More Pattern Cutting...

Last week I started pattern cutting for my 2nd garment for my fmp which is a fitted dress. I found that the pattern cutting for this was a lot easier than the jumpsuit and feel that the skills I developed from making the jumpsuit pattern enabled me to progress and use them to pattern cut my dress.lack

The fabric I have chosen for my garments is black silk crepe and leatherette for detailling on the garments.



"Big girls need big diamonds."

Elizabeth Taylor

Taking a look back and remembering the stye icon of her time...

Strengths and Weaknesses...Project By Project

AD203
I started AD203 at the beginning of 2nd year where the aims of the module where 'to provide opportunities for students to consolidate skills in and understanding of a range of thought processes and methods relating to their art and design discipline through the medium of a project.' The module was a live brief spread among to modules, this module being to design and come up with a final garment being an evening wear dress for evening wear designer Anh Mao.
My theme was based on the process of a 'chrysalis to a buterfly' where I based a lot of my designs on draping. I produced 2 mood boards where I selected the best imagery from my research that I felt best portrayed my theme. I think my mood boards where a strong point of this module.

I feel that my initial designs and design development really reflected my theme and the fabric I chose would be apporpriate for the manufacture of my dress. I was very pleased with the design work I produced, however I think that I could of done a lot more research on my theme prior to the design development. I also realised that I should have experimented more with draping and manipulating fabric as part of the development process.
This module enabled me to develop my skills and add work to my portfolio that shows my improvement from 1st year to 2nd.

AD208

For this module I was required to produce the evening wear dress based on my final design from AD203.

From this module I feel I gained a lot, as I encountered many problems with my fabric and design. The design I had chose was based on draping. I had selected chiffon fabric for the draping. I had previously made a toile with lower qulity chiffon fabric that worked quite well. However the chiffon I was using for my dress was very soft and delicate and would not drape the way I had wanted. In order to fix the problem I ended up changing most of the style of the dress, however I was still pleased with the fnished product. This module made me realise about fabric selection and how experimentation is very important as not all fabrics work the way you want them to. I also had never previously draped with fabric, so this module helped me for the future if I ever wish to drape and improve on the skills I have already learnt.

This module enabled me to improve my time management and problem solving skills, however I need to be more confident with my decision making in future as at times I was unsure about how to change the style of the dress to make the chiffon drape.



AD202

This module was to show and improve my digital skills usings Adobe Illustrator. It was linked with modules AD203 and AD208, where the work I produced was generated from the design development from AD203. I was required to produce 4 front and back designs from AD203 using Adobe Illustrator, and also interpreting close up details such as fastenings, stitching etc. I was also required to produce an essay on the role of digital applications within the fashion industry.

This module has enabled me to develop my digital skills from 1st year. I feel a lot more confident using the programme and now wish to incorporate CAD work in other modules. I have seen an improvement in my designs from CAD work I produced in the 1st year and hope the skills I have required from this module will help me to keep improving.

The essay I produced really helped me to understand how important digital applications are in the fashion industry and how it has drastically improved time management and modernised the industry as a whole.

In future I would like to experiment more with applying colour to designs as I think it can make them look a lot more interesting.

Miss Newcastle...the year of BOLLYWOOD!

As part of another work placement a few of my class and I will be designing and making one of the garments for the Miss Newcastle final. Each year a theme is picked that will be suitable for the winner from the previous year.We have been asked to produce the themed garments which this year is Bollywood as last years winner was of Indian origin.
I am excited to produce the garment and see one of the contestants wearing it as we have been invited to go to the final!
I have researched Bollywood and the style and history of it all. I have also looked into Indian culture, art, and landscapes and have established a colour story that consists of earthy tones such as burnt orange and sand with hints of gold. I have also researched fashion designers that have been influenced by indian culture such as Hermes and Reem Acra.
This week I am goin to have a look in local Indian Fabric shops and hope to start making asap!



