Fools Gold

I love this new winter trend, GOLD being the statement colour mixed with black and earthy tones in velvet, satin and other rich, opulent fabrics, aswell as metalic foil printing. Together these give a very elegant and striking look with a 'baroque' kind of theme...
Designers that inspired this trend include Balmain, Emilio Pucci and Phillip Lim

I have finished my garment for AD208. I am pleased with the outcome of the dress that I produced. Although the design has changed drastically due to problems with the chiffon fabric, it has turned out better than I expected. I feel the colours work very well together and I like the way the chiffon has been draped in a different way  to what I originally wanted. I feel that my sewing skills have improved during the production of my garment and would like to experiment further with draping in the future and gain an easier technique as I found it quite difficult at times.

Development of dress

I have had a lot of problems with the chiffon I chose to use for my dress. It would not drape the way I hoped it would and therefore had to experiment with the draping. It draped alright on the back it was the front that was creating problems so I had to change my design on the front completely which resulted in the back changing slightly aswell.

Start of AD208

For this module I have to produce a garment, a toile, an A3 sketchbook, a costing sheet and spec drawing.
This module is a live brief set by Anh Mao.
I have already made my toile, and have been documenting the process through photographs.
Today I have started my sketchbook where I will evidence these photographs along with annotation and drawings, my sketchbook will also have a written refelction on the work I have produced.

Mood Boards

I have produced 2 mood boards that have inspired my design development. On these boards I chose the most relevant and best research from my sketchbook. I wanted to portray my colour story on these boards so used only the colours that are in my chosen colour story. I wanted my theme to come across straight away when looking at these boards, so therefore I kept it quite simple and used images that I thought would enable people to see straight away what my theme is. I have also included inspirational collections on the boards, these include Herve Ledger S/S 2011 and Albino S/S 2010. Overall I wanted to these boards to look  organic but at the same time quite sleek so hopefully I have done so.

Balmain goes Biker

I love Balmains spring/summer 2011 collection, it consists of leather trousers and biker jackets and jeans with washed crushed finishes, this collection also has influences of the American flag. The collection has a very 'worn' look but i think it is executed well. I love how the garments have been embellished with studs and safety pins.
The Look: Biker meets Rock&Roll

Inspirational Collection: Spring/Summer 2011, Paris Fashion Week, Alexander McQueen

This is the first collection since Alexander McQueen's death. I find it very inspirational for my current project. This collection is very much inspired by nature. I think this collection still has the McQueen trade marks and ideas. I love the stiffened and exagerated silhouettes. The pieces I found most interesting were the butterfly print dresses and I think they relate well to my project theme ( From Chrysalis to Butterfly).

Experimentation with Draping

In order to get the draping for my dress the way I wanted I had to experiment with a chiffon fabric on my toile, this was very beneficial as it enabled me to see how and where I wanted the draped fabric. It also enabled me to measure how much chiffon will be needed for when I produce my garment.

For my dress I intend to use fabric from James Hare. I have chosen to use a Regal Dupion and a Satin Chiffon. The colours are very similar and therfore I think will work very well together. The quality of the fabric is very good and the colours are quite unusual.

Design Development

Today I finished off my toile for the Anh Mao project.
My theme is called 'From Chrysalis to Butterfly' which basically focuses on the evolution from a cocoon to a butterfly. I am required to make a dress for this project. I have produced initial ideas where I gained inspiration from the cocoon shape, this means that my dress is going to be very structured with draping to insinuate the butterfly wings.
From my initial ideas I moved forward into the development process where I chose the best dresses and developed parts i liked.
I had a discussion with Anh where she chose the design she thought would sell best and would suit her design philosophy.
I was pleased with the design she chose. She decided to go for a more  simpler design that has a structured shape with draping on the front and the back.
I also discussed what fabric i thought would work best. I decided a regal dupion for the dress and a satin chiffon for the draping. I plan on using the same colours of the fabric, and have the contrast being the different weight and drape of the fabric.
I produced a toile from a basic shift dress pattern, where I altered it by making it a little bit tighter on the bottom and shaping it at the back. I then had to work on the stand to drape the chiffon, this was quite time taking but I eventually got it to the way I wanted.