Structure and Attachment | V&A and Natural History Museum

Ahead of accessories week I decided to go to the Natural History Museum and V&A for some inspiration. As accessories can be made from anything, and look however the designer wishes, the possibilities were endless so through making these trips I was hoping to home in on a specific idea that incorporated within my themes.

Natural History Museum

I started at the top floor and worked my way down, the 'Red Zone' was filled with exhibits of volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural disasters. The opening shape of this zone was surrounding the escaltor, it was this huge metal 'lava' like ball, immediately I thought of Mcqueen's Savage Beauty. The ball was gold greys on the outside, but the inside was a burning red. Purely on colour I was completely blown away and I knew my accessory needed to be this burning bright red. I made sure to take as many pictures as I could to avoid forgetting anything if I returned to it later on. The pictures were useful as I had to hand my bag in meaning I didn't have my sketchbook to hand.

The first item that caught my eye was this heat suit; the cone shape of the head was 'out of this world' but could easily be translated into a silhouette of a garment or accessory, it was sci-fi-chic. This got me thinking about interpreting themes like futuristic, or vintage into structure and attachment, where someone comes from or where they are going. A persons Culture. And how fashion changes around people, social aspects, politics and economic status. 

The minerals and rocks were of little interest to me, but the geometric shapes and strong lines could be translated into something more interesting. The skeletons too, were too obvious in the attachment side of the project, but again as a loose idea could be really interesting. Perhaps not taken literally, but more in the sense of how objects could attach to each other, with joints and 'ligaments.'

V&A - Asia

The V&A was more interesting, I decided to wander around the exhibitions that are permanent there as I have never seen them before. The pattern detail and structure was something I realised noticed in the Asia sections of the V&A, it was so beautiful. From rugs to kimono's to paintings, every part of the exhibitions seem to work with the briefing of the project, and I knew it was a theme I had to incorporate into mine. Luckily my grandparents home is decorated with a lot of Asian art, in particular traditional Japanese paintings and masks. One part of the Japanese exhibit that caught my eye was the Samurai section, with the traditional armor and the unbelievable detail on the swords and knifes.

The middle-eastern section was distinctly red, very formal and embroided, one fireplace in particular stood out to me. It was so intricate in detail but had a very beautiful structure, I was completely thrown at how detailed the Asian art was and I hope it is something I can incorporate into my work, not necessarily in the literal sense but in the silhouettes and attention to detail. The shapes of the calligraphy and the bright and bold colour palette.