Cutting it fine... Too fine.

When you look in your diary and you have only got two weeks left until fashion show week and only one day left until the deadline I can honestly tell you that the only word to describe my reaction was far from polite English! 

However, stressing about it and crying in a corner when you know all too well it's your own fault achieves nothing! So, instead, I got my ass out of bed and was in college for quarter to nine this morning and haven't stopped. (Apart from the occasional fag break and a bight to eat at lunch but that's just basic human rights!)

Anyway, today went a little like this:

I'd done all my pattern pieces on Tuesday so was ready for my toile. (A toile is a bit like a first draft of the final garment, I found it a bit like when I used to have to mock up essays before an English assignment. It's the same concept, you put it together, adjust any mistakes, change things here and there that you realise can be improved and then its ready to be put in neat... That's my personally theory anyway!)

The T.Shirt was the easiest part, simply cut on the fold so its basically all one piece and then stitch up to the arm scye leaving the seam etc exposed to increase the 'grunge' feeling I'm aiming for.

 Pattern on the manikin, just to give me a rough idea on how many centimetres I wanted off the neck etc.

Completed Toile T!!!

Next step, the bottom of the garment i.e. the full skirt. I chose to do my dress in two pieces because I one, really like the look of something being incomplete and two because it creates quite a grungy look being in two pieces instead of conservative and just the one.

The skirt is cut on the bias, not on the fold and everything needed cutting four times to create the lining and enough volume for it to be the full floor length look I am hoping for! It works out just around 2 metres of fabric just for the skirt... It's been really awkward to manufacture in my eyes due to the fact that its meant to look over sized, and sort of hang of the model (it's made at a size 12) but I still wanted the impact to demonstrate how clothes just hang off models due to their extreme slight frames. I didn't bare the actual practicalities in mind when designing on paper.

Something I will definitely have a mental note of for the future!

Pattern cutting is growing on me (eventually) but it still baffles me and I get so confused and disorientated when it comes to accuracy and seam allowances and all the different symbols... but nothing comes easy without practise. It's a shame I couldn't have adopted this attitude in September instead of June really! OH WELL, better late than never at all!



I have to admit, seeing my complete, well semi-complete toile on the manikin made me so excited! I didn't show it, a bit like I never really show any excitement toward anything! But it really did make me so happy to still be at college and so grateful to have such amazing tutors and Trish, I genuinely don't know what I would do without them, not enough credit is given to them.

Anyway, enough of the soppy stuff, that's far to much affection for one day in my eyes!

MY TOILE

It's no Vivienne Westwood or Alexander McQueen but I'm chuffed to bits with it, and it's not even my final design...

Illustrators - I couldn't think of a fancy title to describe them.

We had to research into at least 6 illustrators for this final brief, personally if I'd actually got my derriere into gear I would have wanted to do at least 10. However, I have not been the best student recently for personal reasons so I am sticking to 6 but making up for quantity with quality....hopefully.

Illustration is something I am really interested in and really enjoy doing! So researching them as well is just my idea of pure heaven! It's like the nutella of fashion if you like.

Ive of course put Stina Persson on the list as I just LOVE her work as well as tried to use as many new discoveries as possible.

And here they are...

Anna Kiper, I love her work it's elegant to look at but also completely unique. It's a bizarre but quite modern way of drawing and I love how on the right hand illustration of the woman in a trench coat is black and white but with a slashing of blood red down the front, looks really unusual and striking.

This one I love, it's by an illustrator called Cecilia Carlstedt, I love the unfinished but still beautiful face and deep tones of purple contrasting against the faint pink shades of the background and bodice. It's very feminine yet has a grungy look to it with the raw edges of the neck piece and imperfections of the face.

Krister Selin, so eary and Gothic looking its genuinely quite spooky to look at her models faces and frame structures but her natural talent is a serious subject matter! I really like her work, I found her when searching for Vivienne Westwoods work and I have to admit I got very excited, not in a sad way but in a more reassuring kind of way as my drawings/illustrations have quite a haunting edge to them too as you may have noticed with my designs for my final brief, they're hardly normal!

