handstitched kilt designed using the wearers genetic data
handstitched kilt designed using the wearers genetic data
handstitched kilt designed using the wearers genetic data
handstitched kilt designed using the wearers genetic data
handstitched kilt designed using the wearers genetic data
Andrea Chappell
The Ancestral Kilt
silk, cotton, viscose, leather, bakerlite
NFS
Further images
Acme Atelier is the bespoke kiltmaking studio of Andrea Chappell, based in Forres, Moray. Using traditional skills, now an endangered craft, I promote handstitched kiltmaking in modern designs, to extend the possibilities of pleat construction to reach a new audience, incorporating handwoven and handprinted textiles in collaborative craft practise.
Andrea champions deadstock, repurposed and vintage textiles to develop garments that express a wearers personal history, celebrate a specific place, or commemorate a moment in time.
In this Ancestral Kilt, curtain remnants are combined in a collaboration with geneticist and hand-weaver Dr Lynne Hocking-Mennie, that explores how data could determine the design of a kilt, taking the principles of tartan creation into a modern context.
Commercially available ancestry tests are used to reveal the wearers genetic identity, which determines the size, number and proportions of pleats, bringing a contemporary scientific interpretation to this traditional heritage craft.