‘370 x 305’ are the dimensions of Adelie’s room, the space where her entire project was carried out and the basis of her concept. The project began during lockdown, when she realised that she had been sat in this small, confined space for 5 hours without leaving. This realisation presented her with a strong feeling of anxiety, and she began to investigate everything in this space that made her worry. Adelie attached herself to all these different objects, for example her wardrobe and the societal pressures with regards to the way she dresses, or her phone and the way social media can control her happiness. These allowed Adelie to create a web like structure which acted as visual representation of her anxieties. Adelie’s material and knitting development have stemmed from this imagery as well as an exploration of her own feelings. With this project Adelie aims to bring an awareness towards mental health. It is an issue that can be very prevalent within young creatives especially and one that has been exacerbated by the past couple of years.




Within Adelie’s research she explored the ideas behind restriction and how these made her feel. One way this was investigated was by collecting items that had some link to her anxiety for example clothes, phone and makeup. Adelie took these items and vacuum formed them so that these items could be worn, by doing this Adelie reveals how our thoughts are confined to the small space within our minds which can so often mean our minds feel tight and claustrophobic. These items were placed back onto the body as garment ideas as it meant that she was able to visually represent how her mind processes.




Once researching restriction Adelie began to knit small samples that encapsulated the way she felt. Adelie used mixed media materials like salvaged plastic interfacing and cling film to create these very playful and experimental pieces. The use of material was important so that conceptually the work linked back to initial research and allowed viewers to question how the pieces make them feel. At the start of the project Adelie stuck to a very cool colour palette as shown above in the samples this based on how Adelie was feeling at the time allowing the scope to develop this throughout the project.




During Adelie’s design process she decided to focus on the performative aspect of her work which could be seen throughout her research. Adelie has used Solvron yarn to allow her work to disintegrate and dissolve leaving behind the fragile pieces of e-wrapped yarn. The meaning behind this process was to allow viewers to physically see how Adelie feels internally as her anxiety knots her thoughts creating this panic.




Adelie explores placing her dissolvable knitwear back on the body to see how the fabric reacts differently. When designing Adelie kept a very open mind about what her fabric would be used for although explored on the body there is a beauty within the process which should be highlighted. The best way to achieve this is not necessarily in a garment. For this reason she has followed a more performative art based outcome.