Culture Project - WEEK TWO & THREE

Day One; development of second culture through collages and sketches

Today I have been working on the Dubai half of the project by using images to create collages so that I can come up with shapes and sketches to help influence shapes and design ideas for my collection. 

I think that by creating collages with different sized images of different architecture in Dubai will make my designs more creative and interesting. I think I want the final collection to incorporate reflective materials and structural shapes. I will then incorporate a more tribal print to introduce the other half of this project.

Day Two; workshop on colour and creating colour ways

Today we did a workshop on photoshop with Dan so that we could start being more experimental with colour and introduce more colour in to our work.

We did this by taking colours from some of our photographs that we are using as inspiration for this project to create colour schemes and colour ways. We started by picking five colours and then finding their contrasting colours or colours that were similar, or complimentary colours according to the RGB colour wheel so that we know they work together.

We then would create colour ways to create a colour scheme that could be used in our projects.

This was an interesting workshop because it allowed us to develop colour and use more interesting colours than what I would normally go for. It made me not stick to the monochromatic colour scheme that I tend to go for because I feel safest with it. 

Day Three; continuation from monday and developing a print

Today I started to blend both the cultures together to come up with some design ideas. I have about 20 designs now and need to narrow this down to six next week for my final collection. 

I have decided that my collection is going to be structured and futuristic like Dubai but then I want to create a print that I am developing from sketches I have done of detailing of African tribes and influences that can be incorporated in panels on the collection. 

For this project I have wanted to created a print as lots of the sketches in my book would work well in a print format. I want my print to be geometric and mirrored to tie in with the contrasting themes of the project. The print will have tribal colours and curves so that it has the natural flow and colour that has been inspired from the african tribes. It will be a mirrored print and symmetric like the city scape of Dubai.

So far the culture project isn't my favourite and so therefore I don't think I've been working as hard as i probably could have been. I have been focusing a lot of my attention on to the Final major project as I want to come up with an interesting idea and have therefore been putting less focus on to this project. I am worrying and stressing about other things. Ive found the culture project quite hard and have been struggling a bit and so therefore haven't really got in to as much as other projects. 

Final Week; 

Unfortunately for the final week of this project I have been off sick due to tonsillitis, this will mean I will have to continue with the project once I am feeling better. I think this will affect my final work because I have less time to develop my final collection and I won't be able to produce a final outcome other than just the drawn final collection. This is annoying as assessment is coming up but I will make sure I catch up with the work the best I can. 

Culture Project - WEEK ONE

Day One; initial research, mood board

Today didn't start out very well as I was struggling to think of two cultures that were interesting enough to compare against each other, I didn't want to choose something too obvious or boring. I was also worried I would choose something that I wasn't actually really interested in. 

I knew straight away that architecture was something I wanted to explore and so I have chosen to look at the crazy place that is Dubai. Over the Christmas holidays I went to Dubai with my mum, I was completely blown away when I got there as it is just a crazy and buzzy place. It is so over the top and vast that you feel like it isn't real. Everything is new and every other car was either a porsche, land rover, rolls royce or some other over the top sports car. The skyscrapers are all so overwhelming and huge and the city scape is just incredible  I love all the reflective surfaces and windows that you are surrounded by. The feeling you get when you're there is something I want to try and get across in my designs for this project.

Once I had chosen Dubai, I was struggling with what other culture to choose, it had to be something completely different that was more natural and so I eventually decided to look in to African tribal culture. I think that this contrasts well with Dubai because African tribes are all about family, nature and the beauty of the natural world. African tribes are also full of colour whereas Dubai mostly consists of mirrors, and silver and chrome. I stick to a fairly monochrome colour scheme most of the time so the African tribes will hopefully help me to use more colour in my work this time so that I have more of a variety. 

Day Two; trip to British Museum and Saatchi Gallery

Today we went to the British Museum and the Saatchi Gallery. Getting there was a bit of a nightmare due to the tube strike however I found the British Museum really helpful as it had a whole floor on African art and culture. This has given me more research for the african culture side to my project and will help me to develop my ideas further. 

Day Three; development of research

I have decided to look at both themes separately and then bring them together later on during the project. Today I have been looking in to the African tribal part of this project by drawing and researching more in to it. 

