“Essentially, what we’re doing at Le Kilt is about celebrating craft, so we thought we’d give it a go,” the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund finalistsays, of her decision to reallocate funds to a series of workshops and an exhibition, Innovation Through Tradition, which opens this week at the Michael Hoppen Gallery as part of London Craft Week. “There is so much time going into the garments and they’re not necessarily ‘shouty’ enough for a presentation, you really have to tell a story about how they’re made to get a better understanding of why you might buy them,” she continues.
It’s an exercise in storytelling that has paid off. The exhibition, in partnership with NORN, a London-based design consultancy, is a brilliantly engaging revision of Punk (with a capital ‘P’) within a traditional craft context. Ideas started flowing when McCoach, whose label has recently expanded its repertoire to include raw, unwashed London-made denim, as well as Scottish knitwear and footwear in collaboration with George Cox, went to NORN’s founders to learn how to weave, as part of her International Woolmark Prize Collection efforts (which, incidentally, she later won).
“The idea with the exhibition is to look at craft and appropriation, how we wear clothes,” she says. “If you catch your jumper and you don’t repair it, does that little hole add something to the garment? Should you put a patch on it? Does it then have a relationship with Punk?”
McCoach’s aim is to introduce the softer side of Punk to a new generation, and to expose its traditional roots within a craft context. “It’s so easy to say that Punk is about anarchy and rebellion, and I don’t necessarily agree with that,” she enthuses. “Punk is about individuality and identity – making something your own by changing it. It’s also about craft – if you’re pulling threads out of your jumper, putting a patch on something, you are nodding to a traditional technique.”
McCoach’s aim is to introduce the softer side of Punk to a new generation, and to expose its traditional roots within a craft context. “It’s so easy to say that Punk is about anarchy and rebellion, and I don’t necessarily agree with that,” she enthuses. “Punk is about individuality and identity – making something your own by changing it. It’s also about craft – if you’re pulling threads out of your jumper, putting a patch on something, you are nodding to a traditional technique.”
Going on to discuss tartans, many of which feature in her designs, she says: “I never think of Punk as a reaction against tradition – tartan is associated for instance with Johnny Rotten and Vivienne Westwood but also the Royal Family. There’s a paradox that suggests there’s something much more nuanced about Punk and its relationship with super-traditional craft. I want people to see the softer element.”
She also wants to teach people how to mend their clothes. Last week saw the first in a series of Le Kilt mending workshops at Liberty, with McCoach leading a crash course in weaving for 10 curious attendees, all of whom had brought with them an old piece of clothing that they wished to revive. “I had no idea what it would be like,” laughs McCoach, in her soft Scottish brogue. “But it was really inspiring. We wove things together, turning patches into new things. One guy brought some old sari silks; another lady was a knitter and had some wool; some students had brought tea towels.”
Each respective student left having manipulated their fabric into something new. “I like the idea of rolling the workshops out across the country; as a child I made so many things out of toilet roll, necklaces out of pasta, and I feel like those childish experiments are being lost,” says McCoach. “It’s so important to celebrate mistakes and learning, to not worry about things needing to be perfect.”
Then, reflecting on her decision to switch things up more generally, she says: “If you go into something without any expectations, you’re encouraging and positive, open to the right or wrong answer, then something really amazing can come out of it. I’m going to try and do better at that.”
Catch Samantha McCoach in conversation tomorrow evening at the Michael Hoppen Gallery, 3 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TD. Tickets for the workshops have sold out, but the exhibition is free and open to all. For more information about future Le Kilt workshops, sign up to the brand’s newsletter.
She also wants to teach people how to mend their clothes. Last week saw the first in a series of Le Kilt mending workshops at Liberty, with McCoach leading a crash course in weaving for 10 curious attendees, all of whom had brought with them an old piece of clothing that they wished to revive. “I had no idea what it would be like,” laughs McCoach, in her soft Scottish brogue. “But it was really inspiring. We wove things together, turning patches into new things. One guy brought some old sari silks; another lady was a knitter and had some wool; some students had brought tea towels.”
Each respective student left having manipulated their fabric into something new. “I like the idea of rolling the workshops out across the country; as a child I made so many things out of toilet roll, necklaces out of pasta, and I feel like those childish experiments are being lost,” says McCoach. “It’s so important to celebrate mistakes and learning, to not worry about things needing to be perfect.”
Then, reflecting on her decision to switch things up more generally, she says: “If you go into something without any expectations, you’re encouraging and positive, open to the right or wrong answer, then something really amazing can come out of it. I’m going to try and do better at that.”
Catch Samantha McCoach in conversation tomorrow evening at the Michael Hoppen Gallery, 3 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TD. Tickets for the workshops have sold out, but the exhibition is free and open to all. For more information about future Le Kilt workshops, sign up to the brand’s newsletter.
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