Channelling earth, water, fire and air, the Wool4School 2023/24 Australia competition challenged students to take inspiration from natural elements to create designs of a minimum 70% wool.
Solomon’s Wool4School designs feature a suite of garments and accessories, drawing on all four natural elements. Solomon’s competition entry features a shibori kimono overcoat in 100% boiled Merino wool; a traditional long sleeve top in 100% Merino ribbed jersey; deep indigo blue cargo shorts in 66% organic cotton, 33% Merino wool and 1% elastane; and high top sneakers with flatbed knitted uppers in charcoal denim. With each design reflecting the four elements, Solomon integrates the natural world into a cohesive narrative that captures the dynamic energy of nature.
As the competition winner, Solomon has received a suite of Wool4School prizes including a voucher to spend at Assembly Label, a BERNINA sewing machine, his design created into a 3D avatar and a 50% scholarship to study with Whitehouse Institute of Design, Australia.
We caught up with Solomon to dive into the inspiration behind the winning Wool4School designs:
What inspired you to enter the competition?
I have been entering the competition for three years now and each year I look forward to how I can interpret a new brief, alongside this I have also just got really used to entering Wool4School. This year marked my last opportunity to enter the competition and although I was also undertaking three HSC creative major works at the same time.
I thought I would definitely regret it if I didn't give myself the best chance in the Aspiring Designer category. This year's brief of “Elements” was also something I was really looking forward to interpreting. As soon as they announced it at the end of last year's competition I knew that I really wanted to explore what I could design with the natural elements in mind.
Tell us the story behind your design and why you chose to focus on particular elements of wool?
When I began to brainstorm the designs for this year's brief I kept designing outfits and ensembles based on one element and while this did meet the guidelines I thought including multiple elements could only better interpret the brief. I like to think that this year my designs were a lot more simple than previous years with an emphasis on a balance between artistic expression and wearability.
While each element is incorporated into a different piece of the design, the inspiration remains subtle, a curved top stitch on the pants to represent ripples or the rib decal on the top in reference to the lungs and air. The end user of my piece played a pivotal role in the actual designs of the garments with comfort and ease of wear becoming significant aspects in the garment development.
You have participated in Wool4School across multiple years, what is the biggest thing you have learned from participating in the competition?
I think persistence is the biggest thing I have taken from this competition. In year ten I came third in my category and decided to see if I could work even harder the next year which landed me in second place. These two finalist positions were an honour to have but I still wanted to see if I could try even harder so I just tried my absolute hardest this year and used my previous entries as a guide to what I could improve on. This process of re-evaluation proved to me that persistence and just finding motivation really do pay off.
Do you have advice for students who are thinking of entering next year?
DO IT. You just have to sit down and brainstorm on the brief and once you have your idea, just have fun with it. Experiment and sketch out as many alternatives of your design as you can before committing and then just build onto it until you are happy.
What can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?
Well I don't want to jinx anything haha, but I would love to start my own label one day. I think first I would just like to immerse myself into the fashion industry and keep experimenting with my own personal design style. If you are interested I am going to be posting any new designs on my instagram @thesolraymond so feel free to check up on what's going on and thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. It has been a tremendous honour.
Inspired by Solomon’s designs? Register for Wool4School 2024/25 for your chance to win a suite of prizes to kickstart your design dreams.
