Orla Bond
About
I am a knitwear designer currently working on a project called DISHES I WANT WHEN I’M HOME AGAIN. This collection of garments serves as an ode to textiles as powerful agents of change. Inspired by the visual language of protest — particularly banners and badges — the pieces subvert overt slogans into secret messages and hidden codes embedded within the knit.
Each garment carries a personal message, referencing a different meal from my grandad’s prisoner of war diary, where he recorded the dishes he would have when he returned home again. These coded patterns are decided through a series of graphs I designed by converting letters into numbers and plotting them sequentially, akin to a knit chart. They are then translated into the knitwear through a variety of different techniques (drop-stitch and back back transfers in the photographed garments).
The collection provides a framework for everyday protest, combining functionality with a tool for expression. The customisable and coded knits deliver messages in a safe and personal manner, anticipating a not-so-distant future where protestors may be coerced into subtler forms of rebellion.
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