final maedate publication
DESCRIPTION
FINAL maedate publicationTRANSCRIPT
Spring / Summer 2013
Mædate is a respectable and recognisable brand, both for it’s
hand crafted purity and the concept. The designer, Sally Dewhirst
has strong ideas on how her label is reflected and as her Graphic
Designer, we have been able to work together to create the identity
suitable to elevate Mædate to professional levels. Every garment
is crafted with care and has a beautiful finish and aura to each
individual piece.
As the pages are turned, more garments will be revealed and the
story of both Mædate and that of macramé will unfold. It has been a
pleasure working with such a dedicated designer to her craft and to
be a part of something so delicate yet substantial.
Hazel Gage
Letter
Fashion Designer - Sally Dewhirst
www.maedate.co.uk
Graphic Designer - Hazel Gage
www.hazelgage.co.uk
Photographer - Anthony O’Hanlon
www.arkidstudios.com
Makeup Artist - Laura Pye
Model - Lauren Richards
Contributors
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The Mædate brand is a creation developed through
the inspiration of the delicate detailing on Japanese
warriors body armour. This delicate detailing is what
led to the use of the crafts macramé and knit to
knot threads, making this the focus on each product
created. With the inspiration coming from Japanese
samurais, Mædate felt the need to show the two sides
of the harshness you would expect from a warrior and
mix it with the delicateness that the armour shows,
within it’s brand.
With the word ‘mædate’ being used to describe
a form of Japanese body Armour and also a type of
knot used in the macramé process, it seems that it
is the perfect name given to this brand. This form
of ruggedness is shown in the products through the
use of suede threading, and throughout its strong
imagery. This is what gives you the image of the
samurai warrior, as it gives a rugged edge and feel
to the Mædate collection. When mixing this thought
with the idea of it meaning a form of macramé knot
and combining it with the soft alpaca wool brings
back the realisation of the delicateness meant by the
individually hand crafted pieces.
The skill of macramé dates back to the thirteenth
century. It is thought that is derived from Arabic origins
and from this it eventually made it’s through to Europe
and has recently become a skill that many desire to
learn. Macramé isn’t usually a craft that you would
associate with fashion garments, however recently
it has become very popular within the fashion industry
in creating garment’s and accessories. Many designers
found the hype of using this craft in fashion, Gucci has
to be most effective in their Spring 2011 collection,
the macramé is used in a striking way that it really
captures the beauty of the craft making it look as
though it should never been out of fashion.
About Mædate
Fashion is never far away from a knitted garment.
Knit is used from season to season in all forms of
garments, jumpers, vests, and cardigans and even in
accessories. With this in mind, Mædate has but a twist
to make the original idea of knit and combine it with
the macramé to create unique products. These two
techniques fit so well together creating a wearable
art piece that it desirable to many.
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Mæmi
£90
Michi
£205
Mædate has designed a collection of 6 products for its Spring / Summer 2013.
This collection is a mix of accessories including belts, legwear, bag and neckwear.
With each piece being individually crafted it is a time consuming process.
Each thread individually knotted and knit knitted.
As a brand, Mædate is determined to push forward the use of this craft into
the fashion community creating a range of products that are each as desirable
as one the last!
Anyone has the ability to produce products using crafts. It just takes
patience, time and passion. Textile crafts have been used to produce
products for centuries. Due to tough economical crisis that has hit
the country over the past few years people are keener to be part of
the creative culture, taking time to produce what it is they desire.
The use of crafts has developed so much that many designers
have caught onto the craft trend and have brought them to the
fashion industry.
Some of the crafts that we are seeing more of in fashion
are hand embroidery, batik dying as well as knit and macramé.
Understanding Craft
Hand Embroidery
The craft of hand embroidery is a craft that has been
used for centuries to decorate rugs, hats, blankets,
capes and dresses. With the development of machine
embroidery during the industrial revolution, this
original handcraft took a back seat for convenience.
However, some designers recently have discovered
the elegance of hand embroidery and in a recent
collection YSL brought hand embroidery back.
Not just into they 21st century but into the fashion
industry, hurrah!
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Patterns can be created on fabrics in many different
ways. Most recently the use of digital prints are used
for the ability to produce for fast fashion. A more
traditional way is in the art of Batik printing/dying.
Applying hot wax onto the material before dying is
what creates something unique and beautiful! Most
impressive designs come from Indonesian designer
Dries Van Noten. He expresses his love for print onto
soft fabrics and mixes them with elegant shapes.
Truly beautiful!
Patterns
Knit
Knit has worked within fashion for as long as it has
been created. It can be used to create chunky knits
for those cold winter days, or tight knitted jumpers
to wear comfortably on those cooler days. Mædate’s
designs have taken the chunky knit to a new level.
The chunky knit may usually be though of as a winter
warmer but with the mædate range it has been
created for spring summer, to be worn as an accessory
to compliment an outfit.
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This samurai inspired product was
created as an accessory to be worn over
an addition garment. The neckpiece
has two elements to it that make it such
an attractive piece. The knitted section
of the neckpiece is made up of 18
rows of knitted alpaca wool. The alpaca
wool gives a chunky harsh finish but
soft to touch. It is finished off with 40
strands of the suede threads the suede
threads give the contrast of soft and
hard materials. The suede is connected
to the wool using a macramé knot
called half hitch. This holds the suede
in place perfectly so that the next stage
can be completed. Using a knot called
the alternative square knit is what has
given the pattern effect on “Kata”. This
innovative accessory is finished of
perfectly with decorative beading on
alternate threads to add a little sparkle.
Perfect to wear over every
fashionista most prised possession,
a little black dress.
Kata
Kata
£190
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Mæmi10
Mædate has designed these leg pieces to be connected to shoes and sandals to
give an outfit a new twist and touch of style in an original way. Each leg piece is
made of suede strips. The pattern of the macramé is created using the macramé
knot half hitch. The main cord is held tight in the direction that is desired, while the
decorative cord is knotted tightly over. This repeat knot has created a pattern that
is effective and works well as the leg piece. The ability of connecting them to shoes
gives this product and edge compared to many with the fashion industry.
Mæmi
£90
Spring / Summer 2013
1.
2.4.
3.
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1. Kata / neckpiece - £190 4. Satu / belt - £150
2. Uta / belt - £110 5. Mæmi / leg pieces £90
3. Michi / vest - £205 6. Alko / bag - £75
5.
6.
Fast fashion has increased so much within high street
stores that some stores have can new stock designed
and ready for sale within a matter of weeks. With
the detailing and passion that goes into producing
the Mædate products it would be impossible for a
brand like Mædate to have a turn around of a range
of products within this amount of time. This is what
makes Mædate stand out from the rest.
Mædate is passionate to produce products that
increase the awareness of handcrafts within the
fashion industry. The products created currently are
ones that are produced to be added to a previously
owned garment, giving this a new style and lease
of life. This idea of restyling garments to how the
consumer wishes is what makes the Mædate concept
uniquely different to any other crafted company.
While this is something that will continue as the
brand grows, Mædate would also wished to develop
and expand in order to achieve always giving the
customers what they desire.
To enable this, Mædate would like to move
forward in creating full garments. These garments
would be made up of natural materials, such as
cotton and bamboo, as the main body with selected
sections introduced that will bring the emphasis
back to what it is that created Mædate, the knit
and macramé. This way of designing means that
Mædate will develop seasonal products, keeping our
customers up to date with all the latest styles and
trends, whilst also keeping what it is that appealed to
our clients originally, the use of macramé and knit.
Future13
www.maedate.co.uk