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couture

Hawthorne and Heaney explore the online Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion exhibition

January 21, 2021 by Sophie Reynolds

With the new National Lockdown measures put into place with the message to stay at home, it has given the perfect opportunity to search for art exhibitions online, exploring work displayed all over the world by various designers. I came across Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion online exhibition by the British Fashion Council.

Vivienne Westwood is one of the most recognised women in fashion, known for her positive activism approach to her collections, displaying issues and disasters happening in the world today. She started designing in 1971 with her partner at the time, Malcolm McLaren in their shop located on the Kings Road, London. It became one of the most desired shops of the time, defining the street culture of Punk and Seditionaries. With the change of fashion over time, Westwood decided to turn to traditional Savile Row tailoring techniques, introducing her own flair and style to garments. 

Hawthorne and Heaney explore the online Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion exhibition London Hand Embroidery

 Vivienne Westwood climate change protest outside London Fashion Week

Westwood has spent years speaking out about climate change and the overconsumption of resources that are damaging the planet we live on. She supports charities such as Cool Earth and the  environmental Justice Foundation. Her 2016 Spring/ Summer Collection ‘Mirror the World’ campaigned climate change well, using the challenges faced in modern-day Venice and using it as a mirror to show the world what we are all causing.

Hawthorne and Heaney explore the online Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion exhibition London Hand Embroidery

‘Mirror the World’ Spring/Summer 2016 Collection by Vivienne Westwood

The collection exploited the problems in Venice which include the lack of repair, mass tourism, cruise ships and overall climate change. With Venice being an ‘emporium of culture,’ Westwood used this with the reference to carnivals in a way that people dress and disguise themselves from their own identity and the life they may lead, linking back to the primitive era.  Similarly, we are hiding away and masking the negative problems that affect the world.

Hawthorne and Heaney explore the online Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion exhibition London Hand Embroidery

‘Mirror the World’ Spring/Summer 2016 Collection by Vivienne Westwood

Watching the collection catwalk there were constant links made to nature and the environment in the choice of fabrics, clashing prints and slogans. There were some very interesting material choices used to create structure, shapes giving tailored looks which some may find risky to wear. Some of the pieces had added accessories which looked like they were sourced from emporiums and vintage stores. They were reformed to add bling and express the idea that old things can be reused to make something new. The hair and make-up complemented the looks well, both being conceptual and emphasising cracked or broken mirrors, expressing and exposing the ever-growing damage. 

Hawthorne and Heaney explore the online Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion exhibition London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne and Heaney explore the online Vivienne Westwood: Politics and Fashion exhibition London Hand Embroidery

‘Mirror the World’ Spring/Summer 2016 Collection by Vivienne Westwood

Looking through this exhibit, it has opened my eyes to the destruction we all contributing to climate change. It’s interesting to see how Vivienne Westwood portrays these issues and the way she feels so well through her garment structures, fabric choices and accessories. It is extremely important at this moment in time to consider how we can do our bit to slow down damage to our planet, whether that be recycling, choosing alternative travel options or upcycling old clothes. This exhibition was available on Google Arts and Culture, where there are a huge variety of displays which are free to view and definitely worth looking at. 

 

Words written by Jessica Westley

Photo’s sourced from Google Arts and Culture – British Fashion Council (Vivienne Westwood Exhibit)

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion Tagged With: activism, couture, fashion, politics, vivienne westwood

Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen’s Old Bond Street Show Space

February 6, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery

London is very lucky to be able to offer a wealth of great free exhibitions and museums on many subjects. This open to all attitude really helps to keep feeding the minds of our designers and innovaters that one can go out and have your eyes opened to all sorts of  information. One such jem that might be a little lesser known is the top floor of the flagship Alexander McQueen store on Old Bond Street.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery

They have started to use the stop floor as more of an exhibition type space, sharing insights from the vast archives that the house of McQueen holds. At the moment, the space is dedicated to roses, curated by the Creative Director Sarah Burton.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery

What we found really special about this space, as an embroiderer in particular is that you can get right up close to the pieces to see the details often lost in show and large scale exhibitions. Something that we found even with very well done exhibitions like Savage Beauty. In addition to this they are sharing a lot of the background research and technical craftsmanship that goes into making a collection and show with this kind of dramatic results. There are development moodboards, fitting notes, embroidery placements onto pattern pieces and draping directed onto the model. There is also a viewing booth with footage from the shows to fully round out the experience and see it in the final context for which it was intended to be consumed.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery

