Ruby Kiwinda

I found out from all of my research and talking to people that they like how socks can help them express themselves and show a glimpse of their personality. My photo shoot aimed to represent this idea, I chose two models that I knew had interesting personalities and allowed them to choose a pair of socks to wear. I then photographed them in a natural lighting and told them to just be themselves. I am really happy with how the photos came out because I really feel like their personalities shine through. I wanted to mirror the portraits with photos of the socks that they were wearing to show that socks can tell you something about a person and can be just as an important accessory as any other. I am really pleased with the end result however I feel that it would have been nice if I had found more models so that I could experiment with presenting different personalities and characteristics.

So after seeing the Basquiat exhibition I was really inspired by his style and the messages that he reflects through his work. I wanted to create a zine that also portrays a message. A message that I wanted to touch upon is the issue that some women of colour have with people touching their hair without permission. I made this zine focusing on a photo that I have taken of some of my own stitching work inspired by artists such as Pym and Jiang. I used a play on words as I wanted to incorporate woven fabrics and also hair. I created a series of small illustrations that uses a very sketchy loose style similar to Basquiat's style. I was really pleased with the results of this small zine I  produced and will photo copy a few at some point to distribute as I think its a really useful way of presenting and spreading a message. Edits of my own photo My own illustration

So I decided that for my photoshoot that I wanted to create material that advertises and brings awareness that socks really have the power to represent who you are as a person. I want the shoot to be very simple and focus mainly on the power that socks can have as an accessory. Styling will be very minimal so that nothing distracts from the socks. I want people to look at it and see that socks can be just as important as maybe a pair of statement earrings or necklace. Images : www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/news/a37640/watch-this-face-charlee-fraser/  www.asos.com I want to pair a simple photo of the socks that my model had chosen for themselves next to a portrait of them. I didn't want the portraits to come cross too posed or unnatural so I just asked them to be themselves and I found this produced the most authentic outcome. I really like the portraits above taken by Shannon Soule, I wanted to create something very similar and simple....

"Discover the work of  Jean-Michel Basquiat , the pioneering prodigy of the 1980s downtown New York art scene. This unprecedented exhibition brings together an outstanding selection of more than 100 works from international museums and private collections. Engage in the explosive creativity of Basquiat who worked with Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Blondie, among others. Featuring rare film, photography and archive material, the show captures the spirit of this self-taught artist, poet, DJ and musician whose influence, since his death at 27 in 1988, has been enormous." https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2017/event/basquiat-boom-for-real This was a really interesting exhibition because Basquiat has always been an artist that I have looked up to and admired. His work always holds a very important message that is important to him. Through creating abstract pieces e really expresses his personality which is the theme that I am most interested in. Basquiat uses his art as a to...

Styling Workshop Today we worked with Mimi in a styling workshop, I chose to customise a pair of my old jeans. I wanted to create a look that channels a particular personality. I chose to use Max as my model so I wanted to create a look that really expressed his interests and personality. He always dresses in a very unique way, he takes risks with is looks and is bold with his choices. For this reason, I knew I wanted to draw some flames on the jeans however I wanted to put a modern twist on it by drawing the flames out in a large pixilated way. I then used a bold black marker to draw traditional flames over the top to reflect the style of his tattoos. Max is also a very open person and doesn't hold back, he also has many different layers to his personality. This is why I wanted to cut off one leg of the jeans so that they can be worn as just the one leg to make a more revealing look or over the top of another item of clothing to create different layers and dimension...

The History of Denim http://historybuff.com/history-denim-1-v7grDY59DyZp The true origins of denim are often debated but can be traced back to the late 1700s in Genoa, Italy, and Nimes, France. It’s thought that the name denim is derived from de Nimes, meaning from ‘from Nimes’, after weavers in Nime attempted to replicate a fabric originally developed in Gênes (the French word of jeans), but ended up with a different cotton twill. A twill we now know as denim.  An accidental development in the French town of Nimes, so you can see where they got their names from!   Jean then went on to become the working-man’s textile in Northern Italy, as depicted in many early 17th century works of art, as it was cheap and durable. Heavy cotton fabrics have always had a close relationship with, the other fabric of this type. Dungaree, yes dungaree, is another variation of this type of fabric and was born in a small dockside village called Dungri in Bombay, India, for the workers...

I wanted to look at some of the themes associated with the colour red and how they could link to different types of personality.

Tingyue Jiang, Parsons MFA "I want to make good use of my cultural background and bring more different opinions into fashion. The clothes we wear are so intimate to us. I want my design to tell people a story, and connect them with the clothes. My collection was inspired by my background in the Chinese manufacturing system, which is always stereotyped as mechanical, uncreative, and low-quality. I researched the experience of these workers: Sewers only do sewing, cutters only do cutting. I tried to work like a sewer and cutter. I sewed some bad stitches, but I kept that. I cut fabric half-way, but I stopped. I kept all the imperfect elements that happened in the process of manufacturing, because in my eyes, they are beautiful. I feel designers need more time to think and go further and deeper. It is so expensive and difficult for young designers to catch up with the speed of fashion. This high-speed industry also generates so much waste."

