Portraits
Emma Cook SS10 and AW08 For Emma Cook the surface of a garment comes before the cut, whether branded with her signature wild prints or heavily embellished. ‘Surface decoration is key to our designs’ says Senior Design Assistant Abbie Shaw ‘we explore and develop new ways of creating our own fabric and texture, whether it be in embroidery, manipulation, dyeing or print. It needs to be something desirable but ultimately something new and exciting.’ The SS10 collection is just that, full of flounce and quirky prints. Cook was inspired by taxidermy found at the Horniman Museum and the deer and rabbits roaming the animal enclosure at Clissold Park by her home. Photographs of the animals were made into digital prints which adorn the clear cut, nude and blush tone dresses. One show which epitomised Cook’s fondness for surface detail was for AW08. The collection boasted an abundance of iridescent shine, likely prompted by sponsorship from Swarovski. Stepping away from her usual girlish femininity, the designs acquired a rockabilly edge with folk gothic or military styling. We saw gently flaring miniskirts in tiers of wavering ruffle and crystal encrusted lace patchwork over tie-dyed latex leggings. The inspiration was a mixture of circus performers, tattoos and gymnastic costume. Embroidery was produced by expert embroiderers in India who hand sewed Cook’s designs onto a mesh base, a timely task. The blur of the tie-dye was created in Emma’s studio by wrapping string and fabrics around the silk jersey and dipping it into the dye. When the embroidery returned from India the studio patch-worked all the elements together on the stand, the tie-dyed fabric as the dress base, then the embroidered panels and finally the crystal fringing. Cook’s techniques remind of the skills and handiwork you’d be likely to find in an old craft book, only modernised. www.emmacook.co.uk
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