Very similar to Selin's style of work, Laura Laine (most famous for her collaboration with H&M) is possibly my second favourite illustrator thus far! I can't quite figure out why though, her work again is very unusual and has a sort of myth like look to it with the expressionless eyes and exaggerated masses of hair waving around such spidery legs. All her work is based black and white but occasionally splashes of fresh or ultra vibrant shades are thrown in, but personally I think they work perfectly without the splash!

This one is by an illustrator Lucy Macleod, it has quite a theatrical and innocent impression about it but at the same time is very mature with the tonal work on the neck piece and poised expression around the lips and eyes. I want to try and re-create or 'copy' each illustrators designs and I think for this one I'll definitely be using some kind of sugar paper and a lot of various tones of pencil crayon! Again, a drawing I could just gaze at all day! (And yes, I am a MASSIVE art's and illustrations fan, but then nothings more chic than geek!)

And last but not least:

Stina Persson, no explanation required apart from... Beautiful.

Keeping Calm and Carrying On

Sorry for my rather deep post last week, I wasn't in the best place at the time, however, I'm so glad to say I'm on my way up already! I wont lie, yesterday was a difficult one but I stuck to my guns and as long as I keep reminding myself that nothing comes easy and everything happens for reason I shall not be giving up any time soon!!!

One thing I have suddenly found out, ironically, I'm really enjoying creating my textiles pieces... saying that, I have only completed one. But one is better than none at all at the end of the day.

My first textile piece is my own adaptation of the Union Jack, this has nothing what so ever to do with the Queens jubilee for the record, or the Royal Family in general, it's actually a reflection from anarchism. Which is why it isn't a very Conservative take on the real thing. Mine is actually based around one of my designs which was inspired by a very dear friend of mine! He has a tank top which is of the union jack and reps the punk look regularly.

It's very cliche to say it, but I find my surroundings the most inspiring especially the people around me, I studied art and psychology for a short while a year or so back and I think the two combined influence me more than I care to mention. I find our personal styles and ideas are very orientated around our nature nurture foundations. The people we've always had around us like family as well as our social circles can make a massive difference towards ideas.

What i like most about this design is the rough edges, it's relevant to the concept in regards to some areas in British society being a little rough around the edges and even though its complete it's not as it should be for example. The one thing I would change however is certain details, if I had more time (Which I would have done if I had done this when I was meant too) I would add machine stitching in white between the tight or smaller areas on the flag to give it that little extra texture.
All in all though for a first attempt, I like it.
It certainly gave me an idea that if I was to use it on the garment design above I would not use seam allowance and keep the edges of the shirt unfinished as well as continue using the sachiko technique to add depth in certain areas. 

Dear Diary...

Don't worry I have not turned my blog into an online diary over the last 20 something days. However, this post will feel and look a little bit like a diary entry and for that I am little bit sorry about.

I have been pretty low key recently, and when I say low key, I mean I pretty much shut myself away from the world.

I've suffered and battled with a little demon illness for the past 5 years called depression and it nearly took my life when I was just 16 years old. This illness does not mean for one moment that I mope around all day feeling sorry for myself and wishing that my very existence would disappear. Not at all and many people mistake the illness with the stereotypical image that a lot of people associate with depression, especially with young people, but there is a lot more to it than just feeling low, it drains every part of you body and mind and leaves you feeling almost emotion and lifeless, the smallest tasks like getting up in the morning become difficult and being sociable just isn't a priority anymore, the worst part is I can't control it, its the most unpredictable illness I can think of apart from the obvious and that's what makes it the hardest. 

I read an article in GLAMOUR magazine, well, it was more of interview with Frankie Sandford from The Saturdays and I could really relate to her, you do feel like asking for help is a burden on everybody else and you do feel bad for feeling low because there are so many people in the world worse of than you, you just feel selfish which makes you feel even worse!

Fashion has always been an escape for me when I feel down, not just 'Shopping' sometimes its the more simple things like just sitting down with a cup of tea and flicking through the pages of VOGUE and even watching documentaries on designers, it's always been my escape route and a way of just blocking everything out of my mind. Since I started college I have never felt so content and was beginning to feel like all these years of being quite an unstable and mixed up girl may be about to become a distant memory, until I was stupid enough a couple of months back to stop taking my medication and since then my whole life and everything I enjoy just crumbled around me and looked as grey and drab as I feel/felt.

