Part 1 of New Designers 2017 is now over and we’ve picked out some standout trends!

 

Protest and Political Work 

There was a wide range of work responding to the recent political climate on display at the New Designers this year. Highlights include this jacket by emerging designer Kirsty Nicolson, with slogans embroidered on the inside from an anti – Trump protest in Glasgow. Inspired by the homemade immediacy of protest signs, Kirsty created the piece so that the slogans can be worn either on the inside, for a quiet sense of empowerment and constant feeling of activism, or on the outside, to make a clear, visible statement to others.

 

 

Similarly there were striking feminist prints from graduates Hollie Williams and Kinga Jandy, as seen below, proving the relevancy social affairs and modes of identity play in the expression through design.

 

 

We see a great response to Brexit in this piece, which superimposed headlines about the referendum over a sculpture of the United Kingdom.

 

 

Sustainability in Design 

Another notable range of work was the woven textiles made by Nicole Taylor. She introduced up-cycling into her process by using cast off yarn to add a tufted effect, producing an interesting example of achieving sustainability in design.

 

Further examples were on display in the specially curated One Year On section, where exhibitor Sinead Cooke showcased jewellery made from re-purposed waste plastic and silver.

 

 

New interpretations of Embroidery 

Graduate Olivia Smith was inspired by the shapes and colours of biological cells and has recreated these in her embroidered bags. Using an entirely hand rendered process, she incorporates beads into her work to produce her brightly coloured designs.

 

 

The Royal School of Needlework showcased beautifully intricate work by their graduates.

 

 

Sense of Time and Place 

One Year On exhibitor Julie Massie’s ceramics brilliantly evoke the shapes and colours of the Jurassic Coast that inspired their creation. She recreates the colours of cliffs and sea in her collection, using jagged edges on her ceramic work to mimic the coastline.

 

 

Meanwhile graduate Robert Hunter has created a localised glaze for his ceramics from a mix of seaweed ash and granite sourced from the immediate land in and around Aberdeen. The city also influenced the form of the pieces, with the finished works reminiscent of factory towers.

 

 

Interactive work 

Finally there were some brilliant examples of interactive work on display. Highlights included One Year On exhibitor Chen Cheng, whose kinetic jewellery moves with the wearer.

 

 

Interactive technology was also woven into textiles with these playful light up pieces by graduate Bettina Blomstedt.

 

 

 

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