Bad News...

Other things this week:
got the bad news yesterday about Graduate Fashion Week's rejection.
honestly- totally Gutted!
I feel like that's been my aim since school, college and throughout my degree and to be told that a couple of bad decisions last year have taken all that away is so upsetting- for everyone!!
I completely understand the frustration that the lecturers are feeling and know they're as upset as we are- still there's nothing we can do about it so I think we just have to make the best of what we have. I think the upside is that now we have so few constraints we can really make the Derby Show something special!
I remember hearing in my 1st year that we were on thin ground with the organisers then, so I suppose it was only a matter of time; and last years contraversial show seems to have tipped the balance!It's strange 'cause I feel that this year the uni is so different, a completely new ethos and aim. I really think we could have made a difference in London.
I'm still adamant that we'll do something special this year- maybe we could reopen the doors for next years group??

Toile photos...

Well,
after 3 weeks of trauma, I've finally finished the toile for my RSA project.
It's the 3rd attempt and hasn't gone as badly as I'd thought! I'm actually really pleased with the way it's come out.
In terms of preparing for my grad collection, this has really given me a boost.
I now feel that I'm capable of making quality men's clothing. Ok it may still take some time, but I'm getting there!The style of the garment and the fabric and trims etc. are similar to what I'm heading for for my Graduate Collection, so I've made the practice as relevent as possible for me! All in all I've got a well needed confidence boost and I'm looking forward:

Design Sketches

The following are my initial sketches toward my Graduate Collection- I've had these done for a while but just reserved putting them on for copyright reasons. As you can see, I've covered my own back a little on them!


(NB-Both the illustration and the design ideas are copyrighted and should not be reproduced for any purpose.)
Thanks

Baseball Research Film

I've worked on a research film that covers the American 1950s baseball culture.
It shows outlines of the area that I'd like to fuse with the Formalwear theme (re post below)
I like the idea of the Collegiate side of Baseball- the whole American Teen Culture and the retro subcultures associated with the sport in the 1950s.
(NB-Not all images are from the 1950s- but those contained all embody the same feel and emotion that I'm interested in!)
Hope this film puts some of that into visuals so it makes a little more sense!!

The music is "Take me Out to the BallGame" by Bruce Springstein- but I mixed it with a Baseball cheer to make it more relevant for me!
This meant learning more technical stuff and challenging myself a little more.
I love the idea of mixing my soundtrack for my Graduate Show- so I'll be working on that on that in the background I think.

Thanks:

Customising Template...

Well, I've updated the template.
It took hours yesterday to get it sorted but it was so satisfying to actually see it done!
I'm not good with codes and things-but I do like a challenge, so it was actually quite good fun!
Basically it involved attaining URLs for the images i wanted to use and then a lot of trial and error in amending the template that I already had on the page, (If anyon'e looked at template codes, they'll see why it took me a while!)
So, anyone who doesn't know how, but wants to do their own, you will need lots of patience, and a big brain!!
so that's done, and more relevant- it now means that my entire page is dedicated to my Grad Collection, so it's all me! yey!
I'll carry on working on the research side of things- I want to look at 50s American Sportswear next I think!
Thanks

Formalwear Research Film

There are two areas that are of real interest to me for my Graduate Collection. I'm aiming for a fusion of English Black Tie Formalwear and 50s American Baseball. I hope that the fusion of the two styles will bring something sharp and new to the catwalk.
In terms of trend prediciton, I am highly aware of forthcoming trend concepts, however I think I'm going to trust my insincts with the overall outline of the look and roll with what I think.
I know that the idea of fusing denim with formalwear has already been considered (ie by Evisu- opening introducing bespoke, tailored denimwear in their newly developed Saville Row shop), so I think that my idea with add a new twist to the concept.
I've prepared a short film of formalwear research towards my Collection. This covers the Formalwear side of things, I'll add a film to cover the sportswear side of things at a later date.
Included is classic English tailoring(images Copyright of Hackett), trend concepts (images and notes Copyright of Textile View) and directional illustrations (images Supplied by, and copyright of WGSN):



The soundtrack is "Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones (lovely!)

Just a reminder again that none of the images, information or film should be reproduced.
Many thanks

I've also been working on customising the template/background a little more and making it more relevant to my work.
Watch this space then- and fingers crossed it'll work!

learning to juggle...

Anyone who knows me would tell you that making is my weakness- I managed to master the art of making jersey garments, and I'm fairly ok with womenswear in general; but I'm really nervous about my making skills toward my Grad Collection. I'm therefore using every opportunity to practice that I get. Every Thursday evening I work specifically on my pattern cutting / making either at home or at uni, and I'm trying to incorporate ideas for my collection into all my other briefs at the moment so that it's all constructive and relevant.
Again, my main focus this week has been on the RSA brief. I've finalised the plan for the range and just need to draw up the illustrations now. I spent about 3 days working on a toile for a shirt (as stated, making is a weakness; not helped by the fact there were so many errors in the guidance book I use (make that used!)).
The initial toile images:

And then after some tweaking:

The collar and stand are oversized- it's intentional; I want to style the shirt with cravats and extra large tie knots. We'll see if that needs amending later!!!





Anyway, it's relevant practice for the Graduate Collection and it's a great step towards finishing my RSA work on time!
All in all a satisfying weeks work this week, am a little worn out from it though- roll on the Christmas break!
thanks,
will update with any more developments

Sourcing update...

Well I had a great start to the week, the supplier I mentioned before (DPJ Cloth) remained true to their word and I got a parcel of some lovely shirting poplins as well as trims and accessories delivered to my door!



It was a trully lovely surprise and has brought my Grad Collection back to the forefront of my mind!
I'm still finding it a little tricky to balance all the modules at the moment, but the fact I'm enjoying all of them should carry me through...I hope!
Anyway, there's my update for now- Will fill in later this week with any developments.
thanks

week off...

Ok so last week we had the day off to prepare for the Information Exchange (sort of an intellectual barter evening); where we had to display and discuss thoughts of work placements.
We worked on fairly short notice, but to be honest- I tend to work better on a short time scale, it means I can focus better.
It went fine- I spent last weekend, Monday pm and all Tuesday getting everything ready for it.
I put all the details of my placements onto a Blog so that their easier to access and interpret.
If anyone's interested, there's the link in the side bar on the right of the page.

Im also slacking here a little- the RSA deadline's looming (less than a month), so I'm focussing on that a little more now.
I'll crack on with the graduate collection prep from next week again, and try to juggle that with the RSA.
Thanks