Lydia Zavos

Textiles

Students on this course:

I am a passionate, enthusiastic textile designer with a love for colour, craft, pattern and texture. Creating work that is an expression of the ideologies of freedom, optimism and permanence.

‘Brutal Utopia’ is an interior application of textiles in a shared community space. Investigating the Brutalist idea of ‘Function over Form’ suggests buildings should have an aim and an objective.

The challenging times over the past few years have emphasised the way we interact in space and made us think differently about the areas we inhabit, questioning priorities and values such as community. A building with a purpose creates optimism and confidence while leaving/behind these difficult times of loneliness and isolation.

The unfinished surfaces, uncommon shapes, and heavy materials of Brutalist architecture are translated through a series of tactile multi-media collages. Exploring the sculptural use of “béton-brut” by using strong, substantial materials such as plaster and Polyfilla in neutral colours, produces geometry, repetition and grid-like patterns, amalgamating texture, surface and colour.

Focusing on creating robust, long-lasting textiles that can be used for years to come (linking to the longevity of the Brutalist architecture) the designs include multiple processes using different materials. Screen printing multiple layers and colours allow the work to have a full content and translate the strong forms into abstract motifs that replicate the monolithic, block compositions in an abstract way, disguising Brutalist buildings with a subtle sense of play. While experimenting with digital skills and jacquard weaving provides a variety of textural finishes within the collection.

The main objective of my project is to turn a grey and abandoned Brutalist building into a positive, vibrant space full of hope to encourage social interaction and opportunities for a better future.

After graduating, I hope to continue with my innovative practice and develop as a textile designer by pursuing a career in the creative industry while exploring and learning more about the digital way of working.

I would like to give special thanks to Kvadrat and Z Interiors Ltd for their support and generous donation of fabric for the collection.

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Isokon

A 5 layer screen-printed repeat length on a cotton drill. Inspired by marks from water on monolithic buildings.

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Hayward

Left: Pigment paste printed onto leather. Right: Black flock printed onto wool. Developed from up-close details of concrete.

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102

Woven Jacquard using polyester and wool. Inspired by the strong structures in the 102 Petty France building.

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Collages, Drawings and Paintings

A collection of original collages, drawings and paintings inspired by my photography of Brutalist buildings in London.

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Trellick

Collage of hand-woven yarn wraps digitally printed onto leather taken from the geometric blocks of Brutalist buildings.

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Brunswick and Barbican

'Brunswick' (left) is a digitally printed half-drop repeat inspired by grid-like textures. Barbican (right) is inspired by the shapes and forms found viewing the Barbican building from different angles. Printed using VAT and pigment pastes.

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Restaurant Visualisation

Visualisation using photoshop of 'Barbican' and 'Balfron'.

Lydia Zavos

Final year project

Brutal Utopia

Awards

Work Experience

Kvadrat – Summer 2021
Design Internship
Working closely with the Project Development Team at the Ebeltoft office in Denmark. I was involved in meetings about undisclosed collections with top clients. Other roles included archiving designers' original inspiration, measuring and colour sorting materials and creating mood and colour boards.

Amanda Kelly Design Studio – Summer 2021
Design Internship
My roles included photographing individual fashion design pieces using a mannequin, finishing edges of samples using a sewing machine and an overlocker and editing designs using Photoshop and Indesign.