INDEPENDENTSTYLE
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, MAY 11-17, 2007 — PAGE 21
Sew chic Local textile grads craft one-of-a-kind designer threads By Mandy Cook The Independent
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fter a two-year stint as textile studies students at the College of the North Atlantic, 14 newly minted young artists will debut their crafted couture to the public. And for the 19th season, the Material Girls, as this year’s crop of graduates have coined themselves, kicked off their exhibition with a kick-ass fashion show. The bulk of the garments will be on sale and on display for the duration of the event. From May 10-25, at the Anna Templeton Centre for Craft, Art and Design’s temporary location at 152 Water St., clothes, textile installations, embroidery, weaving, felting and more will be exhibited for all to admire. From cute coats to fun skirts to pretty dresses, each unique piece has been hand-crafted and is of original design. Anna Templeton Centre program co-ordinator Catherine Wright says the “diverse collection” of knitted outfits, jackets with hooked-rug paneling and silk scarves are a stepping stone to advanced study in the textile field. Some students will go on to pursue costume design, fashion design or work as independent craft producers. The program encompasses all elements of fine craft. “Several skill sets have gone into the articles,” she says, “not just sewing. They get to explore the range of processes and textiles and find out where their real interest lies.” Tracy Bishop, 24, of St. John’s, crafted a super-shiny, little purple satin number ready for the dance floor. A tube dress gathered down the sides with cut-out straps around the neck, she knows exactly where the frock should be worn. “It’s going downtown after the fashion show,” she laughs. Mandy Lee Dawe based her hand-dyed cotton jester jacket — a brilliant yellow zippered coat with a dropped peak hood — on her sewing instructor’s directions to design a piece related to a hit song on the charts in the year she was born. Every Breath You Take, released by The Police in 1984, inspired Dawe’s use of a reverse appliqué technique. She cut away swirls and footprint-shaped material to reveal reds and blues beneath the yellow. “The swirls symbolize the breath and wind,” says Dawe, a 23-year-old C.B.S. native. Sewing instructor Barry Buckle estimates most pieces will be priced from $90 to $250. He says the original designs are well worth the investment because they are custom-made from scratch — nothing is based on commercial patterns. And the idea of turning to the No. 1 song from the students’ birth year? That inspiration came from one of Buckle’s favourite indulgences: the reality-television fashion program, Project Runway. mandy.cook@theindependent.ca
Gander native Kathy Marsh, 22, models a hand-painted, polka-dot silk dress. Paul Daly/The Independent