Lemon Fraser (she/her)
As someone who is drawn to all things cute alongside narratives and creatures that have a darker aspect to them, I realise that there are key interests throughout my life that carry both these elements. My collection combines the creepy and the cute through the subversive marrying of textiles and colour. Inspirations starting from Jan Svankmajer’s film adaption of Alice in Wonderland led me to create collages using images of taxidermy which were fed through an AI system to create unique doll-like creatures. These collages came to inform a myriad of design decisions, from distressed finishings to oversized silhouettes. Whilst wanting to bring back a playful dressing-up element of childhood and using the instinctiveness of layering, aprons became an important feature to the collections. The versatility of aprons played a part in developing shape within the garments, contorting themselves into sleeves, skirts, and trousers that tie into and onto each other. It became clear that there was a link between the colours present in my research, and those found in my personal wardrobe. This led me to revisit my own clothes when making colour and fabric decisions, re-enforcing the link between my research and my personal history. This collection has evolved from an interrogation to a celebration of the relationship between creepy and cute.