• Skip to main content

HAWTHORNE & HEANEY

Embroidery Specialists

  • ABOUT
  • OUR SERVICES
    • HAND EMBROIDERY
    • DIGITAL EMBROIDERY
    • MONOGRAMS & LOGOS
    • POP-UP EVENTS
    • CLASSES
  • CLASSES
    • LONDON EMBROIDERY SCHOOL
  • BLOG
  • SHOP
    • MASONS MILITARY BADGE & BUTTON SHOP
    • LONDON EMBROIDERY SCHOOL
  • JOBS
  • CONTACT

victoria and albert museum

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

March 24, 2020 by Natasha Searls-Punter

As a member of the V&A, I try to visit most of the temporary exhibitions they put on in the fine institution that is the Victoria and Albert Museum. At the start of March, they opened their doors on their newest addition ‘Kimono:Kyoto to Catwalk‘. 

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand Embroidery

Held in North Court of the building, this exhibition brings a little Asian influence to their corner of the world. The Kimono is a fascinating piece of social history, carrying so much culture and responsibility within its relatively simple folds. 

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand Embroidery

Kosode: From Edo period demonstrating Yuzen dyeing (Cloth tube fitted with a metal tip used to apply a thin ribbon of rice paste, then dyes are brushed within the paste boundaries) 1730-70

I won’t go into all the history as you should be able to make your own discovery of the exhibition and enjoy it fresh yourself, but I will show you a few of my highlights which may stir your interest. For an embroiderer or anyone interested in textiles, the exhibition is full of wonderful examples of hand embroidery and lesser known textile techniques. They draw a lot of attention to them, which was something I had not necessarily expected of the exhibition but was delighted to realise. As the basic form of a kimono is very clean and unfussy, once the structure of the garment has been addressed and the pattern explained there is not very much more to say about the shape. It is the varying and evolving elements of the details displayed on them which holds all the intrigue. Even though this is a fashion exhibition it is the textiles that does the lion’s share of the talking. 

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand EmbroideryDesign for a Kimono 1800-50

The historical examples at the start of the exhibition were very strong, the pattern books were a surprise but of course it makes great sense to sell such a garment in this way, with patterns being chosen and customised from a book rather than remade examples. The women of the elite military class could have designs made specifically for them, particularly for special occasions.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand EmbroideryDetail from Kimono of a Geisha- a very elaborate example demonstrating the parallels between fashion and the theatre in 18th Century Japan

On the embroidery front, there are many great examples of goldwork and silk floss/ silk shading styles throughout the exhibition. The lion above is quite an extravagant example, taken from the back of the kimono shown in the first image of this blog. Amazingly, the lion is only a very small part of the work on that kimono probably only measuring about 20-25cm high and isn’t even the main centre back motif. However I’m sure you will agree it is an exquisite use of Japanese thread (cotton core wrapped with gold leaf paper).

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand EmbroideryThere are also a few pieces that feature a dying technique called Shibori which you may have heard of. It’s use is using much larger scale and bolder than the examples on the kimonos where it is used to create very small and delicate designs, creating a much more subtle and quietly expensive impression. The technique is quite labour intensive as it require parts of the fabric to be tied off very tightly before dying so they are left in negative as can be seen in the white squares pattern.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand Embroidery

Uchikate- Outer Kimono for a young woman featuring Shibori and embroidery 1800-50

When Japan opened up its began trading with western countries such as Holland and Portugal, we can start to see the cultures influences each other, as Japanese kimono makers start to make kimonos from cottons South-east Asia and foreigners eager for everything Japanese started to use Japanese fabrics for their own pieces.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand EmbroideryDay Dress: Misses Turner 1876-8

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand EmbroideryJapanese influenced robe, Victorian EraHawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand Embroidery

Towards the end of the exhibition they turn the attention to more modern applications and influences of the Kimono. This includes pieces from modern fashion houses such as Dior, Commes De Garçons and Alexander Mcqueen. This room brings the exhibition full circle, they also demonstrate the cyclical nature of fashion as you can pick out the elements of kimonos that have influenced that ‘new’ piece. 

