Tissue, founded by the talented illustrator Gráinne Finn and pattern-cutting wizard Hannah Mullan, bounded on to the Dublin fashion scene this year with their thoroughly modern take on fashion design. Their use of rich heritage fabrics, mixed with original prints in expert cuts have gained them a Future Makers award and saw their AW15 collection snapped up by Brown Thomas Create initiative.
How did you both get started with Tissue?
Gráinne: Hannah and I took part in an exhibition together, where I had some prints and etchings. After the show we were talking about collaborating using some of my original print textiles. The idea was initially that we would produce printed silk scarves, and it kind of mushroomed from there.
Hannah: Yeah, I was thinking about the scarves and thought we could do some t-shirts and it kept growing, so then the aesthetic started developing from there. That was January this year, so from there we decided to put out a SS15 collection. We got the meeting for Brown Thomas Create in March, so we sort of had a month to get the AW15 together, which was pretty intense!
What are your backgrounds in?
G: Visual art is my background, I actually don’t have a background in fashion as such, apart from knowing what I like to wear. I studied History of Art at UCD and then went on to do a masters in illustration at the Manchester School of Art, and then did another masters in Art in the Contemporary World in NCAD.
H: I had a long path! I studied History of Art, and then I went on to the Grafton Academy to do a course in pattern cutting. It was called ‘dress design’ but it was more pattern cutting and it actually gave me a really good basis in tailoring. From then I interned in Paris at Sharon Wauchob, and from there I got a job at John Rocha doing the patterns. That was for about 10 years, after which I was then working for Simone Rocha. I left to do a masters in Design History at NCAD, while still freelancing for John Rocha and Danielle Romeril, but I left completely when I had my two wee ones. I really felt I wanted something creative to do, and I always loved Gráinne’s style and her prints. I think we both feel that at the base of Tissue are the prints, it might only be one element but it informs the rest of the collection.
What are your processes?
G: We start by getting the visuals together, as that will inform the print. For example, our SS15 was based on the Ballets Russes and Sergei Diaghilev’s costumes. Then for AW15 we were working in a sort of ‘Bauhaus way’ with rulers and geometry, so that informed the print. We also added some block colour knits which had a certain dance quality to them. So the print is at the nucleus, but it’s not the whole story either. It would be quite organic really as Hannah would suggest some shapes, and we would design the shape and the print together, as opposed to just designing it on a bolt of fabric. In our Patrova dress for AW15, the print is actually based on pattern pieces of a collar. I quite like the look of vintage patterns, with their red lines, and I just started to play about with them and pritt stick them together.
H: We were actually working in a very different way for each of the collections. For SS15 we did a lot of sketching of trees and played with the super-light fabrics, but with AW15 we worked in a different way, using graph paper and rulers, and it was in a much more deliberate way which resulted in a stronger, bolder statement with blocks of colour. I feel it’s a stronger collection because of the way we worked. We come from very different backgrounds in terms of the way we both approach things, so the more deliberate route worked much better for the collection.
G: It’s good to know that you can actually do that in a sense, to make what you set out to make, as opposed to ending up somewhere else.
H: I think, actually, the way that Gráinne works is a really important element to Tissue, as you’re not sort of destroyed by fashion! She doesn’t get too bogged down in the ‘how-to’ of making something, in terms of the patterns and details. I suppose, because my background is in pattern cutting, sometimes you can nearly compromise your design, thinking, ‘Oh, how am I going to work this out?’ That’s has definitely allowed me to be a lot freer in how I think.
Could you tell us a bit about the fabrics you use?
H: We used some Donegal tweed, from a company called Molloy and Sons. I love tweed, I love the texture and, not in a cheesy way, but I do love that it’s Irish and unique. It’s a heritage fabric, but it’s so modern as well, and clean. It’s a really rich textile. I would probably work in tweed all the time as it’s such a dream to work with! From a pattern cutting point of view, everything looks great in tweed. It responds really well to tailoring, and it is great to use a fabric produced in Ireland from a tradition that’s a few hundred years old. There’s such a depth of colour in it, it’s never just one colour, so we can pick up the other colours in the other fabrics for the collection. We also used a plain silk Crêpe de Chine in strong colours that go with the greys in the tweed. For the prints, initially we did them on a cotton drill, which was nice, and a silk Crêpe Marocaine, which is a heavier silk but which still falls really nicely. Then for the knits, we used lambswool with monofilament, which we collaborated on with a knitwear designer here. So it’s all natural!
How do you find it working together?
G: We really enjoy working together, and it’s great for me to see a whole other way of working.
H: Yeah, I’ve been really enjoying finally getting a creative outlet. Of course in the beginning it’s difficult to make money, but being able to be creative is really the driving force for me. It’s just been so exciting from January to now, between the Crafts Council Future Makers Award, and the shows we’ve done, to BT Create, it’s kind of been like a whirlwind!
Tissue’s AW15 collection is available from their website at www.tissue.ie with a studio is based at Block T in Smithfield.
Words: Honor Fitzsimons
