Nikki Jones

Touch…Wear…Interact…  

A body of work exploring knitwear and the interaction between a fabric and a person.

Throughout this MA I have learnt that I am infatuated with yarns and fabrics that ‘do’ something and this has become a key element in my work. It became my aim throughout this project to design surfaces and textiles that people are desperate to touch and that stir imagination and curiosity. Many of the fabrics I create change in some way when you touch or pull them and I am intrigued by the relationship and interaction this creates between a garment and the wearer. I became excited by the idea that a transformation could take place between the hanger and the body, and I wanted to explore the connection between a person and the moment they ‘wear’ a fabric in more detail.

To investigate this idea further I collaborated with an Animation student, Perrie Murphy, to create a short film. Through this we aimed to explore both the limitations of my designs and the tactility of them against the skin. I wanted to show the duality between the body and the fabrics we wear, and how they respond to and essentially need each other.

Within the collection there are two types of fabrics: fabrics that need the body in order to be seen to their full beauty and potential, that are in a sense reliant on the human figure; and fabrics that are more sculptural, 3 dimensional pieces that could change the natural shape, silhouette and movement of the body. It is about the relationship and interaction that we have with fabrics, and the sense of touch and tactility that can be created through textiles.

I envisage these textiles to be material innovations that could be primarily used and developed in the sportswear industry. I enjoy the challenge of creating fabrics that ‘perform’ and have collaborated with both a Fashion Menswear student and a Vehicle Design student to experiment with and communicate the possibilities that these materials hold.