ELIZABETHAN SPORTSWEAR – PART IV
Disrupting the identities of things and delving deeper beyond the foundations of
generic garments - Elizabethan Sportswear IV concerns itself with an experimental
approach by unleashing the potential of a ‘virtual’ space through collage. By
developing the garments alongside the design-work, Nabil virtually cut up aspects of
the garments as they developed, thereby nurturing an evolutionary approach to the
collection.
As one garment organically gives rise to another, Nabil challenges obvious preconceptions of Elizabethan dress by collaging menswear elements, which help ground
the lightness of sixteenth-century cotton organdie ruffs. Nabil’s use of sportswear
performance components, such as spacer fabrics and technologically-informed
methods of construction such as bonded bindings and ultra-sonic welding adds to the
unexpected palette.
Nabil places value on the creative process that leads to the actualisation of a garment.
He believes that without sharing the process, the final garment tells only half the story.
It is for this reason that Nabil continues to share his research process taken from his
sketchbooks through vividly illustrated prints often seen in the Elizabethan Sportswear
collections. For AW17, Nabil’s PhD research took him to artist Hollar, the works of
which Nabil collages with to arrive at his extreme silhouettes. Through Hollar, Nabil
was also able to re-contextualise the early modern period's fascination with power.
This power was often demonstrated through elaborate embroidery, illustrated through
eyes and ears, to remind the subjects of the realm of the constant presence of the
crown and the dominance of the Elizabethan court. This mystery and intrigue has been
captured through collating spying eyes behind the whisperings of courtiers in the
flower gardens.