ARTSTHREAD Interview Costume & Set Designer Sian Dorman About Her Background In Creative Textile Design And Her Plans For The Future

PRESS ROOM

15 Jan

Written By Debbie Mckeegan

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ARTSTHREAD interview member Sian Dorman, a Chelsea College of Art and Design alumna and freelance textile artist.

ARTSTHREAD ask her about her background, plans for the future and what inspires her textile designs.

ARTSTHREAD: How Would You Describe Your Practice And Specialism?

Sian Dorman: I am an Artist & Designer that stems from a Textiles Design background. I create a range of wearable art, costume design, headwear, and sculptural set installation pieces that are all made from donated & discarded waste Materials. Everything I make is either available for hire or sale via the website or Etsy page for my brand Siân Dorman Creations. Most of my clients are other creatives, everything from photographers, dancers, singers & musicians, actors, and other performers and we work together to fulfil a vision. I also create custom designs for commissioners when requested.

ARTSTHREAD: What Interested You In A Career In Costume Design?

Sian: I had always been interested in Fashion & Textiles but I was never a fan of the stigma attached to the fast pace and turnaround which comes with the Fashion Industry; I never appreciated the pressure that you are put under as a designer to release large seasonal collections every single year to stay relevant not to mention the environmental impact it has on the planet.

I also found that at the time of beginning my Textiles Design Degree, Textiles as a specialism still had a lot of historical connotations as a pass-time for only the elderly. Most of the established Textile Artists created traditional tapestries and wall hangings.

It didn’t feel like there was necessarily room for innovation and responsiveness to current sociopolitical trends; whilst looking for examples of modern and abstract designers pushing boundaries, I didn’t find many. Also during this time, I found myself getting more concerned by the climate crisis as campaigns about the issues with fast fashion became more prevalent.

I was drawn to specialise in ’Stitch’ and applied those techniques to create set/installation pieces that were sustainable in nature, using a combination of plastic and metal waste and other collected materials.

After Graduating I was challenged by Swiss musician Livia Rita to create a costume for her album release party that was based on an existing sculpture collection that I had made in the past.

Wearable art was always something that I had wanted to give a try but at that point, my concept of ‘Costume design’ was limited to what I saw in film and TV which had never inspired me. I took the challenge on and never looked back. I love seeing my art.

My pieces are all one of a kind with an avant-garde quality; acting as costumes and also wearable artworks with life & character of their own. I tend to work collaboratively with other artists & musicians to create costumes and set installations for their performances. I enjoy all elements of the process and how my work helps to expand the definition of what ‘costume design’ means.

ARTSTHREAD: What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Career And The Pieces You Create?

Sian: Working for myself as a Freelancer is one of the most exciting parts of my career, everything is down to yourself and your own motivation, inspiration, and drive. At times it can be slow-moving and this is when you can rest and plan for future development but that’s just what comes with having such an exciting specialism.

When it comes to the individual pieces I make, I most enjoy the flexibility that working with waste materials gives me. I feel that each piece of material already has a design in it, it’s just waiting for me to find it. Sometimes I come across a material that looks interesting in some way, maybe it’s the form, maybe it’s the texture, sometimes even the colour is so rare I HAVE to have it but yet I just can’t seem to figure out what to do with it. It could stay in one of my storage boxes for years sometimes before I ‘find’ the design, then it all comes flowing to me, usually by finding the perfect material that compliments it to pair it with. This means each of my pieces comes out with its own unique character or life and that’s the beauty of sustainable design and working with waste material.

Nothing I made can be mass-produced or replicated in exactly the same way.

ARTSTHREAD: How Has Your Work Developed Since Graduating And What Are Your Plans For The Future?

Sian: What’s exciting is that it feels like my work inspires its own evolution. For example, the forms and structures of a series of recycled plastic carrier bag sculptures inspired the production of some of my most popular for-sale items to date: necklaces & earrings, as well as contemporary wall art, all using the same waste materials and echoing some of the same jagged lines, layering, spirals (you can insert more accurate words) of the original 3-D sculptures. This is a cool example of how in textiles design, one concept can be molded to fit a range of uses and more specifically, how my exploration of the overlaps of sculpture, installation, fine art, wearable art, etc. have yielded expansive results which I couldn’t have predicted when making the original piece.

At present, when I’m not working to fulfil a client’s commission, I tend to allow things to flow in response to a variety of things including what materials I find or am given by friends, family, and followers, the current season we are in, or even my own mood.

This is why each of the collections that I create follows a completely separate tone in comparison to the last. If you just look at the four collections that I have released from December 2020- June 2021 you have:

Trashion- December 2020: A monochrome collection of headwear, necklaces, earrings, and dresses all made from plastic waste with quite a fierce dark overall vibe.

Strawhican- April 2021: A collection of x9 multicoloured hats and headpieces, chokers, and cuffs all created from a mixture of collected, donated, and discarded disposable plastic straws, shot in Camden with an overall edgy punk vibe.

Vintage Retro 1950’s Floral Hats- May 2021: Collection of x3 bold vibrant dome-shaped fabric flower hats, inspired by 50s swimming caps, with a very feminine vibe.

Quarantine Jungle Wearables- June 2021: Another extremely bold and vibrant collection made from collected recycled plastic waste to create a floral jungle set installation piece, paired with a clear plastic outfit with punched holes to insert flowers into, worn by the incredible drag artist Umamii Monae!

I let my work take me where it pleases. My plans for the future are to build my brand awareness and expand the items available for hire in my shop.

ARTSTHREAD: What Advice Would You Give To Those Considering A Career In Costume Design?

Sian: Be wild. Be free. Don’t try to fit yourself into a box, it will all make sense in time. I regularly got the opposite advice when I first graduated! I was constantly told I would never make it because my work was too broad and lacked focus of repetition of style/mood/colour pallet/theme by other established makers whose entire brand consists of variations of a similar style… and for ages, I tried to do just that!
Until one day I decided that I would only make designs for myself, ones that make my heart beat fast and give me butterflies in my stomach. It was then, and only then, I was able to set myself free from self-criticism based on ‘What I thought others would think, Am I good enough to make that idea successfully? Is it embarrassing that it’s made from waste materials? Will anyone even want to wear it or buy it?’ All of these anxious thoughts got even stronger if the item was a personal commission.

Once I decided to put other peoples’ opinions aside and create what made me happy, I found that my confidence grew, along with the quality of work produced and the amount of time it