My Harvey Nichols Doll Display

After the success of my graduate show at graduate fashion week at Earls Court in June. I was contacted by the design department of Harvey Nichols to produce a commission for them. I spent the whole summer handmaking each doll. Including sourcing fabrics and sewing to create 24 life size fabric dolls.

The dolls are contemporary fashion craft, that are used as mannequins to display the current Autumn/Winter 2009 designer clothing. Designed to look like a fashion catwalk audience, the escalators are the catwalk for the customers. The dolls, are the fashion elite, with notebooks, magazines and bottles of champange, for watching the fashion show passing by.

The dolls are made from a variety of fabrics, some of them are cord, velvet, cotton, jersey and silk. The hair is made from layers of wool, the eyes are buttons. The rest of the face is made up out of fabric. The stiching is exposed all around the edge of the bodies, to emphasis that they are handmade dolls.

The dolls are situated instore, at the escalator display space. Across 3 floors, in 6 sets of 4 dolls, up and down the escalators. At Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge flagship department store. On show for London Fashion Week Septmeber 18th, through to the beginning of November before the Christmas period displays.

Harvey Nichols display

I will be uploading a full set of photographs on Monday. A sneak preview, of my fabric dolls for Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge. Opened today for London Fashion week, till the 7th November. Situated by the ecalators, wearing the latest Autumn/Winter 09 designer clothes.

V & A fantasy exhibition

I recently went to the fantasy exhibition, about telling tales in fantasy and fear in contemporary design. At the Victoria and Albert museum, its free and on till the 18th October.

My favourite pieces from the show are: the 'Fig Leaf' wardrobe by Tord Boontje. He has created products for habitat including lightshades. The wardrobe is made out of hand-painted enamelled copper leaves, lost-wax cast patinated bronze tree, iron tracery support structure, hand dyed and woven silk base and back.

'Tord Boontje regards the fig as a symbol of fertility, associating it with oases and the biblical notion of Paradise. The snake persuaded Adam and Eve to eat an apple from the tree of knowledge. They then fell from grace and were expelled from Paradise, wearing only fig leaves to hide their newfound shame. Ironically, the wardrobe only becomes 'dressed' when its user is not.'

My other favourite piece is the, 'Linen Cupboard House' by Jurgen Bey. The piece is made out of found furniture, textiles, mattress and stone.

'Just as children imaginatively build fortresses, so Jurgen Bey used old furniture to create this guest room. It is like the gingerbread house in the classic fairy story, where Hansel and Gretel were promised sanctuary but were deceived by the witch. Their story can be understood as a parable of the loss of innocence.'

Labels

This is the label I have had specially made to go across the back of the neck of my life size dolls. Pink background with red stiching, the same colours as my website.

100 years of Selfridges exhibition

The exhibition instore Selfridges, was small yet instresting. It celebrated 100 years of the shop. An intresting point was that in the early part of the 19th century, there was a rooftop tea garden on top of the store.

Showing a variety of styles of the iconic black and yellow bag. My favourite design was the Christmas range illustrated by Quentin Blake. In store there was a special range of yellow Coca-Cola bottles, very eye catching.