tailoring processes feedback ..

I had my feedback for tailoring processes just before I went back for Christmas and I was really pleased with it. I felt like I had positive feedback but also with some constructive criticism that I can use in further projects.
The feedback I got was as follows …
“Excellent body of work ,well presented, well documented, contempary references and designs , techniques and fabric s, Bold and visually stimulating”
However I was told to look at the development of my media techniques to make the visual quality better. She said I shouldn’t use crayons for my final designs sheets as it looked to school like. Which I can understand as it didn’t look quite as professional as it could have.
As I am normally told to be neater and draw flats not drawings, I made a conscious effort to be neater and keep my flats as professional as possible in this project, which is why I didn’t use lots of media and be as experimental as usual . So it was interesting that sue noticed that i could have selected more interesting media. However it really made me think about how much my sketch book work has developed and how to improve it further. Sue suggested that I need to find a medium between the two: of being too experimental and not experimental enough.
I was really pleased with feedback as I felt the points she raised were things I had been thinking and feeling unsure about. And I feel the comments will improve my work for future projects, I am definitely going to take the points into consideration.

tailoring, elective and crit !

I had my tutorial for critical studies today and my feedback was positive, our tutor looked at our folders and then told us what to do over Christmas. I need to consider what topic I might want to cover for my essay and finish typing up some notes.

I also got my elective millinery mark back and I got 63 which I was pretty pleased with as I felt that they were marked quite harshly last year. I really enjoyed the module and felt I put a lot of work in. It was really positive feedback and with no negative comments so I thought maybe I would get a slightly higher mark if I’m honest. But it doesn’t matter and I’m still pleased I got a 2.1.

Tailoring hand in is tomorrow and I feel like I’ve learnt so much and really put my all into this project. I thought id post some photographs of my work so far and my evaluation to update my progress...

Tailoring Practices Evaluation
I have learnt so much from this module , not only gaining a new way of working but solid techniques that can be taken to other projects and most importantly my final collection in year 3 .
Instead of researching unrelated themes (for example architecture) like we did in previous modules, we designed directly from samples and researching designers. This was a challenge at first, however once I got into it I realised how far one sample can take you .I experimented with the form and scale of a button hole, making it triangular. At first I couldn’t think how to design from it. Then after putting it on the stand and taking photographs I managed to produce pages from it and couldn’t stop myself from designing. I realised that working on the stand was the key, as it got me thinking about different parts of the body the sample could be a function on.
I think I will apply this different way of working to other projects as it really helped me to push my ideas forward and be more innovative in my way of thinking.
Completing the Designer research and shop report gave me a better understanding of tailoring .I think it was a defining moment when I cut up and sketched parts of the tailored jacket that I bought. As I began to understand how a jacket was put together and the different pieces that made it up. It also made me realise what went inside the jacket, under the lining.
Going to the playhouse and talking to the tailor in Rhodes and wood, the assistant in Hugo boss and Harvey Nichols (in the Pal Zileri section) also helped me to gain a better understanding. They told me about the different supers they offered and that the higher end jackets were made from virgin wool with canvas inside, rather than being glued.
The designers that inspired me the most from my research were; Emilio de la Morena, as her work is so structural and sculptured, Thome Browne as I haven’t come across him before and I found his tailored work really clever and quirky and of course Christian Dior. His tailored garments transform a body and the shapes he creates are truly beautiful.
I was really proud of myself when I made a basic half a tailored jacket, setting in the sleeve and shoulder pad and I am also pleased with my final designs, I felt as if I could have designed many more coats and jackets from the samples that I produced as I was really inspired by them. Overall l after completing this module I have a much better understanding of the detail and practice that is required in making a tailored piece and that it takes a lot of time and skill to produce.

Critical and contextual studies

I am really enjoying critical studies this year. It’s laid out as a lecture in the morning then a seminar later in the day. I’m finding the subjects so interesting and find myself really wanting to discuss things in our seminar which I didn’t do last year at all. I’m pleased I enjoy it as sometimes there are some really complicated concepts to get your head around!

application of design results ..

