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Finalists on arrival in Goa
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The finalists (and organisers) in Goa it seems had a trip of a lifetime. And now here are some more photos and feedback from the whole trip. It is hoped that all the finalists felt that they came out of it (in some way) as winners – it was truly a life-changing experience for all these young designers.
With so many shared experiences and discoveries of new cultures, the focus of the competition – colour and sustainability in design – was also at the heart of many a lively discussion between the students. It was not only environmental aspects of sustainability that were considered but also social and economic, and for young designers, who are yet to taste the industrial world, there were some very good ideas put forward, as many industry experts agree.
On the first evening, the Indian finalist Bijal Vora (pictured), hosted a Mehendi session (henna tattoos) which was a great way for everyone to get to know each other. Bijal commented, on being invited to Goa, "When we
were invited to Goa, many of my friends and family members told me that go to this beach it's very nice, go to that church it's very ancient and so on... But when I reached the venue and met other students, frankly speaking I didn't wanted to miss any opportunity of interacting with such talented students, teachers and SDC members."All the finalists had an Ajrakh workshop (block printing with natural dyes), led by the expert Mr Abdul Razzak Khatri, a 9th generation Ajrakh printer of Kutch Dhamadka and a UNESCO awardee artisan.
This was most certainly one of the highlights for many, with everyone coming away with their own piece of printed fabric. Moipone Qekisi (from South Africa) sums up the experience, "The block printing workshop was the most exciting experience for me, meeting an Indian master craftsman who had passion for his art was very inspiring. In textile history we learned a lot about Indian textiles and block printing in particular. I felt very privileged to have been part of workshop that most students in my university would probably never get a chance to experience." A few of the finalists hard at work here (clockwise from left, Moipone, Nancy Taplin from the UK, Nabil Hasan Khan from Bangladesh and XiYue Zhao from China):
Next came the judging and all the finalists had a great respect for each of the judges: Latika Khosla, Sue Williams and Savio Jon. Nadia Khan (the finalist from Pakistan), commented, "The judges input was very insightful and all the finalists' work was extremely inspiring! I learnt so many new things from my time in Goa and I'm so grateful for this wonderful opportunity."
After the judging, the students were welcomed by the delegates at the conference and had to take to the stage!
The next day, there was a chance for the delegates to view the finalists' work during the exhibition prior to the awards ceremony [below: Erika Neumayer (USA) with her design boards in the exhibition, and XiYue Zhao (China); as well as Nadia Khan (Pakistan) and Angelina Anderson (Australia) discussing their work with delegates].
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And then came time for the presentation of prizes. First there was a presentation to Mr Abdul Razzak Khatri (who received a big cheer from the students!) and then all the finalists received a gift and certificate. Pictured below: Mr Rassak Khatri with Mr Rakesh Sachdev; CS Balajee (India) being presented with his certificate by judge Sue Williams; and all the students, with chair of the judging panel Latika Khosla, before they waited for the annoucement of the winners.
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Winning designs
As noted in the previous blog post, the second runner-up was announced Denise Wong (Hong Kong), the first runner-up was Nancy Taplin (UK) and the overall global winner and recipient of the SDC Colour Design Award 2009 was Moipone Qekisi (South Africa). Denise commented on hearing her name called out, "I could not believe what I heard! It is my name. I could not say anything in that moment and I was really happy. Besides the opportunity of enjoying the trip in Goa, the prize is an extra bonus to me."
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Nancy also comments, "For me the SDC global competition was an amazing opportunity to meet students and professionals from a broad range of countries, and to gain insight into and inspiration from a refreshing and exciting range of cultural outlooks and approaches to textile design and the use of colour. The final in Goa was an unforgettable experience, throughout which, and the competition as a whole, the SDC looked after us amazingly well. I am extremely grateful for the wonderful experiences I have had thanks to the SDC and their sponsors' generous support of emerging designers, and am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to forward my professional development in such a memorable manner."
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Here we find out a bit more about the winning designs.
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Denise Wong, Hong Kong Design Institute: 
In the surface pattern design process that the second runner-up Denise opted for in her entry, she created backgrounds using disperse painting and brush painting optionally. The resulting designs had an irregular feel which tied in with the title of her project, ‘Disorder’. Her inspiration came from environmental issues such as pollution and global warming and such natural disasters as tsunamis. Evoking high emotions, her ideas were also focussed on the material world in which people lived and the results of their actions which can lead to chaos and disorder. The colours which were applied in her designs were sophisticated, yet reassuring, natural and contemporary, reflecting organic colours from the earth with nostalgic hues. In her fabric development stage, she applied the patterns by heat transfer print as it is a sustainable printing method that can produce vibrant colours on a variety of surfaces. She chose a 100% silk chiffon fabric to allow a translucent, soft, fluid outcome and a distorted feeling when using the digital printing technique. This technology offers an attractive alternative to traditional design and production methods, with reduced waste and no harmful chemicals released into the air or water this lessening the environmental impact.
