Talk With Rebecca Thomson: GFW gold award winner

Today rebecca came back to talk to us. It was amazing to hear all the things she has done since leaving, all the press coverage she has received and her time at RCA so far. I really liked her collection i think it shows good coherency throughout pieces and how wear ability can be favoured over the more extravagant designs and ranges. I asked her how she felt at this point last year and it was good to know she had moments when she felt she couldn't see the end or see how her range was going to push through when she was rejecting pieces and how she struggles with self belief as well. I know it is something i struggle with and no one can help me with that i need to learn to have confidence in what i do and make concrete decisions that i believe in. That way i can make better toiles because if my designs are solid and less vague then there's no room for mistakes my garments need to reflect my drawings.

Tutorial For Outfit One

Today I had my tutorial with Alison. It was constructive although i feel like i have taken one step forward and two steps back. Whilst toiling my dress although i was doing the things we had decided upon, adding fullnes, even gathers, taking up the length adding a deep hem i felt it began to look to frumpy with sleeves so took them out however the design had become something completly differnt. Unfortunately i have only realised this today when i should be starting to toile outfit two. The dress was to full too high waisted to short and it became to young and looked like it belonged to a different collection not the collection i had designed. It has become something completly seperate from the design in my line up. I know it is for the best to correct this now and nip it in the bud but i feel like i cant think of a way to push it forward. I know i cant stop though i just need to perservere and push through it. Tonight I am going to redesign the dress and address my line up so i can make a fresh start tomorow and get back on track for the three outfit crit at the end of the month.

Transgender Model Givenchy Ad.

LEA T

London Liberty's

On monday i was in London and went to visit Liberty is such an amazing department store and is iconic. Its great to be able to go in and study higher market level garments and look at the quality and the finishes. Whilst there they had a window in conjunction with LOVE magazine and London Fashion week. The most recent issue is about androgyny and gracing the cover is a new model on the scene who is also the face of givenchy, Lea T. She is a pre op transgender model and if that is pushing boundaries i dont know what is. She does look extremly feminine and it emphasises how fine the line of fashion can be between male and female garments these days. I think it can only be a good thing as it enables people to celebrate who they are and express themselves however they wish. Fashion i feel is so forward in embracing change and is much more excepting of the weird and wonderful.

Ri Ri Zips

RiRi Zips do some lovely really expensive looking zips,important as zips if poor quality can cheapen the look of a garment. They offer student spnsership and maria on the course emailed them and they offered her 20 zips for free. I contacted them however the response was unsuccesful. They said the offer student sponsership but a line has to be drawn somewhere so they wont be helping any more students out. However they did put me onto another company who also provide zips so im going to email them and see what they have on offer.

Toiling First Outfit

The past two weeks i have spent toiling. I originally started toiling my trench coat which i imagined in suede however it was proving difficult and as i hadnt soucred leather sponsorship yet decided to leave it to a later date when i had gotten back into the swing of making and fingers crossed could get a good deal on the leather cost.

So after speaking to alison we settled on a stark white cotton wrap around dress i had designed and started to toile that. It is going well so far im being able to realise my design im am just worried it is turning out to literall to the concept. To much roman/grecian/toga looking. But i dont think i will know until it is totally made up. I am hoping i can make it a believable garment but if not i have planned on making more garments then nessacery so that i can rejcet those that arnt working.

Im using a combination of pattern cutting and working around the stand as i feel that works best. As i am making though i am realising i need to be maticulous with measurements and order of make because if i do one step to early i cant construct the rest of the dress.

Leather Sponsorship

About a week ago i had a tutorial with robyn and we talked about using leather/suede in my collection and various ways of using it. He put me onto a contact who used to offer sponsorship but after been in touch with them they are no longer doing it so i set about sourcing it from somehwere else. I set up a standard email which i could make minor adjustments to, to send to various companys. I emailed 11 different companys aking for sponsorship or discount only two responded to me but the following told me although they couldnt sponser me they would give me my order at a discounted/trade price which is definatley worth considering.

