Abbie Smith
(She/Her)
Designing both womenswear and menswear, my work draws on music, subculture and heritage. Beyond visual language, my practice is heavily driven by music I listen to; post-punk, experimental, noise. Guided by sound, clothes to make music to make clothes to.
Passionate about materiality, I take a mindful and multi-faceted approach to fabric sourcing, primarily using deadstock and second-hand cloth sourced at local markets, reseller platforms and responsible fabric merchants. Material is never an afterthought; rather, a core component of the design process itself.
Having explored this area of interest as a student, I now seek opportunities to deepen this fabric-led specialism upon graduation.
Sword Dance
pas de basque, pas de basque / high cut, high cut, high cut
Sword Dance is born from my old dancehall back home on the West coast, its scent of varnished floors and mustiness lingers still, a keepsake of a buried part of self. Here, as a ballet and Highland dancer, the swords were danced, a depiction of a Highland battle triumph. Music is at the root of world creation. Heritage is revisited through the sound of post-punk – heavy, powerful, driving.
These seemingly opposing worlds finds threads of familiarity, underpinned by a sense of movement. Highland militaristic structures reflect the precision and discipline of dance, softened through fabric, colour and texture, drawing on the classicism of ballet. Music performance informs undone elements, a manipulation of tradition.
Collaborative Works
Sword buttons:
Zeke Thomson (he/him),
3rd year GSA Silversmith & Jewellery
3D wax printed, cast in sterling silver
@participant_7509
Sound Design:
Nickolas Young
Composer
@nickolasyoung_