“I think it’s really important in the digital age to make a connection with materials and your body,” Celia voiced, “I worry about a loss of that with our screen-based life. How do you know nature? How do you know the feeling of something?” Celia’s process-led work relies on tangibility, questioning what is human and what is real beyond the physicality of an object. “IT’S EASIER TO TALK THROUGH AN OBJECT.” “The result of this artist’s work is a wearable piece that paradoxically comes from apparently useless waste. Her work illustrates a process that goes from destruction to reconstruction. It speaks of recycling and recuperating while it also has to do with taking care of the other. It is the creation of a beautiful piece out of nothing. A piece that could almost look like tattoos on a body.” http://1granary.com/schools/royal-college-of-art/celia-pym/ I am interested in Celia Pym's work because she takes plain objects such as old jumpers or old socks an...

After working in the dark room I started to have a look at the artists Elaine Duigenan because her work reminded me of the black and white photograms we were making in the dark room. "Elaine’s work takes a close look at objects. Things are never quite what they seem and her work is pared down to find singular beauty. Pale specimens glow in inky black spaces and appear to hang by a thread. There is strength and fragility, perfection and imperfection. Her work teases the viewer as images hover somewhere between quirkiness and elegance." https://www.elaineduigenan.com/about https://www.elaineduigenan.com/nylon

After the dark room induction we had to collect a range of objects to create photograms from. I chose some object that I thought would look good as they ver varying in thickness and density. The leaves gave a more of a faint look where as the chain created a very bold and harsh result. I was really pleased with the results from the photograms of the chains as I though they looked really striking and cool.

So today I went out to see if I could catch anyone who was wearing socks so that I could take pictures of them and ask them about why they wear them.   Will Kang, 19  "I love wearing my red socks because I feel like it makes my outfits more vibrant and fun - also red is my favourite colour. I usually find the best ones in places like Urban outfitters or Topman." Colin McGregor, 20 "I have always been very into accessorising and I love the way that socks can make a smart outfit look slightly more casual. I think wearing a bright pair of socks can make an outfit look more fun and quirky." Chris Kavana, 22 "I always try and wear socks that are a bit different because I think it reflects my colourful personality"

Laura Callaghan has always been an artist that has inspired me so when I received my brief I instantly thought her bright bold use of colours would work well with the red socks. This illustration below really inspired me to do some of my own illustrations of socks as on of the girls she has drawn is wearing red socks. Through drawing the socks myself I gained a better understanding of the simple shape and structure of a sock. I also experimented with different patterns inspired from the socks I found on the Hysteria website.  http://www.lauracallaghanillustration.com/

After researching what is available to purchase online I wanted to look on social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram so that I could get a better idea of how people are really wearing and styling the trend. I did this by using the hash tag   #redsocks on both of the platforms. After gathering this research I realised that on Instagram a lot of the pictures that people were posting were of themselves wearing red socks and black and white Vans. Vans have always been a skating shoe which I found quite interesting because it completely contrasts the previous research that I did online where the red sock trend seemed to represent luxury and femininity. This shows that red socks and socks in general can be used to portray several different meanings/interests.

Hysteria  is the new brand by fashion favorite Happy Socks, and it's boasting to be the world’s first lifestyle sock brand for modern, fashion-conscious women. "Hysteria believes that socks have so much more potential, as a fashion accessory and a means of self-expression. For too long contemporary womenswear has overlooked the fashion sock category, offering women limited options and inspiration," Happy Socks Concept Designer Paula Maso tells Refinery29. "Hysteria seeks to change that, providing women with a powerful accessory that augments and elevates their personal style.” http://www.refinery29.com/2017/08/170463/happy-socks-hysteria-womens-collection-2017 Articles about sock trends :  https://www.allure.com/gallery/socks-with-sandals-and-heels-trend http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/milan-fashion-week-socks-trend http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/why-the-sock-boot-is-here-to-stay   http://footwearnews.com/2017/fashion/designers/resort-2018-runway-trends...

Oldest Socks (1,500 years old) These Egyptian wool socks, designed to go with sandals, were knitted between 300 and 499 AD and found in the 19th century. http://www.seenox.org/oldest-everyday-ordinary-things/ Socks have evolved over the centuries from the earliest models, which were made from animal skins gathered up and tied around the ankles. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, in the 8th century BC, the Ancient Greeks wore socks called "piloi", which were made from matted animal hair. In the late 16th century, machine-knit socks were first produced. Until 1800 both hand knitting and machine knitting were used to produce socks, but after 1800, machine knitting became the predominant method. Celtic ancestors customarily wrapped and bound their feet and legs with woven woollen cloth. Later, Roman invaders found that Northern climes were tough on their Mediterranean feet, and found themselves ditching their sandals in favour of the footwear of the sensible ancient...

For the object brief I have been given : red socks We have two weeks to research how, when, why our object is used and document any trends we see along the way. We will ten need to really try and understand the object through researching the historical uses, the ways it can be constructed and also deconstructed. I will carry ou tthis research through online and book research, finding photographers and artists who have used socks as a subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViXm2Eo1Whs&feature=youtu.be  

My name is Ruby and I'm 20, from North London but I've been living in Brighton for just over a year now. I did a foundation at Ravensbourne and last year I started on the Visual Culture course but decided it wasn't for me as I realised that I have a way bigger interest in fashion and styling. In the future, I hope to get more experience in styling. Right now I think the end goal is to make fashion documentaries in the future so I really want to get experience in filming too. I love traveling so if I could end up in a place where I get the opportunity to travel around the world making fashion videos it would be amazing.