From: hayley lomax [mailto:hayleylomax@hotmail.co.uk]
Sent: 01 February 2011 20:54
To: sales@leather-hides.co.uk
Subject:

Hi, I am writing to yourselves as i am a third year fashion student studying at manchester metropolitan university.
I am currently in the process of finalising the designs for my collection and i am really interested in some leather from yourselves.
My collection is based  around roman mythology and the relationship between venus and mars comprimising soft and structured garments.
I am looking to make a leather trench coat, plus some other garments such as a dress leggings and perhaps a couple of handbags.
I am really interested in using the full leather hide in silver grey to which i would need roughly 50 to 70sq foot. I am also
interested in the same in dark beige but a smaller quantity. I am writing to see if you would consider sponsering myself. Weather you would be willing to supply me with the leathers as
sponsership or if you would be wiling to donate some of the leather or anything else you can offer me perhaps the end of a line?
Even a student discount for ordering with yourselves?

I understand this is a big ask but i would be extremly greatful and willing to say it was yourselves that sponsered me and this would
go on all my work featring your products, my look book and would be seen at our manchester fashion show, perhaps London Graduate fashion
week and when i take my work to companys. There are also other students looking to order leather on the course and would be inclined to
order from yourselves from seeing the product you off.

Thank you for your time and i hope you will consider this and i look forward to hearing from you
yours sincerly

hayley lomax

Hi Hayley,

Thanks for your interest and request.

Sounds like you’ve got an interesting project going on.

I wouldn’t be able to sponsor you but I would be very willing to help by offering you leather a trade price.

Currently I have two colours which should meet your requirements, these are taupe (dark beige and smooth grey).

If you think these may be of interest please forward your full address and I will arrange to send these samples to you.

Should you have any further questions or requirements please do let me know.

Regards,

Anthony

Ps, sorry for my delay, your message went into my junk mail box this is because there was no subject!!

Leather Hides UK Ltd

15 Beardwood Park

Blackburn

Lancashire

BB2 7BW

Mob: 07707 868 384

Email: sales@leather-hides.co.uk

Web: www.leather-hides.co.uk

Tutorial With Alison

This is my first tutorial with alison for my final collection. It went well, after talking to her we decided im heading in the right direction my line up does need a little bit of work but it works well and is really sophisticated. The fact that is also sexy but town wear gives it an edge and it just works. She said i need to source some more fabric which i knew already and get on with toiling my first outfit. Something that will ease me back into the make project but not be to safe as it will be pohotgraphed for the brochere. So it needs to be good!

Fabric Samples

After deciding on my line up i realised i had drawn a more heavyweight trouser then i had sourced fabric for. So i emailed variou sfabric shops and requested fabric samples of silks and suitable summer light weight trouser fabrics in ecru, white and a few other shades to add colour. I was quite impressed how quick they came and how many they supllied me with. When i have visited the shops themselves they havent been so fourthcoming to give me alot of samples but they sent me lots os options through the post. Lovely as they were i didnt find any of them suitable but i will keep them for my fabric book for future reference. This means i need to continure fabric sourcing.

Current Line Up

This is how my line up currently stands. I am pleased with it so far as though it needs work, i think some outfits need altering it generaly is working well and is heading in the right direction. Its a good mix or expensive and inexpensive fabrics, feminine and masculine pieces and still evoking a snes of sophistication. Wearable womenswear. I need to work on the illustrations so i am portraying the outfits clearly and to make sure i produce them to a high standard to acheive the market level i am going for.

Dissertation

Handed in dissertation this morning!!! So happy!! Im hoping i do well, better then my practice mark. I tried really hard and at times i actually enjoyed writing it the research was really interesting however it made me so happy to get back to designing and making. It makes me appreciate what i normally do all the more and cant see myself doing anything else.

Practice Feedback

I got my practice mark back to do. I have mixxed feelings about it. I got 55 which is a 2.2 which i feel under normal circumstances this is not a good enough mark, however at the time of the unit i spent alot of time at home because of a family illness which turned into a bereavemnt. I applied for imitigating circumstances and provided themwith emails me and alison echanged as to things i had missed or wouldnt be attending. They told me this wouldnt be strong enough evidence and if i could provide either a copy of the death certificate or order of service from the funeral. I was really shoked especially as it was difficult enough but i provided the order of service to be told that wasnt evidence enough. I was disgusted if im honest. However i managed to get my work done. Not to the standard i would normally hand in but i did and was suprised how much i had actually done. I agree with the feedback but feel i did the best i could under the cirumstance. From now im just going to have to work twice as hard though to make sure that doesnt effect my overall degree mark.

