Major Project - waistcoat and skirt

Today I have made the waistcoat.  I have put it on the mannequin with the skirt and I am very happy. The outfit works well but I now need to work out the size required for the origami for the skirt. I have only so much fabric left and I want to be able to make the origami for the long dress too. I need to be careful how much I use without compromising the overall look.

I will take the waistcoat into university and ask for feedback from peers before I commit to positioning of origami applique.

Major Project - waistcoat and skirt

I have cut out and made the skirt and I am very happy with it. I do need to keep in mind that the waistcoat and skirt are an outfit so I must keep putting them on the mannequin to ensure they maintain a balance.

Because of this I have decided to keep the back of the skirt simple.

I could add applique or buttons or design detail, but as the waistcoat drops quite low at the back of the skirt I need to make sure it is not hiding key details or losing the story.

The skirt will have press studs to secure on the body, and this will hep maintain clean lines at the back.

Major Project - waistcoat and skirt

Been working on ideas for the back of the waistcoat and I think I will use three layers, like columns and turn up the corners to reflect the folding edges of the origami. I have also decided that the origami on the front of the skirt will also be a pocket.

Major Project - short dress

Using the top as a guideline for structure and form I have decided to uce Cotton for the front of this outfit too. In addition, after toying with varios methods of roping I think I will just use the jersey sewn into a narrow tube without placing any type of roping inside it. I think the jersey alone is enough. I will make this section up at the end though and continue with the dress itself. I am going to add a cowl, roll neck to this outfit instead of the long dress. I think the long dress needs to be kept simple as the dram of the origami section may be lost if I over work the dress.

Major Project - and trousers

I have amended the top by adding cotton to the front and leaving jersey at the back. This proved a little difficult because I had to drop the shoulder seam down at the front to allow for the weaving on the shoulder which has to be created in the jersey fabric. Once this had been achieved all went together quite simply and the design seemed to hang just as I needed.
The trousers toile went together well but due to the way they do up it was proving a mystery how to face the waistband. After asking a few people including my tutor I decided the best way was to amend the pattern slightly to include the height in a waistband and then apply the facing to the front instead of the inside and use it as a waistband that has been layered over the top.
Next I need to amend pattern slightly to incorporate these alterations and as this does not affect the overall assembly I can go straight to final garment.
 

Major Project - waistcoat and skirt

I have sewn together the final pieces using actual fabric and I am very happy with the outcome.  I will need to finish with origami applique but I think it looks really nice so far

Major Project - waistcoat tail

I have played around with the tail and have decided to go with three layers with the corners stitched over as this will reflect the folds of the origami

Major Project - waistcoat and skirt

I have made the toile and I think I need more weight to the skirt so have decided to add lining to each layer and interfacing, then applique the origami to the front
The Waistcoat has gone together well but again will require interfacing and lining and I will need to decide on the tail of the waistcoat.  I have decided to remove the high collar though and stick with a straight halterneck.

Major Project - tshirt

I decided I wanted to design a t shirt and trousers. I have been looking at the lines of the scaffolding within my research and the caging and I have drawn a link to weaving, and the lines that make up the weaving and the shapes that are there after produced

I have been playing around with jersey and looked at ways of weaving the fabric.

I need to look into what can be achieved with the cotton and whether it is a look I want to continue with.Perhaps applique; perhaps using the Couture technique previously experimented with or maybe use the jersey itself to weave with.
I have carried out a few experiments as you can see.
I want the design to be simple and easy to wear.
The trousers I want wide legged and with an eastern feel and using the origami theme within the construction somehow.

Major Project - waistcoat and skirt

Today I started the draft for the skirt. I removed the darts and used that to give the skirt its flare.  A have decided on just two layers and I will applique the origami onto the front.
The pattern went quite well and I have decided to self line the skirt so that I can add some structure within the silhouette  I now have to decide on interfacing or bondaweb to add structure, but can I get bonaweb in large enough pieces?  Some investigation needs to be done.

The waisrcoat drafting didn't go quite as well. When I used the block I felt that the toile was too loose and I leart thst the whole garment will need lining and interfacing. I started the drafting agian fron scratch by using the stand and tape. I then attached fabric to the silhouette shaped pieces and used these to create pattern pieces. I added interfacing to the toile to ensure my judgement was correct. But now I have to think about the tail of the waistcoat and what to do.