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In the surface pattern design process that the second runner-up Denise opted for in her entry, she created backgrounds using disperse painting and brush painting optionally. The resulting designs had an irregular feel which tied in with the title of her project, ‘Disorder’. Her inspiration came from environmental issues such as pollution and global warming and such natural disasters as tsunamis. Evoking high emotions, her ideas were also focussed on the material world in which people lived and the results of their actions which can lead to chaos and disorder. The colours which were applied in her designs were sophisticated, yet reassuring, natural and contemporary, reflecting organic colours from the earth with nostalgic hues. In her fabric development stage, she applied the patterns by heat transfer print as it is a sustainable printing method that can produce vibrant colours on a variety of surfaces. She chose a 100% silk chiffon fabric to allow a translucent, soft, fluid outcome and a distorted feeling when using the digital printing technique. This technology offers an attractive alternative to traditional design and production methods, with reduced waste and no harmful chemicals released into the air or water this lessening the environmental impact.Nancy Taplin, Colchester School of Art & Design: 
To create her designs, Nancy marbled water-based inks, isolated areas of each marbled page, and then scanned and manipulated the image to give her final design. Her fabric of choice was bamboo satin – sustainable due to its natural resistance to pests, rapid generation and prolific growth in the face of low levels of hydration – which, research showed, could be coated by the roll in preparation for digital printing. The areas of pattern were scaled and cut in a way that ensured little or no wastage of fabric, based on a system of tessellated fabric panels. The pattern pieces were then digitally printed and could be constructed into garments in which the falls of fabric echoed the prints’ fluidity of shape and colour. Evoking the feel and beauty of antique books and the patternation and vivid colours of butterfly wings, she took as her inspiration the exquisite specimens and library of an obsessive collector. Each of her prints explores the metamorphic qualities of colour; the marbled endpapers of antique books are key visual and methodological touchstones, but her designs are kept current by the unexpected juxtaposition of colour as warm, earthy hues are interwoven with vibrant jewel splashes and streaked fluorescents.
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To create her designs, Nancy marbled water-based inks, isolated areas of each marbled page, and then scanned and manipulated the image to give her final design. Her fabric of choice was bamboo satin – sustainable due to its natural resistance to pests, rapid generation and prolific growth in the face of low levels of hydration – which, research showed, could be coated by the roll in preparation for digital printing. The areas of pattern were scaled and cut in a way that ensured little or no wastage of fabric, based on a system of tessellated fabric panels. The pattern pieces were then digitally printed and could be constructed into garments in which the falls of fabric echoed the prints’ fluidity of shape and colour. Evoking the feel and beauty of antique books and the patternation and vivid colours of butterfly wings, she took as her inspiration the exquisite specimens and library of an obsessive collector. Each of her prints explores the metamorphic qualities of colour; the marbled endpapers of antique books are key visual and methodological touchstones, but her designs are kept current by the unexpected juxtaposition of colour as warm, earthy hues are interwoven with vibrant jewel splashes and streaked fluorescents.Moipone Qekisi, Nelson Mandella Metropolitan University:
The overall winning design by Moipone was inspired by children and their visions of a perfect world; in the midst of all the unrest around us, children still have a way of finding happiness and through their innocence, dreams and playfulness, Moipone’s designs were born. She took as her main inspiration a drawing workshop which she conducted at a children’s home in South Africa, after which she carried out research into the psychology of colour and chose colours that matched with what the children envisioned their perfect world to be like. From the drawings, she was able to capture their imagination and reinterpret some elements into her designs, opting for a large repeat-unit to create a dramatic design for use on interior furnishing fabrics. From a sustainability aspect, she opted for organic cotton as her fabric of choice – grown without the use of synthetic insecticides, herbicides or fertilisers – and took advantage of its natural colour in her designs. The fabric would be hand screen-printed using eco-friendly permaset water-based inks that do not contain ozone-depleting chemicals or any harmful substances.
The overall winning design by Moipone was inspired by children and their visions of a perfect world; in the midst of all the unrest around us, children still have a way of finding happiness and through their innocence, dreams and playfulness, Moipone’s designs were born. She took as her main inspiration a drawing workshop which she conducted at a children’s home in South Africa, after which she carried out research into the psychology of colour and chose colours that matched with what the children envisioned their perfect world to be like. From the drawings, she was able to capture their imagination and reinterpret some elements into her designs, opting for a large repeat-unit to create a dramatic design for use on interior furnishing fabrics. From a sustainability aspect, she opted for organic cotton as her fabric of choice – grown without the use of synthetic insecticides, herbicides or fertilisers – and took advantage of its natural colour in her designs. The fabric would be hand screen-printed using eco-friendly permaset water-based inks that do not contain ozone-depleting chemicals or any harmful substances.-
Now, just a few words from the winner, who received £1000 as well as the trophy as part of her prize:
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Thoughts about winning: "I feel very humbled, blessed and honored to have been chosen as the SDC winner for 2009. Winning comes with a lot of responsibility, I have been entrusted with a large amount of money that I have to use responsibly. My perspective on life has been changed. I have been given an opportunity that most young designers will never experience in their careers and I do not take that lightly. I believe my career has just started."How I will spend my prize money: "I have had a dream for as long as I can remember to start an art centre where underprivileged people will be trained in different arts and craft in order to eradicate poverty by creating job opportunities. It’s a big dream I know, but thank God for the SDC who has given me a head start! As I have said in the beginning, winning came with as lot of responsibility. I have no excuses now; it’s now time for me to start moving. The money will be used to make this dream a reality."
Goa experience: "The trip to India was the first time I have ever been outside South Africa; it was quite an experience I have to say. I was excited to spend time with young people who share the same passion that I have for fashion and textiles. I was very impressed with all the work that was presented by the other students and at the same time I was blown away by the amount of creative thinking that had gone into making each art work, wow! I made friendships with young aspiring designers from around the world; we got along so well one would swear we had known each other for years. This was a trip of a lifetime, I can’t help it but feel blessed, I’m just so grateful."
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The inspiring designs of these up and coming textile designers certainly fill us with hope for the future, when incorporating sustainable thinking into design will perhaps become second nature for forthcoming generations of designers. With the introduction of this technical element into the SDC colour design competition – demonstrating to students the interdependence of creative and technical disciplines – it will hopefully inspire anyone working in the field of colour design to be extremely conscious of best practices. The 2010 competition will be launched in September. Email us for details!
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by CMcN
by CMcN
