Embroidery

Hawthorne and Heaney watch CHANEL: Journey of a Collection by Loic Prigent

March 22, 2021 by Sophie Reynolds

Whilst going down a loop hole that is YouTube, I came across this wonderful hour long video/documentary by Loic Prigent that was filmed in June and July 2020, after the lockdown in France. The house of CHANEL commissioned him three short black and white videos for their social platforms which gave him access to the making of its new Haute Couture collection. The video shows design process through to the final show, and even shows the highly secretive way in which they create the woven fabrics.

Clip from CHANEL: Journey of a Collection, YouTube

It is fascinating not only because it gives you insights into the production of their couture collection, but it also seems really raw and a genuine ‘fly on the wall’ view of what the atelier is like.

So feast your eyes on the beauty that is CHANEL!

Clip from CHANEL: Journey of a Collection, YouTube

Words written by Sophie Reynolds

Photo’s sourced from YouTube; CHANEL: Journey of a collection by Loic Prigent

Hawthorne and Heaney Explores the Online V&A Museum Exhibition – Schiaparelli and Surrealism

February 17, 2021 by Intern

With London being placed into tier 4 and the closure of all things deemed as non-essential, I decided to explore some of the virtual exhibitions available online and came across the Schiaparelli and Surrealism collection displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer who challenged the concepts of dressing, playing with silhouettes and traditional tailoring. She was heavily influenced by the Surrealism movement and the Surrealist artists of the time such as Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray and Bebe Barnard.

Surrealism is an avant-garde movement introduced in the 20th century that was heavily influenced out of the Dada movement. Its focus was to release the imagination of our unconscious mind, by juxtaposing images and ideas. With the freedom of the movement and the collaboration with artists and photographers, she stretched her creative boundaries, creating unique fashion statements.

Evening Coat- 1937 Elsa Schiaparelli and Jean Cocteau

This dark blue silk jersey evening coat was a collaboration with Jean Cocteau, who drew the facial features positioned on the centre back of the coat. Cocteau was obsessed with the effect of double imagery, as did many of the other surrealist artists. Looking closely at the artwork on the back at a first glance, you wouldn’t spot the vase shape containing pretty pink gradient ribbon roses. Instead, the focus would be on the facial forms. The beautiful gold embroidery detailing helps to distinguish both of the shapes as well as adding the glamour and luxury to the tailored coat.

Tear Dress – 1938 Elsa Schiaparelli

I’m sure you will find this dress stunning and intriguing too with the use of colour and print replicating rips and tears to mimic torn flesh. An idea that appeared on women in Dali’s paintings. The veil has the same effect also, however, includes an appliqued fuchsia chiffon underneath the cream fabric. A good contrast to the abstract print. It makes the viewer look into the work and use their imagination to understand the reasoning behind the idea and the design.

Skeletal Dress- 1938 Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali

Skeleton dress was the most significant garment creation in the collection made with black crêpe sheath and a raised skeletal form using the trupunto technique. The technique involves adding wadding into the back of the fabric after stitching a shape, forming a raised platform on top of the surface. Adding in hooks to link the bones together such as the leg connecting to the pelvis, added a style included in jewellery. The design itself, was sketched by Dali.

Velvet High Heel Hat 1937-38 Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali

One of my favourite pieces of this collection, was the velvet high heel hat, part of the Autumn/Winter 1937-1938 collection. I liked the way the hat has been thoughtfully positioned on top of the head with the bottom of the shoe face upwards. The idea came from a photo of Salvador Dali with a shoe belonging to his wife, placed on his shoulder. This influenced other ideas to come, placing unusual found objects on the head in three-dimensional structures. One of her other hat creations consisted of a lamb chop meticulously placed above the head to match the design featured on the summer jacket of 1938.

It has been a great way to view and revisit some of the fantastic artwork available online. Google Arts and culture have a vast selection of exhibits that are free and not just from the UK, but also some located all around the world. Worth checking it out.

Words written Jessica Westley

Photo’s sourced from Google Arts and Culture- V&A online exhibition

(This was written before the national lockdown)

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits The House of Bandits Exhibition

October 30, 2020 by Intern

On the 16th of October I got the opportunity to visit the House of Bandits exhibition, which is based at Rembrandt House in London, just down the road from Savile Row. This exhibition is part of the Sarabande foundation created by the late Alexander McQueen to support the new and upcoming visionary talent of today. Offering both studio space and scholarships the foundation has helped many inspiring artists to date.

