Alabama Chanin
Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin, based in her native Florence, Alabama, Natalie Chanin produces a labor intensive contemporary collection from the age-old tradition of quilting circles.
Narelle Dore
Based in Antwerp, Belgium, Narelle Dore studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, renowned for its highly competitive and demanding, creative program. Originally from Perth, Australia, Dore first studied fashion and textiles at the Western Australian School of Art and Design, before starting a seven-month internship with ‘Antwerp Six’ famed, Walter Van Beirendonck.
Renowned for her fine and unexpected use of macramé which runs through each collection, each piece is hand crafted in her Antwerp atelier, and a reminder of her background in textiles prior to her education at the Royal Academy. Produced entirely in Belgium, Dore only produces a single collection a year, each piece sold as a unique item, and expressing the value of artisanship. Dore’s waif-like, ethereal designs have been compared to an early Rodarte.
Her Fall Winter 2010-11 collection comprised of twenty handmade pieces, based on a series of pinhole camera photographs she took at the salt lakes near her hometown of Perth. Diffused through the unfocused softness of the pinhole, the harsh light of the surrounding environment, led to her rich fabric choices, including linen, suede, sanded silk and laser cut leather. The collection is realized in rich cream and tan, through to dark wet sand colorations, punctuated effectively with soft aquamarine, shimmering burnished gold, and shell pink. Macramé features heavily in the collection, augmented by crochet, and delicate cutouts, expressed through simple, uncluttered silhouettes. Long swathes of yarn undulate, drape, criss-cross and hang, anchored by diamond shaped stripes of macramé knots.
In the eight years since her graduation, Dore has let opportunity dictate her work, with various projects and design residencies in Vienna, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris.. Her work is most often exposed through artistic installations, as a means of expressing the creative world that gives birth to her designs. Narelle’s collection is sold at RA in Antwerp, as well as online through NJAL.
NJAL site: www.notjustalabel.com/narelle_dore
