Primary Research- 31st October 2016

During the October half term, I took a short trip to Lagos in Portugal. Whilst I was here, I was inspired by the beautiful beaches and thought it'd be a good ides to take a few pictures of the beach. I have done this to further develop my primary research and to have as many primary images as I can so that I have lots of images to work from. Here are a few of the images I took;

Preparing for my presentation- 11th October 2016

As part of my design module, I have to deliver a presentation to my peers and my design tutor to show them what I have researched and developed for my project. We have been given the option to use the Japanese Pecha Kucha presentation style, which involves using 20 different images on a presentation slide, and talking about each of them for 20 seconds. I have chosen to do this presentation style as it allows me to get to the point rather than waffling on for ages and going off on a tangent. As part of my preparation for the presentation, I have created a sort of story board using Photoshop, of the each image I will be using and will then place these images accordingly onto a powerpoint presentation. Hopefully this technique works as I don't particularly enjoy giving presentations, however I'm hoping this will give me enough structure to be confident about what I'm talking about.

Draping- 11th October 2016

During today's design lesson, I did some draping on the stand using various fabrics but mainly I used calico. I tried to emulate my designs I had already decided on, and see what my ideas would look like in 3D. I found this activity really useful as it allowed me to adapt and develop my original ideas , and also inspired me to create new ideas, from the shapes and silhouettes that were being created. 

This first attempt at draping went quite well, I tried to recreate my first design that I will be creating and it has helped give me an idea of what my first design will look like. However, it is quite hard to get an accurate look of what the garment will look like as calico will not be the fabric I will be using as it is too stiff and heavy, I plan to use softer fabrics that are more suitable for this style. 

This is what I created on my secret attempt, where I wanted to create the illusion of a woven top and wide leg trousers, however it turned out looking nothing how i'd planned, however I still like what I had created as this gave me a new perspective on the design I will be making. The gathers at the shoulders give the look more volume, whilst the gathers near the waist draw the look in and give it a feminine look.

For this design, I know that I want to use a lightweight and soft fabric, similar to chiffon silk, and for this activity I used silk. However, I have not incorporated this example in my sketchbook and it dissent fit in with the theme of it (as in the colours) and i'm not too keen on the style I have created either. Nevertheless, this fabric is great to drape with as it allows lots of movement to the garment and doesn't weigh the garment down, which is what I want to convey when I make this similar style dress.

For this one, I have attempted to do all the gathering on one side to give it an alternative look to doing the gathers on both sides. Doing this gave me more ideas for my designs, and since this I have drawn more designs incorporating these side gathers, on garments such a dresses and top. In addition I have also been designing dresses and tops with ruffles on just one side, rather than gathers.

This look was supposed to give the illusion of a high neck with one short sleeve and one long sleeve. However it has not turned out how i'd imagined it would, it looks like the garment would swamp the person who would wear it with too much fabric. The style of this garment is overall too big looking, however I have cinched in the waist so that it gives more shape and more of a feminine silhouette.

Although this was quite a simple design, I think that the overall look is very effective. All I did was create the top of the dress so that it was strapless, and then I simply gathered the fabric in at the waist to give more feminine and elegant shapes. Although this is one of my favourite pieces I created from this draping activity, I would not make it as the pattern cutting stage would be too simple, and in order to get a high grade, I need to make my patterns for my garments as complex as I can.

This style was just an adaptation from the style before, where all I did was gather the fabric at the side and then on the other side but slightly lower, to give the garment more volume. I think this one is more interesting than the one before as it is more abstract and creates striking shapes, this style is slightly more complex than the one before. Although this is more detailed, I don't think that it is the most flattering style and doesn't follow the natural curves of a feminine silhouette, and this is what I want my pieces to do.

Here I have gone for a slightly more Grecian Goddess look, with the large draped piece of fabric over the shoulder. This is a shorter style than the ones previously which gives the look a more fun and edgy vibe. I particularly like the gathers at the waist as this adds more definition to the garment, rather than it just simply floating down. Although I like this piece I doubt I will be taking it forward into my designs as there are other thats are more related to my theme and concept .

This one is slightly similar to one of the previous styles, however there is an extra layer being added over the bust area. I think this small detail makes the dress look more contemporary and modern to the rest, as the shapes are not as fluid as the previous ones, this is slightly more structured.  To give the dress more definition I have gathered the fabric in at the waist as this gives the garment a more traditional feel which compliments the oversized details on the bust area. Although my collection will have a mixture of structured pieces and some flowing pieces this garment still inspires me to expand on my ideas a little bit more and perhaps have some more structured pieces. 

This style is the same as the previous one, however I have adapted it slightly, by adding large voluminous triangular shapes to the sides, where the hips would be. I thought this would give the garment a more striking and dramatic look, and it does however I don't really want my garments to have this effect. My collection will convey simplicity with a mixture of tradition and femininity, and I don't think this piece does this. 

Here I was trying to create a dress with a v-neck and a sort of pencil skirt, however it is difficult to create this look with a large piece of calico fabric. I don't think I will be developing this idea any further for my collection as it doesn't go with my theme or concept, as this style looks too formal and not relaxed enough how I want my pieces to be.

