L-R: Jessica Bumpus, Bart Hess and William Tempest
Artist Bart Hess and LCF alumnus William Tempest, will be the School of Design and Technology’s new ‘Practitioners in Residence’. This post, the first of its kind within the University, was recently created to bring established practitioners from the industry, to work alongside students in the classroom environment.
During the talk, both practitioners gave a brief presentation of their work. Bart Hess, the new practitioner in residence for Textiles and Menswear, showed a striking set of performance/installation films that he’d created alongside Nick Knight; including clips of models dipped in wax, men covered in magnetic buttons, experiments in creating skins out of metal. When speaking to Jessica Bumpus, VOGUE.com’s Fashion Features editor and LCF alumna, about what inspired him, he explained that it was the mistakes that happen while experimenting with materials:
“I think the unexpected faults that happen when working with materials, taking the material to the limit, normally, when you cross a border, something magical happens, and these mistakes are my inspiration.”
William Tempest, practitioner in residence for the Fashion Production programme of courses, presented an impressive portfolio of work including designs for Giles Deacon, Diesel, W Hotel and River Island. Celebrities such as Emma Watson and Leona Lewis favoring his feminine, structural garments, and designers such as Donatella Versace supporting his work. Despite William’s success, when Jessica asked him if he’d achieved what he’d aspired to, he suggested he was always pushing to achieve more:
“I always feel like I’ve never done anything and that’s what keeps me going, I always want to collaborate with other people, like singers, actors, commercial brands doing packaging, but, I never really feel like I’ve achieved anything”.
Overall the evening stirred anticipation through the students, not only because they would get the opportunity to work alongside the practitioners in residence but also the evening was proof that LCF can launch exciting and impressive fashion careers for its students.
- Words by Olexandra Solomka, MA History and Culture of Fashion
- Image by Monica Alcazar-Duarte, MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at LCC
- Read more about Practitioners in Residence at UAL