Research Staff
Sandy Black, Professor of Fashion and Textile Design and Technology
Research Interests
Knitwear, fashion and textiles design with particular emphasis on 3 dimensional aspects of design and realisation, incorporating mathematical principles. Inter-disciplinary design in social and cultural context; Innovation in knitwear particularly 3D and seamless construction; Intersection of arts and science with design; Sustainability issues in fashion and textiles.
Current Research
My current research interests seek to Interrogate Fashion - its practice and design processes. I am developing projects that integrate old and new technologies and seek new ways to approach the design and creation of fashion-related products through the relationship between craft practices and advanced technology. A key concept underpinning this research is the notion developed with the Interrogating Fashion Research Cluster during 2005 of more responsible design that takes into account the wider environmental, ethical, social and individual needs of products and their users.
My personal research continues in knitwear utilising the potential of advanced technology for three-dimensional structures, and in particular the application of mathematical concepts to knitted artefacts and knitwear.
Drawing on my background in both knitwear design and mathematics, I am involved in personal research which is exploring new forms in the realisation of knitwear, using advanced technologies and based on mathematical concepts of topology.
As principal investigator of the EPSRC/AHRC funded Research Cluster 'Interrogating Fashion' I am bringing together academics, fashion and textile designers, computer and material scientists, artists, musicians and researchers to discuss future ideas and changing paradigms for fashion and accessories in the 21st century. With a focus on practice, process and presentation , the research cluster will explore, through workshops and events during the current year, three overlapping themes:
Digital Fashion? from craft to mass customisation
The Fashion Paradox: transcience and sustainability
Fashion in Context: presentation and display, audience and engagement
Weblinks
www.interrogatingfashion.org Interrogating Fashionwww.tfrg.org.uk Textile Futures Research Group
Recent Research
Books
2002: Knitwear in Fashion Thames and Hudson, published in London, New York, Berlin and Tokyo. Paperback edition published in 2005, an illustrated book surveying contemporary knitwear design and its development in relation to fashion and technology, with reference section on knitting technologies, yarns and designer biographies.Edited books
2005: The Art of Knitting: inspirational stitches and textures Francoise Tellier-Loumagne. Translator and consultant editor for English edition, Thames and Hudson
Book chapters
2005: Chapter in Textiles For Protection, 'Fashion and Function: factors in the development of protective clothing' with V. Kapsali, F Geesin, J Bougourd. Woodhead Publishers, Cambridge
Conference papers
2006: University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Helen Louise Allen Centre memorial lecture, Chazen Art Gallery, Madison, Wisconsin. Public lecture: 'Contemporary Knitting: The Intersection of fashion, craft, art and technology'
2006: Design Dialogues. Designing for the 21st Century Proceedings. 'Interrogating Fashion : Practice Process & Presentation: New Paradigms for Fashion Design in the 21st Century'. Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee. Article and conference presentation
2005: Paper 'Benchmarking of seamless knitting technologies', Proceedings of the 84th Textile Institute World Conference CDROM
2005: Exhibition paper and film screening: 'Work in Process: Artist's Collaborations in fashion and textiles'. Proceedings of Creativity and Cognition 5th Annual Conference, Goldsmiths, London University
2004: Surface and Form: Towards a Topology of fashion knitwear. Conference presentation and publication, The Space Between, Perth Western Australia
2004: From Chemistry to Catwalk. Lecture on contemporary knitwear as part of London Design Week, The Royal Institution.
2000 - 2002: The New Knitting Exhibition and catalogue toured London College of Fashion, The Harley Gallery, Nottinghamshire and Hawick Museum , Scotland. Contemporary design in fashion, accessories, interiors and artworks which utilised knit as a fundamental element.
Supervision ExpertiseInnovative knitwear and fashion design, inclusive design
Fashion in context, practice - based research addressing current and emerging context or issues.
Interdisciplinary design eg fashion and architecture
Current Research Students
Caterina Radvan. Inclusive design of knitwear using advanced knitting technologies.
Julie King: Colour and Fashion Forecasting: an investigation into the origins, processes and accuracy of trend forecasting
Martina Steinmetz. Freedom of movement in womens wear - flat pattern cutting as a response to urban life
Maria Tsakilides: Spinal Deformity as a Generative Model for Conceptual Fashion Design
Umar Hassan Jan: Craftsmanship: a dying art in Fashion - the death and evolution of the craftsman in the modern society
Email:
Centre Diredtor of the LCF Centre for Fashion Science
For more information on 'Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Creative Process & the Fashion Industry, essential reading for everyone in the international community concerned with contemporary fashion manufacture as well as the broader industry' please click here.
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Considerate Design for Personalised Fashion
A toolkit being developed to support fashion designers to embed sustainability in their work -
Centre for Fashion Science
Fashion Science research aims to develop new fashion-related products and processes
