Pure London

I visited Pure London on Tuesday which is a fashion trade event for directional and contemporary fashion. Buyers visit the show to choose collections for thier stores, so it was a good insight into the industry. I got to look around all the exhibitors stands and talk to the designers about thier brands which was really insightful. A lot of the brands at the show are smaller labels and some less well known so it was interesting to see how many there are out there and what brands I like. My favourites were Darling; a vintage inspired, feminine, pretty label with delicate prints and embroidery. I also liked Chilli Pepper, Jam, Charming, ChiChi, Fever; who use vintage prints, re-creating them for their own collections. I made lots of contacts for possible work experience, so it was a really useful day. I came away really inspired by all the collections I liked, and also feel like I have gained lots of new inpiration for my final collection.


www.darlingclothes.com
www.byjam.co.uk

Paris...

Having just returned from a week in Paris, I feel full of inspiration and ideas for my final collection. The trip to Paris was primarily to ehibit work at Indigo, Premiere Vision, but I also got to work on the stand which was really insightful. I made some useful contacts with the industry and got to see all the different studios which exhibit there. I particularly liked the studio PATTERN, who show beautifully elegant pieces with lots of embellishment and stylish print in a delicate manner. It was exactly the kind of design that appeals to me and is what I aim to create for my final collection. They use screen print, digial print, beading, embroidery and construction details in their work, so show a range of skills and detail which appeals to me.


By looking at the trend forecasts and colours for spring 2011, I feel that I am going in the right direction with my final collection. Premiere Vision states that spring/summer 2011 mixes fashion periods in a simpler, more natural way, creating a relaxed elegance. 'Sparkling Nonchalance' describes the mood of my collection well; 'with contrasts between leather aspects and lacquered laces... relaxed, charmingly simple silhouettes... playing with the semi-transparancy of silks... prettying up reality with lightness'.

By seeing all the fabrics and colours for spring 2011, as well as the prints and details from Indigo I am now really inspired and have a good idea of where I want to go with the project. I brought some beautiful laces from the fabric market in Paris, decorated with embellishments, and this along with sheer silks, print and light leather will form my fabrics.

While in Paris I also looked around a lot of the designer shops for inspiration. It was really insightful to see the pieces close up and look at the construction details and how they are made. there is so much detail and craft that goes into some pieces that you just don't see from looking at catwalk photos, so it was great to see. I loved Erdems collection, with the embroidered florals going into print, and lace dress- all beautifully made. I loved John Galliano's shop which was interestingly styled, enchanting you to weave through the rails of colthes. The lace and embroidery details on light silks inspired me.

Versailles...


We spent a day at Versailles, which is a beautiful Palace in Paris, once home to royalty and Mary Antoinette. The sheer size of the Palace is breathtaking, adorned with gold decoration. The interiors and eleborate adornment inside was fabulous, and has inspired me a lot with print ideas...



Every space of each room is decorated with print and adorned with gold, which I loved. I feel inspired to create print for my collection which could be applied to interiors as with the rooms of the palace. The floral prints are quite English feeling, with delicate colours and repeat placements. This is the kind of prints I have already been designing, so I think it could work well.



The theme of royalty is already strong in my collection, and I feel I can add a lot more after visiting Versailles, with fresh inspiration and exciting ideas.

Mood Board, Final Major Project

Historical Costume, 1920s

Yestderday I visited the Costume archive in Colchester, where I looked at some 1920s pieces for inspiration. I was inspired by Coco Chanel and that era, so wanted to do some further research into the shapes and silhouettes of this period.


I love this piece which is really feminine, with a dropped waist and full skirt. I also was inspired by the floral print, as I am doing florals, and found the large rose print really effective on a sheer chiffon fabric. The pin tucks in the bodice are also an effective detail.


The frills in this dress is the kind of thing I have been designing so is really relevant. I like the fluid shape, which you can see swinging round the body with lots of movement and layers.


There was really nice sleeve details on a lot of the 1920s dresses, with embroidery or applique patterns. The construction details make the outfit quite unusual which I like.


There was some amazing beaded dresses, which I loved. It was amazing how much adornment went into these pieces, with all over beading applied. They look really special and deliate, which I like. The beading has been carefully done to create interesting patterns and frill details.


I have found my visit really inspiring, and have taken away lots of new ideas about construction shapes and details. Overall the 20's was quite fluid lines, shapeless dresses with dropped waists. The shapes were simple but with surface decoration ususally eleborate or well thought out, which is the effect I want with my garments.