Sportswear Project - WEEK TWO

Day One & Two; development of ideas for final collection and developing a print

This week I have carried on with working on my collection by working in to the rough design ideas and doing even more drawings of detailing. I have started to introduce a figure so that I can see what whole outfits look like together. I now have so many different ideas floating around my head that I need to narrow them all down to make it more clear as I have so many ideas that I am stuck with where to go next and how to bring it all together to create the final collection. The initial sketches work really well but after having so many I now have so many different ways I could take the collection that I'm struggling to pick what things to go with.

This week I also developed a print to incorporate in to my designs in small details as I need to find a way of bringing in the London landmark idea so that my initial research ties in to my collection and so you can see the flow from beginning to end. 

I've gone for a very simple print that I got from a drawing I did of the gherkin and then just cropped it down and made a symmetric print from there. It is a fairly simple print but as I would only be using it in small places in my final collection I think that the more simplistic the better so that it doesn't overpower the overall design. I have got a greyscale and then a brighter print to add more colour in to the collection. 

Day Three; final design completion 

Here is my final collection for the sportswear project. Overall I am really pleased with the designs however the one on the end on the left I feel doesn't fit in as well to the collection so if I had more time I would have changed this as I don't like it. I like that my collection is fairly simple with it's colour scheme but the shapes being created make it more exciting. 

If i were to create this collection I would use fabrics like neoprene and mesh. I would print my print on to interesting fabrics and use these in the collection as well. I think that this project has been successful and I am glad I chose to do design as I think my work has flourished and is becoming more interesting. I've become more confident in myself and my work due to good feedback so I am glad that I've chosen that design is more my pathway over promotion during my time at Ravensbourne. 

Sportswear Project - WEEK ONE

Day One; visit in London exploring detail on sportswear clothing

On the first day of the sportswear project we went to London to look at details of sportswear. We visited places like Libertines, Adidas, Niketown etc. We had to take photos of details on sports clothing so that we can use them in the development of our ideas to create a 6 outfit collection inspired by sportswear and a London landmark. 

Day Two; mood boards of overall concept 

Today I was working on the development of my theme for the project through mood boards as well as sketching and collaging in my book. We have to choose a sport to look at and also a landmark in London. I decided to choose tennis and the gherkin for my inspiration for this project as I play tennis myself and I am really in to architecture. I decided to look at tennis clothing from the 20th century rather than current tennis clothing as I like the style a lot more. Some of the outfits are much fuller and have much more interesting shapes so I think they will help to influence my designs. 

This is the first week I am fully doing fashion design rather than choosing to do promotion for this project so I am feeling a little overwhelmed and questioning whether I have made the right decision. Hopefully as I get more in to the project I will get in to a rhythm and find designing easier. 

Day Three; workshop on the stand looking at detail, workshop on rough initial design ideas using images from detail from London visit

Today we started with a workshop with Rebecca where we took a shape from the detailing we found in London and started pinning them on to the stand focusing on things like seam lines etc. They could be really simple so that we were focusing on detail rather than whole garments etc. 

This has been really helpful and it's also helped to develop a colour scheme for my final designs. I am going to print these off and use them to help come up with rough design ideas that will help me to develop my final collection. 

We then had a workshop with Sarah to help us design quickly. We would use one of our images from the London trip and pick a detail to help us create quick design ideas. This has helped me to design more quickly and just getting an idea on to the page. It means we have a lot more initial designs for the project and will help to develop my ideas. Quick designs and sketches work well as it means we get the idea out of our head quickly and we aren't over thinking. I will go back to them later and develop them further by picking things I like and working in to them with colour and more detail. 

So far I think the first week of the project is going well and I am becoming a much more confident designer. 

Deconstruction/ Reconstruction Project - WEEK TWO

Day One & Two; making of final piece

This week I produced my final piece for the deconstruction/ reconstruction project. I started the week by cutting trousers up and pinning them on the mannequin to create a cape. I experimented with using the same colour for the whole of the cape or using two different pairs of trousers so that it's more interesting. I was finding it was looking  a little boring and wasn't sure if the ideas in my head was really showing in person. I asked for advice from the tutors and ended up folding detailing up on to the body so that the cape had more shape to it. 

