Urban Weave explores the contrasts and similarities between African Textiles and traditional dress with British Urban Streetwear. My concept stems from Yinka Shonibares 'Wind Sculpture', with its vibrant prints and dutch wax batik contradicting the urban buildings of London surrounding it.

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After learning traditional basketry techniques in Uganda, I chose to fully explore the art of weaving and finding ways of updating the technique to be used in contemporary fashion. My research comes from investigating traditional african textiles, like strip weaving, kente cloth and basketry, and studying modern day woven textile artists. I created my own moulage designs by weaving into pre made garments and experimented with creating technical weave samples, like incorporating pockets and how to seam with weaving 

 

With the true meaning of British street style evolving from the 1970s punk movement, I have used this era for vintage garment references but to keep the collection contemporary, styling and colour research came from east London street style and also formed the basis for my target market

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Urban Weave is aimed at the early 20's market as I enjoy their creativity, individuality and freedom with their expression of style. I keep to traditional silhouettes with a slight twist to allow my hand embellishment to take the focus.

 

The collection focusses on texture with a wide range of fabrics, varying the scales of the woven designs and raw fringing to highlight the hand-made techniques. The eclectic outcomes reflect the diverse style of the 1970s punk and the vibrancy of African textiles.