If you find yourself in the area, it’s definately worth a trip it to see some beautiful things and get some of the background scoop on how these things all come together. The notes and quotes from behind the scenes really give you a sense of being emersed into their world. We are already looking forward

Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits McQueen's Old Bond Street Show Space London Hand Embroidery

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, London, Tailoring Tagged With: Alexander Mcqueen, atelier, couture, design, embroidery, exhibition, fashion, Lee McQueen, London, mcqueen, Old bond street, show, textiles, texture

Hawthorne & Heaney visits ‘An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik’ at the Wallace Collection

August 21, 2019 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery‘A Girl Threading a Needle by Candlelight’ by G. Schalcken

The Wallace Collection is a hidden gem in London’s art history crown, which even this museum buff and lifelong Londoner has only just discovered. Set in a stunning 18th Century building on Manchester Square (just off Oxford Street) it is hard to believe it has taken this long to come across it. Housing some very famous works of art such as Hals’s ‘Laughing Cavalier’, Boucher’s ‘Madame De Pompadour’ and many Gainsborough’s there is plenty to see if you fancy a bit of an oppulent afternoon in the city. For keen stitchers, there are some stunning tapestry works as well as these 17th century wall hangings from Italy featuring lots of goldwork techniques. Now, until the end of August they have upped the ante a bit further by adding stunning couture shoes into the mix.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryWall hangings, Italian, c. 1650, maker unknown

For a limited time the Wallace Collection is also displaying a selection of footwear superstar Manolo Blahnik amongst their artworks. Unlike many other fashion exhibitions, this is more of an intergration of the shoes in amongst the other art, they sit alongside the permenant collection (sometime on them!) in carefully arranged bell jars. This makes the exhibiton much more intimate as you feel you can get up close to all the pieces on display and all are treated with equal respect.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

The selection of shoes in each room has been themed to compliment the artworks they are among. A particular favourite of mine was the oval drawing room where the most decadent shoes Blahnik designed for Sofia Coppola’s film ”Marie Antoinette” are shown amongst the sweet coloured room featuring Fragonard’s ‘Swing’ and Boucher’s ‘Madame de Pompadour’.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

From an embroidery perpective there are a few pieces that standout as particulally beautiful. These boots ‘ Lepanto’ (Davee) 2003 look to be a combinations of hand painting and embroidery to a very rich effect.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

These pink petal encrusted pair called ‘Amir’ 1997 look like they belong with some of the dresses from the ‘Designer of Dreams’ Exhbition which is still on at the V & A Museum

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

Of course, there are beads so we couldn’t not mention ‘Zarina’ 2015 which are the very definition of encrusted.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

Downstairs is a wall of the original sketches for shoes on display upstairs, showing Blahnik’s distinctive style and flare.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blankik' at the Wallace Collection London Hand Embroidery

Overall it has all been very respectly done. It is clear from the selection that Blahnik is passionate about beauty and craftsmanship with many skills shown in his designs and revisited throughout the years. There is not much information on each of the pieces, a simple sticker of each one’s name and year leaves you with a few questions perhaps, but lets you enjoy them uninterupted.

 

‘An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection’  is on until the 1st Sept 2019, Entrance is free.

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, Interior Design, London Tagged With: beading, Collection, couture, design, Designer, drawing, embrdoiery, exhibition, inspiration, London, Manolo Blahnik, Museum, now on, sewing, shoes, textiles, things to do, wallace collection

