SS12 - “The Nature of me”

Inspiration

The Nature of Me is how I chose to title this collection. These were the words that came to mind instantly and although I was troubled by it’s ambiguity, it refused to leave my mind.

My studio is set in the heart of the English countryside, a location which is often at odds with the lure of London. When I turned to thinking about SS12 I wanted to capture the essence of the environment in which I create. In the past, it was just an obstacle to be overcome.

My fascination was with the transition of day into night. From June through to August I witnessed a never-ending series of awe inspiring, red sky sunsets as I walked up a local country lane. I was moved by the aggressive and but somehow serene echoes of reds and yellows as light passed away reluctantly. The onset of night saw the darkening of blues through to pitch-blackness.

I was transfixed by the changing colours and texture of the fields and trees as my eyes struggled for definition before the moon cast it’s perspective. I was drawn to how things were seen in silhouette as detail became impossible.

In a world where I have often struggled for meaning, my walks into darkness in the summer of 2011 showed me that despite the desire to struggle, the eventuality is the same. Perhaps we should just enjoy the ride.

The Design Process

The design process starts with an idea. That idea is then transformed into a design by working directly onto a mannequin or model. There are very few flat drawings as I prefer to see how designs take shape and whether they actually work in reality. The nature of materials often mean that designs can evolve during the sample making process as well as gaining inspiration for new pieces. It is actually quite rare for pieces to turn out as imagined.

Each piece in the collection is constructed this way. The building of a collection is therefore a long and intense process as I am involved directly in the construction of each look. I prefer it this way. I believe that it gives the collection an intimacy that might otherwise be lost.

Each sample is very precious to me as it represents an investment of time and emotion. Some samples can take up to three days to finish. Because of this design process, samples will often show signs of corrections which, will not be found on production pieces.

Materials

Seven types of stretch elastic were used as the basis for this collection. We also used a faux grass fabric which we liked to pair with natural linen. This collection saw the introduction of a glass fibre which has to be specially treated before use. It’s intended use is not in garments but it offers a lustre that I have not been able to find in any other material.

The elastic is layered onto linings of wool, linen, polyester, nylon and silk. We also used aluminim and Swarovski crystals on occasion.

Production

Yan To is a brand that wants to present it’s customers with a unique experience. Each of the elastic based pieces in the collection is essentially a one-off as the elastic falls differently on each piece in a production run.

A team of artisan hand sewing specialists assist in the production process. The pieces are either constructed by these artisans or finished by them.

The production process is fluid and allows us to re-stock with a short lead time, anywhere along the time line of a season.

All production is UK based and there are no plans to move away from this.

Body Con

I guess most people would think of bandage dresses as the classic body con dress. They, in theory compress bulges and give a more desireable body shape. From a purely pragmatic point of view, compressing the body is fine but it all has to go somewhere? Is it not ironic that the people who look best in bandage type dresses are those who don’t really need them?

To achieve a better result, I think that you should not only compress but also disguise. This is achieved by the texture in my elastic dresses which give the impression that they sit further from the body than they actually do. The random nature of the texture is uber flattering.