Another Aussie gem to add to the list of homegrown talent! Catherine Conlan is behind the Sydney-based label Worn, influence by music and art, specifically Australian music and art.
Catherine graduated from Fashion Design at Ultimo Fashion Design Studio last year and presented her first collection ‘All the Time’ by Worn at MBFW in April this year. Creating prints that would have a huge presence and tell a story within the range was really important in her creative process.
Think Positive was delighted to work Catherine on the prints for her range. We asked her to share a little more on her design process, print creative and the plans for Worn!
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What is the idea/concept behind this range? Did you have any creative reference points?
The idea behind ‘All the Time’ was to produce a very wearable collection that was able to be worn all day everyday.
Dressing it up or down, layering it, the subject of your own personality being an important aspect of the way the clothes are actually worn because each piece is able to be worn different ways and with different pieces.
Japan. I love Japan and more importantly the way they dress. It’s really non seasonal to me. Quality is important to them as well as technique and history and it couldn’t be more spot on with what I want and need in clothing, art and design.
Sport’s culture was taken for a bit of a humorous point in the process of my prints and the actual aesthetic of this range. Tennis in this case. It wasn’t so much that I love Bjorn Borg or tennis culture, it was the Fila stripe and the knitted head band and collars and cuffs. It made sense to use Bjorn as the obvious subject for aesthetic reasons, but using him to project my print making process was just a small aspect to the reference points of my range.
How did print contribute to fleshing out your creative concepts?
Print was a really major contributing factor to my whole range and actually all of my work that I continue to make and will make in the future. Print was my major subject in my final year at Ultimo having screen printing at our finger tips was always great but when I discovered digital printing in second year all my ideas just became crazier and a lot more natural,to be honest, as everything I envisioned was actually possible now.
What was your starting point for incorporating print in the range?
I collaborated with Chris O’Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa) interpreting his painting ‘organism’ on an evening wear project. I digitally printed a huge evening wear dress with the painting covering the entire piece (which was a blue house) it was clearer than the painting! I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t been designing to digitally print the whole time. It’s so much more fun to design when you know the graphic side of it is basically just huge with endless possibilities. It’s a new layer of conceptual design to the finished product.
What was your experience working with TP? How did they assist in bringing to life your print concepts?
Working closely with Emilie and the small team at Think Positive is a really exciting and creative process. Opening my mind up to all of the boundaries that can be crossed and showing me that my work is not only do able but so much more can be done! It’s an incredibly thoughtful process, every single time you print or have the idea to print, the experience for me is so personable and insightful. I leave inspired!
What are your plans for Worn’s future?
Right now I am working on a small body of work (10 pieces) with an Australian artist who I am incredibly excited and thrilled to be working with! Basically working off four paintings and colour matching to make stripes and knit combinations to go with the digital aspect of the prints. It should be ready to shoot in October so very very excited about that!
