We had another bang-up round of Chelsea’s Challenge in the Textile Design Lab, with some truly stunning pattern collections created around WGSN’s “Tropical Iridescence” trend. I can’t tell you how inspiring it is to watch these collections come together each month, from the earliest stages of brainstorming and “backbeat” development (creating a mood board with influences of the trend, your own artistic style, and a target customer) to the final product of a professional, sellable pattern collection. Throughout this process our members receive feedback on their work from their peers and TDL instructors via our private forum, and I think the results speak for themselves! Below you will find just a sampling of some of the stand-out work that was created over this month-long challenge. Enjoy!
Arwen Edsall
Marja Hämäläinen
I thought of jungle that teems with life, growth, rain, fireflies and the sounds of insects.
I used gouache and Photoshop to interpret my experience of dream and the subtle order of nature.”
Vanessa Booth
Cathrin Gressieker
“I love everything tropical and floral. Actually tropical could be my middle name ;-). I spent my last three summers in Sri Lanka and Thailand and there are only few things in the world I could find more enchanting then the feeling of a tropical night. So I was very happy to bring this magical feel to my collection. I used pen and watercolour sketches that I further developed into patterns in Photoshop and Illustrator.”
my website: http://cathringressieker.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
Tessa Hall
I started my collection with scanned drawings and a few water colored backgrounds I painted for some of the motifs. I used Inkscape and Photoshop programs to create the effects and textures in my patterns.
I wanted the collection to have a nocturnal feel, but I didn’t want it too dark, so I added some brightness to it to bring balance.”
You can also check out more student responses to this challenge and others on our Chelsea’s Challenge Pinterest board.