I have been really inspired by Fendi's Spring/ Summer 2010 collection. I love the whispy fabrics and soft lines with understated embellishment details. It has a luxurious, sophisticated look, which I aim to create with my collection. I will be taking inspiration from the soft nude colours as well as the sheer fabrics and silhouettes.




My major project will be a spring/summer womanswear collection for upper/mid market fashion- Ted Baker, Anthropologie, Whistles etc. I will be using beading, embroidery, print and construction to make an exciting feminine and romantic collection with attention to detail.

Warner Textile Archive

I visited the warner textile archive today to gain furthur inspiration for my major project. It was fantastic, as there was so much there to look at- a really inpiring place to visit. I am really pleased that I went as I know I can always go back if I need some inspiration.

I looked at the Rococo fabrics from late 18th century, as this is the period that I was most interested in from looking at the V&A and previous projects. I loved the Rococo prints and quite delicate, soft and feminine style. It was exactly the kind of theme I am going for, so was really good to see. I was suprised at the good condition of the older pieces, and vibrant colours they still held.

I also looked at some embroidery and beading from the archive. The extravogant beading was really interesting to see and has inspired me to want to add some luxurious beading details to my collection. The embroidery was also beautiful with delicate stitches and vibrant detailing.

I have come away really inspired, and in particular by the quirky, English prints I saw there. There was some really interesting floral prints in blues and pinks with stripes or pattern details as a background. I loved these prints as they were quite unique and very English. I would like to combine aspects of these with the Indian Maharaja and British Royality for a unique, eclectic mix.

Inspiration boards

Christian Lacroix is a big inspiration to me and in particular this extravogant fall 2008 collection...

I have been looking into the glamour of high society and royalty for inspiration as well as historical dress and quirky English fashions...

Chanel is a big inspiration for the feminine elegance and attention to detail. The light and flowing chiffons and pretty dresses from the s/s 2010 catwalks have also inspired me...

Coco Chanel

I watched the film 'Coco Before Chanel' yesterday, and it really inspired me. I have researched Coco Chanel for my dissertation, and have always found her an inspiration, but watching the film brings her to life. She was such a chic and stylish character, and so ahead of her time. I love the way she was so practical and did not simply adhere to the trends of her time but went totally against them- to her success. Her clothes were made with such care and thought and I think this makes them really special pieces, which I aspire to create. I loved the simplicity of her clothes and the 1920s style which she came to be an icon of. It has made me want to look more into this period for inspiration and for silhouette ideas.

The Queen's Gallery

After visiting the Maraharja exhibition at the V&A I decided I wanted to look more into our royal family for my final major project. I wanted to have a collection that held meaning and held some importance to the wearer of the garment, and so I thought British heritage and symbols of power and status would be a good place to look.

The exhibition showed the queen's treasures as part of the Royal collection as well as paintings of Royalty through history 'The Conversational Piece'. I found the jewels and treasures from royalty really inspiring and I feel like it is a really good starting point for my major porject. I love the intricacy and detail put into the clothing of royalty as well as the precious jewellery and diamonds worn by the queen. I have begun drawings from the royal collection, which could form print detail for my collection.

Maharaja Exhibition

While I was in London yesterday I also visited the Maharaja exhibition at the V&A, which is an exhibition of Indian Royalty showing their magnificence and wealth. It was an amazing exhibition full of rich colour and fabrics, which have really inspired me. I love the over-conspicuos wealth of the royalty and the way this was shown with exquisitally embellished shari's, bed linen and furnishings.


The colours have been really inspiratrional, as well as seeing how societies used to live, and how much royality ruled. It has made me want to look more into English Royalty and the herritage of our royal family. Maybe mixing inspirations from this with the Maharaja exhibition for my final collection?


I also looked at the new Renaissance exhibition at the V&A, which was also quite inspiring. This, again ties in with heritage, and is something I definately see as holding importance.

Studio G

I went to studio G to have a look aroud the studio yesterday, and to show them my fronts for spring/summer 2011. They had a look to see if they wanted to take any with them to New York, and it was a good opportunity to get feedback on my work and see the studio.
Glen was very possitive and said he liked my collection, but it wasn't very good for them as thier clients like their artwork on a disc- which mine isnt as its hand-painted or embroidered. He did say that they were still commercial, so I had some positive feedback which I am pleased about. The studio was lovely and seemed like a nice, relaxed environment to work in.

River Island Competition

Another Competition I have entered is the River Island Design competition, where they asked to design a capsule collection for summer 2010 for river island. Again, I could see how my designs for Indigo could work, so reworked them for the collection. I think they fit in with the River Island brand, as they are fun, bright and inspired by the catwalk.

