Fashion Design School of Design
Rose Davenport
I am a knitwear designer whose work is grounded in my Scottish heritage. My work returns to natural materials and century old techniques for a complete sustainable process; From farm to garment. I work primarily on double bed Dubied knitting machines from a range of 2.5 gauge heavy knit all the way through to the fine 12 gauge. The silhouette research always begins from my own wardrobe in an effort to create a balance of theatric and wearable styles. Faileas has been a complete education and a huge step forward for my craft as I strive to take these natural processes further into my work post Glasgow School of Art.
FAILEAS: The Hands My Mother Gave Me
“Faileas: The Hands My Mother Gave Me” is a love letter to Scotland’s richest heritage, and my commitment to a craft that’s been woven into my bloodstream by centuries of Scottish women.
A desire to connect with generational traditions led this project to natural fibres and the complete sustainable process: farm to garment. Physically intertwined in Faileas is wool from Olive the sheep, who belongs to my friend’s mother – an Aberdeenshire Shepherdess.
I’ve examined, mirrored and fallen in love with archival film of carding, spinning and knitting raw fleece, and had it refined by experience of weavers and farmers I grew up with. My yarns are completely deadstock and sourced almost entirely from my home, The Scottish Borders.
I wanted to reinforce the fact that historically, internal production was a necessity to communities; an art form that lives depended on. Nowhere was this so true than the highlands. I drew inspiration from our landscapes to card, hand spin and knit robust structures with delicate silks flowing through rugged fleece.
Faileas is skin of mine and the landscape. It is powerful, unpredictable, even an education, but, above all, it’s romance with women I’ve never met and the women who made me.
