Starting this term at Ravensbourne was great fun. At the start I was quite nervous as to whether I would be able to keep up with the fast pace and high demand of work. Nonetheless I enjoyed it thoroughly and learnt new key skills to help develop my understanding of the fashion industry and all the different roles within it. My favourite weeks in this project would have to be the styling/promotion week, design development and knitting. I enjoyed the styling/promotion week because it was a completely new learning experience but I felt very comfortable and confident in doing it. I became a stylist, photographer, casting director and many more roles within this week but didn't feel overwhelmed. Secondly, design development was more suited to what I wanted to do and what I knew I could do. Being a designer is what I aspire to do in the future so this taught me a lot about the development process. In terms of learning techniques and textiles, knitting was also one of my favourites because I was starting from scratch. I learnt how to use a knitting machine and knitting decorative techniques, all in one week which was very impressive despite the many mistakes I had made.
The most stressful parts of the project would have to be the digital print and my final outcome. Digital print, although fun to learn, was a nightmare in some cases. Being a Photoshop amateur in the first place didn't help and having to come up with my own print was difficult in itself. However none of this compared to the challenges of the final outcome. I had to gather what I had learnt in the past 8 weeks and come up with a final garment and photo shoot or film. I think it was the freedom that was a bit daunting as I did not know where to begin. Also the idea that not only did I have to make a garment but I had to then come up with a shoot as well.
For the final garment, my new found knowledge in design development came in handy for coming up with the design concept and how to come up with something truly unique. Whereas for the final photo shoot, the styling/promotion week gave me a structure of how to set it up and ideas for location, photography and visualising my final concept.
If I could improve some aspects of this project it would be time management. I wish I could've given myself more time for the development to see where I could've taken my designs even further and also my final outcome because I do feel it was rushed a bit towards the end. I was given a lot of positive feedback for my progression as well as constructive criticism from my tutors. Overall this term I have learnt more than I could ever dreamed and hope to take this knowledge through to future projects. I cannot wait for the next few terms on this fashion foundation course.
Monday, 2 December 2013
FINAL OUTCOME: Garment & Photoshoot
The final garment I made is a modern style cocoon coat made from a black cotton jersey, complete with batwing sleeves and an oversized hood. The overall shape is quite alien and star-like. Also with it being a cocoon shape this reinforces the isolated/bubble idea.
FINAL SHOOT
These are the initial images for my final shoot that I shot using my digital camera but I plan to edit and refine them on Photoshop to give the images a better quality and really enhance the artistic direction I was going for.
FINAL OUTCOME : Development
For my final outcome I went through a series of development processes. I tend to work visually and take inspiration through images, my own drawings and mark-making. I also drew inspiration from quotes I had gathered from poems, plays and books I had read. The quote that inspired these two pages was from John Milton's Paradise Lost, book IX:
'Mindless the while, Herself, though fairest unsupported flower'
To me it represents isolation and a lost state of mind. I often find myself lost in my thoughts and oblivious to reality (at times).
The following designs are responses to research and development throughout my work. Star-like imagery is present in the designs and links to a outer space theme. My designs are minimalist and I tend to not use colour in my designs. I prefer to look into structure and silhouette, with colour following later on in the design process.
'Mindless the while, Herself, though fairest unsupported flower'
To me it represents isolation and a lost state of mind. I often find myself lost in my thoughts and oblivious to reality (at times).
The following designs are responses to research and development throughout my work. Star-like imagery is present in the designs and links to a outer space theme. My designs are minimalist and I tend to not use colour in my designs. I prefer to look into structure and silhouette, with colour following later on in the design process.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
STYLING/PROMOTION/TREND REPORT
During week six, we learnt about styling and promotion. This included many things such as trend report, styling and we ended up creating concepts through images and trends based around our own identity. I thoroughly enjoyed this week surprisingly, as I always considered myself to be more of a designer than a stylist but the whole process of this week came very naturally to me. The idea of coming up with different outfits, organising and setting up my own photo shoot seemed quite daunting at the start but everything fell into place easily.
On the Monday, we had to bring in polaroid's that represented us so we could get a feel of what we were about in small snapshots. Mine were quite silly and playful, with the use of props consisting of hats, big fur coat and my hair I was able to convey different expressions. Not only did we have these as a starting point, we also had to do a style-a-thon. In the style-a-thon, we had to bring in many items of clothing, props and accessories to style a member of our group in 10mins coming up with a different look. with the help of raiding my mum's wardrobe, I managed to find a bunch of old coats and jackets that were fun to layer and play around with. I also used a pair of vintage dungarees and sunglasses.
The next day was trend reporting from which we researched current trends from the high street, high end and small boutiques. Using the trends we found we made a trend board that presented all of the trends and had notes on why they were significantly popular and relevant to todays target market. We then had to present it to the rest of the group and that was followed up with questions and discussion of our opinions on the trends themselves.
