JOwa "The Beaked", Autumn/Winter Collection 2012
Photography by Simon Armstrong
“The Beaked” is my first collection under the label JOwa.
It is a pret-a-porter mens-and womenswear collection for the autumn/winter season 2012.
I tried to execute engaging creations with surprising structures to distort common proportions.
My background in tailoring - 2 ½ years apprenticeship as a women’s tailor in Munich, Germany – makes me draw my inspiration from tradition. Vintage suits were used to drape intriguing garments.
During my studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol, I discovered that draping and working on the stand is my favourite method to develop innovative shapes and designs. This gives method and material its own say and for me the design gains a high level of authenticity.
It is a pret-a-porter mens-and womenswear collection for the autumn/winter season 2012.
I tried to execute engaging creations with surprising structures to distort common proportions.
My background in tailoring - 2 ½ years apprenticeship as a women’s tailor in Munich, Germany – makes me draw my inspiration from tradition. Vintage suits were used to drape intriguing garments.
During my studies at the University of the West of England, Bristol, I discovered that draping and working on the stand is my favourite method to develop innovative shapes and designs. This gives method and material its own say and for me the design gains a high level of authenticity.
The overall theme is 'who you are' and 'who others expect you to be'. Franz-Xaver Messerschmidt's eighteenth century character heads, self portraits of a Messerschmidt, beginning to suffer from paranoia, inspiredthe print design and echo in the knitwear through the use of punchcards.
The volume and the structure of the knitare informed by WW1 injuries and masks. Returning soldiers had to wear masks to look themselves again.
For this collection JOwa enjoyed to find beauty in unusual, dark and decaying places. The goal was to create disturbing yet beautiful aesthetics.
The choice of material and colourway is based in the plain lives of the Amish and their tradition of quality crafts. They are potentially old-fashioned or underrated in high end fashion like corduroy, cottons and linens. These were chosen to amaze with humble materials, colours and methods.
Being curious of how things work, and being eclectic in her interests, every detail from the 3/5 colour seperation screen-prints up to the enamel buttons, from the highly detailed knit down to the catwalk tune was designed, taped, produced and sung by JOwa's head designer Johanna Posselt-Walsh.
The volume and the structure of the knitare informed by WW1 injuries and masks. Returning soldiers had to wear masks to look themselves again.
For this collection JOwa enjoyed to find beauty in unusual, dark and decaying places. The goal was to create disturbing yet beautiful aesthetics.
The choice of material and colourway is based in the plain lives of the Amish and their tradition of quality crafts. They are potentially old-fashioned or underrated in high end fashion like corduroy, cottons and linens. These were chosen to amaze with humble materials, colours and methods.
Being curious of how things work, and being eclectic in her interests, every detail from the 3/5 colour seperation screen-prints up to the enamel buttons, from the highly detailed knit down to the catwalk tune was designed, taped, produced and sung by JOwa's head designer Johanna Posselt-Walsh.
Through combining her skills in knit, print and drape Johanna created an exciting debut.
If you are interested in the catwalk tune, created by taping the sounds of knittingmachines and using an instrumental of a Bjork song follow this link: |