PRINCIPLES OF SCIENCE & DRESS:

MATTER FORM & MOTION

Elizabeth Walecki

PRINCIPLES OF SCIENCE AND DRESS:

MATTER FORM AND MOTION

Elizabeth Walecki

UK / De Montfort University

The inspiration for this collection originates in the study between artists and scientists, whereby both explore new ideas and construct new realities. Helping to interrogate the world and our place in it. The relevance of this was highlighted at the exhibition "The Art of Innovation: From Enlightenment to Dark Matter", which depicts 250 years of interaction between the two practices.

Although not a perfect relationship at times, we are now able to understand the unseen or previously incomprehensible because of the interaction of these disciplines. This notion of placing the body amidst the language of science was the catalyst for my collection. Simplifying the principle states of matter into solid, liquid and gas, determines the structural elements of the knitted outcomes.

I question if a garment can be treated similarly to water, a liquid element which could also evaporate or condense depending on the element’s context. Can a wearer alter the ‘state’ of the garment? Altering how it is interpreted or perceived by others, how the garment rests on the person, how much free-space is present (gas), the movement/flow of the clothing (liquid) or the rigidity, smoothness or density of the yarn or material (solid). This is not only reflected in the form of the person at one time but also by their actions and behaviour that constantly alter the garment’s form, similarly to the entropic process of water’s state, as the wearer moves or portrays emotions.

The relation between us and our clothes is a highly personal interaction, one that carries an unknowing significance. Unconsciously, the art of dressing can change our mood, our self-perception and how we want to present ourselves to our peers. Just like entropic changes within our environment happening at an unaware level, we too are unmindful of the significance of the relation between our body and fabric, and what form follows because of it. Our relationship with our clothes, once worn is reshaped through movement, being stretched, washed and worn; never truly returning to its prior state. Like elemental collisions, two things colliding is unpredictable and never truly repeatable.

It is this journey that I wished to examine and portray within my collection.

Bio: Elizabeth Walecki

website: www.elizabethwalecki.com

instagram: elizabethwalecki

linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-walecki

Award winning Fashion Textile Designer Elizabeth Walecki champions the connection between the body and textile. With an ability to be technically aware, Walecki is conscious of capturing the language of the body into knitwear that can enhance, conceal and flatter through considered yarn and stitch.

Having worked at high-end knitwear label Christina Seewald, Walecki learnt the essence of what goes into a luxury collection. She also built a good rapport at Cobalt Fashion, becoming more commercially mindful and technically confident. These experiences influenced Walecki’s own practice, where design narrative is at the forefront of her collections.

Walecki’s design process takes inspiration from the personal connection our clothes have with our body. The art of dressing is an immediate form of self-expression, it is instinctive and an unceasing journey of visual storytelling. Placing the body in the context of literature, philosophy or scientific ideologies provides Walecki with a platform from which to pose new questions. Interlinking theoretical perspectives from human society and philosophies into tactile outcomes helps her to explore new ideas and construct new realities. To dress oneself is a universally accepted practice, and so when these questions are placed in garment form, it gives a visual explanation. This is fundamental in Walecki’s practice and gives a reason to create.

*  Awards include:

The Textile Society Award (2020)

The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters (2020)

The Roadley Sustainable Award (2020)