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams

February 28, 2019 by Natasha Searls-Punter

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryIf your instagram feed is anything like ours then you will not have failed to notice the hugh amount of attention that the Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition is getting at the V & A Museum at the moment. Following its opening on the 2nd February, the exhibition which is held in the museum’s new Sainsbury wing, it has received an unprescedented amount of visitors.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryThe exhibition is currently sold out, with tickets being drip released around the 15th of each month and a few kept back each day on a first come first served basis. Members of the V&A however can still visit at their leisure and Hawthorne and Heaney were lucky enough to visit the exhibition on members night in order to bring you our insight.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryThe London exhibition has a much greater focus on the individual designers of the House of Dior so if you had already seen it at Musee Des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, then this version brings a different angle. Split into a series of sections, this part of the exhibition really gives you a sense of what each creative director has brought to the house. Furthermore it also highlights some of the key aspects of Dior as a fashion house, which holds all the designs together over the years. Identifying these values allows them to keep delivering pieces which are recognisably ‘Dior’.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryEach rooms has its own sense of the wow factor with the paper cut flowers room, displaying some of the more romantic pieces amongst the flowers which were dripping from the ceiling. The center piece of which is this gown embellished with hundreds of tiny cut feathers.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryWe can not cover this exhibition without mentioning the toile room. Probably the simplist room with its ehite cubes, it really brings home the process of producing couture garments and the work that goes into them. It is lovely to look around and recognise some of the dresses you have already seen the final versions of, in their developmental form. As well as taking the time to watch the series of videos they have on display amongst the toiles which show the making process of other Dior producs such as shoes and jewellery from their specialist makers.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroiderySome of the toiles have notes and annotations left on them which highlight the complexity of the pattern cutting when all the other details are stripped away in white.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryFrom an embroiderers perpective, there is plenty to see and appreciate in this exhibition. The variety of styles and techniques is huge so whilst all the pieces may not necessarily be your taste, you can not help but be humbled by the skill.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryGoldwork, raffia, feathers and beads all feature in this Galliano piece created for Dior by Lesage.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryAn interesting use of mesh appliques create the beatle wing/ petal effect amongst the sequins on this gown from the 1950’s.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryWhere else would you get the chance to get this up close and personal with dresses like this one, worn by Charlize Theron in the ‘J’adore’ adverts?

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryIt is here that you can see that the sequins are tamboured onto the tuelle by hand with their joining stitches adding to the texture of the piece.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroiderySome of the more contemporary pieces provide a different perspective on ‘les petite mains’ (the little hands; referring to the skilled makers that create the designers vision) that we get to see a modern application of traditonal skills such as the use of beads and velvet in this a line evening gown.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand EmbroideryOf course, there are also the iconic, historical pieces that you have probably glimpst before, like this gown worn by Princess Margaret for her 21st Birthday photoshoot.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

If you find the opportunity, then this exhibition is a absolute must see for fashion, design and embroidery fans everywhere. Follow the link for all the booking details.

All photos courtesy of Natasha Searls-Punter

Dior: Designer of Dreams

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

On now until 14th July 2019 (extended to the 1st Sept 2019)

 

 

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, London Tagged With: bespoke, bespoke embroidery, Christian Dior, couture, designer of dreams, dior, embellishment, embroidery, Embroidery London, exhibition, hand embroidery, Hawthorne & Heaney, London, stitching, v and a museum, victoria and albert museum

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi

January 11, 2019 by Natasha Searls-Punter

We are delving back into the archives to revisit this really fun project we worked on for designer Hasan Hejazi in 2012.  We were asked to create baroque inspired tonal cut work for three bespoke luxury evening dresses for pop goddess Marina from Marina and the diamonds.  The project included some exciting names including Tim Bret Day (Photography), Thomas Knights (Film) and a suit for the designer by London tailor Gresham Blake.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

Our designs and drawings were based on victorian florid ornament something that is very good to translate to cut work.   The initial designs and refining took a long time and the annotations and notes for the embroiderers even longer as there was so much detail involved.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

The embroideries were executed in cutwork in colours to match the dresses with a fade to either lighter or darker.  There were also a few crystals scattered about to add a bit of light.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

The dresses were then put together over four days ready for the photo shoot.

Before the event we hadn’t seen any of the dresses, so we were very excited for the launch.  The first we saw was the full length red piece which marina wore for her performance at the beginning of the night.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

She then changed into the blue knee length dress which is our personal favourite !

The final pink dress was saved solely for the photo shoot, which you can see in the photos below.   It was lovely to get a chance to flex our cutwork drafting muscles this thoroughly, so we are very grateful to Hasan for getting us involved !  A wonderful project all round.

