Researching suit design

During a university placement at Sunny Bank Mills, Beth Allen had the opportunity to work closely with the designer Susan Gaunt to explore and dive into the archive and understand how the design process took place at the Mills. The goal was to trace the origins of suits and how the fabric linked back to their sources. This process helped build a clearer understanding of how the fabric was created.

Susan, who had previously worked at Sunny Bank Mills, had a deep understanding and an ability to look at a suit from the archive collection and immediately identified which part of the collection the material used for it came from. We were then able to go through the shelves and find similar fabrics to the suit. After a few attempts we successfully found the range blanket, which was the exact match of a suit in the archive. After finding the range blanket we were able to look through the books in the archive using a number found on the range blanket, which meant we were able to find its matching range ticket and weave pattern card.

These cards show the original design as well as the designer’s name and the process they went through to create the fabrics. It was like detective work, piecing together how ideas, threads and sketches formed a final fabric which was then created into a suit. I found it fascinating how each small element had a role in telling the story of a specific garment. I was able to gain a better understanding of the technical side of fashion and the history of textile design.

This element of my placement showed me how crucial research is in creative practice. Understanding the origin of materials is not just about history but it can also influence how modern designs are developed today. By knowing where fabrics come from and how they were used, we could use this understanding for new collections which a more modern technical approach. Today, designing fabrics is a whole different process with the use of technology. Weave cards and range tickets would all be done digitally, making the process a lot quicker. Seeing how all this work was created physically, helped me acknowledge the time and work behind each piece. During my time at Sunny Bank Mills, I have also gained experience handling the materials in the archive, learning how to document them clearly and understand their meaning. It has given me a new appreciation for the design process behind every garment.

Written by Beth Allen

2^nd Year student Fashion Design, Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge

Images by Joanne Crawford

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