We got our results back for application of design the other week and I was really pleased to find I got 72 %. I felt I put my all into this project and I think I learnt a lot from it. Firstly I feel I have a much better understanding of fabrics after producing the fabric file. Also having to produce a collection as a group was brilliant preparation for year 3 when we will have to do that and much more alone. I think I learnt a lot about how to be successful when working in a team as well and to make sure we are all honest about each others ideas and to make sure we communicate our own. Time management was also key as we had so much to do for the project I found that everything needs to be planned and to spend the most time on things that are worth more marks.
On my feedback sheet I got 74% for my individual work and 70% on my work as a team. The box that I needed to work on was professional presentation of body of work to be submitted. Next time on my illustrations I will not write on the season and brand name by hand I will scan in my image and do the writing on Photoshop instead. I think because I really like producing hand rendered designs I sometimes get carried away.

West yorkshire playhouse

We went to the west Yorkshire playhouse on Thursday and it was so inspiring, some of the garments were incredible and beautifully made. Here are some of the photographs:

Tailoring practices..

We have been thrown straight into our new project tailoring practices. It’s a very different way of working. We now learn how to do a traditional tailoring sample then we produce lots of innovative samples, and then design from those.
So it was hard to get into but now I’ve made a good start I’m finding it easier to churn out the design pages. I’m quite shocked how quick the time is going, we were told we are half way through on Friday and it was a shock to realise but I’ve stepped up the pace and I’m learning to work faster and not be so picky about my work.
I’m finding the project quite difficult to get in to but I think what we are learning is really interesting, its so surprising how many designs you can take from one button hole sample
Here are some photographs of my samples:

critical studies ...

I had critical studies for the first time this year today it’s laid out as a lecture in the theatre in the morning and our normal crit sessions in the afternoon. I can’t believe how much I understood and enjoyed it ! We covered aesthetics and looked at different theorists and their ideas. Some of It was quite complex but it was delivered really well and anything I didn’t understand from the first lecture we went over in the session in the afternoon. Also I’m really pleased that we will be practicing essay writing skills for our dissertation; instead of being marked on our presentation we will be marked on a portfolio of notes and tasks and an essay.

Finished !

we had our presentation yesterday and it went really well, i was pleased with how our collection came across and got positive feedback. we have our marks next week so I hope it all goes well ! I thought id post some of my look book photographs, im really pleased with how they came out ...

blood, sweat and tears !!

The end is nigh!! Hand in application of design is tomorrow as well as our presentation. I hope it goes well me and my group have practiced quite a lot and tried to keep strong branding throughout so fingers crossed. I feel I have put everything I possibly could into this project. Blood sweat and actual tears!! So I just hope it pays off.

Millinery

I started my elective in level 2 millinery today and I’m really loving it - I’ve chosen the brief “Super Structures” so I’m looking at buildings and exaggerated proportion as inspiration. I’ve designed my hat and finished blocking the top and brim . Because I want my brim to sweep across the face at an angle it was difficult to block but I was pretty calm about it and I’m enjoying it so much . It’s really interesting and I really wish we had a chance to make more than one hat !! I am surprised about how much I got done today actually, at level 1 it took me about three days to block the whole hat and I’ve finished blocking already !! It should take longer to put it together and create the exaggerated detail though as I’ve chosen a more challenging design this year . I feel as though in level 2 you really build on your skills from level 1 and we have been introduced to sinamay as a material. Blocking a felt hat which we did last year we all began and continued with little instruction , it was good to see I could remember the skills I had learnt from last year.

final line up and illustrations

I finished my final line up and illustrations this weekend here are the pics ...

detailed garment sheets

We had to complete 4 deatiled garment sheets and we have been working on our branding and presentation in the last two days. Im quite pleased with them and Im excited to do illustration but i need to get on with the look book as well and my elective prep work ... so much to do !!!

It all seems worth it now !

Today I put the button holes in my garment which I was quite pleased with because I was really intimidated by that machine but Linn explained how to use it and it was fine, so at least I will be able to use it with ease if I need to in the future!
Also Andrew helped me use the embroidery machine so I could make labels to sew into our garments. I am quite pleased with them and they should be sorted by tomorrow.
It really made all the stress seem worth it when I put my garment with two other group members garments! I was so pleased with how it looked with charlottes and Kate’s, they all went together really well. We also plan to collaborate with some third year fashion students to get some photographs with the charge electricity theme for the presentation and look books. I never thought I would say this but I am actually excited about a presentation!!
Here are some photos of the day ...

