Thursday, February 01, 2007

Is Alison Willoughby skirting the issue?





Alison Willoughby is an established and innovative textile designer, selling and exhibiting her work both in Britain and abroad. Renowned for her highly individual and hand constructed intricate skirts, she was initially known as ‘skirtgirl’. However, she has since branched out into menswear and womenswear, and more recently into shop and gallery installations. Alison became interested in textiles whilst studying Foundation Art and Design at Trowbridge College in Wiltshire. She started by experimenting with pattern, working on different types of paper, using dyes, inks and textures. It quickly became apparent that textiles was an area in which Alison had great talent and it was suggested by her tutors she specialise in the discipline at university. She was accepted into the Glasgow School of Art to study a BA in Printed and Knitted Textiles and it was here she was able to work with fabric, focusing on print techniques, knitting and deconstruction, and incorporating haberdashery materials, such as mourning pins from her grandmother’s attic, into her work to create interest and pattern. On graduation, Alison went on to gain an MA in Constructed Textiles Mixed Media from the Royal College of Art in 2001.
Allison Willoughby

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