The Alchemy of Print

The Alchemy of Print records the unique hand screen printing and dyeing techniques developed by Trish Belford for British fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Georgina von Etzdorf, Neisha Crosland, Jasper Conran, English Eccentrics and Zandra Rhodes.

As co-founder and designer of Belford Prints (1986-2004), Macclesfield, Trish worked in a period before the dominance of digital technology when the art of dye chemistry screen printing was a physical and experimental process. Her work demonstrates the wealth of possibilities when alchemy is blended with textile thinking. 

We created a modular design system echoing the movable furniture of screen printing and the elemental chemistry of experimentation. We worked closely with Trish to document her methods through six processes applied to the same initial designs; Mizmaze by Georgina von Etzdorf and Botanical by Neisha Crosland.

This work is recorded in ten books showing; the processes, the pivotal prints that built her career, a focus on the two collaborative designers work, and an overview of the project. These books, along with the textiles that Trish created, became the foundation of a co-designed exhibition of the project in the 2023 Linen Biennale in Lisburn.