Flat drawings ....

ummm well I have to say flat drawings are not my favourite things to do! you have to spend such a long time being really accurate ! which is not really me, but I have finshed them and I am quite pleased with how they turned out ....

batwing top nearly finished

update of garment .. just the button holes too do now ! I did have to unpick the top section a couple of times but I got there in the end !

Dolly mixture clothing is go !

We had our business enterprise presentation today and to be honest I was a bit nervous about what our tutor would think of it. It all went well and constructive criticism gave me quite a few ideas of what we need to research further to improve the business. I think the reason I was so anxious was because I’m really passionate about the idea and feel as though it actually could be executed for real.
Angie made a point that some of the business ideas were almost too complicated because we all didn’t want to make out ideas too simple. However it made me realise that innovative doesn’t mean complicated and some of simplest ideas for business are simple.
We played a game after our presentations to determine how much money we would get given to start up our business. It was between 1,000 and 400,000 and we got 1,000 which I thought id be disappointed with but I’m really not. I think it gives us the chance to be really innovative with out ideas and also it’s realistic. When I graduate from uni I won’t have 400, 000 pounds to spend on launching a business. It gives us a chance to be clever with the way we brand, promote and launch our business. Its really made me think about starting a business of my own being an option as before I felt it was all too unknown to even consider !
If anything I feel like this business is really close to my heart and I know its not real but the project is getting very exciting!!

a stressful three days .....

I have had such a busy week, we started pattern cutting our garment for application of design on Wednesday. I spent the majority of Tuesday night working out how to change a regular block into a kimono block to make a batwing top ! It was really difficult but I mastered it only to be handed a perfectly made kimono block from Hugo which I was very grateful for, but it was slightly frustrating!
I began working out my pattern and spent all day making sure it was correct only to go home after 8 hours in the studio to find the back and the front didn’t match up! In my panic and haste I cut the back of my calico garment to match the front …. Then I had a moment of realisation the back was supposed to be longer …. Again I panicked and thought I had just thrown away hours of work ! I got really upset and stressed !
So Thursday morning I had calmed down and found that I could sort my problem and carried on to finish my calico garment.
So the moral of the story is when u think there is a problem with your garment and you are very tired DO NOT under any circumstances cut what u have alreadsy created ….ALSO most problems can be solved if you do not panic !!

Today I began putting it together in my actual fabric I did have a stressful un-picking moment when I had threaded the machine wrong and the thread bunched up but I kept calm and all went well! I am actually really pleased with my garment so far in fact im quite proud of myself. I am getting much more confident with pattern cutting, a year ago the thought of even attempting this garment or one I made in the summer would have made me feel sick !


Thinking about it I have done well to stick to my action plan so far ….

• I now use the industrial machines and actually enjoy it instead of hating even the thought of using them and avoiding them like the plague !
• I made garments over summer to build up my confidence which was on the action plan list.
• And I now always spend longer on the pattern than constructing the actual garment because with a good pattern you mostly get a more accurate garment!!

Here is my calico toile and i will update later the beginning of the real one ....

PPD2 ...searching for a work placement

Today I finished my CV and postcard image and I even plucked up the courage to send an email asking if any work placements were avalible with an illustrator that I love ! I'm not holding out much hope but you never know!
This is only the beginning of the countless emails and letters I will be writing and sending to secure a work placement....wish me luck !!

designing and not drawing !

I’ve learnt so much in the past two days actually – we had a group tutorial with Angie and discussed how experimental uses of darts, seams and construction techniques in general can make the design process more interesting. She also told us to look at pattern cutting books and work on the stand because if you don’t know how you could make something or what fabric it is going to be made of then its drawing and not designing.
I had already thought about showing my construction techniques within my designing but I didn’t realise how inspiring it could actually be. I found myself in the library taking out three books on pattern cutting and being really inspired by what I saw. A page on cowl drapery really helped me as I started to experiment on the stand and create new shapes. I found it easier to mix this in with designing, instead of churning out design after design without thinking.

We had individual tutorials today and we discussed how our design work had developed, I had done some cowl work on the stand with rip stop fabric and Angie advised me to try jersey as it hangs better. Here are some photos of work on the stand from today …

application of deisgn ...

These are some of research pages and design work that I have created over the past week....