The final project for this week was to do our own photo shoot or film, styled and set up by us. The final outcome was going to represent us and before the shoot started, we had to put together mood boards that gave us inspiration for the styling, casting, hair/makeup, location, props etc. Once the mood boards gave an overall sense of what the shoot would consist of and how it would look, it was time to get it started. At first I wanted to use two models to convey the fact I am a Gemini, using two people would have shown the two different personalities but in the end I only used one. In the end I guess it worked out for the better as it showed one person and two looks and didn't over complicate. My theme for the photo shoot was grunge (which happened to be one of the words on my identity mind map) but to contrast and show another side of my personality, I created a more sophisticated, mature, tailored look. The location was an abandoned area in Brick Lane near Allen gardens as I loved the rustic, rural look against the colourful graffiti surrounding (again in reference to contrast and being a Gemini). For the casting, ideally I would've used a female but I decided to think outside of the box, similar to a Joe Mckenna spread in which he used the opposite sex to represent his style. So I used a male to be different and in a way that decision does contribute to my personal way of thinking. To represent each personality, I had two looks: a grunge look using plaid shirts, ripped jeans, black boots, t-shirts and a big sheepskin coat giving off a laid-back, relaxed effect and had typical elements of grunge to it. For the second look, a simple tailored suit with a bow tie around the arm to portray myself as an individual and different.
On the Monday, we had to bring in polaroid's that represented us so we could get a feel of what we were about in small snapshots. Mine were quite silly and playful, with the use of props consisting of hats, big fur coat and my hair I was able to convey different expressions. Not only did we have these as a starting point, we also had to do a style-a-thon. In the style-a-thon, we had to bring in many items of clothing, props and accessories to style a member of our group in 10mins coming up with a different look. with the help of raiding my mum's wardrobe, I managed to find a bunch of old coats and jackets that were fun to layer and play around with. I also used a pair of vintage dungarees and sunglasses.
The next day was trend reporting from which we researched current trends from the high street, high end and small boutiques. Using the trends we found we made a trend board that presented all of the trends and had notes on why they were significantly popular and relevant to todays target market. We then had to present it to the rest of the group and that was followed up with questions and discussion of our opinions on the trends themselves.
Saturday, 19 October 2013
ACCESSORIES
Week five was accessories week. This consisted of taking an object special to us or with a relevance to our identity and developing it to create a design worthy of becoming an accessory, whether it be shoes, bags, jewellery or something out of the ordinary.
I chose to use a piece of volcanic rock from Barbados as my special object. The main reasons for using this was the fact that I am partly from the island, the volcanic rock also brought back memories from past visits with my family and had a sense of nostalgia and also the unusual shape and glittering surface was very unique and beautiful to look at. The idea of turning this piece of rock into an accessory threw me but after photocopying it, making repeats of it, making the copies negative and moving the shape around, I finally came to a shape I was satisfied with. With my final shape, I enlarged and minimised it to create different patterns to see what it would look like as various types of accessories.
In the end we had to work on a mannequin to see how it could be shaped and made into an actual accessory and once we were settled with it we could make the end result. Opting for a sculptural back piece of jewellery, I used metal wire to construct a linked chain. Overall accessories week, had to be the most difficult and challenging for me, as I never had a large interest in it but I learnt a lot and hope to take it further to benefit upcoming projects.
I chose to use a piece of volcanic rock from Barbados as my special object. The main reasons for using this was the fact that I am partly from the island, the volcanic rock also brought back memories from past visits with my family and had a sense of nostalgia and also the unusual shape and glittering surface was very unique and beautiful to look at. The idea of turning this piece of rock into an accessory threw me but after photocopying it, making repeats of it, making the copies negative and moving the shape around, I finally came to a shape I was satisfied with. With my final shape, I enlarged and minimised it to create different patterns to see what it would look like as various types of accessories.
In the end we had to work on a mannequin to see how it could be shaped and made into an actual accessory and once we were settled with it we could make the end result. Opting for a sculptural back piece of jewellery, I used metal wire to construct a linked chain. Overall accessories week, had to be the most difficult and challenging for me, as I never had a large interest in it but I learnt a lot and hope to take it further to benefit upcoming projects.
KNIT
Week four began a very different journey and quite an exciting one at that. The experience of using actual knitting machines, compared to the usual two needles and ball of yarn was a big shock. However it opened my eyes to the more exciting side to knitting and the knitwear side to the fashion industry. As an activist, the fast-paced aspect of knitting and learning techniques appealed to me a lot and allowed me to get very hands-on.