One of the artists in particular who I went to go see was Esna Su. She creates handcrafted pieces which explore ‘the subtle issues of identity and memory and how these are shaken in the context of political instability’. Within her work she uses the traditional Turkish techniques of weaving, twinning and crochet. As a fellow weaver myself I can understand the complexity and detail that goes into her woven pieces.

Below you can see the process that Esna Su goes through to create some of her final creations. When it comes to knitting, Su uses strips of vegetable leather and knits them together. She lets the designs take shape in their own way as once the leather is dry the organic shapes are exposed. In her own words ‘’through irregular and hollow shapes, she exposes the burden of displacement but also sketches an aspiration towards protection and preservation’’.

“It’s a big part of my life being at Sarabande and I’ll always remember my time with a big smile. I would never have been brave enough to do this without the support of Sarabande.”

Along with Esna Su’s work was another Turkish artist called Berke Yazicioglu who showcased his woven wall hanging which had a particular inspirational point of view. The following designs shown below are woven representations of Igor Stravinsky Rite of Spring. Listening to this piece he used the sound colour theory by different sounds, notes and instruments meaning different textile aspects. For example, the beat inspired the framework, the instruments represent a specific colour and the notes equal to a certain colour tone.

This exhibition is free. And for specific artists you can buy tickets. This is a great exhibition to help support fellow designs and is one to check out.

Words and Images by Isabelle Humm

Hawthorne & Heaney on Savile Row: Our New Showroom

October 19, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

From 19/10/2020 the Hawthorne & Heaney team will be residents in The Service, a new lifestyle destination comprising a coffee shop, exhibition, retail and showroom space, now open at 32 Savile Row.

Hawthorne & Heaney are an embroidery firm who have a rich history of working on bespoke projects with Savile Row tailors alongside contracts for the Royal Household, Military, Film, Art, Theatre, PR and many other high profile private clients.

Although modern times and rising rents have seen the character of its future threatened, local landlords The Pollen Estate are seeing the value in ‘The Row’ as a character destination and are supporting innovative new and heritage brands to secure a position in this venerable location. The Hawthorne & Heaney front of house team will be offering bespoke embroidery services, on site, 10-4pm Monday – Friday by appointment and will be continuing large scale and confidential works in their new additional South London location.

“We are looking forward to contributing to the long standing tradition of hand made craft on The Row and we are excited about being in the midst of some of our most important clients again. This is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with our roots and contribute to the community that was the biggest supporter in our early years.” says Claire Blok, the company founder. “The opportunity could not be missed, with a need for more space in these challenging times we are over the moon with the support we have received from the team behind The Service, Dugdale Bros. and the Pollen Estate in making our new showroom possible.”

There is also the exciting addition of a same day monogram service for the run up to Christmas, making ‘bespoke on The Row’ more accessible than ever.

Hawthorne & Heaney on Wedding Invites

September 25, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Quite a few months ago, we were working on this really fun project that got us yearning for the summer when it was still a bit grey.

With it’s bright colours and quirky design, these have to be about the coolest wedding invites on the block. We were tasked with adding the stitching to the edges of these postcards in a thick, bright pink thread.

We would be chuffed to get one of these through the post, I’m sure you would agree.

So if you are planning now for a smaller, more personal feel to your invitations, why not consider having us help you with your own stitching style touches?

Hawthorne & Heaney Presents Graduating Class of 2020

July 22, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

This year thus far, it can definitely be said to have been an unusual one at the least but some things must remain and the show go on. This year’s textile graduates may not have had their usual physical showcase of their works but they have worked very hard and will be graduating none the less.

