Meg Naysmith

COLLECTION NARRATIVE

Civil/Structural Engineering *but make it Grays*

Megan Naysmith

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This project and collection is a nod to my journey from engineering to fashion. Before studying at Gray’s I completed a civil & structural engineering apprenticeship which I eventually realised just wasn’t for me. There were times when I almost felt trapped there. I wanted this project to express those darker times along with the freedom I felt when I finally left and pursued the career path I’d always dreamed of, but, had been led to believe had an ‘unrealistic’ future. As much as I’m glad I no longer work in an office, on a computer, drawings lines I didn’t care for, it was a chunk of my life that provided me with some invaluable experiences, which deserve to be aired. Throughout this project my aim was to reimagine some of these experiences into something much more up my street - a mixed media textile for fashion collection. 

 

I began by using my technical engineering drawings and experiences as my inspiration which quickly led me to looking at the built environment surrounding me here in Aberdeen. I photographed interesting buildings, road markings or signs all of which I could have been involved in designing during my time working in the construction industry. These photographs provided me with a wider range of references including surface textures, shapes and patterns that I could translate into textile designs.

 

Throughout my work I often have quite a feminine aesthetic while still being interested in stereotypically masculine themes. Perhaps working in an office full of men for 4 ½ years is where this came from. I like to take these themes and give them a feminine twist. This lent itself to the engineering-based theme as the construction industry is still a predominantly male industry. I was one of only two women in the office and the only girl in my college class by the end of the course. I wanted to somehow convey this throughout the project by either creating a gender neutral or womenswear collection which mixed up these stereotypes. 

 

Sustainable design is another aspect I am interested in. I wanted to make this a sustainable collection. To begin with I wasn’t sure how to go about this so I looked into various areas such as natural dying and fabrics or zero waste pattern cutting. However, when I began looking into construction site wear and PPE I decided I would use upcycling as my sustainable approach. I investigated how hi-vis vests could be transformed into a whole new garment.

 

Overall, I really just wanted to enjoy designing this collection and have fun with it. I love to design through making and play around with various textile techniques and experiment with unconventional materials which I manage to try a lot of throughout this project.

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