FOLK DESIGN PROJECT 2

Folk Project - final design

I finally handed in my folk project on Monday and I have to say I was so ecstatic about the outcome. At first I’d struggled with the concept of Eastern European Folk Costumes but after our trip to London I decided to take my design in a completely abstract direction. I used the detailing I loved as the main aspect of my shirt and decided that making exaggerated sleeves, made solely from ribbon and detailing would be more on my wavelength. I started to design huge puffy sleeves out of ribbon, but after I couldn’t find any strong inspiration I moved into a new area.

As I’d felt trapped by the narrow criteria I started looking to pictures of cages and prisons as inspiration and decided that I would create round orbs of ribbon, which would form the basis of my sleeve. As I began to design the orbs I fell in love with them and my whole outfit just took shape.
I paired the shirt, which I’d cropped short, with a simple pair of black short shorts and bare feet so not to distract from the sleeves, which I wanted to be my main focus. In the end I think my design looked amazing and I’m just really glad I don’t have to actually make it!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Photo Shoot

I was lucky enough to sit in on one of the second years photo shoots last week. The promotions side of the course get the chance each year to completely style a photo shoot which includes choosing the outfit, deciding on poses and props and generally directing the photographers.

The shoot I watched had a sixties theme and the outfit was a very innocent, simple white vintage dress and balloons were used as props. I personally thought the whole picture was amazing – it had a youthful, fun and innocent aura and it was a great experience to see what the promotions students do, as I’ve never really considered taking that path before. However after watching the shoot it’s changed my mind a little and I think I’m going to look into it in more detail. I would really love to style my own shoot and to have complete control over how the garment was sold to the customers, as it can make or break an item.

Thanks to Steph who let me watch!

Fabric Sourcing - London

London Trip

The fabric sourcing trip to London was incredible. To be honest I think that sentence sums up the day nicely, but there is reasoning behind it. I love London – always have, always will. I love the atmosphere, the complete frenzy of the people who live and work there, the enormous versions of the shops, the fact that I know the tube routes like the back of my hand and of course the pretty fantastical fabric shops! Seriously I’ve never seen so much fabric in my life – the stores were like the chocolate factory in Willy Wonka, with crazy fabrics exploding out from every corner.

We had to research and get samples of stretch/performance fabrics, which was pretty easy I felt. I picked up the basic Lycra’s and Jerseys and threw in PVC and velvet for kicks; although I can’t ever imagine wanting to wear sportswear made of velvet! The samples were incredibly expensive and the fabric shop owners were obviously not that keen on students but it was completely worth it.

I loved the area of London we visited – Berwick Street – because it was jam packed with loads of retro and vintage shops and once we’d finished collecting samples we had time just to meander through them. We hit Oxford street on the way back to the V&A museum which is always awesome and then stopped off to see the Dale Chihuly sculpture in the entrance hall of the museum, which Sarah had told us about. To be honest, even though it’s incredibly striking, I really wouldn’t want to be working beneath it…

And even though the samples were expensive and we only spent a few hours in the city, I can’t wait for the next trip!