Vancouver Fashion eZine - Online Magazine | Arts and Textiles

2003 was a crucial year for textile artist Katherine Soucie. While working on a student project at Capilano College she developed a process for turning reclaimed nylons into a stable, use-able fabric. That proved to be the catalyst for her future line - Sans Soucie. A commitment to integrity and sustainability has lead her to constantly re-evaluate where she is headed. "I do produce high end work. It is a modest indulgence. I am not producing work for the masses, so how does it fit in? What am I trying to say?" Continued growth as a designer, an artist and a person is always at the forefront.

Soucie was drawn to the arts and textiles from an early age. As the youngest of 5 children she found her closet full of hand-me-downs the perfect raw material with fashion magazines providing inspiration. Education has also figured high on her list with studies logged at many institutions. Locally that includes Emily Carr where she recently completed her Master's degree. As a textile artist working in the fashion industry, she has the unique opportunity to exist outside the rules applied to most designers - 2 collections a year, trade shows, etc. New palettes and designs evolve organically and what she produces is heavily influenced by the materials. Each shipment of reclaimed nylons from her suppliers is unique and Soucie lets them define what she creates. "I'm embracing instead of forcing myself to produce stuff because I know it's going to sell. I'm making the fabric dictate what I do now. This is meant to be specialized. I'm more interest in keeping this couture so that I can also do the other work I'm meant to do. This is just one aspect of who I am."

Sans Soucie - without a care - is an apt title for the comfort of her collection, but it has no relation to the work involved. The labour intensive process of turning nylons into their final form takes weeks. Stabilizing, dying, silk screening, heat setting and combining them into blocks are only the preparations. Then it takes a dress form, a few pins and a pair of scissors as Soucie uses intuition to construct the garments one at a time. They are infused with a sense of architecture and defined by the body when worn. Studies at Emily Carr have also brought in another dimension to the process - embroidery as a construction technique. The embroidery adds an extra layer of texture that fits well with the series of couture gowns she is currently designing. Periods in history such as the Victorian and Edwardian eras provide inspiration - the artists, the designers, the society. Another recurring theme is the beauty found in death and decay. "I think it started very early, this interest in death and decay and evolution. There are many different ways we can look at death and decay and how beautiful it actually is. It's not something to be feared." It's all about rebirth and renewal.

Katherine Soucie has a very full year ahead. She is helping Emily Carr develop workshops as well as continuing her research at the school. London Fashion Week has invited her in February to be a part of ESTHETICA and eight images of Soucie's design work are to be included in a new book titled 1000 Artisan Textiles. What other opportunities will arise? Only time will tell.

To learn more about Sans Soucie you can visit her website at www.sanssoucie.ca.. To read a previous article go to http://www.vancouverfashionezine.com/issue03.html