Past EditionsAboutBlogOther Projects

THE EXPRESSION OF SURFACE.


For this new portfolio we are once again crossing the Andes mountains to discover the work of Colombian designer Sara González. She explores techniques which affect textiles as surfaces for the development of garments. Together with the photographer Ana Maria Porras, she introduces a visual reflection about the hierarchy between fashion design and textile design when they are considered two separate disciplines.

Sara González (Text Susana Botero )


Sara believes that the fundamental element for the construction of garments is the technical development of textiles. The surfaces are the limits of a shape that surround, cover, wrap and define the identity of its content. The textile surface, which is a group of yarns joined together to build a fabric, can be manipulated and transformed through different physical or chemical treatments. One of these is digital printing.

In the Latin American industry there is a technical constraint in the development of textiles, however, digital printing is an ultimate tool to produce innovative pieces. The development of this technique has contributed unlimited methods to the textile industry, whereas the traditional way of printing imposed limitations on the designer. Digital techniques now open possibilities for the relation between drawings, colours, textures and yarns as well as their uses and the applications.Digital printing allows the use of unlimited colours and increases the potential to print very elaborate details. Designers can work at any scale without limits, it requires less printing time, it has a reduced impact on the environment and it’s more immediate, although not necessarily cheaper.

Sara González (Text Susana Botero )


This production technique allowed Sara to work on a design inspired by the aesthetic manifestations of Calypso; a musical genre from Trinidad and Tobago that spread throughout the Caribbean islands. The palm trees, the loose-fitting shirts, the hot weather and the multiple colours, characteristic from the region, were the references for this project. She makes patterns from the interpretation of motifs from other cultures, which are later recreated to have a new meaning. For instance, a colour is perceived as a complement to the other colours, according to the surface, the shape, the proportion and the garment where they are applied. The selection of the yarns and textures is also intentional. Sara chose rayon, which is a soft, absorbable, fresh and light fabric, in coherence with a tropical design.

Nowadays there is a notorious conceptual and perceptual gap in retail companies between textile design and fashion design. Fashion designers have more recognition despite using models produced by textiles designers. Sara reflects on those limits with an attempt to convince the consumer to value the quality of the textile and its design, over a passing trend. She expects to move away from the fast fashion industry, which she considers superficial and fleeting.In this project, the result is a collection of shirts built with basic patterns, which highlight the importance of the textile surface as a territory of expression that gives identity to the design.

ANA MARIA PORRAS


Ana María Porras´s photography is characterised by its composition. Ana María distances herself from the pure action of documenting and digitally recreates other images, inviting the spectator to inquire on her subjectivity. She relates patterns in objects and composes images from there. Her photos are full of clean and accurate shapes, playing with colours, lines and lights.


CREDITS


Photography: Ana María Porras · WEB
Designer: Sara González · WEB