1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Mark Liu 203

062

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Australian Mark

Liu has always been

interested in fashion,

science, and philosophy.

This was behind his

graduation with honors

with a fashion and

textiles design degree

from the University

of Technology in

Sydney. While writing

his dissertation on

innovative materials

and new technologies

in fashion, he found

the idea of furthering

his study of those

concepts to be of great

appeal. So he went to

London, where he took

an MA in design for

textile futures. The

fruit of these studies

was his development of

Zero Waste fashion, a

technique to eliminate

waste when cutting

patterns. For this to

happen, the rules of

patternmaking needed

to be torn up and

reinvented. Zero Waste

fashion had a successful

debut at Esthetica,

the space dedicated to

sustainable fashion at

London Fashion Week.

Mark Liu

www.markliu.co.uk

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615

T

RADITIONAL MANUFACTURING VS. EXPERIMENTATION. I like to  nd out why people did

what they did traditionally and then experiment with it. You must remember that

what we  nd traditional at the moment was once experimentation in the past. I think it

is a good idea to have key pieces that represent the essence of the collection.

611 INSPIRATION. I like to lay down

all the things that inspire me on the  oor

(they can be books, objects, magazine cut

outs, or words written on paper) and look

at them all to see patterns. This is a good

way to  nd a theme. I like to obsessively

research what is currently being done

and then see what has not been done. It is

also good to  nd a problem or issue that

has not been resolved yet. The greater

the challenge, the more interesting the

outcome.

612 D

EVELOPING A COLLECTION. The

concept must become the thought process

that creates each garment. It becomes

predictable to cut and paste different

themes from different time periods. I  nd

it much more interesting to re-design the

design process as part of the concept.

613 M

ATERIALS. I like to buy

organic or alternative fabrics which are

environmentally friendly. To do this you

need to know exactly how and where they

are made. It takes a lot of time and effort

to trace the material from the  ber all the

way to the  nal fabric. Sometimes I buy

through textile agents and other times

I am literally talking to the farmer who

grows the animal or crop.

614 I

NDIVIDUALITY VS. GROUP BELONGING.

Creations invoke different responses

depending on who is wearing them. Their

personality will determine individuality or

group mentality.

204 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

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Mark Liu 205

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616 EVOLUTION. If you read, research,

and experiment as much as possible it

will be difficult not to improve every six

months. My designs always have a sense

of curiosity to them even though the

materials, themes, and techniques are

constantly changing.

617 I

S FASHION ART? I do not consider

myself a  ne artist. However, I do create

objects of beauty and deal with concepts

that some people consider art. I prefer to

call it fashion and research.

618 A

DVICE. If you can’t create what

you want and making it seems impossible,

consider then that maybe it does not exist

yet and you have to invent it.

619 G

OOD HABITS. Don’t be afraid

of failure, learn how to confront your

weaknesses and have a  nancially secure

business plan (this is much easier said than

done).

620 A

CKNOWLEDGEMENT. Inspiring

others to live in a more sustainable way is

the best praise I have gotten for my work.

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