In the year when it celebrates its 40th anniversary, British clothing brand Monsoon has unveiled a new collection designed by Royal College of Art (RCA) students Jessica Edwards and Kyle Spires. After winning a competition for first year students of the RCA’s Fashion and Textile course to design prints and garments, Edwards and Spires were given the chance to produce their clothing designs alongside the manufacturers in Jaipur, India.
Inspired by the vision of wood-blocked prints left out in the monsoon rains, Edwards’s winning textile designs use woodblocks, tie-dye and smoking to create a watery colour palette of coral, pale turquoise and lemon. She visited Jaipur with the Monsoon design team and worked closely with artisan printers to ensure they achieved the delicate watery effects she envisioned. These fabrics were then used by Spires, who was responsible for designing the collection’s garments.
