De Montfort University (DMU) Fashion Design lecturer Jo Cope has been selected as one of the 78 most talented creative individuals and organisations and is taking part in a project with Nike78 and London Design Festival later this year.
Known for her unique and boundary-pushing conceptual fashion work, Jo Cope has created a radical interpretation of the NIKE trainer for the project created by Paul Jenkins which can be seen at www.nike78.co.uk.
Each of the 78 international talented creatives were sent a trainer by Nike to create something, inspired by sport and the trainer itself.
Working with her signature bold primary and abstract aesthetic, Jo Cope, who is a part time lecturer for DMU in Leicester, was inspired by the movement and flexibility created by slashes in the fabric and the grid cut trainer sole.
“I created conceptual fashion images using shapes that surround the body and interact with the body as it changes form,” said Jo Cope.
“The trainer that arrived at my door was not the most aesthetically pleasing, it definitely wasn’t the coolest or the most fashionable, but on closer inspection I became interested in its subtle but powerful design details.
“From the slashes in the cloth, to the grid cut bottom; this trainer was flexible in all areas making it able to work вЂas one’ with the foot in motion.
“My approach to this project was lead by my work as a conceptual fashion designer. I wanted to abstractly interpret the trainer, which is designed to be static and moving and consider its nature as both an aesthetic and functional object.
“Fashion primarily is about an image created around the whole body, so I wanted to consider illustrating a wider aesthetic composition which translated the trainer’s unique characteristics.
“I also wanted to experiment with вЂobject like’ extensions of the body. Creating shapes directly inspired by specific body contours, spaces and the types of movements they created. I went on to look at sequences of body actions where the surround.
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