During the first day, we had learnt a number of techniques from the basic casting-on to honeycombing, ladders, drop stitch and 3D effects of pyramids and bubbles. Not only was it fun to learn something new and out of my comfort zone, it also got me thinking about how these techniques and effects are used in everyday knitwear. Suddenly I found myself studying peoples everyday knitted garments and figuring out what technique had been used to give the effect. Within the next few days, the techniques became more complex, although it was more rewarding to have created something that is used quite frequently in knitwear.
By the end of the week I had learnt a number of techniques and even created some of my own by improvising and changing patterns around. My favourite outcome would have to be the fringing as is turned out very well first time and gave a lovely finish.
Cable
Waffle
Stripes
Honeycomb
Orange peel
Fringing
During the first day, we had learnt a number of techniques from the basic casting-on to honeycombing, ladders, drop stitch and 3D effects of pyramids and bubbles. Not only was it fun to learn something new and out of my comfort zone, it also got me thinking about how these techniques and effects are used in everyday knitwear. Suddenly I found myself studying peoples everyday knitted garments and figuring out what technique had been used to give the effect. Within the next few days, the techniques became more complex, although it was more rewarding to have created something that is used quite frequently in knitwear.
By the end of the week I had learnt a number of techniques and even created some of my own by improvising and changing patterns around. My favourite outcome would have to be the fringing as is turned out very well first time and gave a lovely finish.
 Hem |
CableWaffleStripesHoneycombOrange peelFringingSunday, 22 September 2013
DIGITAL PRINT
During week three at Ravensbourne, we learnt about digital print. This consisted of taking on the many challenges of Photoshop, the process and development of coming up with our own original print ideas and how to display it onto an actual garment via Photoshop. Overall working out how to use Photoshop from scratch was difficult to grasp as it had so many different aspects to it. However, I relished in the moments I had done something right especially the feeling of triumph when I managed to make a repeat pattern (amateur).
The brief behind our own personal prints was to generate 3-5 prints for selection that reference a 'group or family' of prints. They had to reflect or be inspired by family history whether it be through ethnicity, geography- journey/travel/language or even evocative- family secrets, loss, reward.
I chose to focus my prints on my family background and our place of origin. Being from all over the Caribbean, I decided to make my own floral print but rather than use the usual roses etc. I chose to use tropical flowers such as the Birds of Paradise, Anthurium and Plumerias. I changed the sizes and grouped them together to create a small bouquet and made a repeat of it. I then placed it onto a black background to really make the colours pop.
My tropical floral print:
The brief behind our own personal prints was to generate 3-5 prints for selection that reference a 'group or family' of prints. They had to reflect or be inspired by family history whether it be through ethnicity, geography- journey/travel/language or even evocative- family secrets, loss, reward.
I chose to focus my prints on my family background and our place of origin. Being from all over the Caribbean, I decided to make my own floral print but rather than use the usual roses etc. I chose to use tropical flowers such as the Birds of Paradise, Anthurium and Plumerias. I changed the sizes and grouped them together to create a small bouquet and made a repeat of it. I then placed it onto a black background to really make the colours pop.
My tropical floral print:
I think for a beginner it went better than I expected however I would love to work on this and create some more prints with more time. As a placemen print it looks a lot better than as a repeat. I would change the repeat, sizes and play around with the colours. What would have helped was if I had written notes as I went along, then I would have had a greater result. Overall it was lovely to learn and experience another aspect of the industry and really delve into the process. Not too sure it was for me but with more time and assistance from a few YouTube tutorials, I'm sure I could become the next Mary Kantrantzou.
Sunday, 15 September 2013
STYLE SPOTTER: LFW @ Somerset House
This weekend I went down to Somerset House to capture the buzz and excitement surrounding London Fashion Week. Many men and women were dressed in their best, whilst photographers were all fighting to get a good shot. This time of the year really embraces every ones own personal style. I personally opted for an all black number (consisting of a jersey turtle neck midi dress and leather jacket) to keep it low-key but managed to break it up with the different textures, silhouette and contrast trainers. Since Friday and Saturday the atmosphere had calmed down - with help from the rain - letting individuals stand out from the crowd.
I managed to capture the style of those whose style really stood out to me personally from sharp tailoring to contrast textures and unique layering. Experiencing the mood of fashion week within the space of a few hours, left me fascinated as to how the ambience in the shows would feel.
I managed to capture the style of those whose style really stood out to me personally from sharp tailoring to contrast textures and unique layering. Experiencing the mood of fashion week within the space of a few hours, left me fascinated as to how the ambience in the shows would feel.
PAPER MANIPULATION DESIGN
Week two at Ravensbourne, we started a paper manipulation workshop. From previous work we had to find a symbol that is significant to us and cut out 20 of them in white card and one large symbol in brown paper. I chose the 7- point star as my symbol mainly because it is not commonly used and there are many shapes you can make from it. Also this particular symbol related to the space/universe image on my concept board.
