Official Show Guide - director-e

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WORKWEAR Working Inspiration It’s no secret that corporate clothing and workwear designers look to fashion and retail for inspiration, but little attention is given to the fact that this is often a two-way street. Janet Prescott visits an exhibition in Florence to explore the ways in which fashion has been influenced by the working world What does a jacket by Armani and a set of worn, faded dungarees from a building site have in common? Or a real space-suit with breathing pack and a fashion version of a nurse’s uniform by Louis Vuitton? These questions formed part of a fascinating exhibition that was aimed at showcasing the influences that workwear and fashion have on each other. The highlight of the Pitti Immagine exhibitions in Florence, it was fittingly staged at the Stazione Leopolda, an old rolling stock centre that’s now used for exhibitions. The show pointed up the cross-influences of workwear and fashion, with backdrops of workers through ages and cultures, ranging from poor fishermen in the 19th century and share-croppers in the Depression to high-styled office workers and fashion images. The project was stylishly curated by world - famous photographer Oliviero Toscani. It created an enormous amount of interest, showing that uniform and workwear are big influences on high fashion - so much so that it was often hard to tell the difference. According to the organisers, “The workwear project starts from observation of how the simple, functional aesthetics of work clothes, which have been developed to move with the body and protect it, have provided an endless source of fashion inspiration since the beginning of the 20th century.” Function meets fashion The show featured some 300 different work outfits, ranging from fireproof suits in multilayered fibres to diving suits and spacesuits, work clothes for fire-fighters, fishermen, nurses and doctors. Also on display – as though they were fashion items – were safety and protective accessories from hardhats and welder’s masks to chainmail protective gloves and safety shoes. The look was purposely fashionable, with the gleam of heat-reflecting foil giving industrial articles such as brightly coloured earplugs from Moldex the fashion treatment. There was a serious purpose to this: to show the technical design, simplicity and importance of the workwear items, from the simple lines of uniforms for medical workers to high-tech environment suits for spacewalkers, and how clothes affect image and perception, both in fashion and at work. Pictures and videos of workers from the past showed up the often squalid conditions and clothes they had to wear, many offering little protection. Workwear manufacturers and labels who participated included Lee Jeans, Timberland PRO, Utility by Diadora, Scott Health and Safety, Fat, DPI, Sicor, Siggi Group, Raitex and Moldex. Work clothes had pride of place, displayed as though on a catwalk, to show that technological advances, innovative materials and designs for practical workwear outfits often inspired the fashion garments on display. A designer following High fashion garments inspired by workwear were by Prada, Krizia, Moschino, Armani, Elsa Schiaparelli, Hermes, Castelbajac, Christian Lacroix, Versace and Walter Van Beirendonck; Comme des Garcons, Yamomoto and edgy labels; and CP Company and Stone Island. Although it’s well known that workwear and corporate clothing track colours, fabrics and designs, skirt lengths and suit silhouettes seen at designer shows and exhibitions, there is an equally important influence from workwear on the thinking of fashion designers, high level brands and top designer wear. Simple dresses in utilitarian fabrics by Hermes and Prada echoed the lines of hotel maids’ uniforms. One-piece denim suits that became the trademark of designer Thierry Mugler were 50 www.director-e.com www.fabricdirector-e.com www.workwearshow.co.uk
shown with boiler suits by Yohi Yamomoto and Max Mara as well as overalls by Krizia and Agnes B, contrasting with less glamorous ‘real’ workwear. Vintage jeans jackets for genuine workwear from the 1950s were obvious inspirations for denim fashion by D Squared and UFO, while sailors’ overalls in oilskins from the 1940s were shown opposite Marni’s shift dress in 2008 in similar fabric. Workwear influences for 2010 Performance fabrics and workwear are a major inspiration for fashion 2010, with robust cottons, denims and overalls in many collections. In the opposite direction, it is also clear that research into avant-garde yarns shown at Pitti Filati is targeted at workwear as well as fashion, being a market that can seem surer than the ever- changing fashion market in the current global crisis. New developments that will find their way into workwear as well as fashion include hypoallergenic fibres and efficient temperatureregulating developments in yarns, which can warm or cool the wearer to react to the outside temperature. The principle is already used for active sportswear and targeted at outdoor workers doing heavy energetic tasks. Newest were mosquito repellent yarns for people working in adverse conditions and therapeutic yarns to enhance wellbeing by means of encapsulated aromas and moisturisers, such as aloe vera. Ecology is an important issue in both areas. New eco-fibres include viscose made from milk proteins, Ingeo derived from corn and new WORKWEAR elasticised viscose, and most of these can be recycled or disposed of in an ecologically sound way. Fine cotton fibres made from Mako and Pima cotton are treated with capsules that release essential oils over time. Organic cotton, already widely used for corporatewear and linen, is being promoted as a zero impact crop, with the waste used or dug back into the soil. Wool, with its natural qualities of warmth, cool and moisture repellence, can now be dyed with naturally-sourced colours from nuts, herbs and fruits, which are stable, deeper and brighter to give a long-lasting natural product that can fulfil performance standards. The simple, functional aesthetics of work clothes, which have been developed to move with the body and protect it, have provided an endless source of fashion inspiration since the beginning of the 20th century www.director-e.com www.fabricdirector-e.com www.workwearshow.co.uk 51
Page 1: The international magazine for the
Page 4: Contents Workwear and Corporate Clo
Page 7 and 8: Buyer Advice Centre Relatively new
Page 9 and 10: Fashion Show Scenes A preview of so
Page 11 and 12: Meet the Judges They’re the famou
Page 14: AWARDS Tough Love Durable by name a
Page 17 and 18: Syscom PLC: Proud sponsors of the W
Page 19 and 20: Conference Speakers Chairperson: Ka
Page 21 and 22: Innovations at the Workwear and Cor
Page 23 and 24: Russell Collection Ultimate Non-Iro
Page 25 and 26: FLOOR PLAN Workwear and Corporate C
Page 27 and 28: Come see us on Stand D15 www.direct
Page 29 and 30: CTT Group - Textile Journal P6 3000
Page 31 and 32: Hobson and Sons Ltd P14 Kenneth Roa
Page 33 and 34: for over 50 years. Operating from i
Page 35 and 36: T Print Clothing Solutions Ltd A10
Page 37 and 38: I D Workwear C1 Lauffenmühle GmbH
Page 39 and 40: Sapphire Finishing Mills Ltd P27 Sh
Page 41 and 42: The Next Generation Light, bright a
Page 43 and 44: more traditional ice pack cooling s
Page 45 and 46: My passport and luggage were confis
Page 48 and 49: COMPANY PROFILE Workwear from the G
Page 52 and 53: COMPANY PROFILE Reap What You Sow A
Page 54: This time last year, when I made my
Page 57 and 58: Fattorini produces a winner Diary D
Page 59: See You Next Year at the Ricoh Aren

Official Show Guide - director-e

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