograph - one can only imagine how they would look in real life with 3D design and fascinating textures.

Upon creating STITCH, the primary aim was to explore the unique relationship between art, fashion, and textiles. Since then we have veered into the more abstract - the pieces that challenge conventional values about what art should look like. Just like Anya Hindmarch's bag, Moyer's creations do just this: bringing an every day object (flowers) and translating it into a work of art by use of inspirational craftmanship. The pieces have a real story - from the upcycled clothes used to make them to the revolutionary melting technique.

Wendy Moyer, you can sit proudly as one of STITCH's favourite artists chanced upon in our journey so far. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit Moyer's website here  

Crispy genius

This week our attention was unexpectedly drawn to one of the most talked-about S/S '14 pieces: Anya Hindmarch's crisp packet clutch bag. Spotted in the hands of Emma Watson and Caroline Issa amongst other fashionistas, the bag comes in a choice of four colours and will set you back £995 apiece (deep breaths, please).

Photo: Anya Hindmarch website

Inspired by "space debris" (honing in on the futuristic trend that never seems to disappear from our fashion radars) the bag was debuted at the S/S '14 London Fashion Week shows.

In typical STITCH style, however, we're not really interested in who is carrying this beauty on their arm this season - or indeed in how this piece is styled, and why it is so popular. What's captivating about this bag is its undeniable uniqueness and obvious craftmanship.

You see, Hindmarch here has actually STARTED with the obvious: a crisp packet. This is photographed from all angles, and then computer generated. The first prototype is then taken to Italy where craftsmen help mould the metalwork, before the bag is moulded (using 8 moulds) and then sprayed with thin layers of colour to achieve the perfect shade. According to Anya's world, it takes SEVEN hours to make one clutch bag - inclusive of varnishing by hand. This bag truly is a work of art.

This bag symbolises a bold move in the textiles world. Whilst the idea of creating everyday objects in textiles form is not new (a great example that springs to mind is Kate Jenkins' crocheted art, including fried eggs and toothpaste), Anya's crisp packet seems to speak differently. 

Emma Watson with her crisp packet clutch

First and foremost, it is fabulously ironic - can you even imagine a model/fashionista/designer EATING a packet of Walkers crisps? At the risk of sounding too cynical, I cannot imagine that Anna Wintour ever brings in a packet of salt n' vinegar to eat for elevenses at her desk. Hindmarch has cleverly thrust Walkers crisps into the fashion spotlight, and actually made those age-old, beloved, crinkly packets, kind of CHIC.

Secondly, the craftmanship is really overwhelmingly brilliant. It is made out of partial metal - an undeniably difficult material to work with, and that's without the complicated asymmetrical design and high-shine finish. It also weighs under 500g, another amazing feat making the bag brilliantly modern and useable as well as an immediate classic. 

"The crisp packet was inspired by my love of everyday objects which are made in the most luxurious way by incredible craftsmenship. It is very complicated as it is completely asymmetrical and took many goes to get it right. It was a real labour of love, but we love it."  -ANYA HINDMARCH

Yes, textiles and everyday objects HAS been done before. But has it been done in such a way? Marrying luxury with mundane, extreme craftmanship with everyday, and textile/fashion design with metal/space age chic. 

Crisp packet + crumples + metal + Anya Hindmarch = unexpectedly genius. 

Or as the lady herself puts it: "wearable art".

When the first wave of Anya's luxe-crisps landed, the bag sold out within three hours. Several colours still remain out of stock, but with the next load of almost-£1k-worthy wonder-bags expected to drop in mid-March those on the waiting list can only hope they aren't disappointed.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CRISP PACKET CLUTCH VISIT Anya's World