Pattern power

Stripes are dominating this season. Whether vertical, horizontal, thick or skinny, our spring/summer wardrobes are walking the line. So the exhibition currently open at the Londonewcastle Project Space in Shoreditch, London, is aptly timed.

'Superstripe' is the first of a new annual jamboree from the creative organisation Patternity, whose online portal explores all kinds of pattern. Its image archive is used as a resource for high street brands and design houses such as Céline.

SHOP: Monochrome Stripes

Patternity, co-founded by Anna Murray and Grace Winteringham in 2009, is exploring the creative possibilities of the humble stripe through a series of workshops, industry talks, films and pop-up interactive events, as well as a collection of images on display in the main show space. Murray says: 'we've exploded stripes into real life.' And explode they do. Upon entering the gallery, you are struck by a striped monochrome graphic stretching the length of the 25-metre wall - reinforcing Patternity's message that 'pattern is powerful'.

^{PHOTO: COURTESY OF PATTERNITY}

'Superstripe' showcases the work of established creatives - including fashion photographer Georges Antoni and designer Craig Lawrence - as well as artworks by Patternity's own studio.

^{PHOTO: POWERSTRIPE BY RORY DCS AND PATTERNITY}

On Wednesday night, Murray and Winteringham hosted the Patternitalk 'Fashion, Film and Form', co-hosted by individuals from the world of fashion, film, art and design. Sat around a chequered-patterned circular table - Patternity's latest furniture collaboration with designer Toby Winteringham - POP magazine's Lily Silverton, artist Kathryn Ferguson and fashion designer Katharine Hamnett discussed the use of pattern in their work.

^{PHOTO: COURTESY OF PATTERNITY}

Murray says she wants to use pattern 'as a tool to educate and inspire people,' and sees fashion as a medium through which this is possible. 'There's been a resurgence of stripes this season,' she says. 'We anticipated stripes would be very much in fashion and therefore something people would be excited by.'

TRENDING: Stripes

'Fashion draws people in,' Murray adds. 'But with the events, think tanks and workshops we've been putting on, we aim to dig a bit deeper into something that on the surface seems simply fashionable. Patternity uses pattern as a way to tell stories about the world in which we live. It's a way to connect and engage people.'

Patternity's festival of pattern exploration is open until Sunday 21 April patternity.org

Via: Pattern power