Society of Dyers and Colourists

The next step

Graduating, for me was an experience which was made up of excitement and dread in equal measures. On the one hand I was relieved of the stress and constant deadlines, and on the other I was anxious of the realisation that I was now on my own, without the reassurance from the university and staff. Essentially I was on my own, I had attained my degree, but now the rest was left to me.

Thankfully however I came across the entry brief for the SDC colour competition in May, whilst preparing for my end of year final show. At the time I had a lot going on, but it always stayed in my mind and was something I was gearing myself towards when the mayhem of the degree show was over. The brief for the 2011 competition emphasised the creative and innovative uses of the commonly used term ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’, whilst creatively using colour in the design.

My collection, named ‘re-expose’, centered on sustainability and aimed at challenging the current ‘fast-fashion’ paradigm which is common practice in today’s fashion and textile industry. Coming from a printed textile discipline, I explored alternative printing techniques that worked in a more economical way creating the design onto the fabric. The two main printing methods I used were ‘heat transfer’ printing and ‘cyanotype’ printing, which uses UV or sunlight to transmit the imagery onto the fabric. These methods were the core practices from which I built my collection. I also used old or unwanted polyester shirts, which I de-segmented, using the desired areas, from which I could then use to adorn various parts of the body. Essentially I was giving the garments a second life.

The brief asked for each student to submit three to four storyboards to the regional heats. With my boards in tow I headed to Dublin in June for the competition. The competition was exciting and turned out to be a personally unforgettable day, for not only was it my first time in the capital city, but I also went home in the knowledge that I was to compete globally in Hong Kong later in the year.

The SDC were really great at keeping me up to date on the developments and arrangements of the trip. They liaised directly through email, and even went as far as setting up a face book page for all the contestants to meet and chat before Hong Kong. They had booked all the finalists into a beautiful hotel which faced out onto the Hong Kong harbor, with beautiful rooms and very attentive staff. The itinerary for the competition ran like clockwork. On the first day of meeting the SDC had arranged a day of sightseeing for the finalists and their guests along with lunch and dinner at two traditional Chinese restaurants, which was an experience in itself. The two SDC representatives that accompanied us on the trip, Clare and Tracy had the whole trip organised to perfection. The following day, the judging took place. This was held in a local Textile college. The panel consisted of three judges, from England, India and Hong Kong. Each finalist had to present themselves to the judges individually explaining their concept, using their storyboards to prompt and visually explain their ideas.

After all eleven contestants had finished the judges made their decision on the winner, which was announced at the prize giving dinner later that evening. The dinner which was attended by Hong Kong industry experts, was a lavish affair and for me as a student I felt very honoured to be involved. When the winner was announced and the formalities were all over we relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the evening (minus the food-not a fan of traditional Chinese cuisine).

The experience of the competition is one I will never forget. I feel so very grateful to the SDC for the time and effort they put in to supporting and promoting students from all over the world. The SDC Colour Competition was a great help in furthering my transition from student to Designer, and I feel the competition is beneficial to all participants and has reinforced my desire to work in the textile industry.

Sinead Laverty