Who will it be - Jigsaw or Westwood? Galliano or Marshall?

Souvenirs at the ready...

After much speculation and anticipatory rumor Prince William and Kate Middleton have today announced their engagement. While much comment has been generated over the choice of ring (William's mother, Princess Diana's own engagement ring) the real speculation in fashion circles is what will the bride be wearing, and perhaps as importantly, who will be given the task of creating what will no doubt become one of the most photographed, blogged and tweeted upon dress of the century? As a former employee of mid-range brand Jigsaw it's not outside the realm of possibility that in these straightened times that Kate may choose something ''off-the-peg''. More likely, however, the task will go to a ''name'' British designer, perhaps some satin-silk ''picture-dress'' with a huge bustle by Vivienne Westwood? Or perhaps an intricately embroidered number by Matthew Williamson? Or even something spiky yet seductive by Gareth Pugh or Hannah Marshall? Although fully-resident in Paris, John Galliano has on hand the full might of the Dior ateliers at hand...and one can only imagine what Alexander McQueen could have created...or perhaps Christopher Bailey could develop something tasteful with a little Burberry-check...and of course she must wear a hat or headdress of some kind, British milliners are second-to-none, step forward Stephen Jones...

Coming on the heels of recent royal weddings in Sweden and the Netherlands, such a state occasion offers the opportunity for Britain now, too, on an even grander scale to assert its authority in the sartorial stakes of its official consorts. While the sartorial battles between the likes of Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Samantha Cameron are well documented, the royal consort holds a special place in the demonstrating the cultural, and thereby political, superiority of nation states. Although the potency of their sartorial influence has perhaps waned under the plethora of actresses, TV and pop-stars that now act as fashion's ''role models'', the royal consort still adds a certain glamorous and exotic allure that their less-than-royal counterparts cannot hope to provide, or indeed compete with, as examples such as Queen Rania of Jordon prove. Yet the figure of Kate Middleton provides a new-take on the ''fairy-tale'' updated for the 21st Century, being a middle-class girl from a wealthy, self-made family. In dressing Middleton for her wedding the designer entrusted with the task will not only be creating a fabulous gown for a one-off occasion, they will also find themselves on duty to provide a dress that defines a new era in bringing the royal wedding into the 21st Century

Design Relationships

McClaren C12

I am not really a big fan of cars as such - living in London a city seemingly snarled up with them, or having lived in NL too, where pretty much everywhere is accessible by public transport, not being a car owner is almost a no-brainer. Yet today at the RCA I had the opportunity to attend a panel talk hosted by the Vehicle Design Department, in part because I was intrigued more by the talks title than the speakers attending (not being very ''au fait'' with the ''names'' associated with car design generally) which went under the banner of ''Design Relationships - the ways design relates to commerce and the way it touches people''.

Design - especially for ''consumer goods'' such as clothes, cars, furniture, telephones or computers - is perhaps as much about the emotive or tactile quality as anything. This was certainly the key message put across by Neal Stone, Director of consultancy Leapstone, and formally of BA and GNER, who put it in terms of how design is the key link between commerce and people. In many way this is one of the standard arguments, that innovation comes through design, as a way of promoting the health and leadership of any given brand or product. Yet design, or rather designers who create and develop cars, or other products, have a very real role as ''problem solvers'' - with even car designers having to think through how to develop a vehicle that coincides with the principles of ''cradle-to-cradle''. Frank Stephenson, Design Director for McClaren, explained how the ''time-to-market'' for cars has changed from the usual 36 months, to 18 months, and how it is now even possible to develop a car in just 10 months, which is achieved with advances in the speeding up of the ''drawing-board'' and prototyping stages of car design. Deputy Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Rama Gheerawo, explained how in looking at the role of cars in cities today it's necessary to garner the views of a cross-section of car users, from passionate ''petrol heads'' to complete car abstainers, since all have a valid view, and indeed stake, in the usage and perceptions of cars today. Looking at how cars can be more ''connected'' to our everyday lives - how they are used for both professional and personal occasions, he described some possible solutions to how this could come about, and how cars may in future may become more ''useful'' in their role as ''street furniture'', when cars spend so much time just sat passively in parking bays. Kenny Schachter, a curator, was a car enthusiast of a different kind. As furniture has come to be displayed as ''Design Art'', so too he believes, do cars have a role to play in the gallery or exhibition space, as beautiful objects whose aesthetics and meaning behind them can be celebrated in the same way so many other ''designed'' products can be, and are. He cited in particular the project he commissioned the architect Zaha Hadid to create, with a 3-wheel and four-wheel version of what became the ''Z-Car''. This idea of creating ''bespoke'' or ''limited'' edition vehicles almost brings car design back full-circle, to its beginnings, with cars initially the preserve of enthusiastic and adventurous inventors.

