This exhibition focuses on the relationship between fashion designers and their textiles, which has emerged in recent years as a distinctive characteristic of British fashion. By sharing ideas and working together, the fifteen designers included in this project make garments and accessories from the inside out, questioning the boundaries between disciplines and challenging assumptions of good design.

Today’s fabrics, because of the way they are produced and the applications for which they are designed, allow these designers greater freedom to explore issues other than simply the conventions of silhouette and style. Using a range of materials as their starting point, they seek to re-examine not just the appearance and construction of clothes, but other concerns too, from environmental and political issues to personal and philosophical ideas.

Introduction to Fabric of Fashion
by Marie O'Mahony and Sarah E. Braddock

British fashion designers have an international reputation for being eccentric, thought-provoking and boldly innovative. Consistently defying convention, they have put London on the world fashion map for the past forty years. The city itself is renowned for creative dressing alongside traditional fabrics and fine tailoring. Textiles are an essential element and over the past two decades we have seen the worlds of fashion and textile design become increasingly close and reliant on one another.

Characterising this practice is a preference for simple, uncluttered shapes which give prominence to the fabric. In creating this unique aesthetic, microfibres, mixes of natural and synthetic yarns and sophisticated finishing treatments are combined with traditional skills. Drawing on examples from the very best British textile design and fashion, this exhibition focuses on the nature of these relationships.

In a world of globalisation, brand names such as Benetton and Levis are omnipresent. They are virtually the same in every country, with occasional colour variations to take account of regional taste. The emphasis is on uniformity, a reassurance that you can look the same as someone in New York, Cairo and Oslo. The British fashion industry has cultivated young designers who have a clear sense of identity and a distinctive creative vision.

Their clothes are being worn by those who want to make a statement and be individual. The unconventional is combined with the prim to create a style that is open-minded. British fashion is not prescriptive and people buying the clothes are encouraged to personalise them through the combination of garments and accessories. Unlike global branding, the mixing of different labels is encouraged. The success of this vision can be seen in a recent move by global brand names to offer customisation.

There is no single reason as to why London should have developed this vision; that the city is a cultural melting pot is certainly one factor. This has created a dynamic which means that the city exists in a constant state of flux, both conceptually and geographically. Many of the young designers in this exhibition are based in the East End. The area has traditionally been home to immigrant communities, previously Jewish and more recently Bangladeshi. Each leaves something of their presence when they eventually depart for other areas of the city. This can be seen in the shops, restaurants and even street names. Fashion Street and Haberdasher Street are a reminder that fashion and textile designers are not new to the area.

The development of new materials and technologies has been accompanied by renewed interest in modern couture and craft. British designers draw on diverse sources of inspiration which demonstrate a range of creative ideas and forms of practice. Departure points include the immediate urban environment, the broad world of art and design and visions of the future. Hussein Chalayan, one of the most creative and conceptual thinkers in British fashion uses unlikely narratives:

weather patterns, global communications and portable environments. The avant-garde label, Boudicca (Zowie Broach and Brian Kirkby), often take emotions rather than images or historic costume as their source which they then communicate in an abstract way through clothing. Shelley Fox, who won the coveted Jerwood Fashion Prize in 1999, also pursues a conceptual approach. Her collections have been inspired by geometry, August Sander's photographs and Morse code. British designers are often influenced by cultures other than their own and fashion designer, Tracy Mulligan who has a strong belief in Eastern spiritual philosophies gives each of her collections a title from the i ching. India has played a major role in the work of Nigel Atkinson and his palette of magentas and saffron yellows is inspired by Rajasthan. His attention to surface decoration is often undertaken by Bengali craftsmen who create rich hand embroidery, mirror-work and beading to his designs. Jessica Ogden often uses antique textiles directly in her creation of garments.

Fashion designers understand that the future of their area lies to a great extent in the selection of fabrics. Advanced textile technology has yielded new aesthetics, tactile qualities and performance capabilities. Traditional crafts such as knitting, weaving, embroidery and intricate hand detailing are employed alongside sophisticated new treatments. High technology coatings, laser-cutting and the latest microfibre fabrics, shape memory alloys and technical cloth are all being appropriated from industrial applications.

Fashion designers are collaborating with textile designers to produce collections which show innovative fabrics, impeccable craft and attention to detail. Textile designers B. Earley, Eley Kishimoto and Sophie Roet have all created unique fabrics for Hussein Chalayan. Eley Kishimoto started by supplying their textiles to fashion designers and now have their own range of clothing and accessories. They have a look that combines English streetstyle with a Japanese influence ­ a successful mix which is becoming recognisable world-wide.

Tracy Mulligan works closely with textile practitioners and is interested in hand-craft, texture and strong, graphic printing, stating that "surface decoration is the future of fashion". Her contemporary, minimalist chic gives emphasis to their fabrics with their hand-worked details such as fabric manipulation and embroidery. Textile designer Savithri Bartlett and Boudicca met at the Royal College of Art and have successfully collaborated. Boudicca are interested in unusual, tactile materials and Savithri Bartlett has supplied them with moulded, three-dimensional forms for seamless garments and laser-etched surface decoration. Shelley Fox produces sculptural clothing. Her trademark is hand-felted wool and further experiments include scorched felt and cotton singed with lasers.

Many British designers mix aspects of traditional craft with modern technology to create a comfortable, futuristic style. i.e. uniform (textile designer Lesley Sealey and fashion designer Roger Lee) demonstrate how craft and technology can merge. "We love to fuse traditional methods such as embroidery with laminates and coatings to create new fabrics". Other designers refer to Britain's textile heritage to keep tradition alive and imbue a new meaning for contemporary society.

Hikaru Noguchi is originally from Japan but now London-based. She reinvents traditional British textile crafts for a look which is classic with a twist using woven Welsh blankets, Fair Isle knits, Shetland and Arran patterns.

Today's British designer is balancing originality of concept with impeccable cutting and craft to create wearable garments, which are provocative and commercially viable. Short-order, small collections or 'demi-couture' and made- to-measure clothing often give emphasis to handcraft and are opposed to the anonymity of mass production. British fashion and textile designers are constantly experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what is expected of them. Unpredictable and thought-provoking, the work of these designers honours tradition while signalling the future.

For further information contact Brett Rogers