Industry- day 2

I had a successful day completing all the tasks i set for my self. I went to the fashion and textile museum   to see the Glamour of Bellville Sassoon. I took pictures of the silhouettes and shapes of the dresses. Bellville Sasson dressed many high society women in the 50's and 60's but one of their main high profile clients was Princess Diana. I also took photo's around London Bridge.

If i could do it again I would spend the day gathering lots of pictures, more than necessary. i have a habit of only taking a few, reviewing them at a later date, then not liking the photos I took or not being inspired by the photo's I took. I did my best to draw as much inspiration from the the forms and lines I saw in the architecture. 

At the end of the day team Mary K. got together to discuss the days work. Everyone had made a start on their tasks and it seemed like everyone had a clear idea of they needed to do. We then discussed what need to be done for the next lesson.  

For next lesson I will need to print out my research as well as try to collate and bring together all of the different elements (the mood board, the museums and the pictures around london). I will need to have made a start on the 50 rough ideas.

Industry- day 1

Our brief for the industry project was to develop a fully resolved concept for A/W 15 using a quote and a designer. I was put in a group of 7 to tackle Mary Katrantzou and together we chose the quote 'There are massive gaps in this essay, it is broken and re-wound, not always knowing yet searching.

Respond, exchange, converse. Be a traveller in this novel, even if only for a while' 

As a team we worked okay together, not bad. We brainstormed Katrantzou and the quote and came up with a theme quite quickly. I soon found out I was in a group with many quite personalities which was a contrast to my loud personality. I immediately took a back seat as I know I can be bossy and over powering. Next time I will not be submissive and take the back seat just to ease other peoples feelings, if necessary I will be 'bossy' and delegate so i am 100 percent sure things are getting done. 

Working our way through many different concepts and combinations we decided to explore the words broken and traveller. Katrantzou was born in Greece but moved to both the US and the UK, just like many of us, she is multicultural. London was our starting point because it is the epitome of multicultural. we began looking in book and gathering pictures. 

For the next lesson i will research current exhibitions I feel will be influential as well as locations in london to take photographs. 

Week 8

Project Completion week was about me heat pressing onto the fabric, constructing the garment and doing the photo shoot. I loved every minute of this week. I loved the printing whole printing process and learning about the different resources available at Ravensbourne. I loved making the garment and planning the photo shoot. 

we also had a group where we had a chance to veiw other people work. Next time I will aim higher and not make such a simple garment. I will also try to incorporate more sophisticated techniques to set myself out from a crowd. I think I need to stop being safe and try to think outside the box more.  

Week 7

Last week was pattern cutting, film and illustration week. For me this week was about the finalising and bringing the sketchbook to a close. Throughout the week I attempted to finish all uncompleted work. I wanted to take different elements of the previous weeks and put them together so I started working on modifying the prints I made during the digital print week, I developed the rough roughs made in the second week of the course and changed the fashion templates I used. I even started to develop a paper pattern with the help of a Ravensbourne graduate. 

Week 6

Last week was lookbook/trends/ styling week. It was a productive week as I got to experience a small bit of styling and photography. It had always crossed my mind as a way to get in industry and I had always been interested in branding but last week was an eye opener. I did not enjoy it as much as I would.

The week began with a presentation on photographers and stylists. I was immediately drawn to Steven Meisel’s success, being told about his deal with Italian vogue was very interesting. Our first task was to create 6 mood boards for a photo shoot about us (location, props, hair/make-up, styling, mood and lighting, poses and casting). Once I decided what I was going to do the photo shoot on I enjoyed gathering and presenting images, it was not particularity difficult but I always struggle with layout. I am not very confident with layout and structure so mood boards and A1 sheets are a struggle.

Our next task was go trend spotting taking photos of the latest trends on window displays and in store. Unfortunately I had prearranged work experience I needed to do and had no time to do the activity so I looked online for the latest trends. This task was an eye opener because as a fashion designer knowing trends should be something you do all the time. I try and keep myself up to date with trends. The results were feedback to the rest of the class in groups of 4 or 5.

On the last day we were asked to present the final photo shoot. I did not enjoy the week so by this day I had switched of and stopped paying attention. In hindsight this was not the best thing to do as I produced horrible work for the week. I need to learn to work through things I don’t enjoyed instead of switching off.  

Week 5

Last week was accessories week and we were told to make a well thought out accessory based on a personal object. I chose to use my extensions. A black girl bringing in extensions is very cliché but this cliché is true for me. Extensions have been a part of me for many years. I was once known as the girl with extensions.

At the start of the week we were given a presentation on accessory designers that cross over into other fields. The main Designer that stuck me was Iris van Herpen. Her elaborate and intricate details make her clothes and accessories captivating to look at. I was inspired.

Surprisingly I enjoyed the research portion of the week which included gathering as much visual evidence using your object. I used the photocopier to create interesting shapes, patterns, outlines and forms using the hair, I drew the interesting shapes and angles I saw. I felt that I produced interesting patterns.

By the end of the week I produced an oversize epaulette that I am very pleased with. I enjoyed working on the mannequins to help start the design process. 

To improve I would spend more time on the construction. As it is now there are glue gun marks everywhere due to my lack of delicacy and minimal construction techniques. 

Week 4

The previous week was textiles and knitwear week. Overall I think that it was a successful week because I enjoyed it regardless of the fact that I picked up the techniques later than the other students. I found keeping up with the fast pace lessons was a struggle and trying t learn each technique was also a struggle. At the end of the week I ended up with a small selection of samples to put in my files which I am very disappointed with. I was surprised at the fact that it took me longer to pick up as I can hand knit.

To improve on my current sample selection I will try and take out a machine and fill in the blanks.

To conclude that I would not want to solely do a degree in knitwear but I would love to explore knitwear further and learn more about creating garments with yarn.