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!

FOLK DESIGN PROJECT

Our next design project is based on the theme 'Folk (costume)', especially that of Eastern European countries. This is a slightly more difficult project for me as i find little inspiration from the idea of folk costumes and would have preferred to take a more whimsical approach to the project by looking into folklore and more abstract inspirations. However, i've started to research countries such as Turkey and Russia and have found some inspiration in the colours and trimmings of their traditional folk costumes, on which i think i will base my design. They use intricately woven/patterned detailing and elborate cuff designs on their shirts which i am going to try and incoporate in my own design.

So far i have simply created my first theme board, so watch this space for updates!

Peclers Presentation

The Peclers presentation last friday was one of the hghlights of the term so far. I've been obsessed with the idea of fashion forecasting since we were introduced to the books in our second week, and have been using them as inspiration and a guide for my own themeboards since.
I love the layouts of the pages and how they follow the trends through from inspiration to key looks to colour palets.
The presentation introduced us to the inspirations and trends for A/W 2009-2010 and did not disappoint. I liked the eco / green vibe from the trends and the fact that they were clearly inspired by relavant issues of modern society and not just fashion. This gave the ideas an edge to them and made you consider them in a new way.
I also loved the idea of use and reuse and the trend of well loved clothes, of quality over quantity and charity shop chic, as i think this is such a relevant trend at the moment. i think people are over the idea of throw-away fashion and want to reinvent their exisiting garments for the new season. This trend also touched upon the mixing of different cultures and becoming more aware of other cultures' fashions - "culture is what's left when everything else has been forgotten".

The presentation, other then inpsiring me, made me think about different jobs witin the industry - apart from design - and i think fashion forecasting would be a different and intriguing pathway to take.

PPCP

I had my first lessons in construction and pattern cutting last week and quite frankly found the whole thing overwhelming! I've had extremely little experience with using a sewing machine (domestic or otherwise) which proved to be somewhat of a problem... but as they say practice makes perfect, and after several early starts and late mornings practicing, I've finally been able to sew a straight seam, without freaking out that the industrial sewing machine is going to eat my fingers and learning that you should always make sure the needle is out of the fabric before pulling it - re-threading a bobbin approximately thirty times does that to a person. I have a feeling that construction is going to be the hardest of all the classes i take, but its definitely worth it when something turns out amazingly!
Pattern cutting on the other hand is one of my favorite classes so far - i love it! i like the logical aspect to it i think, as it gives you complete control over the end product. In theory as long as you put all the darts and seams in the correct places your garment will be perfect. Even today's task of creating a block pattern straight onto the mannequin and then transferring it to paper, which was full of potential errors, didnt change my mind. It actually made me aspire to create a better pattern next time around and to learn from the errors that i made. So i guess if desinging doesn't work out, pattern cutting's where its at!

INSPIRATIONS

THE ONE WHO STARTED IT ALL

From an early age the designer who has influenced every item of clothing I've purchased, every design Ive drawn and the way I view the fashion industry is the incredible Coco Chanel. Her inspirational ideals about style and her ability to revoluntionise the industry have made me aspire to create not just fasionable pieces but timeless ones, and to look at everything and think 'is this stylish rather then simply fashionable'. Although high fashion sells and is at the forefront of every designer and customer's mind, the idea of style is always lurking in the subconcious.

Chanel brought many statement pieces to the fashion table throughout her career, including the Little Black Dress – still a permanent fixture in every woman’s wardrobe - the Chanel two piece suit, which was elegant and embodied success, independence and confidence, and costume jewellery.

Chanel was also instrumental in the designing the image of the 1920’s flapper – a move which brought controversy to the brand.

Vivienne Westwood is one of the most influential and intriguing designers in British fashion. Her original creative pieces and pioneering efforts to use taboo subjects to influence her designs has been a constant source of inspiration of mine. The inspiration comes in the form that there is no limit to how far an idea can be taken. Westwood designs outrageously, passionately and unconventionally.

THE ICON

Another major influence in my own designs is the late Isabella Blow, a true original. Blow inspires me to see the world of fashion in different and abstract ways and to understand the importance of individuality.

THE NEXT BIG THING

Gareth Pugh started out as a costume designer for the English National Youth Theatre, aged 14, until his formal education at Central Saint Martins, during which his final collection attracted the attention of the senior fashion editor of Dazed and Confused magazine, who placed one of his designs on the cover shortly after. After participating in several shows and articles, Pugh finally got his chance to show a collection at an alternative fashion week, which brought him to the attention of Fashion East, who invited him to show in its Autumn 2005 group show.
Pugh’s solo debut was in London Fashion week in 2006 and has since shown collections for Spring 2007 and Autumn 2007, in which his collection was hailed ‘an un-missable show’. One of his trademarks is using balloons to depict the movements and joints of the human body.
Gareth Pugh’s work is elective, original and unique, and the designer himself is a great example of hard work, dedication and passion - and one of the most forward thinking new designers on the catwalks.