With embroidery on clothing it's very easy to immediately think of poorly dressed art teachers - all patchwork and frizzy hair. It's true, it is difficult to take it out of it's very traditional context and for designers to not be tempted to put it on big A line skirts, which seems to be the setting for most embroidery. However, it's good to see a Scot moving the technique forward and really playing with this traditional artisan technique.
Scott Ramsay Kyle, a Glasgow School of Art and Central St Martins graduate, has pushed the boundaries when it comes to mixing traditional and modern in his AW08 collection, Untitled.
His clothes are reminiscent of 3D collages with flowers, feathers, fringes and fabric baubles all exploding from garments in a celebration of colour and texture.
The visible stitching, exaggerated silhouettes and clashing palette all serve to displace opinions that embroidery and 'arts and crafts' in fashion can look dated and studenty - all critisms I have heard many times before by the fashion pundits. Instead, Kyle plays with idea of bringing clothes to life by way of movement and interaction - let's be honest, you couldn't not interact with a dress which has so many things coming out of it!
Scott Ramsay Kyle is a breathe of fresh air in my opinion and I look forward to seeing his inevitable progress through the fashion landscape.
Queen Michelle
