The Gilbert Spottiswood Churchill Fellowship to develop expertise in the traditional and current practices of corsetry and couture womenswear

Amanda Nichols used her Gilbert Spottiswood Churchill Fellowship to travel to France, Japan and the United Kingdom to develop expertise in the traditional and current practices of corsetry and couture womenswear. Major Lessons & Conclusions: As a relatively young cutter in the film and theatre industry, Amanda has a renewed joy for her craft, however she has also developed a great passion for couture fashion. As opportunities within film and theatre in Australia are in decline, she intends to retain and develop relationships made during her fellowship and continuing further study and development of skills within the field of fashion both abroad and in Australia and the sharing of these skills with fellow colleagues. Skill sharing with other passionate pattern cutters and sewers is a rich & fulfilling experience through which she gained a deeper knowledge of her trade along with new international colleagues she will remain in contact with throughout her career and continue the dialogue she began abroad with colleagues in Australia. Amanda now has a broader framework in the way she will approach projects with regard to conventional pattern-cutting through the avant-garde techniques she investigated at Central Saint Martins and continue to develop & share within her career in Australia. Amanda believes conventional pattern cutting is important knowledge and a starting point in producing garments, however, according to the garment to be achieved, there are a number of techniques to obtain the end result. These approaches to creating the architecture for the body can be combined, or one particular technique may be specific enough and understood by the individual cutter. Examining garments in collections in order to gain insight and use, as reference is an invaluable tool and an enjoyable process Amanda intends to adopt in the future and through her blog and conversations with colleagues she will urge others to seek out these archives as a point of reference.