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Charlotte Carter

Advanced Practice: National Trust Back to Backs Collaboration

Charlotte Carter is a BA (Hons) Garment Technology with a Foundation Year student, collaborating on a project with National Trust Back to Backs Museum. 

GIVE US A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF YOUR PROJECT

For Advanced Practice we collaborated with the National Trust Back to Backs museum to create garments from George Saunders original blocks. Working in groups we used these blocks to create garments inspired by tailoring from the past 100 years, including styles from the 1920s, 1970s, and 2020s. My waistcoat and trousers were inspired by the 1920s. The final garments were then displayed at the Back to Backs museum along with sampling and folder work, this was on display to the public and visited by local Fashion students.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS CONCEPT?

George Saunders’ story is really inspiring and I couldn’t wait to get started on this collaborative project. I find the tailoring of the 1920s really interesting and I enjoyed researching and exploring elements from this time to incorporate into my project. This included sourcing herringbone wool, researching fastenings from the time including side adjusters and covered buttons, and recreating shapes from that era with the Oxford Bags trousers.

WHAT PROCESSES HAVE YOU BEEN USING?

The blocks that I was provided with for the project had little detail and were bespoke sized to a client of George Saunders, therefore I used the block as a shape guide and transformed this into a graded down mens medium with necessary pattern information including notches and pleats. Processes used for this include pattern cutting, manually grading, fabric testing, pocket sampling, and garment toiling.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE WITH YOUR PROJECT?

With the Back to Backs collaboration I wanted to achieve a well made and researched garment and collection, with a clear focus on George Saunders, with appropriate links to the 1920s whilst being relevant for the present day. I believe that I was successful in doing this as my project was selected to be displayed at the Back to Backs museums George Saunders exhibition. The original shapes from George Saunders blocks could be seen in the garment shapes, whilst the individual fastenings, details and fabric are relevant of that of the 1920s, with the whole garment construction and quality being to a modern day standard.

HOW HAS YOUR COURSE HELPED YOU TO PREPARE FOR WORKING ON YOUR PROJECT?

In my Foundation year, each project included something new, including techniques and processes, from this I have been able to be more explorative throughout my time at university, including working on this collaborative project. Within the Foundation year, we also had a group project which involved presenting our brand, this module specifically along with the whole of the Foundation year experience really boosted my confidence and gave me the opportunity to experience presenting, which has gone on to support me with this project when I was asked to present my work to a group of college students at the Back to Backs museum. The Garment Technology course has provided me with the skills needed for creating garments from scratch, with this project for example, I was able to transform George Saunders original blocks into 1920’s inspired present day pieces to be displayed at the exhibition.