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand Embroidery‘High Voltage Power-Lines’ Yamawaki Toshiko 1956

Hawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand EmbroideryEvening Dress: also by Yamawaki Toshiko (1956) featuring Obi like bow and scrolling asymmetric designHawthorne & Heaney visits Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk London Hand EmbroideryTextile details, couched goldwork and red embroidery imitating kanoko shibori 

While this last room holds many beautiful pieces, the real gems of this exhibition are the historical pieces. Many people will be familiar with what a Kimono is on sight from walking through the Asia exhibits, but this exhibition delves so far into this garment and unpicks the elements of it. The V & A puts on lots of great fashion exhibitions and in London we are spoilt that we have fashion specific exhibitions at all. But as this one puts so much detail into the textiles and processes, it has something special to offer in my opinion. 

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, London Tagged With: bespoke embroidery, custom, embellishment, embroidery, Embroidery London, exhibition, fashion, goldwork, hand embroidery, japanese thread, kimono, kyoto to catwalk, shibori, textiles, V&A, victoria and albert museum, visit

Hawthorne & Heaney visits ‘Wonderful Things’ at the V & A Museum

November 6, 2019 by Natasha Searls-Punter

‘Tim Walker: Wonderful Things’ is the new exhibition on at the V& A Museum this winter. Looking at the works of fashion photographer, Tim Walker; expect to be amazed and delighted by the fantastical worlds he creates for his photographs and the stunning presentation of them by world leading design museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum. 

 

Chances are, you have probably come across Tim Walker’s work before, whether you knew it or not. He has been working for publications such as Vogue from the the start of his career and over the last 30 or so years, he has come to produce a great number of works. The first room is a celebration of this as many well know pieces are displayed here so you can bounce from one catagory to the next with pangs of recognition.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand EmbroideryThe Dress-Lamp Tree, Tim Walker, 2002, England

After you are introduced to Walker and given some context about the exhibition, that’s when things get really interesting. For this exhibiton, Walker has produced several series of new works, inspired by the items in the V&A’s own collections as inspiration.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

It is always lovely to see a maker’s process, so the addition of sketchbooks to the exhibition is a welcome insight into their minds.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

Along with the props,  the sets that Walker builds are rich and diverse, providing much interest in themselves alone even without a moving subject in them.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

In typical Walker style, there are oversized props which give a fantastical element to both the photos and the exhibition.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

I particularly enjoyed the section inspired by a 400 year old embroidery box and chamberlain’s key. Partially because, as an embroiderer, I am pleased to see any uses of embroidery that raise its profile and highlight it’s beauty but also for the resulting series.

Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand EmbroideryHawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery Hawthorne & Heaney visits 'Wonderful Things' at the V & A Museum London Hand Embroidery

The exhibition acts as a masterclass in spring boarding inspiration from existing artworks and creating entirely new pieces from them. If you would like to see all the pieces in person, get down to the museum to experience their true magnitude.

”Tim Walker: Wonderful Things” will be on at the Victoria and Albert Museum until the 8th March 2020. Tickets from £15.00, free for members.

Filed Under: Embroidery, Fashion, Interior Design, London Tagged With: exhibition, inspiration, London, photography, tim walker, v and a museum, victoria and albert museum, wonderful things

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 Visits Fashioned from Nature

June 1, 2018 by Natasha Searls-Punter

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a new Fashion exhibition now showing in their fashion and textiles area called ‘Fashion from Nature‘. The exhibition provides an overview of how nature is used in fashion as well as how nature is reflected by fashion, which gives it a broader range of items to show and issues to call into question.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

Waistcoat, Maker Unknown 1780 – 1789,

Like most of the exhibitions held in this area, downstairs displays the historical items, talking about the production of fabrics such as linen and silk with videos showing the full process.  From an embroidery perspective, there are a few real treats for the traditional embroidery enthusiasts such as this silk-shaded waistcoat featuring these gorgeously expressive monkeys.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

Fish Scales Headband, Maker unknown, Circa 1800

There are unsurprisingly a number of pieces which include animal harvested materials which are undoubtedly beautiful but the issues surrounding their use are well discussed in the displays. These are presented next to some alternatives to the use of feathers and bones which help to stop the exhibition from getting too heavy as you may be surprised at when people started to discuss the place of animal cruelty in fashion. Some pieces are just surprising in themselves such as this fish scale floral headband from the Bahamas.

