Visiting Dubai

I was fortunate to be able to visit Dubai during May and took the opportunity to visit the souks. Having toyed with the idea of using silks for some of the scarves I intended to create, the textile souks seemed like the perfect place to purchase some fabric. Exploring the souks in the blistering heat took stamina but the rewards were well worth it; the fabrics, prints and patterns were bold and exotic but I managed to seek out some plain silks at just 30 dirhums as yard (about £5) so I bought both white and a beautiful silvery grey.

Fashion and Textile Museum: Artist Textiles

After the Design Museum we stumbled upon signs to the Fashion and Textile Museum which seemed well worth a visit whilst in the vicinity. As this stage I was feeling quite uninspired/unmotivated with my college work, visiting exhibitions really helped to re-spark my enthusiasm.
The main works to view at the museum were in the exhibition 'Artist Textiles - Picasso to Warhol: There were some wonderful prints shown as large pieces of fabric, scarves and garments. I was inspired by the printed scarves in particular. I feel scarves could link nicely with my work and provide a beautiful floaty canvas (if I use silk) to show my designs.

Hello my name is Paul Smith

Trip to London:
The main reason to visit London was to see the Paul Smith exhibition 'Hello, My Name is Paul Smith' at the London Design Museum. Whilst there, the 'Designer of the Year 2014' was also showing. This exhibition show cased innovative designs from 7 categories which intend to benefit life by making it easier, safer and more stimulating. A very intriguing exhibition.



I absolutely loved the Paul Smith exhibition, it was and insightful look into his world. We were shown his office, shops, fashion shows, collaborations, the studio, his personal art collections, inside his mind and much more. I found the imitated studio space particularly inspiring, showing work in progress with a variety of books, magazines, yarns and fabrics.