Essay

BBC The LOOK - Material World on Vimeo

Lacroix said he loved the accidental errors that can happen when producing garments entirely by hand. it makes the peice more magical more organic and more individual.

The practice of one off pieces does not help to support the cottage industries that produce the painstakingly hand made fabrics  the fact that only one or two will ever be made and that next season that crafted fabric style will no longer be on trend means that the companies that produce these exquisite fabrics may not be financially supported enough to carry through to the new decade. History is forgotten and fashion has moved on.

Fabric adds to the movement of the body, it needs to compliment the movement and add to. The starting point for design should be the body.

Fashion design should suit everyone but be challenging.  Issey miyake and his fabric designer beleive this and it shows within his designs. Clothes that are practical yet revelutionary. He uses his couture background and education to produce clothes that are easy to wear without forgetting the craftsmanship and the art. Practical art.

Major Project - waistcoat and skirt

I have drafted the first toile pattern for the skirt and waistcoat.  I will need to cut it out in fabric and make up the toiles as there are a few things bothering me:

The Skirt:
I have concerns about how I am going to add a large origami structure to the front of the skirt and still make it look like a layered wrap skirt

The Waistcoat:
I don't yet know the best way to make the waistcoat back design or which design to use for the finished garment
I will also need to buy some interfacing before I can make up the toile to ensure the structure is true to the finished look

I have decided to make the toile up and then ask a few people for feedback and see what will work in reality.

Major Project - Drafting the shift dress

I cinpleted tgw pattern for the dress snd made it symetrical left to right, instead of off the shoulder. I have also decided to add my version of budellini by covering piping in the printed jersey and weaving it to form a cage kike structure at the bottom of the dress.
This will need to be considered for elegance and high quality.  I will need to pull on my skills from working on army dress uniform cording to ensure the best quality finish

Major Project - design development skirt

I have been looking at the waistcoat I have designed and thinking about what to design to go with it and I want to design a skirt, something that fits comfortably but can be worn dressed up or down. I am going to use a layering effect that mirrors the kines element but also holds the layers of origami
Need to design a skirt
Need to keep it layered or add origami

I have looked through my sketch book to gain ideas and decided to develop the layered designs I sketched over christmas. 

After plenty of developing and thinking through of construction I have the following designs

A basic but developed wrap skirt, the idea was taken from a skirt I saw when I visited Thailand, a sarong style skirt that could be used for by the pool and equally for an evening out. I like the idea of it being comfortable yet stylish.

Now I need to create the pattern and toile.

Major Project - Designing

I have carried out some design development and I like where it is going. I have developed it into a waistcoat. I like the one that simple has one fold at the back, I will need to starch the fabric and it will need to be lined as the inside of the fabric is the one that is seen at the back.
I will also need to think of colour, my colour palette is dirty pink, grey and a maroon, with the blues that come from the dying process too.
I need to design an item of clothing that goes with this top.
Trousers maybe or a skirt

Major Project - Dying the fabric

I have died some fabric today. I decided to use the crinkle dye process, this process means you scrunch up your fabric, giving it as many folds and lines as possible. You then push it into a small container, the smaller the better.

You place a small amount of dye into a cup and pour it down the side of the container that holds the fabric. you then weight down the fabric and wait about 3 hours, you then rinse and dry it ready for a second colour or application.

I like this process, but want to see if I will need to dye the fabric before cutting the pattern pieces or dying the pattern pieces. I will see how it works when I starch the fabric and try and fold it.

Final Major - Design development

Looking back through my sketchbook I have done a few designs that I want to pull out and develop, work into and see where thet lead, so need to take each one of my designs and develop using fabric chosen and print to encourage the process.

I really like the way this one has the top front panel folding back behind the body like the paper of the origami folds back against itself.

I also like the beading, this forms lines that grow from the garment, like the caging or scaffolding of a building

I will need to develop this design to see where it lead.

Seminar on Web Presence

Today I attended a workshop on creating a portfolio website with a tutor Ben Hodson
I learnt the following:

Before setting up a website it is key to ask yourself who is your key audience?
1. Clients
2. Employers
3. Colleagues

What is the primary purpose of the site:
1.Get Clients
2.Sell Yourself
3. Make money

4.Make direct sales

5.What is your best work?6.Always get as many opinions as possible
7.What are your greatest accomplishments?
8.Have you sold some work?
9.Have you had work published?