 

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

Pineapple Fibre Lace Handkerchief, Maker unknown

Some pieces are hard to believe they are what their descriptions say they are, such as the lace sample above which is made of pineapple fibres, an exquisite demonstration of how delicate this material can be used.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

Cellulose evening Coat, Alix (Madame Grès), 1936

Upstairs, the pieces are all much more contemporary, focusing more on how fashion imitates and draws inspiration from nature rather than taking from it directly. The piece above is by Madame Gres which uses a combination of silk, cellulose fibres and artificial pearls to create an effect to imitate mother of pearl shell linings.

 

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

‘Cat Woman’ Dress, Jean Paul Gaultier, 1997

As the theme of this exhibition is quite broad, it is a great opportunity to see a hand-picked selection of great pieces from some legendary designers; Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood are all there as well as this piece from Jean Paul Gaultier which demonstrates how well skins can be replicated in other materials like beads.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Fashioned from Nature London Hand Embroidery

‘Rootbound #2’ Dress, Diana Scherer, 2017

Finally, we are presented with some exhibits which explore some of the alternative materials and developments which may become viable alternatives for the future of fashion. There is a piece by Diana Scherer where she has been training grass root systems to grown into lace designs which is quite incredible. It is not a fully resolved material as yet but demonstrates potential opportunities in clothing.

This exhibition is quite heavily loaded with questions of the issues that fashion has caused in the past, destruction of animals such as osprey, turtles and whales or the poisonous effects of dying and military as examples; and the way we continue to deal with these issues in the future. Therefore it is one that you can expect yourself to have to think about as well as admire the pieces on display. Fashioned From Nature is on at the Victoria and Albert Museum until the 27th Jan 2019, tickets start from £12.00.

Filed Under: Art, Embroidery, Fashion, London Tagged With: art, designers, exhibition, fashion, garments, materials, mccartney, mcqueen, nature, v and a museum, victoria and albert museum, westwood

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:

View this post on Instagram

#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.

View this post on Instagram

@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

View this post on Instagram

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 Visits Opus Anglicanum at the V&A

December 31, 2016 by Natasha Searls-Punter

For anyone interested by embroidery, Opus Anglicanum at the V&A museum is a must see exhibition. Despite its somewhat inaccessible name, the exhibition is a rare treat to see historical pieces, some of which are almost 1000 years old or on loan from usually closed archives.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Opus Anglicanum at the V&A London Hand Embroidery

The Toledo Cope, 1320-30, England.

The exhibition itself has a very considered, calm feel which seems to suit to nature of the materials on show. It is amazing that these pieces have survived this long, understandably some of the silks have lost the vibrancy of their colour and the metal work has tarnished, but the skill and detail are very evident. In most of the designs, the red colours have survived the best, but in the Toledo Cope the blues are especially pleasing.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Opus Anglicanum at the V&A London Hand EmbroideryThe Toledo Cope, 1320-30, England.

The descriptions of the pieces are very detailed, each siteing the types of stitch and techniques used as well as the materials in each piece. There is no doubt of the detail of these pieces is astonishing, even if our modern interpretation of the subject matters can be a little amusing like these very long lions.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Opus Anglicanum at the V&A London Hand Embroidery

Lions on Horse Trapper 1330-40

There are some handy videos that will fill in the gaps in anyone’s knowledge who is not familar with the techniques on display.

 

Along side the embroidery, there are a few related treat pieces such as this beautiful swan pin which shares influences with the embroidery subjects.

Hawthorne & Heaney Visits Opus Anglicanum at the V&A London Hand Embroidery

The Dunstable Swan Jewel, c1400

Opus Anglicanum is open to the public at the Victoria and Albert museum now until the 5th Feb 2017.

 

Filed Under: Embroidery, London Tagged With: 2017, embroidery, exhibition, goldwork, London, silkwork, stitching, techniques, v and a, victoria and albert museum

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • +44 (0)20 7886 8574

© Copyright 2018