A trend is emerging: embroidered fashion.
Designers who have recently unveiled their pre-fall and fall collections at the runway had one distinctive feature in their work. They presented "stitch-witchery," according to Linda Fargo from Bergdorf Goodman, via The Wall Street Journal.
Labels have been falling in love with embroidery of late, but while well-established brands like Valentino or Gucci stick with traditional and flawless designs, or sophisticated versions of grandma's embroidery, others are more bold and experimental with their ideas.
London designer, Christopher Kane, for instance, mixes his leather jackets with pink flowered embroidered work. "I like to challenge perceptions, mixing the femininity of embroidery with unexpected pairings," said Kane via WSJ.
Simone Rocha, a fellow-London based designer, also presented an impressive fall collection that had detailed embroidered patterns. "It was about trying to make something feel special," Rocha told WSJ, "but also a way to do something quite playful."
Then there's James Merry, whose talents for needlework were first discovered on Instagram. He embroiders embellishments by adding flowers and other designs to urban, sports and casual wear.
"I decided I was only going to do Instagram if I made a rule with myself - only ever post pictures of something I've made. When I get the urge to post something, I have to make something first." Merry said, according to The Guardian.
Since gaining followers, Merry is set to debut his first handmade collection and has started accepting commissioned work. He's also collaborated with music artist Bjork.
A photo posted by james merry (@j.t.merry) on Jul 8, 2015 at 9:06am PDT
Alaina Varrone, another artist and designer, is also taking on embroidered fashion, albeit with an edgy and humorous twist. Her designs carry unexpected themes like sex and death, mixed with pop culture references, according to Metro.
A photo posted by Alaina Varrone (@alainavarrone) on Aug 5, 2015 at 11:18am PDT
Like Merry, designer Marie Sophie Lockhart is self-taught in the craft, choosing only to learn embroidery from YouTube, but she has since designed clothes for music artist Drake and was commissioned by Browns, a London store, to design embroidered jeans, according to The Guardian.
A photo posted by MARIE SOPHIE LOCKHART (@goodfornothingembroidery) on Aug 23, 2015 at 9:31am PDT
Embroidery dates its origin to ancient China, between 5th to 6th century B.C. and only the wealthy could afford it, according to Needlepoint. Today, many embroidered works still command a high price tag, especially for a Valentino, but with these new designers, the options have expanded to cater to a wider clientele.
