An Escape from Tradition
Using historical themes and concept has a starting point for my collection my research began with the Trench coat, a classic coat that has been subject to endless reworking and reinvention and by looking at secondary research I investigated where the Trench coat first began which was in World War I. I then looked at who created the trench coat and who invented its weather durable fabric. This brought me to Burberry, who are most famous for their Trench coat and a Heritage of 152 years. Their coats were worn in the trenches of World War I by British soldiers, and for decades thereafter Burberry became so much a part of British culture. I looked at their history where I researched further into who wore their coats. One of many, Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the North Pole wore Burberry outerwear. I looked at the style of the jackets and what materials were used for protection against harsh weather. This is where my inspiration for the use of fur and animal skin came in. As I researched more into more recent collections done by Burberry, in 2010 Christopher Bailey was inspired by the company’s aviator heritage: sheep skin-collared aviator jackets were teamed with dresses ruched and strung like parachutes. I began to look at aero plane wings and parachutes as inspiration for collages and over-exaggerated lapels. As I was researching into parachutes I was inspired and began considering puffed sleeves. This brought me to research into fashion history, looking at the Edwardian Era, an era that was occurring before the first world war broke out. As my investigation deepened I began to focus primarily on the Edwardian shirt waist, and I refined this focus into looking at the details within the shirt waist which was pleats and gathers.
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