For each of the speakers, collaboration was a key theme in the context of car design, yet this is also a facet that applies to many other areas including fashion. Since to realise the vision or ambition of a particular concept requires the input, and co-operation of a number of stakeholders - from designer's ''drawing board'' through to end user. Yet, as was acknowledged in the Q&A session at the end of the panel presentations, the designer's role is today perhaps more complex than ever, as they have to negotiate the demands and needs of the various aspects their designed product impacts upon. Less about trends or ''styling'', instead the social impact has to be considered, and while building ''efficiency'' into the design process is important, helped along by innovations in technology, this cannot negate the quality or emotive aspects of design. As cars too, can be viewed as ''fashion'' objects, unveiled in the glamorous surroundings of glitzy car shows, this emotive and tactile quality makes them not only interesting, but also desirable.


Z-Car, four-wheel version, by Zaha Hadid

Curating Design

Today I attended a cross-college seminar hosted by David Crowley from the Critical and Historical Studies Department on the subject of Design Exhibitions: What are they? And what might they be? The seminar consisted of a short presentation from several practitioners/curators in the field of design exhibitions including Claire Catterall of Somerset House, Daniel Charney an RCA tutor and curator at Aram Gallery, Nina Due of the Design Museum, and Gareth Willams, formally a curator at the V&A, and now a tutor at the RCA.

Each curator gave an insight into their own experiences and reflections on their approaches to curating design within the context of their own specialism and/or institution. Catterall gave perhaps the most personal perspective, reflecting on her experiences working in both formal institutional settings, such as the Design Museum and Somerset House, and also as a freelance curator, through her own set-up as part of Scarlet Projects. Due gave an interesting insight into the Design Museum’s current perspective of enhancing the visitor experience, where visitors are encouraged to engage and be inspired as much by the events the museum hosts as its static exhibitions. Charney, meanwhile, described his experiences of working in a not-for-profit curatorial space located within the confines of a commercial setting in the form of the Aram Gallery in the Aram shop in London’s Covent Garden. Finally Williams reflected on his experiences as a curator for both the permanent design and architecture collections at the V&A and also for temporary and topical exhibitions, such as the recent Telling Tales. Following on from this, a panel discussion was formed of each of the speakers, who were also joined by Mark Sladen, formally of the ICA, and moderated by Crowley.

My own interest in curating is as a research methodology, as in my own current project on Fashion Souvenirs, and while none of the speakers raised this, the seminar raised some intriguing points. One of key points made towards the end of the discussion was about the ‘ordinariness’ of design and design objects in everyday life. Yet by taking objects out of their intended context and placing them on a pedestal in a gallery space poses problems for curators who seek to engage in their audience in participating in design exhibitions, not merely as passive observers, but as active and fully absorbed participants. Many curators today are engaged not so much in putting on exhibitions per se, but ‘projects’, or perhaps ‘event making’ to create a dialogue and active awareness in exhibition visitors. This has particular implications for the curating of fashion and textiles, where the tactile nature of the objects on show is such an integral part. Yet for reasons of preservation and conservation touching in any form usually remains strictly forbidden. An interesting example where this can be circumnavigated comes in the form of the Centraal Museum’s recent retrospective on Alexander van Slobbe in Utrecht, where a whole room was set up as an atelier complete with sewing machines, cutting tables and an ironing board. In this space visitors were encouraged to make their own simple tunic-style dress supplied from a pattern of one of van Slobbe’s archetypal designs. While many UK museums such as the V&A and the FTM run practical workshops under supervision, it is difficult to imagine how any would locate such an apparent health and safety ‘risk’ directly in the gallery space itself.

Overall, this discussion was an insight into the diverse strands of curating design and the challenges and opportunities provoked by differing contexts in the curation of design objects. Design, taken generally as something commercial, has often had to fight its corner in being accepted into grand institutions. Yet, as was raised in this discussion, many design 'objects' are made specifically for exhibition, that is their 'usefulness' is not to be found in their practicality, but rather in the appreciation of their design as an end in itself. Yet, as I have found with my own curatorial project, Fashion Souvenirs, their remain many aspects of design that have yet to have their 'ordinariness' fully appraised or appreciated.