item details
Frances Hodgkins; fabric designer; c. 1925; United Kingdom
Overview
'Frances' is the hero dress from Kate Sylvester's 2019 Autumn/Winter collection of the same name. The collection is inspired by the life and work of the artist Frances Hodgkins.
Sylvester based the collection's prints on a number of textile designs by Hodgkins held in Te Papa's collection. These designs were produced by Hodgkins during her short but invigorating career as a textile designer with the Calico Printers Association of Manchester from 1925 to 1926.
Rather than slavishly copying Hodgkins' colour ways, Sylvester translated Hodgkins' designs into repeat prints in her own colour ways, such as her signature eggshell blue, for a contemporary audience.
The 'Frances' dress features three of Hodgkins' designs: Untitled (Textile design no V), Untitled (Textile design no VI) and Untitled (Textile design no VII).
The 'Frances' dress, which looks as though a number of scarves have been sewn together, is particularly significant, as it references Frances Hodgkins' love of scarves - she frequently wore several at once, and in two self-portraits she represented herself as a colourful pile of patterned scarves, accompanied by a handbag and shoe.
While the majority of the collection features dresses skirts and blouses featuring all over prints, this tee shirt features a screen printed placement print. The print is a 'blown up' abstraction of an already abstracted rose from Hodgkins' Untitled (Textile design no VII).
The 'Frances Rose' tee shirt, acquired to be displayed with a pair of 'Faye' trousers, showcases a more casual look than the dresses in the collection, and demonstrates Sylvester's and the design's diversity. Less expensive in price than a dress, the tee shirt is also an 'entry point' garment.