Everyone has their own ways of dealing with problems, I try to do it all on my own and just fail epicly! Which is how I related to Frankie I think, I'm not one for looking up at celebrities because I find them to be overrated, they're just slightly better off, normal people just like the rest of us! But I really understood where she was coming from because we both tried battling everything on our own and didn't want the help or attention you naturally receive when you share something with people, plus being heavily in denial about yourself and what's actually wrong is a massive issue we again both share.  

I'm fortunate enough to have an amazing network of people around me which have helped me get step by step closer toward becoming more stable again... The biggest hurdle was definitely explaining my situation to college though, I was terrified, I couldn't get the idea of them kicking me off the course out of my mind so just avoided asking for help for weeks and weeks when secretly, inside I was crying so hard for help but didn't want to disappoint anyone or look like I was wasting every body's time. This is something I will always say to anyone who is suffering from depression or is feeling like they my be, never bottle it up, never try and deal with it on your own. People DO understand and they DO want to help! Yes, being back on my anti-depressants makes a massive difference but they wont work on their own.

I had a meeting at college today and it was so helpful, I was exhausted afterwards and just wanted to go back to bed which is a massive battle I am having at the moment, but I jumped right onto here and got my work back out from under the bed. It's going to be a really tough and demanding few weeks now, but that's the whole point of not giving up and giving in to such a demon as depression, it's about facing the challenges in front of us and coming out a stronger person. Yes, I had a bad day yesterday and probably will again in a day or so, but so what, it's one day! We can do this and I will always be grateful to college and everyone else around me for being here for me when I was ready to give up. I never realised how lucky I was, I feel like a cat with 9 lives more than ever!

There's more to Textiles than what meets the eye... TRUST ME!!!

As a girl that doesn't follow trends, likes plan ahead for the next day with what I'm wearing and spends most of time looking back when it comes to fashion I really do leave everything to the last minute....

Or in this case, just completely miss the deadline altogether and have ended up having to carry the textiles brief on through to our final designs brief. 

I go through fits and starts with textiles, I enjoy it but I can't lie when I'm in the wrong frame of mind I can't think of anything worse, it just doesn't keep me occupied enough... My mind wonders and then everything just goes horrible wrong!!! 

But for now, before I bore you with my general chit chat over textiles, have a looksy at some I made earlier: 

 This sample is possibly a favourite when I think  of accuracy and thought that went into it, I was really stumped by my first image (The Androgynous black girl) I loved it! it's a beautiful photograph but I wasn't sure what I could take out of it... Then I looked closer and just fell in love with the Fred Perry braces and they were perfect for playing with tones on the machine. 

The photograph I took on my blackberry isn't the best quality for which I apologise but you get the idea darlings...

Sample two: 

Sample three: 

I am so in love with this textiles piece its almost pathetic, I loved playing around with the different colours, I loved the feeling of it once it was complete and the wash-away had dissolved and I just think it creates a really beautiful and delicate effect. The only thing I would change is maybe making it a little larger but I am thinking I could definitely create an A4 sample using this and make something quite unique... maybe. 

Sample four:

Textiles designer Laura McCafferty inspired me to do this one, her work isn't actually my favourite but I felt she was certainly one to experiment with. This sample above is just a hand drawing of Andre Prejic's face and then I just simple watered over the fine liner and once that had dried hand stitched his features on the tracing paper simply by using embroidery needle and thread. I really liked the outcome for such a simple design. 

Sample five:

Five begins with 'F' so does failure, and this sample in my eyes was certainly a fail! An epic one at that, I really dislike this one and just feel like it did not work well at all, so instead of hiding it away and making sure only the bare minimum of people would ever see it I felt it was a good idea to post it up here purely because it shows that not everything that your imagination tells you is a good idea necassarily is, sometimes things just don't work out the way you want. I just feel like now I owe Lea T an apology for completely ruining her stunning face. (Lea T being the first Trans-Gender model to ever make a high fashion magazine front cover when she appeared on the front of LOVE with Kate Moss in 2011!) 

Now I've just got to finish my 6 A4 pieces otherwise it wont just be the samples I end up failing... 

Wish me look darlings. 

Writers Block? More like designers downfall...

I am, no surprise, very far behind with my college work. This is how it looks so far,

Excuses? None.

Reasons? None again. Not in my eyes anyway.

