Testing the water: Designer captures aquatic movements in print

Sydney – Fashion graduate Jillian Boustred has presented Undercurrent, a collection of garments featuring mesmerising prints that combine references to abstract art with intricate patterns that evoke coral reefs and water currents.

At her graduation show from the University of Technology in Sydney, Boustred drew inspiration for Undercurrent ‘from the sense of fluidity and freedom found in large abstract paintings’, the designer tells LS:N Global. To create the seemingly haphazard, organic patterns, she worked by dropping ink onto wet paper and allowing the colours to swirl around and run into each other. The resulting softly diffused, whimsical forms are balanced by a dramatic colour palette in which highly saturated Yves Klein blue pigment clashes with coral pink accents.

The original ink artworks were translated into digital patterns using CAD software and carefully positioned on the pieces. ‘For me it was important to consider how the artworks would be most effective on a garment, which is why I kept the garments quite structural and simple,’ says Boustred. Her boxy, oversized silhouettes serve as a perfect canvas for her dramatic, powerful aesthetic.

For more on how designers are looking to sub-aquatic landscapes and life forms for inspiration, read our Submerged design direction.