We’re thrilled to share with you the success of one of our final year students, Claire Blaby, whose work was recently shortlisted for the inaugural Dorothy Waxman Textile Prize.

This new international design prize was created by the legendary trend forecasters Li Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, as part of their Talking Textiles initiative that promotes textile education, creativity and awareness.

Here’s what they had to say about the competition:

“…We are on a quest to save textiles – to honor and promote them and take them to new dimensions. It is important to take notice of textiles because they are an endangered species. Mills and factories around the world are vanishing one by one and educational institutions are downsizing their departments or replacing looms with computers therefore soon young talent may have no place to go. Creativity is the only solution. This is why we have started the inaugural 2015 Dorothy Waxman Textile Design prize , awarding $5,000 to a student whose work fosters the future. An inspiring selection of finalists from more than 200 international entries at Industry City during WANTED Design showcases some of the most innovative ideas today for fashion and lifestyle. These textiles will speak loud and clear and become the fabrics of life, knitting stories, illustrating pattern, whispering well-being and reviving the act of creative weaving.  Lidewij Edelkoort & Philip Fimmano…”

Out of a worldwide call for entries, Claire’s work was shortlisted from over 200 entrants to become one of the top 10 finalists. Congratulations Claire!

Convergence, 2015 by Claire Blaby – technique: machine knit, hand felted in merino wool with nylon, cotton & metallic yarns

Here’s a little more of what was said about Claire’s entry in the Waxman Prize:

In biology, convergence is “the tendency of unrelated animals and plants to evolve superficially similar characteristics under similar environmental conditions” or “a location where airflows or ocean currents meet, characteristically marked by the upwelling (of air) or downwelling (of water).”
In this hand felted wool swatch, laces made of cotton, nylon and metallic yarn are interwoven to create multiple layers of tactility; mirroring our current interest in embedding different elements to create a hybrid – a cultural collage that merges the natural with the synthetic.

Associate Professor Karen Webster, RMIT ‘s Deputy Head of School Fashion & Textiles, shared with us the feedback she received from Philip Fimmano about the work:
“…It was a pleasure to receive direct feedback from the team at Edelkoort on the high quality of the RMIT entry, with a particular reference to being the only one that focussed on ‘felting’. This is an area that Li Edelkoort, regarded as the world’s foremost trend forecaster, perceives as being significant and important as a material treatment…”

Watch this space for further profiles of our final year students work, as they gear up towards their graduate exhibition activity at the end of the year, or start following them now on their collective ‘Great Lengths’ on instagram