SARAH_SWEENEY

For Sarah's graduate collection she began her research after becoming initially inspired by a series of self portraits by Gertrud Arndt. The series of portraits, named 'mask portraits' have a playful aesthetic, which Sarah has tried to capture through her own work. This then led her to to research the Bauhaus school where Arndt studied and the lifestyle of the students who resided there. Discovering photographs from fancy dress partys and the invitations which were made by the students helped to form a colour pallete within Sarah's collection. The home made feel to the invitations also inspired prints of uneven striped and hand drawn poka dots. A theatre performance by Oskar Schlemmer also became a main inspiration behind Sarah's collection. Schlemmers 'triadic ballet' which was recorded in 1927 has a surreal, dream like quality which Sarah has portrayed through soft brushed knitwear. The costumes worn by the dancers in Schlemmers ballet formed the basis for the bubble like silhouettes Sarah has created in her collection. The collection was designed for A/W 2012 using a mixture of chunky and finer knits. Yarns such as mohair, merino and cash wool has been used to give the collection a softness reflecting Schlemmers ballet. Sarah believes her colour pallete which is made up of blues, greens, yellows and oranges, along with contrasting black and white are a refreshing take for the Autumn Winter season.