Attitude toward this situation? Awkward.

Why? Because I hate failing and I hate even more the idea of not being ahead of the game, instead I'm at the back of the line with my shoe laces tied together! (And yes, I do feel like any moment now I am going to take one step forward and fall flat on my face and roll right back down the hill!)

It's horrible.

However I have worked so hard this weekend to try and get my designs done I'm convinced I shall be dreaming about drawing tonight when my head eventually hits the pillow.

Anyway, the actually drawing itself I really enjoy. I used to be an art student before I started working in fashion retail so design and illustration is something I have always known I'd be interested in. I don't think I could ever be a full time designer like say Vivienne Westwood due to my on and off relationship with sewing and textiles but I could certainly be an illustrator/illustrations editor for a magazine or visual merchandiser for say someone like Harvey Nichols. That would be perfect...

But for now, here is my journey.

Equality and Diversity Unit 7 Designs. (Continued)

These are the designs that originate from my first thread from the brief (Androgyny and Eating disorders) where I was majorly inspired by Gareth Pugh, Fred Butler and also the Punk look.

Next up,

These are the designs I have created from our Fashion show brief, these are all based around Eating Disorders again however I looked deeper into personal style and a particular 'look' and focused on the more political side of social images, such as the amount of bullying that takes place in this country due to someones sexuality, look and even hair colour. So my collection became inspired by a much broader concept. They're not my strongest drawings I must admit but I'm quite proud of them never the less...

It was really hard to choose I final design out of all the ones I'd originally started with, but in the end after talking with my Lecturer I knew I wanted my garment to say the message I wanted to send across to the audience as it were. I was really inspired by Katherine Hamnett in our first brief and she managed to work her way back in for this unit too. As did my boy Henry Holland when it came to researching ideas.
So with a little playing around with words and a slight hint of Dame Vivienne Westwood I created this...

Many people ask where feed the birds comes from, it's a play on words. It's a relation toward the size zero debate and message to support the ban of super skinny cat walk models due to the rise in eating disorders and weight issues with young girls. It's a statement and subject I personally feel very strongly about as I was once one of those girls and I too got to dangerous levels with my weight and its always been something I have kept an eye on in the media so it instinctively felt right to sway more this way with my final design. I hope someone somewhere out there likes it...

Let me know...

Forget the Kardashian's, try keeping up with college!

22 days left until fashion show, these are words that could quite literally drive me to breaking point. Why? Because I'm not ready... 

I have always said I am one for leaving everything until the last minute, however, there's leaving it to the last minute and then there's just playing with fire. 

Luckily though I am sooner rather than later addressing the issues, such as time keeping and not delaying it any longer and getting on with it. The problem is, I've not been in education for such a long time, I'm used to deadlines in figure form that affect the company and not me as an individual so it's pretty daunting. I hate failing, and I also hate the idea of not being able to do something right first time around. 

This is probably why I'm terrified of making my final garment, designing it is a worry I certainly don't have, making it however! Well, we'll get to that part when it arrives. 

For now though, here's the story so far... 

 The title of my new theme which was plucked as a development from Androgyny.

 'No more fashion victims' is one of the more modern slogans created by British Designer Katherine Hamnett, made most famous in the 80's due to her 'Choose Life' T.Shirts warn famously by WHAM! in their video for 'Wake me up, Before you Go Go'...

 This is a colour board ^ which I produced using photoshop which I have had very little experience with, do excuse my poor manicure at the bottom I haven't had time for a change recently, but the work (which is obviously far more important than nice nails) doesn't look too shabby at least for a first effort at least...

I am always most inspired by things that are happening around me, or politically impact me. For example the debate on banning airbrushed models which are affecting the increase on eating disorders at the moment is running riot, all these things affect the levels of inspiration around me. 

For my final collection I have been inspired by the idea of social differences and the influence that things like class and personal situations have on fashion. For example someone who follows anarchism tends to have a certain style about them, Punk mainly. 

Vivienne Westwood, Katherine Hamnett and Henry Holland are my three main designers which have influenced me the most and I've already received comments from fellow students that you can see this in my designs already. 

I have no clue what I will do for my final design, but for now, the one above is certainly the leader in the stakes for success. 

Do let me know what you think fellow fashionistas!!!! 

Enjoy