Arts London News | Portfolio of Harpreet Bains

Neal’s Yard to pay £20k for eco-fashion studentship

A UK retailer is teaming up with Arts London’s Textile Futures Research Group to fund a full-time, three-year PhD studentship on ethical and eco-fashion.

Neal’s Yard Remedies, a British chain selling organic cosmetics, will donate £20,000 a year including fees to the successful individual.

The Textile Futures Research Group is a cross-college project that links Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and London College of Fashion.

“Applications relating to ethical textiles for fashion, accessories and product development, eco-design and sustainable practice in textiles are particularly welcome. The successful applicant will be supported by the expertise of the cross-college TFRG Unit while based at one of the participating colleges,” says Dr Jane Harris, director of the Textile Futures Research Group.

The studentship starts in October 2008. The closing date for applications is March 7 at 5pm.

Graduates make Mrs Rooney’s wedding dress

Arts London News

Two Chelsea College of Art and Design graduates have designed the £100,000 wedding dress Coleen McLoughlin will wear when she ties the knot with Wayne Rooney.

Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, based in London and New York, design for the fashion house Marchesa. The pair can list Mischa Barton, Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Jennifer Lopez as some of their many clients.

Coleen, set to wed Rooney in the Mediterranean in June, fell in love with Marchesa’s unique designs after spending 12 months looking for the perfect wedding dress. She has been flying back and forth to New York for dress fittings.

Chapman graduated from the Wimbledon School of Art in 2001 and embarked on her career as a costume designer. Craig graduated from Brighton Art College in 2000, focusing on print and embroidery design.

They met each other at the Chelsea College of Art and Design after graduating from their respective colleges and established Marchesa, named after the eccentric Italian style icon Marchesa Luisa Casati, in 2004.

Marchesa’s collection is defined by elegant eveningwear with vintage and Asian influences.

Vault exhibition

Arts London News

Two Chelsea College of Art and Design students held an exhibition in the basement of Shoreditch Town Hall last week.

Vault was the creation of Chelsea BA Fine Art students Ian Giles and Esme Baker. The show displayed video installations, live performance, sculpture, painting and collages created by 25 BA Fine Art Chelsea students, attracting 600 people over the three days the show was held.

The title ‘Vault’ refers to the space below the town hall but the word ‘Vault’ is used to suggest a leap – an action of springing forward.

“Many of the artists on show at Vault deal with gesture, performance and playfulness within their work,” said Mr Giles.

50 per cent of the exhibition was video and performance based and held in 26 different rooms.

On the opening night two people were paid to kiss continuously from 6pm until 9pm. They only took a break when an offended visitor told them to stop their ‘inappropriate behaviour’ because he did not realise they were part of the exhibit.

Key pieces included the ‘stunt art’ performed by Joseph Popper, which involved filming Popper strapping fireworks to rollerskates, lighting the fireworks and then vaulting off a ramp.

Organiser, Ian Giles, was filmed whilst sitting on a chair and simultaneously solving a jigsaw puzzle, sawing a chair leg off and falling to the floor.

Giles Ripley filmed four different versions of ‘My Girl’, which were then edited together to create the final piece. All filmed performances were played throughout the three days.

Vault was a sneak preview of the talent that will be shown at the BA Fine Art final degree show later this year.

Designers Su and Olaf ‘feel alright’ for Chelsea show

Arts London News

Camberwell College of Arts alumni and creators of a cult British label are currently exhibiting their work at the Chelsea College of Art and Design.

Burro, a menswear label created by fashion designers Su and Olaf Parker, will allow material such as footage from catwalk shows and garments from their archive to be displayed at ‘I Feel Alright’, Chelsea Space’s first exhibition of 2008.

The designers have also worked with photographer Ivan Jones exclusively for this exhibition, creating a new series of photographs inspired by some of their original promo shots for Burro collections.

Burro gained their cult status in the nineties after producing iconic t-shirts adorned with the motto ‘No Alla Violenza’ for style-conscious British fans attending the Italia ’90 football tournament. Their flagship store was opened in Covent Garden in 1993.

Su and Olaf Parker believe their time at Camberwell was fundamental to their success: “We studied textiles at Camberwell where the emphasis was on observing, drawing and craft, even making your own tools sometimes. Importance was placed on understanding art and design history. We were shown that ideas can come from anywhere. It is something we have continually drawn on since.”

Burro breaks the traditional mould of how examples from their collections are displayed in fashion exhibitions. They create installations that incorporate sound, video, lighting, sculpture and painting.

I Feel Alright is on show until March 1.

Miss University London

Arts London News

Arts London students have been invited to enter the Miss University London 2008 competition.

Following the great success of the inaugural event in December 2006, Miss University London – a trademark of 121 Entertainment – held separate events at the end of 2007 at London School of Economics, King’s College London and Univeristy College London.

The competition is also in aid of Cancer Research UK.

The winners of the respective events will compete in the Miss University London 2008 along with those selected to represent London’s other major universities.

Arts London students will represent the college they study at, rather than the University of the Arts as a whole.

Razane Jammal of 121 Entertainment says the pageant is not about exploiting women.

“We want them to be respected. The pageant is about empowerment and intelligence. Contestants only have to go on stage once,” said Jammal. “They’ll pose on four corners of the stage in a glamorous gown, introduce themselves and answer questions.”

Razane also trains the successful entrants in rehearsals: “They are taught how to talk clearly and respectfully, and also how to walk with poise and elegance. Hair and make-up will be professionally done.”

A panel of judges, which in the past have included celebrities, models and model scouts will choose the lucky lady that will become Miss University London 2008 and win the coveted crown as well as a cash prize.

All runners-up will receive a gift from the sponsors, which includes Clinique and Fashion TV.

Students can enter by visiting their website, completing an application form and attaching a picture.

Successful applicants will be invited to an audition. The deadline for entries is January 31.

Miss University London 2008 will be held on Tuesday February 26 at Crystal nightclub.

— Portfolio of Harpreet Bains

Neal’s Yard to pay £20k for eco-fashion studentship

Graduates make Mrs Rooney’s wedding dress

Vault exhibition

Designers Su and Olaf ‘feel alright’ for Chelsea show

Miss University London

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