Sue-Wen
Showing posts with label king's cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label king's cross. Show all posts
On the meditating seat #2: What would Karl do?
This is what happens when one day a mood chart is drawn and some find themselves unrepresented:
Lets take a closer look since the lines are too thin:
And finally, the last words:
... We all know the famous story of Karl slimming to fit into Dior Homme Hedi Slimane-era jeans. So of course he would approve of this one. We are after all a fashion school with doors only just wide enough for model-sizes to get through; it is the first round for qualification into the college. You're not allowed - physically, socially and mentally - if you cannot even get pass the doors. Dear oh dear.
"It will give us more profile and will make us more visible. Central St Martins will be a really major art college development and one for the 21st century," says Sir John Tusa, chairman of the University of the Arts London, of the new compound.
I suppose wider doors in King's Cross won't be an issue for debate then, unless some disagreeing individuals with power prefer to keep the college less fashionable.
Sue-Wen
Disclaimer: Exaggeration of door size may be a result of being tired from hearing a certain fashion stereotype. Most of us consume ginormous amounts (sometimes to our own frustration as good food = calming break = money =/= a journalist's wage), and the irony is that Lindsey, the slimmest of us could down a horse in one sitting. Which makes me wonder where one will find delicious things around our new home - currently all I see within King's Cross are Chinese take outs and chip shops. Dining at the Gilbert Scott will be fanciful.
CSM Memoirs - Part 2
The enfant terrible of Indian fashion Kallol Datta recalls his favourite moments as part of class of 2006, BA (Hons) Womenswear at Central Saint Martins.
After completing my design studies in Kolkata, I felt the need of studying a bit more. I stood out like a bloodied thumb at the design school in Kolkata, and my education in design seemed extremely restrictive in nature. On applying to Central Saint Martins and being accepted to their BA Womenswear degree course, the feather in the cap (or so it seemed) was the direct entry into second year.
The initial months were full of despair and wanting to head to a more generic educational setting. Nothing could ever prepare me for what studying at St. Martins would entail. I used to think, “Is it always supposed to be this difficult”? The class already had their cliques formed, and with my interpersonal skills being retarded, I obviously did not make friends at the beginning. I was defensive about my work, skipping tutorials, barely managing to submit coursework on time and more importantly, barely spending time at the campus.
Oddly enough what got me spending hours at school was the library. I was looking to kill an hour while waiting for a friend, and it got me hooked. The library (for lack of a better word) at my design school in Kolkata was barely a room with magazines and trend forecasting books (which I never took a shining to). Here at St. Martins it was that and then so much more. I’ve spent days cooped up inside, stepping out only for a loo break/ cig break/ hot cocoa break. This in turn got me conversing with students from other courses, which made me realise that I wasn’t the only one feeling the way I was. I started taking notice of my surroundings and the multiple imperfections in the building in which the school was contained, fascinated me. It wasn’t sterile or supremely chic unlike other schools. Walking through narrow, musty passageways to reach my 2nd floor studio, sitting on the stairs next to a caged elevator shaft which hadn’t been used for at least a decade (give or take), graffiti ridden toilets – surprising as it may sound; visually all of this had a calming effect on me.
This translated across my work at school. Nothing had to be perfect. All you needed was strong intent and this helped dealing with people around me who were extremely enthusiastic and inspired. It was an uphill climb from hereon (I’d like to think so), and creating my graduating collection in 2006, was something I hold close to my heart even today.
One would be very fortunate to have studied and graduated from the 107 Charing Cross outpost. The move to King’s Cross will see a whole new wave of technological advancements, containment of all courses under one roof and studio spaces reduced by 20% in size. However, I do hope that the inexplicable auras which one imbibed in (however late) at the Charing Cross building, moves onto the new school site.
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| Kallol Datta with classmate Yuna Yang |
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Kallol Datta's design at BA Graduation show fall/winter 2011 collection showcased at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week held in April this year In summer 2011, Central Saint Martins relocates to a new home at King's Cross. The move to this extraordinary state-of the-art space will mark a new era in arts education. |
CSM Memoirs
BA Fashion Print ex-student recalls her favourite memories at CSM:
- Empty print room. Second floor of Charing Cross Road, walking through the blue swing doors and finding only Imogen Evans in her office. Silence and space was a rarity, and with rumours of the new print room at King's Cross being smaller, with more students per class, I imagine these will be more like gold dust.
- Soho. Leaving college in the afternoon and taking a thirty-second walk to Old Compton street for an impromptu evening of debauchery.
- Less health and safety, and more room for experimentation in the print room. Health and safety is important, yes, but I believe it can also hinder a print student's learning and understanding of everything she/he can accomplish in print design. Some students learnt they could flood the dye room twice in one day if they ignored the rules, and left the taps running unsupervised. I got acetic acid in my eyes on more than one occasion, but I did learn to wear goggles in my own time, when mixing chemical substances. Adding copious amounts of cobalt blue dye to your mix spells recipe for disaster — models with blue armpits don't look appealing. However, good surprises were always worth the hours spent waiting for things to dry, steam and dry again.
Some say it’s the students that make the college. Some say it’s the tutors. I haven’t heard anyone say it’s the building itself, but certainly the area in which it is situated helps inspire its frequenters. As an ex-student, you know it’s an amalgamation of all three — students, tutors, location. Assuming they’re not getting rid of the staff and CSM intends on accepting new students for the following 50 years, 2 out of 3 aren’t changing.
King's Cross isn’t Soho, but it is in central London and a hell of a lot closer to Paris.
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| Good Times: Print tutor David Kappo with the legendary Nathalie Gibson at the BA Fashion after-show party |
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| Colour-drenched memories: BA print room located on second floor, CSM |
In summer 2011, Central Saint Martins relocates to a new home at King's Cross. The move to this extraordinary state-of the-art space will mark a new era in arts education.
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