What is your style?
1.What makes you unique
2.What is it about you that makes you employable? Work long hours, work cheaply?

Who's portfolio do you admire and what elements can you implement in your design
Research:
1.Look at other people on the internet
2.The platform is normally quite minimalist
3.You want the portfolio work to pop out of the screen

Building a website from scratch
If you want to build your website from scratch, it is a lot of hard work. If you want a job that may require these skills then its worth considering but it is not the quickest way to showcase your work. It takes time and dedication. You can befriend or collaborate with a professional who is just starting out as a web designer. Website management requires a CMS Control Management System:
Wordpress
concrete5
CMSlite
expression engine
joomla
drupal
textpattern

Or a hosted CMS - does all the background work for you
Spuarespace
Virb
VAEAll of these require a subscription, a monthly fee, but its a vey professional choice.

You also have Social Media

Tumblr
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Google+
Instagram
Flickr
YouTube
Vimeo

Get people to follow you and this would be a strength that could be used in an interview.

Dedicated Portfolio Websites

Behance
Deviant Arts
Carbon Made
Redbubble - put images on the and t-shirts could be sold with your image on.
Photo Shelter
Design Taxi
Communication Arts
Livebooks
Smug Mug

Behance is the one that Ben recommends for Fashion and ease. These are all free to use.

Blog platforms
Wordpress
Blogspot
Blogger
Blog.com
Jux
Weebly

Mostly free, but the downside is that they only work in chronological order or upload, also it date every upload so if you haven't touched the site in weeks then its obvious to the reader and it appears out of date.

Resources:

www.dandad.org/awards/students
www.cssawards.net
www.w3.org
www.thebestdesigns.com
These websites can help you to achieve a top quality website be looking at others to help inspire

Online Portfolio content

Less is more - no less than 10 but more than twenty means they need to be outstanding in order to keep the viewer engaged long enough to stay till the end.
Everything in the portfolio needs to hold its own.
Show your website to colleagues - get constructive feedback
Only use what is important
RESEARCH - make sure you keep aware of what is going on out there
Branding - the biggest branding is your name.Make sure its consistent, tie in all your public audience platforms but keep it minimal and  backgound. 
Tag-lines, be clear who you are and what you want to be and get your portfolios to reflect that.
Language and communication - don't be boring but keep it professional. Keep it chatty. Keep it short, keep it interesting and inspire people.
Keep it relevant, keep it short.
Blog - maybe add a blog to your website even if you don't have a blog website
Contact - always give at least two ways of contacting you. without this what purpose does the website have. You may be missing a chance of a lifetime without it.
Be careful with music or anything that it directly connected to personal taste - it may irritate without  meaning to.
Ask them to contact you - Please contact me for more details. Research shows people are 80% more likely to contact you if you ask.
Navigation - top to bottom, left to right.

I am going to take another look at my website and ask my colleagues, peers and tutors for feedback so that I can improve it for hand in.

Final Major - Valentino 2013 Spring couture

http://m.stylebistro.com/runway/Valentino/Couture+Spring+2013/Details

Taking a look at Valentinos 2013 Spring couture collect and was very interested to see that he also has decided to use Budellini in a modern was that gives the outfits a beautifully aged look. This is the type of way I want to use the process for my outfit One, short dress at the front.

Final Major - Outfit 2 trousers and top

I have altered the top, amended the arm and shoulder, dropped the shoulder seam down the front and self lined the front in 100% cotton.
Much happier with the finish, toile complete!
Started drafting the trousers by slashing and opening a wide legged dropped waist block, I want the front to be like a wrap dress type opening so that it reflects the paper folding of origami, and I think it works, I will have to consider the facing and how to acheive it around the waistband with this way of opening the garment but I think the toile is nice.
Final thing to consider is whether I have an asymetric hem line on the trouser legs as per my design. During yhe crit it was suggested that I reconsider this hem kine when its toiled just in case the symmetry on the outfit becomes a little overly balanced.
Outfit two toile complete and I think I will use the top pattern to help sort the issues with outfit one, the short dress.