I felt that it still needed more detail so added some detail to the neck using old pairs of tights and then a cut up belt for the fastening of the jacket.

Overall I am really pleased with the final outcome of this project and I think that it has worked really well with the ideas I was having in my head. I've been told that the cape has a sort of early Mcqueen feel I think which is very nice to hear as he's one of my favourite designers. 

Day Three; photo shoot plan

For my photo shoot of the cape I want to keep it really simple and shoot it in black and white. It will be styled with leather trousers and a simple black strap shoe to stick to the theme. It will be shot against a plain background as I want to focus on the detail of the cape and I prefer photo shoots when they are simple and not too fussy. The make up will be fairly simple as well with a dark eye. 

Independent study; final photographs

Here are some images from the final shoot I did for deconstruction. They are fairly simple, close up shots as this is the style I like. I have shot some in black and white and some in colour so that you can get a feel of the textures and colours. There were some full body shots but these seemed to be less successful than the ones that were close up. Unfortunately my friend refused to model for it so I had to be the one in front of the camera (slightly embarrassing) However, I am pleased with how they have come out. Some of the photos were slightly out of focus but I think that they actually work quite well because the cape becomes more focal in the image making it stronger. I have chosen to make the colour quite strong in my editing to show off the red lip that is contrasting the cape to add a bright pop of colour. 

I then went on to photoshop and started layering some of the final photographs over each other and playing around with the opacity to create an interesting different look. I have put the coloured photos over black and white images and vice versa to contrast the images and focus on interesting details. I think this creates interesting shapes and gives a different spin to the photographs.

Deconstruction/ Reconstruction Project - WEEK ONE

Day One; working on the stand with garments, cutting garments in to component parts, styling, photography

Today we had to bring in old clothes that we had sourced over Christmas so that we could style them on the stand. At first I struggled with this because I just couldn't get my brain to look at the clothes in a different way to what they were. However it got easier as I got in to it. 

We then started cutting up the garments in to their component parts so that we could work with them on the stand in different ways. This project is all about deconstructing clothes to make them more visually exciting and interesting to look at. We were manipulating things differently, for example turn a pair of trousers in to a top, use a pocket for a detail on the sleeve, a zip for detailing on a shoulder etc. I found this really enjoyable because it was easier to use the cut up pieces of garments rather than the whole thing, we were told to focus on detailing and not just on a whole piece on the stand. This has helped to give me inspiration for coming up with some ideas that could help influence me in the creation of my final piece.

I think that some of the garments I brought were more successful than others as they were easier to work with. I think that for my final piece I want to source a few more things as I now know what works best for me and what doesn't.

Day Two; creating fashion muses

Today we were creating fashion muses where we used magazines and zoomed in details of the clothing we bought in yesterday to create interesting collages that would also help to inspire us for our final design piece. At first I found this a bit tricky as I wasn't thinking abstract enough and the muses just looked really plain and boring. I sometimes am not confident in my work so tend to play it safe however when I let go a bit I think my final muses were much more successful than the ones I did at the start of the day.

I found the muses have been much more successful in the development of my final idea/ outcome as they have given me more inspiration than the stand work we did on the first day of this week. My muses are all about texture and minimalist colours. When I got home I worked in to my muses with stitching to add some depth and idea that there will be lots of interesting textures and detailing. 

Day Three; design ideas, working on the stand, preparing for final piece

On the last day this week, I have started to do some sketches to help me get a clear idea of what sort of thing I want to create for my final piece. For my final piece I want to make a cape out of trousers and shorts, there will be lots of different types of fabric and textures in it. This idea has developed mainly from the muses I created, they are all using quite dark colours with a sort of british heritage feel and so this is what I want to get across in my final outcome. 

I think the first week of this project has been really enjoyable and definitely my favourite project so far. So far I have got good feedback from the tutors and pupils which has given me more confidence in my designing. Before this week I was starting to think that maybe I was better at fashion design over fashion promotion and I think this is becoming clearer this week as I am more confident with drawing and the development of ideas. I think that focusing more on design will help my work improve massively as it gives me a bit more room to be creative in the clothing etc. I think I will find it slightly more challenging but in the long run I think the work I produce will be better because of this.