A Layered Landscape- Base | Mid | Outer
“Yet often the mountain gives itself most completely when I have no destination but have gone out merely to be with the mountain as one visits a friend with no intention but to be.”
-Nan Shepherd, The Living Mountain
The Scottish landscape can be breathtakingly beautiful at times whilst shockingly harsh at others, to have “no intention but to be” in these environments, you must be clothed in fabrics that allow for the beauty of the surroundings to be fully appreciated. My graduate project focuses on creating knitted textiles for an outdoor layering system of garments to protect, perform and harmonise in and with the landscapes which inspired them. To capture the diversity of structures found in geological formations, I was intrigued by the variety of scale in the mountains and rock types, from the majestic granite tors to the lichens found on their surfaces. Densely-felted lambswool provides a weatherproof outer layer, whilst dynamic fleece-insulated folds mimic rocky outcrops trapping air within the mid layer allowing the small gauge merino textures of the base layer to provide warmth and breathability against the skin. I wanted my fabrics to be memories of my times spent in the hills, representing surroundings, colours, textures and surfaces. Using pure wool fibers alongside dead-stock yarn, my final samples aim for longevity in the hills, connecting to the landscape visualised as both men’s and womenswear embracing an earthy palette and simple silhouettes.