Trends research- 11th October 2016

The Vision S/S 18: Slow Futures

Slow Futures S/S 18 is a future trend that compliments my collection really well. Mainly due to the neutral earthy tones that are prominent in this trend, and also texture from the softer surfaces to the rougher. This trend is about looking back to the past when times were simpler and using the ideas from then to bring them to the present time, bringing back simplicity into concepts and designs. Many designers today are looking to create the most extravagant pieces in order to out do one another and get the most attention, whilst this is happening however, it is easy to notice that the more basic styles and shapes are being lost, and therefore it is important to bring them back. My collection combines a mixture of traditional shapes and silhouettes with more contemporary simplistic styles and shapes, giving tradition pieces a fresh new look. The fabrics I will be using will be as natural and closest to the earth as possible, using fabrics such as linen, cotton and silk.

Mood boards/ concept boards/ colour and texture boards

This is my colour and texture board, I have decided to lay out my colour palette slightly different to the way I would usually display them (I would usually have the colours in square shapes around the other images). However, this time I wanted to to be more creative with layout, and I think that the different sized lines give a nice effect, as they compliment the colours that are in the images. The board was created on Photoshop, as I believe using this software gives a more accurate and professional outcome, rather than using either Word or Publisher to create it.  Originally, I was going to incorporate all these colours into my designs, however since having a discussion with my pattern and manufacturing tutor, the fabrics she thinks will work best for my garments are more on the neutral side of the scale. Therefore, I doubt I will be using the darker colours such as the copper, bronze, emerald and cobalt blue, but instead I have opted to go for the more subtle and neutral colours such as beige, cream and light blue, as show in the top image. The images are secondary as my own images were all quite similar, however they feature in my concept board.

This is another board I have created, giving a slightly different feel to the mood than the board above.  I created this on Photoshop as this enabled me to cut around the images of the model wearing the Alexander McQueen dress, and I wouldn't have been able to do this if i'd just made it on Word or Publisher. The images are secondary which I collated on Pinterest and I think they really translate the meaning of what this project is all about. I have also included some text at the top, which reads 'Elemental S/S 17/18' as I thought this was important to include so that people know when the collection is for.

This is my concept board, where it is clear to see what my concept is about; the sea. During my summer trip to Mexico, I was fascinated by the clear blue seas and the white sandy beaches, and this inspired my to create my collection around this. These are my primary images mostly of the beach and the waves, but also of the beach huts and fabric manipulation. I have decided to lay the images out like this as they look more abstract than if I were to just either have them all the original size or have them all square for example. The main colours that are coming through from this board, are mainly blues, beiges, creams and hints of silver and white too, and I will make sure to use these colours when developing my designs.

Project Proposal- 20th September 2016

I took inspiration from my summer holiday in Mexico, where I was inspired by the beautiful scenery that I was surrounded by every day. I took pictures of the beach, including; close up shots of the waves, sand, seaweed, shells, the sky, and beach huts. I found that these images created really interesting textures and movements, which has given me inspiration for the garments I want to create for my collection. 

Originally I wanted to concentrate on the soft and subtle coastal areas, however I have since changed my mind and developed this idea further. I now would like to focus on how the elements; for example water and air create their surroundings to erode and disintegrate. To see how fabrics react to certain elements, I want to use dissolvable fabric which will give the idea of fabric being affected by the environment.  I have been particularly interested in how water reacts to metals and the colours created when this happens; sometimes the metals look iridescent and sometimes they look old and rusted, with green and copper colours coming through. I have also collated many secondary images on Pinterest that’ll inspire me when making fabric samples, choosing my colour palette and designing my final line up. 

Using my primary images from the beach I will upload these to Photoshop and edit them to create bright and interesting prints, and I will then send my favourite prints off to bags of love and see what they look like on different fabrics and what garments each would look best on. I want to choose fabrics that reflect the movement and texture of the waves from the beach, so garments that are comfortable to wear and flow elegantly when moving. I also want to reflect the texture of the sand, I have found a designer named Maia Bergman a design graduate from Central Saint Martins, who uses beads on all her garments which create texture to the fabric, and also create a slight iridescent shine when the garment is moved, therefore I would like to experiment with this. However, I would also like some structured elements to my outfits, so that they both balance out equally.

I plan to create illustrations that have elements of my designs, to bring them to life more and create a different perspective of the garments. I will use a variety of techniques to make my sketchbook look as creative as possible, also doing this may bring me new ideas. To develop my ideas of how to make my pieces stand out and look different I will be creating a variety of fabric samples, e.g. using the laser cutter to cut interesting shapes into leather, I also want to see what’ll happen to fabric when I burn it, and then using salt water I will leave pieces of fabric to soak for a while and see what happens to them.; doing these techniques will inspire me when designing my collection. 

I also aim to evaluate the work I have completed every Tuesday in class, on a blog, as this’ll help me reflect on my thoughts and ideas. In addition, whenever I do extra work outside college I will record this in the blog too. If I take trips or visits to any exhibitions or art galleries, or anything that relates to my project, I will also record this in the blog too.

Initial Designs- 3rd October 2016

Today I began to draw my initial design ideas, up to now I have done around 40 designs. I have drawn these on acetate with sharpie pen, and have then added watercolour underneath just to give an idea of the colours I want to be using. I will keep this technique running consistently throughout my sketchbook when designing. Below is an example of the initial designs I have drawn: