—-> Connecting Taste —->
Fergus Purcell, aged 46 and a graphic designer graduate from Central Saint Martins, London. Helped London Skateboard brand Palace, to “launch and to re-launch” - Marc By Marc Jacobs, says i-D.
Designer - Ashley Williams
Artist - Fergus Purcell
Mood - Kathleen Hanna
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Ashley Williams, a young British fashion designer who graduated in 2012 from University of Westminster in London. She started out in 2013 and continued to show her garments with Fashion East for 3 seasons. Soon after in 2015 she got to present her first solo collection at London Fashion Week with NEWGEN.
At this stage Williams has stockists in London at Selfridges (a little denim collection), Paris and Hong Kong.
While working backstage I went to see her SS17 show. She had a designer, artist and friend Claire Barrow (http://www.clairebarrow.com/pages/about) and Topmodel, Adwoa Aboah model for her. Adwoa has struggled with depression, addiction thoughts about suicide due to pressures in the fashion industry. She has now set up a group to help younger teens struggling with similar pressures. Ashley created a teenage room situation on the catwalk. She had Madonna CD’s, a TV, a mirror and vodka bottles spread across the runway that created a 90’s inspired vibe. The collection shows pop colours emerging into teenage lives that represents how not be afraid to loose your coolness. Slogans such as ‘haircut' or a repeat of ‘I heart girls, I heart boys is’ along with angel pattern on a blouse can be seen as cheeky or challenging the audience. 80s style is also coming into the collection ~ Williams was inspired by 80s power dressing and how she says it #squadgoals. Therefore having Adwoa model the collection enhances this sense of empowerment.
The idea of “Squads” often appear in the Skater scene, Williams boyfriend is the co-founder of the London skate brand Palace. In her AW15 show she was more inspired by the 80’s - “Sugar, spice and everything vice: Georgia May Jagger leads a gang of cult obsessed cool girls decked out in 90s graphics”. (Dazed - http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/23799/1/ashley-williams-aw15)
Fergus Purcell’s graphics, also inspired Palace and Ashley’s garments - his graphics got onto jumpers and Shirts. Williams combined PVC dresses with turtle neck wooden jumpers - no fear to fail.
Other inspiration came from riot-grrl founder Kathleen Hanna (later discussion) and Chloë Sevigny, model and actor.
On top of those strong women rock ‘n’ roll muse Alice Dellal and it-girl Georgia May Jagger inspired designers vision. Williams - “With the casting we just wanted to have strong personalities, because it’s about celebrating girls for just being themselves and not like anyone else – that’s what’s going to make you the happiest,” (Dazed Digital)
“Williams runs with a crowd of cool girls, the kind of streetwise squaddies who provoke intense FOMO in everyone who follows them on Snapchat” (http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/ashley-williams)
FOMO is ‘the fear of missing out’ on something often accompanied with technological devices such as mobile phones. In the SS17 show Ashley also has integrated her school girl crush through a print on a shirt of River Phoenix, a musician and actor born in the 70s.
Ashley’s clothing style is quirky, cheeky and has hints of confrontation, emphasised by the statement graphics. Her inspiration seems really broad and reaches from Hardcore Punk to colourful vividness including embroidery.
“But I do feel [that] people took previous collections too much at face value. It’s not just what’s on the surface.” (www.independent.co.uk - fashion/lifestyle/features)
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| Own photo ~ at show |
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| - Claire Barrow - |
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| Adwoa @ Ashley Williams show, compared with 80s models |
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| Ashley Williams herself in studio ~ designing process with Purcell |
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| Backstage ~ at LFW |
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| Claire Barrow + friend of mine @glacier996girl bacstage |
For Palace, he brought the triangle logo on the shirts to life, resulting in instantly selling out after being published online. Purcell caught up with i-D back in 2014 - “(I) was really into skateboarding but not much of a pro.” He spoke in a very good manner with i-D but if you take a closer look at his appearance, his tattoos give a more random and less organised story about himself. For example, a rabbit saying ‘Eat, sleep, fuck’ or words that say ‘Pizza time’. These smaller pieces of his appearance indicated he is clearly a hard working and successful business person. However also doesn’t take himself too seriously. Which may even play a key role in his successes.
When he joined the graphics studies at Central Saint Martins, he worked hard and succeeded. He did graphics for Slam City Skates that got him attention in the first place.
Purcell has got a vision for fashion. CSM fashion students recalled him being admired by his peers for “looking so cool.”
The Street Style, Pret-à-Porter fashion, is closely linked to Catwalk Fashion. A lot more since the 80’s, Purcell explains to i-D.
Vivienne Westwood, for example, got inspiration from the Punk movement. Street/Youth Culture and got her garments made it to runways. Also now a household name.
As a graphic designer for Palace and skateboarder himself, he claims that “fashion has stolen many graphics from the street”. Working for Marc Jacobs has helped prove his work is suitable for both street,high fashion and luxury brands.
