LONDON — What would happen if you interpret the softness of floral Victorian-inspired bonnets through the harshness of leather?
Central Saint Martins textile designer Meg Dennis’ graduate collection explored exactly that, through a technique she pioneered and termed “suede bonding technique,” which allowed her to transfer the texture of suede onto the grain side of leather.
“The main focus for my final collection was seeing what qualities leather and only leather can create. I’m interested in brutalist mediums and materials and seeing whether or not they can be manipulated in a delicate way,” the designer said.
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The fruits of her labor were three bonnets, two in red and one in cream, which featured varying floral motifs derived from 1960s interiors and Victorian women.
“For the beige leather bonnet, my initial development was drawing delicate floral imagery from the Victorian era and ‘60s with staples. Then I extracted those drawings and engraved them onto leather,” she explained.
Trimming the hats were layered flowers made of boiled leather, allowing their edges to stiffen and curl, and pistils were emulated through white beading.
Dennis’ passion for textiles lies within her love for working with her hands, although her design ethos wasn’t always linear.
“I’m really interested in craft and I learn a lot by making,” she said.
“When I first started art textiles, I was a massive perfectionist. When it came to drawings or any form of making, I had an idea in my head of what I wanted it to look like, and if it didn’t look like that I’d feel I’d let myself down,” she added.
After spending five years at Central Saint Martins, Dennis said she’d like to spend a year working at a millinery or a brand before applying for a master’s degree.
“Throughout the years, I’ve developed in terms of realizing that experimenting is one of the biggest things for my design development,” she added.