From Brief to Bra

I decided to enter the competition 'From brief to bra' which was to design an underwear set for simply be. I thought that one of my prints from the Indigo project would work well, so used this as a print for a fun, feminine bra set. I have added detailing for a seductive tone, and a luxurious touch.

I have now finished my collection of 12 fronts for Indigo, which I feel made a fresh and exciting group for summer 2010.

I am happy with the outcome, and I think they work really well together and are commercial, which I wanted.

The hand-painted prints definately work better now that they have been constructed and added with the embroidery/ embellishment detailing.

I have realised from this project how important it is to keep working at a collection to get it right, and that if I am not happy with something, it is always better to change it to make it work. I have really enjoyed making commercial pieces, however, I think I do prefer the more luxury market rather than high street, which I think these are.

Final Collection Idea...

I was just writing my dissertation, and it got me thinking about my final collection. I have been researching for the dissertation about the importance of value of fashion and how fast fashioin holds no value, as I feel fashion is something that should provoke meaning and show identity.

"Fashion fades, only Style remains the same" Coco Chanel.

I was thinking that my final collection could reflect this, and show how emotional attachment to clothes could prolong its life and make fashion more cared for again- something to be cherished.

Historical references could form this emotional attachment, creating a story behind the garment/ collection. History has meaning, as we can all relate to that moment in time. I want to create a personal experience to the garment for the individual and make a collection that is unique and special. Maybe each piece having some sort of relevance?

I now need to find some sort of theme/ inspiration which can achieve this....

Inidgo Project

I have started my first collection of hand painted prints for Indigo, which were going to be simple front shapes showing the conversational print. However, after doing the 6 prints, I have decided I am not happy with them just as they are. I feel they are not very strong as a collection, and need more excitement in them. This could be due to the fact that the colours are all quite toned down, but I also like more detail in my pieces, which you dont get the feel of in these.I am happy with some of the designs, so I will be leaving these as they are. For the others, I have decided to combine them with the constructed and embriodered elements that I have been experiementing with for collection 2. I will now have 1 collection of 12 garments, combining the 2 collections to make a really exciting, detailed combination of colour, construction, beading and embriodery.

Below is one of the prints which I am going to keep as it is, maybe adding some detail at the neck with subtle beading.

Below are some of the pieces I have been working on for collection 2, which will now be combined with some of the prints. I will have some fronts where the top is printed and the bottom constructed and visa vera. I am now much happier with the whole collection, as I think it represents me more, and my style.

Warner Textile Archive

We had the Warner Textile Archive in college yesterday which was a really inspiring visit. They hold the second largest collection of textiles in the U.K, and document these so that designers can access them to use for inpiration. We were shown some of the textile pieces from the archive including paper print designs and printed fabrics from the 18th century through to the 20th century. I found the woven fabrics from the 18th century particularly inspiring, with small scale repeat florals in bright colours. it was interesting, however, how much of a variety of different techniques would be used in a certain period. I was also amazed at the bright, rich colours of the woven silks from the Victorian period.

They said that we can go to see the archive in Braintree, and request to see certain designs that interest us, which is exciting, and it could form inspiration for my final collection. They also have some embroidery and beaded pieces, which I would love to see, as this is what really interests me. I am really glad that they came to college to show us some of thier pieces, as I wasn't aware of what they had there and that we could visit, which I will now be taking advantage of.

We had a really interesting talk from Studio G yesterday, who showed us some of their print designs, which they sell at Indigo Paris and New York. They showed us some mood boards, which show how they look at catwalk trends for inspiration which they translate into thier own prints. They design for the high street, so thier prints are very commercial focused. I found it really useful to see how the industry works and what is involved in working for a studio such as Studio G.

We have to opportunity to design a collection for them, which they might be willing to take with them to New York, which is a really exciting opportunity. It would be done on photoshop, as this is the technique they use, so I am thinking I will do a collection of digital prints, taking my inspirations from collection 1 to deveop furthur, and maybe using the theme of tropical, or anaimal?

Mood board collection 2

Inspiration is taken from 18th century pleasure gardens and nature, with bird wings and reptile skins an influence, creating a delicate, detailed collection of constructed fronts for spring/summer 2011. Embroidery and screen print will combine with cutaway elements, appliqué and beading and light, soft colours of ivory, gold and spring green form the base with accents of black, cinnamon red and a rich green creating an authentic theme. Soft silks and sheer chiffon fabrics create a seductive, feminine tone.