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney for Hasan Hejazi London Hand Embroidery

Filed Under: Art, Embroidery, Fashion, Music Tagged With: baroque, bespoke, couture, custom, cutwork, drafting, embellishment, embroidery, fashion, goldwork, hand embrodiery, hasan hejazi, making, marina and the diamonds, music, pop, stitching, womenswear

Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

December 21, 2017 by Natasha Searls-Punter

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Runway through the years #Dior #runway #couture

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Dec 21, 2017 at 3:44am PST

Every now and then, there is an exhibition that we feel we just have to see, and usually one holds out until it (hopefully) comes to London. However the risk of missing out on ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ at Musee Des Arts Decoratifs was one that was too great and we felt compelled to go. So last month, Natasha made the trip to Paris to see the much hyped display.Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

The exhibition begins with some history about Christian Dior’s family and his life before setting up the house as an art gallery owner and fashion illustrator. A brief introduction to the facets of the house it followed by the first main gallery. In this room, each section is divided by colour, each cabinate displaying a pallette with a variety of dresses, 12” minatures and accessories.

Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

As an embroiderer, one of the most outstanding aspects of this exhibition was the level of detail you could see in the gowns and the emphasis that was placed on showing off the incredible textures. These were reflected in the papercut flowers and foliage that hung from the ceiling in a few of the rooms which were inspired by the fragrances that make up Dior’s famous perfumes.

Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

Some of the textiles could be descibed as quite tradtional beading, whilst others would be considered to be more experimental, playing with feathers and layering but all were undeniably beautiful.

Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

They also had an in house embroiderer demonstrating some tambour beading onto a panel of one of the gown and chatting with the public about what she was doing. The piece was framed up in a large slate frame, with one end complete and, the other drafted on. The drafts and drawings for the piece were hanging to one side of her with a partically completed gown on display behind her. The finished gown was part of the final gallery to put the whole process into context.

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Tambour beading demonstration #Dior #tambour #embroidery

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Dec 21, 2017 at 3:28am PST

Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

The white gallery was reminiscent of the layout of the Savage Beauty exhibition at the V&A museum in London where you were dwarfed by the pieces, however here the emphasis was placed purely on the cut of the garments. Each one is the toile of a gown we had already seen in the body of the exhibition to explain the development of each piece and the alterations process it has been through to get to the final design.

Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

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Floor to ceiling toiles #dior #paris #dressmaking

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Nov 10, 2017 at 2:41pm PST

Final last gallery was all the real show stopping gowns, the space itself adds to the gravity of the items on display. They enhanced the experience with moving light displays across the walls which gave the impression of gold snow, unashamedly playing up to the couture fairytale.

Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery
Hawthorne & Heaney visit Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams London Hand Embroidery

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Dior: designer of dreams was magical! #paris #fashionexhibition #dior

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Nov 9, 2017 at 10:45am PST

It would be fair to say this exhibition was excellent, going around it all took at least 2 and a half hours going through it all but one could have stayed much longer. The amount of pieces on display and the generous space that was given to each one made it a very leisurely experience. I really enjoyed the way they played with scale in the lay out, starting off the with minatures gallery, then allowing you to get up close with the real sized pieces and then emmersing you in the white and final galleries.

If you would like to read another perspective on the exhibition, have a read of Tina Isaac-Goizé’s thoughts for Vogue here.

‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ is on show at Musee Des Arts Decoratifs in Paris until 7th Jan 2018 so catch it while you have the chance!

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion Tagged With: beading, couture, Designer, designer of dreams, dior, display, dresses, embroidery, exhibition, feathers, gallery, house of dior, layering, musee des arts decoratifs, paris, ribbon, tambour, textiles

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion

October 13, 2017 by Natasha Searls-Punter

When a major fashion exhibtion comes to London, we love to go and see what it is all about and the Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion Exhibition currently on at the Victoria and Albert Museum does not disappoint. Based in the fashion and textiles section of the museum, the exhibition goes through from the beginnings of Balenciaga as a brand, through to current designers that Balenciaga has influenced.

Starting downstairs, most of the historical garments and accessories are displayed with accompanying notes and toiles. There are a few pieces which have a video animation next to them of how the pattern goes together to make the garment function which are very informative and really demonstrate the complexity of the designs:

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#balenciaga @vamuseum #patterncutting

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Oct 13, 2017 at 1:28am PDT

This accompanies the actual garment which it explains as well as a calico toile of the garment. A few pieces from the collection have been x-rayed as can be seen in the back of the next video which shows the many layers that go into a piece like this and the hidden support within some of the ‘simpler’ looking gowns.

