Collaborators — TABITHA RINGWOOD

joao maraschin

An 8-piece shoe collection in collaboration with Brazilian designer Joao Maraschin, designed and made to accompany his AW20 collection FOREIGNER TRAVELLER. Sustainably produced, the uppers of every style are made with BeLEAF material by Nova Kaeru. This is a new bio ‘leather’ (the elephant ear plant) sourced from the Amazon and tanned using non-polluting processes. Following our brand beliefs, Nova Kaeru works with global, ethical, sustainable, and innovative products; believing in the balance between nature and people, enabling the true relationship of conscious consumption.

This material is a long-lasting luxury product that has the unique touch and beauty that only something of biological origin can acquire. Using this alongside reclaimed leathers and heel components - as well as being hand made by us in London - every pair of shoes we make within this collection is truly unique.

Palmer harding

Tabitha Ringwood for Palmer Harding AW20

The AW20 collection featured in the Palmer Harding Fall20 RTW lookbook, styled by Natalie Brewster.

Vogue Runway: “Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding are far too talented not to be even somehow part of the London Fashion Week schedule. Their recent stepping back to focus on the production of just two collections a year has added extra mindfulness to a label already producing highly cognitive clothing. Here Harding talked of a target customer who “might be a corporate woman or might be a creative woman”—and who might in all likelihood be both. To appeal to her, the designers presented a collection that was rooted in classicism but never beholden to it. Smartly tailored pants came with an unfussy strap-attached half skirt worn at the back. A trench could be deconstructed via button into a jacket. There was, as ever, pleasingly disconcerting shirting.

“Palmer is an old-world couture freak, and for this look book he and Harding recruited Yves Saint Laurent muse Amalia Vairelli to model a collection that also seemed lightly flavored by a cusp of the 1980s Rive Gauche vibe. Striking blouses in metallic on black with mismatched stripes and accentuated collars and cuffs were fastened by gleaming round-edged square buttons. Pleather wrap dresses and full-armed high-hemmed jackets played sultrily against white seersucker shirting and dresses. These are clothes that appear tricksy but wear easy and carry an authority that comes with not being instantly readable: unboring attire fit for any boardroom.”

Andrew Bell

Tabitha Ringwood x Andrew Bell 2019

The needle and thread, the binding hallmark of the fashion industry is devoid in the work and craftsmanship of the fashion designer Andrew Bell. Using cutting-edge sonic welding technology, in a disruptive approach that undermines the one constant that has traditionally kept fashion together, Andrew is a creative looking at alternative means to design. Across his MA collection Andrew has explored the hallmarks of a new era of garment construction across a spectrum of materiality; from sharp and structured to soft and fluid. The edges of this new aesthetic are instantly identifiable through his iconic zig-zag emblem; more subtle is the completely clean-cut, non-fray edge that defines every other sleeve and side seam in the collection. Up close, the zig-zag edging harks of easy-open, single-use supermarket stock.

In collaboration with fellow RCA alumnus Tabitha Ringwood, the pair present a capsule of footwear completely crafted from scratch. For the heels the designers borrowed the humble door wedge, re-moulding it both physically and conceptually as an object of beauty that extends beyond its primary status as a mass-produced, valueless and solely functional article.

Text by Isabella Davey

CISSEL DUBBICK

Tabitha Ringwood x Cissel Dubbick 2019

“Cissel Dubbick The Dark Realities of Everyday Life, 2019. This collection critiques the fashion world: an acceleration of a relentless and fast-paced beauty-factory, a formulae sold as a commodity, and the experience lived by facing the brutal truth – The Dark Realities of Everyday Life. All garments are white as the staring point. White is the representative of the innocence with whom we want to be identified. During the collection, the white veil is lifted and the brutal appearance of the naked body becomes visible as a symbol of the brutal truth. At the same time, the flame settles on the seemingly spotless white clothing. The collection is then branded. As a climax, a fashion terrorist abuses the luxurious lipstick and attacks himself in one of the garments. The lipstick leaves a bloody trace of consumption on the body and dress. Despite all signs and warnings, we seem to ignore the brutal truth. We remain blind, dependent and happy. “– Text from Cissel Dubbick.de.

This collaborative shoe collection included mules and thigh-high boots, that we directly moulded from a cast of Cissel’s sister, Katharina’s, feet. Not only did the veg tan moulding process form an exact replica of Kat’s feet, it picked up details such as skin wrinkles and veins that all of us naturally have. Handmade insole boards were shaped and moulded to directly fit the instep heel shape. A long and complicated process, every step of the development of this process was a step towards understanding the feet more, how they function, but also how to work with traditional materials in an innovative way. Each pair was hand painted and finished at the end. A truly individual collection of footwear literally “walking in Kat’s feet.”

roni ilan

Tabitha Ringwood x Roni Ilan SS20

A 4-piece shoe collection in collaboration with designer Roni Ilan, consisted of gender-neutral flat mules and calf height boots. Using reclaimed leathers as well as hand dyed fabrics - with mud from the banks of the dead sea - maintained the tactile intimacy of our collaborative and individual aesthetic.

Skye gwillim

Tabitha Ringwood x Skye Gwillim 2019

This collaborative shoe collection consisted of one mule style, designed and made to accompany Skye’s collection In This Position: Seated Persons, a study of an obsession with the seated body. An encyclopaedia and archive of gesture, and an autobiography of Skye’s own body and the bodies of those who she has anonymously observed. Having taken hundreds of photographs of people 'sitting and waiting' within public transport in London; banal photographs of everyday poses and gestures, the collection is an observation of the boundary between the body, the space and the object. It is an obsessive study of the ways of 'sitting and waiting' and the ways of 'carrying and concealing'.

A collaboration from start to finish from design through to manufacture, these handmade shoes reflect the materials and processes that form Skye’s accessories collection. A detailed process of hand cutting and moulding an embedded plywood rand; this innovative construction is the base for clean uppers with a hand painted finish and a clean yet complex aesthetic.

patrick mcdowell

Tabitha Ringwood x Patrick McDowell 2019

Sustainability is at the core of Tabitha and Patrick's practice, as we strive to reinvent luxury through a sustainable mindset. This collaborative shoe collection encompassed heeled court shoes, sandals and boots all crafted from reclaimed fabrics and leftover excess scraps from Patrick’s clothing production. All of our pieces are designed and made in England. Patrick is a strong advocate for reducing fashion's global impact through designing with moral practice and our consistent use of taking apart, re-assembling and re-using materials aims to promote a healthier relationship with our wardrobe. Shown at Helsinki Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and Venice Fashion Week and featured in various magazine publications, this collection paved the way for future projects together including designing for the 2019 One Young World Event at the Royal Albert Hall.