Charles oliver moor

Grey Sheep

charlesolivermoor

Location

City of London / United Kingdom

University

Kingston School of Art - Kingston University

Graduation year

2023

Contact

I regard my role as a fashion designer to be equal to the role of a visual communicator, wherein the vehicle of communication is clothing and its presentation. Therefore, my approach to design considers principles of visual literacy and signification in order to allow for communication through garments. While incorporating visual principles into my work the notion of accessibility, wearability, and creation of visual identity play an equally important part. Coming from Switzerland values of quality, craft, and innovation are instilled in me and consequently bleed into my work. I try to encompass a balance between familiarity, to increase access to my work, and novelty, where I explore new concepts. Accordingly, I choose to work closely with archetypes, which act as templates for my experimentation. In terms of sustainability, I only use deadstock or organic materials, apply 3D construction software to minimize environmental impact during my creative process, and explore the use of materials to create waste-free products.

Latest Collection

BENT

The motivation for this collection stemmed from the realization that lack of product information is a significant contributor to unsustainable consumption decisions. In response to this issue, this collection focuses on treating clothing as a graphic language, without external context, where garments function as symbols that could have an allocated meaning.

My research started with analyzing Gerd Arntz’s graphics for Iostype, a pictorial language developed in the early 20th century. This led me to the book "A Primer of Visual Literacy" which served as a pivotal literary influence. It introduced the effects of fundamental visual principles such as contrast, color, and shape which ruled my design process. During the translation of those principles into clothing the analysis of posture and body language, a form of visual communication, and the exaggeration thereof became a crucial factor in the image of this collection. Erwin Wurm’s transformative photographs of clothing morphing into monochromatic shapes on the body served as a visual aid for this translation.

While incorporating visual principles into the designs, the notion of accessibility, wearability, and creation of identity occupied an equally important part. I tried to encompass a balance between familiarity, to increase reception and thus access to my work, and novelty. Accordingly, I chose to work closely with archetypes and source garments, which hold pre-existing value and served as templates for my exploration.

With sustainability at the core of this collection, I explored the use of latex to substitute artificial, performative fabrics and create organic, waste-free footwear. All fabrics used for this collection were organic, donated from prior employers' deadstock, or obtained through donations to the university. Each garment is constructed from a single fabric, resulting in a monochromatic and graphic silhouette. This deliberate choice of fabrication aims to enhance the figurative transparency of each garment, enabling easy categorization for consumers and facilitating recycling practices.