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School of Design / Textile Design / Olivia Melly

Olivia Melly

(she/her)

My project explores the relationship between sacred ornamentation and contemporary textile design, inspired by imagery I captured within museums, religious spaces, mosaics, and my surroundings during my trip to Italy.
I have investigated how historical decorative elements can be reinterpreted into modern fashion textiles whilst maintaining the elegant and richly detailed aesthetic.
I have explored repetition, fragmentation, and texture through larger-scale drawing and printing. I have experimented and trailed fabrics including denim, satin, faux leather, and lace.
Technical processes included Procion MX dyes, pigment printing, gold metallic binder applications, and foiling, inspired by sacramental colours of the sacred interiors.
My final outcomes are fashion-focused printed textiles that combine historical references with contemporary identity, material richness, and expressive surface design whilst considering responsible design through thoughtful sampling and material experimentation.

Contact
olivia.melly14@outlook.com o.melly2@student.gsa.ac.uk
Links
@oliviamelly_textiles
School of Design / Textile Design / Olivia Melly / Extending Project

Extending Project

My extending design project explores the visual language of line and texture through a body of work inspired by primary imagery captured during my trip to Italy. My imagery was collected within museums, religious spaces, and from my general surroundings with a focus more on the architectural details, decorative surfaces, line, patterns, and textures.

My body of drawing focusses on creating collage, using experimental mark-making and layered composition techniques.

By combining observational drawing with textured imagery taken from my photographs, I explored repetition, scale, and abstraction. This allowed me to develop expressive visual outcomes that reflect the intricate details and visual richness found throughout the spaces I visited.

Following this I selected my most successful collages and drawings and translated these into digital manipulation using techniques such as layering, distortion, repetition, and re-collaging digitally.

This stage allowed me to experiment with colour, placement, and composition while maintaining the tactile and organic qualities developed through the hand-rendered work.

The final outcome of the project is a cohesive six-piece textile print collection produced through digital printing at CAT.

Each print showcases a distinct combination of line, texture, and layered imagery while remaining connected through a unified visual narrative inspired by my primary research found in the museums, religious architecture, and surrounding environments experienced in Italy. Demonstrating the relationship between traditional drawing methods and contemporary digital textile processes, highlighting how primary research can evolve.