When it comes to emerging, Melbourne has become quite the hotspot for discovering new talent. From furniture to fashion, there is a diversity of originality carving a niche with their creative concepts and new technologies in every aspect of design from textiles to accessories. That’s why it is fitting to see a Melbourne-based fashion festival embracing the new – the future.
Extending beyond the officially programmed events of the Festival week, the LMFF Cultural Program runs through the entire month of March. With over 77 diverse and inspiring events throughout Victoria the LMFF Cultural Program combines design, art and film to explore another side of fashion, far beyond the runway.
We decided to shine the Fashion Exposed Blog spotlight on five such emerging design creatives who have pulled together their talents to form their own curated exhibit artfully titled `Ex[ie]perimental Collective’.
How did you come to learn of the LMFF cultural program? And why did you want to take part?
Katia Di Crescenzo: The curator of the Ex[ie]perimental Collective exhibition, Christina Exie, who is also a friend from my studies at RMIT’s Bachelor of Design (Fashion) invited me to exhibit my work along with three other fashion students. It seemed like a great opportunity to participate in an event that unites emerging conceptual designers and their practices.
How important are events such as these in recognising the emerging design talent? Why?
Katia Di Crescenzo: It is so crucial as these cultural exhibitions are celebrations of the emotional, creative and thought-provoking journeys emerging designers find themselves upon. It is a look into the most raw and vulnerable stage of a designer and is essentially their launch into the industry and their intitiation into the world of design.
Katia Di Crescenzo, you are a recent graduate in jewellery design, how difficult is it to make it in the current fashion industry and how will this show increase your chances?
It is most difficult as the fashion industry is becoming more and more competitive. We hope this exhibition will demonstrate the importance of research and process, through our methodologies and artifacts.
What can people expect from the presentation?
Our collective encompasses a dynamic fusion of technique, concept and intellectual problem solving through the design process, demonstrated in different forms of fashion: 2D collage, instillation art, jewellery design and fashion design.
Can you talk us through the designers and what they represent?
Katia Di Crescenzo: “I have a fascination with creating an object that is both physical and suggests abstract thoughts that may seem more significant and resonant.rMy intent is to express an aura of poetic intrigue, and to create an emotional and intellectual impact. Combining the traditional techniques of using metalwork with modern accents. Each piece I create has a significance, a story, a message, a resonance; a hymn to intellectual beauty.
Christina Exie: “I am a graduate from Bachelor of Design (Fashion) RMIT, who creates Avant Garde clothing for the female form, with an aesthetic that is edgy and underground. My works’ have endured an intense design developmental process; extensive research into an idea to form a concept, intricately detailed pattern making, mostly hand constructed with the use of sculpture, hand stitching and moulding techniques which are all finished with precision.”
Helen Pappas: “I’ve come to regard myself as a Collagist, as design is much like a collage itself. It blends and mixes elements from all over the place, and I like creating work which references the past as well as being a little bit fun and humorous!”
Kara Liu: “Like a scientific experiment, when I come up with an idea of a garment, it is essentially proposing a hypothesis to be tested. I would always keep a constant in a project such as a technique, while other elements such as scale or fabrication become variables that change in each garment experimentation. I love how I don’t know what the final result would look like until it is made.”
Emma Boseley: “I design to find self expression. I work effectively through designing; by making. Ideas are always strong and unique, when I design three – dimensionally. I find it easier to execute an idea straight from an image in my mind rather then drawing or realising all the steps before hand. Inspiration lies within the individual; I always find different practices, processes or techniques inspire me.
Support local designers during the LMFF Cultural Program and visit the Ex[ie]perimental Collective curated exhibit. Launch night is on March 22nd from 6-9pm and will remain open until March 28. Head to Level 1, Von Haus Building, 1a Crossley St, Melbourne