Asos Market Place

Someone recently told me about asos market place so i had a look and was quite impressed. It works as a platform for vintage sellers and new designers. They take a percentage of your sales but it works as a worldwide platform for people to showcase their design work! i think it is really good as alot of young designers find it hard to get there work outthere and renting a space to sell from can be expensive and not only that is only in one location. I think it is something to consider and bare in mind post graduation.

Chanel Advert

Chanel advert <-link

I wanted to include this advert as i just fell in love when i seen it. Its so beautiful its a short film to advertise the chanel no.5 perfume but it is a work of art. Chanel do lovely adverts. I think what i can take from this is a sense of real pride in my work and i think it attracted me as i feel i am a perfectionist. I hate messand always wangt my work to look perfect.

Jewellery

I spoke to alison about maybe introducing jewellery into the collection as a development of my earlier metal work and a way of introuding a different element to the collection. Like almost adding structure and weight to the quite loose silhouette i have in mind. I sourced these stones from a small supplier in halifax quite cheap to. I imagine they could be clustered to gether and incorporate the metal chains to make big bold pieces. Something to consider.

Inspiring quotes

I found this on a blog when i was doing some research. I just find the topic of roman mythology so interesting and the ideas of different god's and ideas behind them. This quote i found particularly thought provoking and also feel it sums up my concept well the combination of the male and female influences.

Practice Final Outfit

The toiling for my practice outfit was going well. Timely but well. However the jersey top just wasnt working as part of the outfit so i decided to cheange it for something simplistic out of georgette that makes for a better overall apearence. This is how the final outift looked:

I am really happy with the final outcome. I didnt manage my time very well so there are lots of unfinished details to the outfit but i can finish them over christmas. I feel i have finally realised my strengths, sophisticated womens wear. I was worried because it wasnt so out there or innovative but it just works and is so much better then my previous work because it works towards my strengths. It is somehow braver i think then outlandish almost theatrical pieces as because of its simplicity it has to work and be well made as it has nothing to fall back onto! I still have a lot of work to do but feel im working towards the right direction now. Im also really happy with my theme. I feel its strong and can be pushed forward and developed. My boards i also fel have come on and also reflect a more grown up practice but they to have much room for improvement! flats and illustrations are needed.

Tutorial With Alison

I had my last tutorial with alison today before the crit. I had been toiling and making the suede waistcoat which i still intend to make and a princess pleated volumous dress. After looking through my work we decided the above outfit was a better direction to take it in. Im excited about it as it is more sophisticated and progressive but nervous that ill have to hand it in in a weeks time. I am worried about the short time scale but it will be good practice for when i get into making my collection as its going to be a really quick turn around. I plan on making the pants from the maroon georgette with a princess pleated waistband for fullness. The top im going to make from jersey its going to have to be really gathered to have the drape within my illustration. I think i should start making right now!!!

La Dolce Vita

"La Dolce Vita (Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"^[1]) is a 1960 film by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come. Generally cited as the film that marks the transition between Fellini's earlier neo-realist films and his later art films, it is widely considered one of the great achievements in world cinema."

I watched La Dolce Vita for research into my new project. My theme and what i intende to develop my collection around is roman mythology, patricularly the affair between venus god of love and mars god of war. I want it to be a contridiction of feminine and masculine and be womanly and sexy. After speaking to Alison in order to add more to my research and influence my project she told me to look into renaissance art and to watch La Dolce Vita.

I really enjoyed the film and it was the scene in the pictures above that was most helpful. I feel it summed up what im trying to convey, it is the Trevi Fountain in rome where the actress jumps in fully clothed. She is overtly sexy but fun feminine attractive and lustful. She represents the female i imagine to wear my clothes! I need to develop my design work now to channel this and make use of this influence.

Shape Making/Toiling

Today i spent shape making and toiling to get inspiration for garment designs and ideas. I was draping in georgette and really want to get fullness in in lightweight fabrics so it creates movement but also evokes a sense of romanticism. I was gathering and draping around the mannequin and decided to princess pleat for a more tightly gathered effect. I sampled various widths and tightness of princess pleating and it seams pretty sturdy and gives the fullness in the drape i am after.

