Wool, really?

Yesterday I had the priviledge of attending the 2010 Australian Wool Fashion Awards at Sydney's Royal Easter Show. It really is amazing what designers can produce with wool, a fibre which is commonly only associated with boring cardigans and warm clothing for the winter. It is really interesting what can be done with wool and wool blend fabrics, it is an extroadinary material. I have myself had a hand in using wool a few times, using natural merino wool and spending hours and hours felting my own fabric and I have, like a lot of other designers, had a go at knitting. I am a true fan of designers using wool within their collections, in fact I have been inspired by one designer in particular throughout my research so far this year.
Sandra Backlund is an incredible designer and her use of wool is amazing, there really is no other word to describe it! She takes lengths of knit and wraps it around the body creating unusual shapes and distorted forms. It is all about highlighting the body using forms that act as an extension on the body. The designs enhance our imaginations about clothing and especially the use of knit and what can be done with it. Although I am not embarking on the world of knit and wool at this very moment in my design life, I am not ruling it out but for now I would like to create distorted and structural forms like Sandra but using a different material other than knits and wool.

Images: www.sandrabacklund.com