We at Hawthorne and Heaney are very proud to have these young people choose to spend some of their industry experience time with us, and after working with them in the studio for some months it is wonderful to see how their work has grown and progressed since we saw it last. Therefore it is out pleasure to bring you this year’s graduates from the Hawthorne and Heaney intern community:

Kiah Nicole Fisher– Loughborough University- Textiles: Innovation and Design

Luminescence: ”This project is based on the scientific theory of the existence of other dimensional/parallel universes and visualising the journey one might take to enter another dimension. Parallel universes have been a scientific theory studied by many physicists and mathematicians throughout the centuries, including Plato who’s Cave allegory seems to imply that our three dimensional world is but a projection of an even higher dimensional reality. I was initially inspired by the story of Alice in Wonderland, when Alice falls into the rabbit hole. Mathematician and writer Lewis Carroll was able to visualise the idea of connecting multiple universes through the possibility of wormholes within this children’s book.

Taking inspiration from science fiction movies and series that attempted to visualise inter-dimensional travel through hyperspace with flashing lights, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, I mainly used photography to create original imagery that attempted to capture light in different states such as refraction, emission, and much more.

With this imagery, I was able to create a print design collection for a menswear/unisex utilitarian style collection. This collection would be an accessible fashion collection for those inner nerds who have a love for science fiction but don’t necessarily want to indulge in the fantasy of costume. This collection allows people to express their passion for science fiction, while making it fashionable and wearable.”

Laura Hill– Loughborough University- Textiles: Innovation and Design

Conscious Coastlines: ”Uses organic cotton, organic linen, recycled fibres, and yarn leftover from previous projects that would otherwise go to waste.
All synthetic dyes used contain no animal ingredients and were chosen based on their minimal levels of toxicity to the environment.

My final major project explores the creation of a “conscious” collection of textiles for the everyday interior environment and the everyday consumer. The theme is inspired by the natural beauty of all elements British coastlines. In the context of the project, “conscious” means that no animal products have been used in any stage of production, and so it can be regarded as a vegan collection. “Conscious” also refers to the choices to use more sustainable fibres and less toxic dyes.

Within my work I am a fast learner, observant, and methodical in my process. My strengths include a good understanding and use of colour, and the way in which I successfully translate a design from drawing to fabric. In my future career I aim to promote cruelty-free and sustainable practises within the textiles industry, and hope to work for a company whose values on these topics align with my own.”

Fading Waves

Amy Pickard– Huddersfield University- Costume with Textiles

”This year, I chose the construction with textiles pathway, specialising in embroidery. For my Final Major Project, I selected ‘Awakened’, a modern-day YA vampyre novel by P.C. & Kristin Cast. I’ve created the costume for Queen Sgiach, a powerful feminist and Scottish vampyre Warrior, who resides on the Isle of Skye. This directly inspired the colours, textures and motifs in her portrayal. Creating for a simulcast theatre performance allowed for detailed textiles, goldwork and beading, alongside bold digital embroidery to be explored throughout the project. Sustainability has been the key ethos surrounding my project/ practice this year. I sourced second-hand fabrics and accessories, used surplus or handmade embellishments, e.g. homemade sequins, and minimised waste when creating my costume and textiles collection. Similarly, I used only viscose instead of traditional polyester threads. For these, Madeira UK granted me a student sponsorship. Through this project, I have progressed my passion for embroidery and construction, predominantly corsetry. I also explored my interests with the following companies through a placement year: Oxfam Online Shop; The Alhambra Theatre; Hawthorne and Heaney; Hand & Lock. Additionally, I started my own business to fund my London placements; I am developing this further after graduation.”

Jessica Strain– Loughborough University- Textiles: Innovation and Design

Nature Reclaiming Spaces: ”Jessica’s graduate collection Nature Reclaiming Spaces, focuses on fusing the best of what modern machinery has to offer with specialist hand led embroidery and lacemaking techniques. Passion for manual processes can be seen throughout Jessica’s work; double exposure film photography, shuttle tatting and limerick lace were driving processes for this project.

Sustainability is at the heart of Jessica’s design process; she experimented with natural dyeing at home and spent hundreds of hours embroidering her pieces by hand. This intensive and considered approach to design is something she will take forward in her career. She aspires to continue creating work in a studio environment, honing her embroidery skills through future projects.”

Hawthorne & Heaney Presents Graduating Class of 2020 London Hand Embroidery

Abigail Tominey- Smith – Nottingham Trent University- Textiles

The Feel Good Feminine: ”Bringing together beautiful feminine florals and powerful text to represent strong women of the 21st century. Powerful words to showcase powerful women, to contrast with, and highlight their femininity. Created to inspire positive well-being and to improve the mental health of women through promotion of empowering words. Adding an additional level of meaning and a personal aspect to each design, producing a garment with emotional durability. Designing a luxurious and individual collection for a high-end bespoke womenswear market, personalised with text. Incorporating a calm and delicate colour palette on a range of sophisticated fabrics with mix of digital and hand embellished elements.”