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@vamuseum #balenciaga #fashion #london

A post shared by Tasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) on Oct 13, 2017 at 1:32am PDT

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand EmbroideryX-ray photograph of silk taffeta evening dress by Cristóbal Balenciaga, 1955, Paris, France. X-ray by Nick Veasey, 2016. © Nick Veasey

They have a section which is dedicated to the fabric choices and embroideries used in some of the historical Balenciaga pieces. These include a wonderfully rich example of silk shading on a gown with an impossibly tiny waist and a very decadent textured jacket. The base embroidery of the jacket is demonstrated by an embroiderer from Paris based embroiderers Lesage recreating the design. See below for a snippet of the tambour beading over long silk stitching.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand EmbroideryWild silk evening dress (detail), Cristóbal Balenciaga with embroidery by Lesage, 1960 – 2, Paris, France. Museum no. T.27-1974. © Victoria and Albert Museum, LondonHawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand Embroidery

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A little tambour beading demo from one of the videos at the #balenciaga exhibition on now at @vamuseum #embellishment #handembroidery #london

A post shared by London Embroidery School (@londonembschool) on Oct 13, 2017 at 1:35am PDT

Going through the exhibition, the different approaches to each of the pieces are explained as Cristobal Balenciaga applied both tailoring and dressmaking techniques to his pieces. He was know for his surgical precision, often pictured in a lab coat measuring and remeasuring sections. A selection of traditional tailoring tools are displyed including shears, pressing ham, chalk shaving box and tracing wheel.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand EmbroideryCristóbal Balenciaga at work, 1968, Paris, France. Photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson. © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum PhotosHawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand EmbroideryMoving upstairs, the exhibition focuses more on Balenciagas lasting legacy and those he has inspired. Against the dombed ceiling, three videos of current designers such as Mollie Goddard and Gareth Pugh who speak about how Balenciaga has influenced them and their design work. A series of parallels are drawn between contemporary designs and historical Balenciaga pieces such as the below by Hussein Chalayan and Oscar De La Renta which are likened to textured coat and silk work dress previous mentioned.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion London Hand EmbroideryThis exhibition is a well rounded insight into the Balenciaga brand with lots of lovely couture examples and the technical specification to go with them which is interesting for those with and without exisiting fashion knowledge.  Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion will be running at the Victoria and Albert Museum‘s Fashion and Textiles Gallery Space (Room 40) until Sunday 18th February 2018 so if you have the opportunity to see it, it is worth the visit. Tickets cost £12.00 and some concessions are available.

All images and videos courtsey of Natasha Searls-Punter (@tashasearlspunter) unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, London Tagged With: Balenciaga, beading, bespoke, couture, design, dresses, dressmaking, embellishment, embroidery, fashion, gowns, London, pattern, pattern cutting, Shaping Fashion, silk shading, silk work, Tailoring, tambour beading, toiling, tools, V & A Museum, VAM, victoria and albert museum

Hawthorne & Heaney Bridal Bespoke

June 28, 2017 by Hasina Akther

Hawthorne & Heaney Bridal Bespoke London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney we are excited to reveal our new venture in producing Bespoke Bridal Fabrics. For the past 5 years, our company has produced the most beautiful embroidery! We have had a lot of experience working in the Bridal industry and through this, have gained an understanding of what is needed to bring a designers idea to life.

Hawthorne & Heaney Bridal Bespoke London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney Bridal Bespoke London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney Bridal Bespoke London Hand Embroidery

We have really established our love and passion for couture. If you are a bridal/couture company, or just someone looking for bespoke bridal embroidery then give us a call on 020 7637 5736 to book an appointment to view our couture samples at our studio in central London.

We would also be happy to come to your studio to show you some of our work!

Please email claire@embroidery.london or call 020 7637 5736 to make your enquiry.

Hawthorne & Heaney Bridal Bespoke London Hand Embroidery

Filed Under: Art, Embroidery, Fashion Tagged With: 5 years, beautiful, bespoke embroidery, brands, bridal, bridal fabrics, central london studio, couture, couture designers, designers, experience, fabrics, love, new venture, passion

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