Ellis Jaz

BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles

Conceptually driven Knitwear. I aim to create work that is culturally relevant whilst being technically innovative and intellectually vivid. -------HOW TO FEEL SAFE "There are an estimated 80,000 chemicals in use today in our environment, only 30% of which have been tested, either individually or in combination, for their effect on human health." - Arizona Centre for Advanced Medicine Final collection for A/W 2014. It was initially inspired by a personal reaction to chemicals, beginning in a toothpaste allergy and then expanding, mostly as a result of fear and paranoia. The paranoia lead to an exploration of what allergy becomes in its most extreme instance. There is such a huge clash in opinions and actions relating to where safety from chemicals lays. Many people who claim to be hypersensitive to chemicals, in a desperate attempt to escape what is hurting them, end up living sealed-off, hyper synthetic lives where everything is covered in plastic casings rather than returning to nature to seek out salvation from synthetic materials. As an example of this, there is experimentation within the collection of the combination of organic materials and yarns and ‘organic-look’ yarns, that give the aesthetic of being environmentally responsible, and that’s all. The collection aims to create an atmosphere of chemical awareness but at the same time be hypocritical. The garments in the collection are not exactly uni-sex but they are not necessarily gender specific; it is sex-less clothing. Taking the primary form of aprons and protective overalls in combination with 'infected' under-garments. They depict the sensitive, negative reactions that can potentially erupt in response to materials that are intended to protect you. Styled with ribbed safety gloves and white safety shoes. --------------------Technical Skills Textile surface and clothing design and development Dubied and Universal semi-industrial knitting machines, a variety of techniques (advanced) Knitting pattern mathematics Domestic Knitting Machine, punch-card and electronic, lacing carriage Painting Drawing Hand Knitting and Crochet (advanced) Photography, Digital and also film, film development and prints Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint --------------------Education 2013-Present BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles, London College of Fashion 2011-2013 FdA Knitwear, London College of Fashion (Distinction) -on this course I learnt a huge amount of technical skills specified for knitwear with education on industrial, semi-industrial and domestic knitting machines as well as education on project and design development and garment construction involving the development of a cut-and-sew pattern to a knitting pattern and the use of linkers. This course lead me to continue my studies of knitwear design at London College of Fashion to BA level. 2009-2011 BTEC National Diploma- Visual Arts and Design, The BRIT School (Distinction) -this course was an exploration into a wide range of creative processes, including: photography, painting, drawing, illustration, sculpture, conceptual art, leading to a specialism in textiles – specifically knitwear design and knitted textile development -------FEMININE GROTESQUES This capsule collection was heavily influenced by an idea presented by Mary Russo in Female Grotesques: Carnival and Theory, focusing on a woman “making a spectacle out of herself”, which it seems is a specifically feminine danger; “the danger was of an exposure”. The collection drew inspiration from the ways in which a woman can create a spectacle out of herself, which seem to be primarily and most obviously relating to her body. Images such as, rippling thighs, fat stomachs, stretch marks, bulging veins, exposed underwear, really any sort of exposure. The collection explores a need for control in these sorts of circumstances through binding and strapping and then the more fetishistic “votaries of tight-lacing”, as researched though Valerie Steele’s Fetish: Fashion, Sex and Power. Fashion inspirations for the fetishistic element have some from bondage imagery as well as inspirations from designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier who has repeatedly uses fetishistic binding and feminine exaggerations in his work, and also from some feminist artists such as Cathy de Monchaux for her use of strapping and overtly feminine imagery. Influences for the over stuffed and full areas of this collection came from the 1997 Comme des Garcons collection, Body Meets Dress. Influences for an emotional fullness and exaggeration have come from films exploring a feminine loss of boundaries and the creation of a female spectacle, such as; John Cassavetes –Woman Under the Influence and Gloria, as well as Erick Zonca’s Julia. The collection question perceptions of control, an intentional spectacle is empowering whereas a loss of control makes it vulgar and an embarrassing humiliation. I feel that this collection represents me well as a knitwear designer, and as someone who wants to challenge perceptions with their work. I want my designs to be representational of cultural ideas and theory especially based on human behavior and interaction. I am very interested in textural knitwear and like for the subject of my collections to have tactile elements for me to draw inspiration from for my knit techniques. I like to use quite a broad variation of techniques within knit collections and to try out ideas on different equipment to find what I think is most suitable.