I’m sure that has left you feeling quite inspired by these designers, we can’t wait to see what comes next for them as they embark on their careers.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Eva Habecka

June 18, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Design by Eva Hebecka Napier, Embroidery and Image Hawthorne & Heaney

Another up and coming designer we have been working for recently is the lovely Eva Hebecka Napier. We worked with this BA fashion Design student from Kingston University on her graduate collection as she has a piece which she wanted to add some extra detail to in the form of embroidery which would refect her syrian ancestry as one of the themes of her project.

Design by Eva Hebecka Napier, Embroidery and Image Hawthorne & Heaney

This is the piece from her design we went on to produce for her.

Image by Eva Hebecka Napier

And the beautiful coat onto which it has now found its home.

Image by Eva Hebecka Napier

If you would like to see more from Eva and the other pieces from her collection, find her on instagram or her website

Images courtsey of @evahebecka unless otherwise stated.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Jessica Strain

June 12, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Work In Progress back in April 2020 (design by Jessica Strain, Image from H&H)

Some good news to share with you! During the lockdown period we were presented with the opportunity to spread some positivity and sponsor one of our freelance embroiderers with their graduate collection. Like many people when Covid lockdown began, Jessica Strain was stopped in her tracks from following through with her many months of planning when it came to producing her BA textiles Textiles graduate collection.

Work In Progress back in April 2020 (design by Jessica Strain, Image from H&H)

As a former intern of ours, she approached us to see if we could help with access to the machinery she could no longer use in the workrooms at uni. And so our sponsorship of Jessica’s collection began, making the small missing step in her production chain by realising her designs onto the final pieces. It was also wonderful for us to see her utilise some of the hand embroidery skills she learned during her time with us and weave them into her collection; such as tambour beading and limerick lace.

Hand Embroidered Limerick Lace by Jessica Strain

That collection, ‘Nature Reclaiming Spaces’ is now out as she has finished her course and the results are just beautiful. Have a read of the press release below for a flavour of the themes she explores through her textile collection. However, the images, as I’m sure you will agree, speak for themselves.

Work In Progress, Machine Embroidery (design by Jessica Strain, Image from H&H)

Work In Progress, Machine and Hand Embroidery (by Jessica Strain)

Jessica Strain has created an embroidery collection exploring how mother nature infiltrates all things man-made, whether that’s rust on a metal post or weeds growing through cracks of buildings, beauty can be found in the ordinary.

Combining traditional embroidery techniques with contemporary machine-led processes is at the heart of Jessica’s practice. Jessica began her collection by taking a roll of manually double-exposed film photographs on a 35mm camera. To develop her love of hand-led processes, it was only natural for Jessica to employ embroidery techniques such as tambour beading, limerick lace and shuttle tatting (a form of lacemaking) within the collection.

Sustainability is integral to Jessica’s design process; embroidery techniques lend themselves well to sustainable textiles as they are hard wearing and designed to last. Natural dyeing made up the majority of colour within Jessica’s collection; dyeing organic fabrics with onion skins, nettles and an indigo vat from home during the COVID lockdown. Jessica hand-dyed her digitally embroidered kimono in an indigo vat, each piece requiring 15 X 2-minute dips with additional rinsing between dips. Constituting of 13 pattern pieces, it’s evident how devoted Jessica is to her practice.

Machine Embroidered Kimono By Jessica Strain

Once the textiles side of her collection was complete, she brought the project around to its fruition, moulding them into these stunning garments.

Hand Embroidered Limerick Lace Skirt By Jessica Strain

Tambour Beading By Jessica Strain

Finishing off by taking those garments back into their natural habitat with this look book photoshoot, we are delighted that Jessica’s collection has come together so well and know that this is only the first step in wonderful things to come for this textiles designer.

Thanks for sharing these images with us, all image credits unless otherwise stated are courtesy of Jessica Strain. To see more of her work find Jessica on instagram or her website .