We had to create 3 designs and I chose to design a top, skirt and dress out of them. Taking inspiration from these 3D designs, the next step was to sketch designs from these. This on going development has encouraged more design ideas and has led to many possible outcomes.
We had to create 3 designs and I chose to design a top, skirt and dress out of them. Taking inspiration from these 3D designs, the next step was to sketch designs from these. This on going development has encouraged more design ideas and has led to many possible outcomes.
SAATCHI GALLERY: PAPER ART
During a visit to the Saatchi Gallery, I was intrigued by the amount of art work made by just paper, whether it be paper bags, newspaper or even coffee cups. The many methods used to create different textures and to construct the pieces were very inspiring. Whilst some focused on surface pattern and colour, the majority of the work made up sculptures on a larger scale or small intricate 3-Dimensional designs.
What inspired me the most were the various outcomes of using a simple material. My personal designing style doesn't consist of many colours, as I tend to focus more on the silhouette and structure of a garment. This reminded me of a quote from my favourite designer Yohji Yamamoto "‘White is the absence of colour, black is the presence of all colours". However some of the colourful installations were very awe-inspiring.
What inspired me the most were the various outcomes of using a simple material. My personal designing style doesn't consist of many colours, as I tend to focus more on the silhouette and structure of a garment. This reminded me of a quote from my favourite designer Yohji Yamamoto "‘White is the absence of colour, black is the presence of all colours". However some of the colourful installations were very awe-inspiring.
 |
| Miler Lagos Fragments del Tiempo (Fragments of Time) 2012 |
Yuken Teruya 2005-2006
Paul Westcombe
Coffee cups 2008
Marcelo Jacome
Planos-pipas n17 2013
Jodie Carey
The Daily Mail - Arrangement Three 2005
IDENTITY CONCEPT BOARD
During week one of my Art Foundation (Fashion & Textiles) course at Ravensbourne, we were introduced to our main topic of 'identity'. This topic consisted of the production of concept boards made up of images that represented ourselves. Inspired by abstract words from my identity mind map, this led me to source images to represent each of the words and that reflected my personality through different types of pictures.
During a workshop related to the concept boards, in groups we rotated each of our boards and had to rearrange the images to create a flow and construct a better layout for each board. After going through a range of layouts, I finally felt as though one specific look stood out to me and in a way reflected the mood of the picture, uplifting it.
Final Concept Board:
During a workshop related to the concept boards, in groups we rotated each of our boards and had to rearrange the images to create a flow and construct a better layout for each board. After going through a range of layouts, I finally felt as though one specific look stood out to me and in a way reflected the mood of the picture, uplifting it.
Final Concept Board:
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
TATE MODERN: ENERGY & PROCESS
The Arte Povera and Anti-Form is part of the Energy & Process exhibition at the Tate Modern gallery. The exhibition focuses on the Italian art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. During this time many sculptors explored the process of making and also the portrayal of natural energy in their work.
In the Arte Povera and Anti-Form room, curated by Mark Godfrey and Helen Sainsbury, the works of Giuseppe Penone, Robert Morris and Lynda Benglis are displayed in a very minimal yet effective way. The simplicity of the room emphasises the natural theme used in their work. Artists began to use a diverse range of materials from industrial to organic. The use of these materials allowed natural forces and energies to alter and manifest through gravity, electricity and magnetism.
Walking into this exhibition, I was certain the sculptures were purely made to look as they did rather than being the product of natural processes. Once I learnt that it was a mixture of the two, it opened my eyes to the effect science and nature had in the process of making the pieces of art. When viewing this exhibition, an open mind is essential as it may not be as straightforward as you would expect. It is not only about the final product but the process in which it is being made.
In relation to my work in fashion and textiles, this exhibition inspired me to not focus on the end product, whether it be a garment or print but on the development and how other useful resources, techniques and mediums could add to an effect and make my ideas more unique with a lot more to it than meets the eye.
In the Arte Povera and Anti-Form room, curated by Mark Godfrey and Helen Sainsbury, the works of Giuseppe Penone, Robert Morris and Lynda Benglis are displayed in a very minimal yet effective way. The simplicity of the room emphasises the natural theme used in their work. Artists began to use a diverse range of materials from industrial to organic. The use of these materials allowed natural forces and energies to alter and manifest through gravity, electricity and magnetism.
Walking into this exhibition, I was certain the sculptures were purely made to look as they did rather than being the product of natural processes. Once I learnt that it was a mixture of the two, it opened my eyes to the effect science and nature had in the process of making the pieces of art. When viewing this exhibition, an open mind is essential as it may not be as straightforward as you would expect. It is not only about the final product but the process in which it is being made.
In relation to my work in fashion and textiles, this exhibition inspired me to not focus on the end product, whether it be a garment or print but on the development and how other useful resources, techniques and mediums could add to an effect and make my ideas more unique with a lot more to it than meets the eye.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)