Hainsworth supplies fabrics for design students' projects

23 Sep '14

3 min read

Hainsworth, one of the oldest woven luxury woollen cloth makers from Yorkshire, has come forward to assist two young design students from two UK-based universities on their final year fashion design projects.

The 22-year-old graduate from the University of Edinburgh’s College of Art, Sophie Barlow, designed some military-influenced outfits inspired by Shakespeare’s play Othello for her final year course of Performance Costume.

While speaking about the range, the costumer states, “I’ve always been interested in military and tailoring and felt that the play Othello fitted perfectly. Set against the background of military conflict the characters appear to be on the same side, but all is not as it seems.”

“Military was the basis of my inspiration. I decided to limit my colour palette to black, white and red and I wanted the costumes to mirror a clean cut and methodical look,” she says.

She further praises the textile maker by adding “Hainsworth fabrics were heavenly to work with and so distinctive for the military look I was after. It’s an iconic and very British brand which I love.”

The East Sussex native’s striking tailored Othello costumes were later exhibited at the London’s Victoria & Albert Museum as part of the latter’s Shakespeare Festival.

Since graduating Sophie has exhibited her work at New Designers in London and won her first set and costume design job with Youth Music Theatre where she designed and made for a cast of 31 dancers.

The University of Huddersfield’s Zoe Taylor also turned to the same clothier for her costume design project based on the 1873 Jules Verne written novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

The 23-year-old textile student created a costume for Phileas Fogg’s character using Hainsworth’s Light Blue Pilot Cloth and Blue Doeskin.

She said in a statement, “I was inspired by the theme of travel in Jules Verne’s Around The World in 80 Days. I love the eccentricity of Phileas Fogg and his costume was really fun to create.”

“As soon as I saw and felt Hainsworth’s beautiful fabrics I knew they would be perfect for Fogg’s frockcoat. The range of colours were delightful and the wool was the exact shade and weight that I wanted,” she explains.

“Inspiration for the shaping and print of his coat came from the border of a Victorian stamp, while his waistcoat was inspired by a pattern on the back of a Victorian pocket watch,” she adds.

The Marketing Manager of Hainsworth Julie Greenough also revealed, “We are strong supporters of the incredibly talented young textile and fashion students emerging in the UK and are delighted to have worked with both Sophie and Zoe.”

“Our heavy military fabrics suited Sophie’s project perfectly and our Scarlet and Grey Doeskin were transformed with print and embellishment to create her stunning costumes. Zoe has also created some incredible costumes and we’re delighted that she was inspired by our fabrics,” she states.

Established in 1783, Hainsworth owns about 192,000 square feet of manufacturing space and some 37 different roofing structures. The company has been awarded a Royal Warrant in 2004 for its furnishing fabrics for Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. (PB)

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