Sarah Wilson

This site was originally intended to showcase a portfolio of work originating from research undertaken in academia. My career has now shifted back into industry and looking to aid others in a number of capacities.

 

I draw on my extensive knowledge and experience to help others through consultancy on all aspects of fashion branding through Design, pattern cutting, product development and manufacture to retail.  You may be a start up and require a bespoke series of advice on navigating the fashion industry or be established and need high quality product development in patterns and garment sampling. Please feel free to contact me on the email below. Sarahmariaevelyn@gmail.com

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Below is my past history and influences.

 

I started my career studying for a Degree in Fashion and Textiles Design in Leicester. Her industrial career as a Designer and Design Director in London spanned 23 years with expertise in Special Occasion wear working for twelve different UK and Italian labels including Parigi, Alibi Diffusion, Liola and Entente. Her work has retailed Internationally and been selected for actors and celebrities to wear on various BBC and ITV programs including the Nine O’clock News and The Gloria Hunniford Show.

 

Following this industry career I joined Northumbria University as an Academic in 2004 where I developed two innovative taught programmes BA Hons Fashion Communication and Masters in Performance Product Design.  I lectured in Design Concepts and Product Realisation from 2D to 3D specifically exploring materials and processes for structures around the body. This teaching echoes my own practice research in pattern design, construction and material knowledge over a variety of projects with a drive to understand and contribute to material knowledge that aids human well-being and at the forefront of my inquiries. The more recent of these undertakings has been to design a new construction of Mask for Noctura to arrest sight loss due to Diabetic Retinopathy that aids patient adherence in the receiving an organic light-emitting diodes therapy.

Sarah has been a key contributor to a Deep Dive investigation into Polysaccharides such as Chitosan and Cellulose with Professor Raymond Oliver and Life Sciences at Northumbria University for a leading Blue Chip Company to explore potential new materials for an alternative to plastics for packaging.

 

My research into Investigating the ecology of organic tanned sheepskin, biodiversity and Fashion’s relationship to living matter in our soil in the making of a Sheepskin WW2 Irvin jacket, is the antithesis of my past working practices in industry from the 1980s/90s.  In my former career in industry I worked with silk, acetate and polyester textiles manufacturers to develop new materials in drape and texture to expand the products and collections I worked with. In contrast, three decades on, my work in academia was to understand and contribute to knowledge that looks to how we can in part undo the folly of plastic fibre production and revisit and augment new practices in regenerative materials for use in Fashion and Health Care garments. To investigate fibres and materials that can be grown and composted to enrich the soil rather than contributing to the growing mountains of Fast Fashion Landfill is the way forward.

 

I continues to expand on this knowledge and how a Designer and Fashion Academic engaged with new practices in understanding materials by keeping a flock of sheep and learning about tanning, sheep stewardship and health, growing pastures with grass and legumes to understanding the soil micro biome, carbon sequestration and water management.

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This website is a small part of my research outputs that evidence my investigation into Materials and Garment Pattern Design.

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You can also view my work at 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Morehead/research