Knitwear: Chanel to Westwood - Exhibition review

With next season's knitwear proving a bit hit at the recent London Fashion Week, 'Knitwear; Chanel to Westwood' displays a concise yet informative history of the prominence of the textile, showing it's rise from kitsch housewife garment to statement-shouting catwalk-construction (and a lot of things in-between.)

With stunning architecture and  regularly changing high profile exhibitions, The Fashion and Textiles Museum does well to promote the importance and influence of design to a diverse audience. Young and old, first-time and returning; visitors come in a range of sizes but all with one essential linking thread. That is an appreciation for fashion and fabrics, whether that means loving it or just understanding how large and significant of an industry it is. 

The exhibition is curated to show the progression and changing styles of Knitwear through the 20th century, up to the current day. From the knitted swimming costumes of the post WWI 'sportives' and the recycled garments of Make do and Mend initiative, up to the fashion rebels leading us into the new century, the displays are informative and cover much ground within knitwear's contextual history.

I personally very much enjoyed the

'Artistic Afternoons' section depicting luxe loose clothing from the art deco 30's. The garments feature "metallic yarns, deco colouring and exotic details", all presented in a way to accentuate their simple yet elegant style. I was drawn to the juxtaposition of weighty colour blocks against intricate pattern.

I was also drawn to the 1940's american knits, with their ultra glamorous and luxe quality. Featuring smart tailoring and embellishment, they contrasted strongly to the prudent war-time and gaudy folk inspired garments (though I will still always have an appreciation for Fair Isle Knits!) 

One element of the exhibition which linked the swiftly changing and vastly different eras was the display of fashion photography. From vintage family photos to fashion shoot, this medium truly demonstrates the versatility of the image. Whether the image depicts a kitsch happy housewife or a prim and proper model, they all ooze a sense of glamour, being well dressed and styled. One can happily state that Knitwear is safe fashion, and Jerry Hall's photo shoot for Vogue in 1975 proves it can be dam sexy too.

Uni-sex outfit by Comme des Garcons

Examples from big name contemporary designers take prominence in the latter part of the exhibition. Pieces by Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes and Julien MacDonald line the walls, each with high cultural significance and stylistic factor. Pushing boundaries with processes and materials to make innovative looks is a clear theme within modern fashion

I made an illustration of a MacDonald top on which he layered transparent yellow acrylic on top of knit in an exciting manner.

Visionary Knitwear, a separate part of the main exhibition, displayed designs which reinvented the concept of knitwear. Many of the garments featured came from graduate collections, as they are unafraid of bending and breaking rules, similar to their Haute Couture counterparts.

I particularly liked the fact that a design graduate from my own university (Rory Longdon) was featured next to a Julian MacDonald number. The designs themselves were exquisite, and this style of curation goes to support the notion that current and future knitwear design can still do innovative fresh things, still unseen and yet done by the big names on the catwalk.  

Knitwear has done itself a favour by developing a stigma of being traditional and kitsch as it sparks more and more radical design. Hopefully this transfers to highstreet with more definition, to give push knitting further out of the craft category and more into that of high end design. 

I feel this exhibition is a must see for anyone that knits, that enjoys the history of fashion design, or even just appreciates beautiful clothes.

And of course, I visited both the gift shop and the Teapod café, both of which I'd recommend too!