Fabric Shopping

Before starting on 'Practice' the next project on the course i thought i would go fabric shopping for inspiration, i often design things which i cant realise because i dont have the fabric i imagined would be in the project. So i decided to get samples of everything that interested me and try and settle on a colour palette and range of suitable fabric. The picture isntgreat but the suede is a rose pink colour which i bought in new york, there is also a nude suede colour, maroon georgette and brown sequined chiffon. The samples on top are a range of more heavy weight fabrics. Im trying to go for a more sophisticated colour palette,muted colours with maroon in there for colour and the sequins or sparkle for an edge and a little bit of me. I love sparkle.

Investigate

This was my line up for the investigate project. I tried to show my experimentation with metal work and trying to embrace a more quirky or experimental design process. I think aspects of the line up are good i really like the first outfit i imagined as a sequinned all in one in a beautiful mottled green sequin fabric i had sourced in mood in new york. Although i think it shows what i was trying to do it doesnt work at all, its all over the place there isnt much cohearence between the outfits and its quie hard to make sense of it. Whilst doing this project i had a lot of time off for a family issue and i think it shows in the final piece, it proves how important thorough research and development of your ideas are other wise like her it doesnt showcase otherwise good ideas to their full potential.

metal work.

 

This week i got inducted into metal work and i decided to attempt to make some metal pieces which i see as accessories, ad don pieces on top of the garments. I wanted to try out some more daring innovative creative design work. I think it went really wel as its the first time i have worked in metal, i spoke with alison and although this is a good first attempt it needs work and needs to be developed into something that is more me. Its also somewhere in between at the moments, its not quite wearable pieces almost jewellery like yet its also not innovative to be convincing as an innovative design. I dont know if i will continue with this as i dont know i feel it is very me but we discussed maybe working on jewellery pieces instead. 

sass and bide.

I fell in love with the sass and bide spring summer 2011 collection. I feel this summed up the overall feel of what i am trying to do. Take the traditional and ethnic feel and convey it through contempory wearable clothing, i love how it is still feminine and quirky with some more out there pieces but also very commercial.

They were inspired, this season, by an "innate desire to resist mediocrity. To be free of yesterday, while still embracing the strength and splendour of tradition."

I feel i can learn from this and improve upon my design work in the next project, look at the range, study the garments and how many pieces make up the range. How to balence colour, pattern and accesories or embellishment wilst it all still being believable and fulfilling my inspiration but also be marketable, or have a market level i could place it in.

Also whilst looking at the collection i cam across this illustration from there collection:

I really like the sketchy appearence and how it has personality aswell as conveying the outfit and garments. You can see clearly what is going on and what the garments are whilst stil being illustrative. I feel this is definately something i have to work on in my own work. I definately need to improve upon my flats, working drawings as i know that manufacturers need these to work from and a the moment my drawings are quite abstract bu ti feel they dont have my own personality in them yet. I need to find my own illustrative style and work on this to get it upto a portfolio worthy level.

collect/shape.

For my collect work i looked at Martin Margiella, and i also looked at native american and colloquial war costume. I wanted to combine the ideas of traditional vs contemporyand embrace shape making in a more abstract way then i usually do. Im used to pattern cutting from design work as opposed to working on the stand although i enjoyed working in this way i found it difficult and realise my strengths lie in more commericial designs.

I began looking back in to my research and pulling out different influences i came up with this toile:

In my research i concentrated on embelishment mostly. The form fitting body con dress is influenced by how the women dont wear much clothing and is to show off the female form, and i found their costumes bore a lot of fringing and beading and embellishment so i decided to add the shells. I originally hole punched as a means to attach the fringing and really liked the asthetic so decided to add it as decoration at the top of the dress.

I was really pleased with the toile, i would make the final garments from leather to keep it more contempory looking, and could see that fringing could be a cohearent link throughout a collection and could be added on to different garments.

Although pleased with toile i feel i could develop this further and make it in to a more convinving wearable garment and concept.

London

I recently visited the Maison Martin Margiella collection at Somerset House. It celebratd 20 years of work from the company incorporating garments, films, photography and installtions. It was amazing to see so much influential work all together, pieces that have affected fashion so radically in such a short space of time. Many of the garments arnt very commercial but the pattern cutting is so intriguing, and the ideas behind the white washed things in the exhibition and the how the labels in the garments dont even have the designers name on them. It made me think that i should explore more creative techniques when it comes to pattern cutting and maybe try out more thought provoking concepts in my work maybe more couture pieces or less commercial design. Concentrate on shape making a try new things out. I generally dont like working in this manner but i can try it out and find away for it to influence my work and  way i feel compliments my practice.