Lucy Willis
Integrated Digital Practice
Featured projects
CORAL GARDEN
Hand painted laser cut sequins combined with digitally embroidered lace pieces
GROWTH
Digitally embroidered shoulder piece with hand embellishment
BLEACHED
Dense digital embroidery onto recycled leather with hand embellishment
ENCRUSTING CORAL
Digital print on duchess satin
FLORA
Digital print on duchess satin
PRESERVATION
Digitally embroidered neckpiece with hand embellishment on white recycled leather
HUNTE'S GARDEN
Digital embroidery onto white recycled leather
SUBMERGED
Digital print on duchess satin
Lucy Willis
Lucy is a Textiles: Innovation and Design graduate who specialised in Integrated Digital Practice. Her final collection consists of a variety of unique designs that showcase her ability using a range of processes including digital embroidery, laser cutting, digital printing, and hand embroidery techniques. The design ethos behind Lucy's work has involved a great deal of independent research activity, requiring initiative, self-motivation and a wide range of surface design skills, including the full Adobe Creative Suite which includes Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Lucy's personal practice stems from a passion for drawing, with her work focusing on producing intricately detailed imagery. Initial drawings are then manipulated digitally; however, she is conscious of retaining her 'handwriting' throughout.
'Rainforest of the Sea' ‘Rainforest of the Sea’ is a couture womenswear fashion collection of 3D embroidery which aims to explore the similarities between tropical botanical florals and underwater life - whilst also touching on the current issue of coral bleaching. Lucy was able to see the effects of coral bleaching first-hand and was horrified to see the mesmerising ecosystems slowing dying as sea temperatures continue to rise. From primary research, Lucy was keen to capture both the bleached and living corals in the project combined with the tropical botanicals of Barbados, and exploit them using 3D embellishment techniques, including digital embroidery, laser cutting, laser etching, and digital print to create a couture collection of heavily embellished, sophisticated designs. After graduating, Lucy hopes to pursue a career in the creative industry; more specifically, in a commercially driven workplace designing for womenswear.
Awards
Nominated for a Texselect award (2019) Exhibiting designer at Premiere Vision (2017 and 2019) Menswear designs sold in Primark (2018) Represented Loughborough University Textiles at The Clothes Show (2016)
Placements
July 2017 - June 2018
United Clothing: Design Intern Camilla Frances Prints: Print Intern