Louis Vuitton...AW 2011-12

Louis Vuittons AW, RTW collection was very intriguing. The start of the show consisted of PVC, peacked caps, trench coats, hotpants and jodpur style trousers, however in parts of the show the seductive style toned down a bit and there was some exquisite dresses with luxurious fabric choices.
The pieces that caught my eye were the ruberised lace blouses and moulded leather bodices, I find the combination of both work well together, they suggest a subtle  monochrome colour pallete which overall gives a striking appearance.
This collection really stood out to me as its allowing  a woman to dress in a prominent way yet still being classy and elegant...

 

The Pattern Cutting Begins...

I have decided to make 2 garments for my final major project. I have chose to produce a jumpsuit and a dress.These 2 garments were taken from my final capusule collection inspired by 15th and 16th century armour.

I want a very structured yet feminine and striking collection.I intend to use jersey fabric with leather detailling.

I am excited to produce these garments as it will allow me to explore and develop a range of techniques.

I have already sampled prior to the pattern cutting to make sure i was able to produce the detailling I required for the garments and made sure that the leather I had chose was easy to work with.

I have started off with making the jumpsuit. I have never previously made one so therefore found the pattern cutting quite a challenge as I had to alter the basic pattern a lot to match my design.

The jumpsuit will have exagerated shoulders...

Detailed side panels...

...and a leather top stitched waistband.

From creating this pattern I learnt a lot and feel that this knowledge will be useful and will enable me to problem solve by myself when it comes to making the pattern for my second garment which is a dress, again with leather detaillings.

Harvery Nichols...

I have recently completed a work placement at Harvey Nichols, which I learnt and gained a lot from. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and met some great and interesting people! This placement enabled me to  experience the marketing aspects of the fashion industry and learn about the business from a high end perspective.

During my time there I worked with the display team who's roles are to install the new windows, do the diplays around store and dress the mannequins in the windows and around the store.
The windows are changed about every 7 weeks, where the display designers come up with a theme and a layout. This is all very carefully planned down to set up of the window and the positions of the mannequins.

Harvey Nichols are renowned for their amazing window displays and I was very excited to be apart of an installment!

The theme of the January windows that I helped install was tubes and pipes.This theme was a very clean, abstract and almost futuristc with a hint of vibrancy. Therefore the tubes and pipes were very clean colours, mainly white and grey with the occasional bright blue tube. The mannequins were to be dressed in vibrant colours for a contrast.

I really take my hat off to the display team as the job is very hands on and with every window display installment everything has to be changed including the flooring, painting, lighting etc. Not only are they responsible for the windows but also various displays around store like the show case cabinets. They are also responsible for dressing the mannequins around store that they have to dress weekley wearing various brands. They are also involved in signage displays around store.

During my time there I got to experience all aspects of the job role, from deliveries, dressing the mannequins, creating vinyls for the windows, steaming the garments in preparation for the windows,painting backdrops, and daily floor checks.


On my second day I was asked to choose outfits for the mens mannequins for the international designers department, I found this a bit of a challenge but I was excited about it! The clothing I found most interesting was by the designer Dries Van Norten. The garments had interesting details and I loved the colour pallette of the collection that ranged from navy to cream shades. I also chose an outfit from Lanvin as the clothing had a very sleek and sophistcated look.

I was also asked to help do the showcases around store, so I had to pick various accessories and shoes in pastel shades to match a cupcake theme. I then had to help arrange them in a quirky way in the display cases which I enjoyed doing.

Another task I was given was to pick accessories such as scarfs, handbags, jewellery etc for the pipe display, which was made out to look like a human figure, however it was quite difficult trying to dress the displays as the figures were very abstract and therefore couldnt get a jacket or skirt onto the figure, so one of the display girls and I had to just dress them in accessories and shoes. I loved doing this job, it was a sort of trial and error to see what would work best on this unusual display, however once finished we were pleased with our efforts!

On my last day I was asked to do the L'Agent Provocateur perfume feature in the Knightsbridge windows. I enjoyed this job however it was quite difficult to try and display the perfume boxes and bottles around and on the tubes.It enabled me to be creative as I tied them on the the tubes in different angles and after many attempts of trying of make them stay it all worked out and I was happy with my creation!
I loved working at Harvey Nichols and would definitely go back again if I got the opportunity to!