Textiles students Hartej and Peytie talk to us about their experience at Pitti Filati
- Written byLondon College of Fashion
- Published date 01 August 2024
In this interview, we sit down with Hartej Singh and Peytie Slater - both students from the BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles: Knit course at London College of Fashion, to discuss their experience creating garments and fabrics which were displayed at the prestigious Pitti Filati event in Italy. From hands-on craftsmanship to industry networking, Hartej offers an inspiring look into the opportunities available to aspiring designers and why competitions like "Feel the Yarn" are essential for shaping a creative career.
Why did you enter the competition?
Hartej: I entered because it seemed like a good introduction into how the industry works. It also seemed to hold a lot of value in what it could offer. Between the chance to showcase my work, having a chance to go to Italy for Pitti Filati, and network with the Italian yarn industry, I assumed it couldn’t hurt to see what would happen.
Peytie: I entered the Feel the Yarn competition mainly because I wanted to learn more about the industry of Italian yarns. I knew that we had the opportunity to pair up with an Italian yarn spinner, so making that connection and working with them was my main motivation for entering.
Can you tell us about the work you entered into the competition?
Hartej: I created a couture knitwear ballgown with post production hand manipulation techniques such as hand cut knitted strips and hand sewn darts. The dress consists of two parts, a stoll programmed cut and sewn top with sandwich trims, and a skirt knitted on the 7gg dubied which was hand sewn together. The inspiration for the dress comes from the end of first term, when I unfortunately became bedridden with an illness that had me fall a month behind on my uni work. Rather than crying over frustration, I became fascinated with the idea of ailment and body distortion, which lead to a glamorous yet grotesque outcome.
Peytie: I entered a design which was taken from my term 1 project, but a design that I also knew that I wanted to carry into my final major project. I developed a triangle pleated technique, as well as a tucking and fringing development for the skirt. I wanted to leave a lot of room for development both technically and creatively, as I wanted to work harmoniously with the yarns I was going to be paired with.
How did you find being in Italy and attending the event? What were the highlights?
Hartej: Italy had much to offer, between seeing the difference in social culture and the beautiful architecture, it was a very welcoming environment. Pitti Filati was a fantastic event, I had the chance to discuss my designs with many people who worked in different parts of the knitwear industry- ranging from working right in the design department, to the people behind the scenes creating innovative and new fibers at yarn mills, tutors at head institutes, and even people paving the way for new machinery within knitwear- everyone was there. Some highlights were the contestants who I became well acquainted with, the atmosphere between all of us had no animosity, it was full of nothing but good laughs and inspiring stories on the creation of their entries. Getting the chance to go to buyers appointments with our technician Jennie was a fun time as well, it was nice to see insight on how a relationship between a seller and buyer works
Peytie: I think the coolest thing about Italy was to be surrounded by so many people who were just as passionate about yarn and knitting as I am! The Pitti Filati exhibition itself was very exciting to explore and get peeks into the future of knitting, but I spent most of my time getting to know the other contestants at Feel the Yarn and making connections with fellow knit students from around the world.
Would you recommend textiles students getting involved in these contests and why?
Hartej: 100% yes. Not only is it material for your portfolio, it’s an opportunity to show who you are as a creative to the world. It helps build identity, gain exposure, and more likely than not once you’re in the industry you will be working within a premise of some sorts, so being able to understand how to successfully do that is valuable information.
Peytie: I feel that one of the most redeeming parts about my final year was my experience in competitions. They helped push me outside my comfort zone, but also helped connect me to people in the industry outside of LCF, so I most definitely would recommend students to take advantage of competitions during their time at LCF.
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