Purcell fully embodies contrast. It is also present within his heritage. His parents are Irish, his artist allies “Fergadelic” comes from the 70’s psychedelic funk band Funkadelic. He is also known to seen wearing 90’s Metal band shirts too.
“A lot of what is exciting about the language of t-shirts and what you’ve got on written on your leather jacket is that you’re into it — and that’s such a profound and liberating statement.” - he says on businessoffashion.com. This shows he has a high appreciation and recognises talent in others graphic work.
In 2013, Purcell worked for Marc Jacobs and was able to do many designs. Not only Shirts, like he expected. He also got to design backpacks, bottoms and much more. Marc Jacobs themes included Motorcycles, BMX and more within the same field of where graphic designer Purcell was coming from.
Purcell ended up working with Marc Jacobs design team for 2 years until the Spring/Summer 2015 show. In all this time Purcell made himself more of a role model for other young designers, such as Ashley Williams, who incorporated some of his ides, designs also as said.
Purcell says - “One thing I know is that you’ve got to find your own voice.” - businessoffashion.com.
The Guardian even calls him “the high-fashion streetwear champion.”
For Aries, womenswear fashion brand from London with also 90’s fashion inspiration he did some designing that helped them be more underground. The Fader, a music, fashion and culture magazine claimed he got Aries a “rough-and-tumble vibe to their women’s line.”
With “Highsnobiety” Purcell speaks about a mutual language that needed to develop to enable creation between himself and Marc Jacobs, then it started to flow.
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| - Purcell himself - |
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| - typical triangle Palace design - |
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| - Aries - |
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| Marc Jacobs collaboration SS15 |
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| GRRL - in relation to Girl Power wanted by Ashley Williams, especially Kathleen Hanna ! |
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| - Design work - |
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| Marc Jacobs ~ in collaboration with Purcell --> SS15 |
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| - All Purcells tattoos - |
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| Marc Jacobs Lookbook |
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Kathleen Hanna, born in November in 1968 is an US-american singer, feminist activist and punk zine writer. In early-mid 19990’s she was singer in the band Punk band “Bikini Kill” and found the electropunk band “Le Tigre” in late 1990’s. This reminds me of modern punk bands such as Shopping, the Garden, Bleached, the Coathangers and my friend’s band Yassassin. Some of which featured in my sketchbook development collages. Besides those bands she also had a solo project called “Julie Ruin” and was an important character for the feministic movement “Riot-Grrrl”.
Since 2010 she has been working on a new music project named “Le Julie Ruin”.
There even has been a documentary film made about her as a punk singer in the scene by director Sini Anderson, impressive. Hanna is married to Adam Horowitz from the Beastie boys.
Several years passed until Hanna was able to call herself a radical feminist which inspired many women afterwards. Hanna’s mum was a housewife and read the so called “housewife” magazine of which Hanna cut pictures out to make collages in which she said ‘Girls can do everything’. Her and her mum both were fighters for women’s rights but had to keep it quiet until her parent’s got divorced. She didn't have an easy childhood as she also got ill and had to undergo therapy. She tells “SPIN” magazine that she made music to get through the dark period. She also mentions how writing was good therapy for her soul. Her solo project was another way for her to fully express herself - here is a video to watch. Through quite a confrontal, sort of cheeky way using barbie’s in her video, she tells the world that Girls should stick together.
Also important in her getting better, growing as a person and a feministic activism for her was the creation of an independent art gallery. She also began to work as a stripper which shows her being comfortable with her own body. Today Feminism is very big within Art, Fashion, and, especially Photography. Polyeseter Magazine, especially, is one of the leading London based feministic leaders with Artworks of Maisie Cousins (Photographer, Collageur), and Francesca Allen (Photographer, friend of mine).
Kathleen says that the Riot-Grrrl Movement is a collective for women to freely discuss issues such as abuse, sexuality and gender. The movement Hanna ‘set up’ has really been socially accepted through other films that were made.
Kathleen even inspired Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) to use “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as a name for another single in 1991.
The Guardian says that Hanna created the statement “wild-women-to-the-front” at gigs. She was very much against fighting at her gigs and told off rowdy men.
It is interesting of her to say that she apparently never considered herself as a singer. For Hanna it was more like putting a performance on stage and creating punk as a movement.
I am using Hanna as the Muse as she could easily present one of the models at an Ashley Williams show. She would have the ‘Grrrl Power’ to lead the runway. She would have the strong teenage spirit also to go well with Ashley's garments.
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| Hanna in her element on stage with Bikini Kill |
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| - Bikini Kill at Band practice - |
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| - Punk zines - |
The connection between fashion, music and gender coming together in my discussion between designer, artist and muse here is important to consider. Current designer Ashley Williams and artist Fergus Purcell both got their inspiration from 80’s and 90’s subcultures and linked with each other within a collaboration. Hanna is therefore quite a perfect muse for Ashley’s aspirations.
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All images taken from either Dazed Digital (http://www.dazeddigital.com/), Vogue UK Online (http://www.vogue.co.uk/) or taken off their personal websites, Highsnobiety, the Guardian interviews, i-D Online features (http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb)
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