Katie Jones is a London-based knitwear designer who wants to expand the boundaries of hand crafted knits into high fashion. What I like about her approach is the way she infuses her love of native and tribal textiles into her each of creations.
Jones's latest collection was inspired by the traditional crochet costumes documented in Phyllis Galembo’s: Masks and the Modern Tribes of Tanna (the South Pacific island paradise of Tanna has tribal communities who remain largely unaffected by the outside world.)
The A/W 2013 features variations of 10 handmade crochet and knitted pieces in the shade of gray.
Here are two photos from Galembo’s "Masks" photos. Check out the lively knit outfits in the middle that inspired Jones to make her own interpretations.
"Utset’s Procession" (below), Jones's A/W 11 collection, depicts the journey from the old world into the new. Utset is a North American mythological goddess who sired the Pueblo peoples.
I see some of Galembo’s "Masks" photos reflected in this collection, too.
Some of the techniques Jones used included seamless 3-D crochet, Fair Isle, cross stitch embroidery, beading, macramé, industrial knit and afghan crochet - all stunning, wouldn't you say?
Jones, who uses many of the traditional English craft techniques handed down to her through her family, won the UK Hand Knitting Association Knitted Textile Award in 2011.
Jones has a unique way of interpreting tribal dress. I've showed designers here who combine old and more modern techniques, but Jones has found one of the more creative ways of doing that.
I discovered Jones during one of my daily Style Bubble reads. You can see more at Katie Jones.
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