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Love love love! The holographic trend. It's weird yet so wonderful! I got these 2 holographic accessories which I am going to wear with a plain black jumpsuit and let them speak for themselves! 

  Shoes- £18 BooHoo

 Bag- £15.99 New Look 

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Im loving the leather trend at the moment! It's so timeless. Being a curvier girl I thought I couldn't pull this trend off however I love the cut and length of this leather midi I bought from River Island it's so flattering for the fuller figure killing two current trends with one garment. It's a must buy!

I styled mine with heeled sandals and a jersey polo neck keeping it sophisticated with a chunky statement necklace (another fave trend). I kept it simple as the skirt speaks for itself and could border line tacky if styled provocatively. Key to wearing leather; keep it simple!

               Skirt: £30 River Island 

Finished sustainable garment

Feature

To go with my design I took tiny watch mechanisms and individually placed them on plastic discs symbolising the inner workings of a clock, creating a neck piece.  I added copper wiring to give the neck piece volume and vibrancy.  

Final design

Inspiration

After making a decision on using portfolio wallets as my fabric. I came across an image on the internet of a watch with all the mechanisms showing along with this I looked at the oversized trend which is everywhere this season, to inspire my design. 

Media

At college we were given a brief to design, pattern and manufacture a sustainable garment. I collected a few items which I had around the house such as waste food wrappers, junk mail, and left over kitchen foil as I wanted something sustainable but different. I found in a cupboard at college lots of cut offs from portfolio wallets which I thought were pretty cool as it was structured and transparent. I thought this would be a creative media to use and looked for inspiration. 

Modelling on the stand

At college we were set a task to broaden our patterning skills. We were asked to pattern using calico and a mannequin and pinning the fabric to the bodice creating the shape we wanted. I personally prefer working on the stand to flat pattering because I can see exactly how my garment is going to look and the fit is exact. Here are some examples of modelling on the stand. 

Necklace

I absolutely adore statement necklaces these days! They are the key to my looks. Here is one I got from primark for just £3! 

Clothes Show Live- Young Designer of the Year

I have been working on a live competition brief for the past 3 weeks for Clothes Show Live- Young Designer of the Year!

The brief was to design an outfit for "The Ultimate Clothes Show Girl" for Clothes Show Lives 25th Birthday. 

I wanted to create something a bit different, so I started to look at sportswear, because typically sports wear is the opposite of partywear! I took inspiration from a designer I found  after visiting  the Club to Catwalk exhibition at the V&A; Katherine Hammnet. I also looked at Alexander Wang's S/S 2014 collection from New York Fashion Week.

The concept behind my submission was breaking boundaries with sports wear crossing it through into party wear. I was inspired by the bold statement pieces with the monochrome trend and the splash of bold, bright colours reflecting celebration. I wanted to design something  that was glamourous, wearable and comfortable yet the ultimate statement for ‘The Ultimate Clothes Show Girl’. For me my design is more about the fabric choices as appose to clever design. I have brought sports wear elements in through top stitching, stretch fabrics and the classic slim fit jog pant. 

Happy early birthday to me!

It's my birthday in a few weeks time and I'm going to be 19! As a treat my nan gave me my birthday money early. And obviously I spent it all on clothes! 

I'm absolutely loving the tartan trend at the moment! It's so classic. I like paring it with my favourite trend, monochrome! Both are timeless trends. Love love love it! 

Capsule Collection

After researching Noir we were asked to create a capsule collection based on our knowledge of the fashion label. 

Here is my capsule collection 

Noir

As part of our first brief we had to work as a pair and research our given Eco label. Me and my class mate Jen were given Noir. Noir is a Eco label founded in 2005 by ex Levi's director Peter Ingwersen. He wanted to create a sustainable label but break away from the "hippy vibe". He wanted high fashion designs that were Eco friendly. Noir has a project within the brand called Illuminiti II which is the name for the brands very own cotton farm. The label teamed with Uganda cotton farms to produce 100% organic cotton as well as fair trade. 

Blog inspirations

As a fashion student, I look at fashion blogs regularly. I look at Susie Bubble's 'stylebubble.co.uk' for updates and inspiration in the high fashion world. I also look at the likes of  http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/we-wore-what for street style inspiration.

I like the way http://sincerelyjules.com/category/collage comes across. The blog is professional, bold, simple yet so effective. Which is the way I would like my blog to look. The collage of photos makes it interesting and gives me inspiration just from the images. 

I follow all bloggers on Instagram for inspiration on the go!

Colour Pop

Here's a sneak peak from a fashion shoot I did a few weeks ago. I made this garment and based it on 80s colour blocking. This dress was made from scraps of fabric from the workshop at college. The textures and colours work incredibly together and couldn't of wishes for a better outcome. During this shoot I styled it with retro roller boots, colour popping lipstick and headphones. All were so simple yet so effective and I can't wait to show my other images! 

Here is one of my final images 

Fun on set! 

Inspired

Monochrome

I'm feeling the monochrome trend which never seems to go away! Black and white is a classic combo which is always bang on trend! 

Today I bought 3 monochrome necklaces which cost just £3 each from Newlook in the sale. I also got this gorgeous chiffon cami top from Newlook which is great for day and night. I got the heeled Chelsea boots from eBay for just £13. (I am far to good at bargain hunting) 

I plan to wear the boots, top and necklace with disco pants and the tangerine jacket in my last post. This is a great look for drinks with the girls as its smashing the monochrome trend with the necklaces as well as summer brights.  Perfect!

Bargain!

Fashion doesn't have to be expensive! Here are my purchases from today. I picked up a shirt,  clutch and skirt from charity shops around town costing only £15 for all the items! Bargain!  I also managed to pick up this gorgeous tangerine coloured blazer for only £10! From the Topshop sale. 

I mostly shop at charity shops because I love how you can pick up unique pieces but at bargain prices. Who wants to look the same as everybody else?! Not me! 

FMP Illusration

This week I have been trying different medias and techniques in which I could create a visionary illustration of my final dress design. I tried using things such as collage, fabric, emulsion paint, glue gun and stitch, I decided on using a combination of medias; ink and stitch. As my theme is tailoring and angles, I used the ink with an old, run out fine liner dipped in the ink, after discovering the effect just messing around cleaning the pen. I gives a scratchy sharpness to the image which works well with my theme. After trying the technique multiple times I chose the most successful. Although the illustration is successful I felt it needed something else for the wow factor. I looked through my sketch book at different medias I had used, and like the stitch media. I then took my illustration and stitched in straight lines, stopping at points with my needle in and pivoting to create sharp angles over the illustration tying in my theme of tailoring and angles. I am going to use this process for my final A2 illustration board.

Please see my illustration below.

Plastic Success

When I designed the shoulder silhouette for my final design, I didn't have a clue how I was going to achieve it, all I knew was I wanted it! After avoiding this situation by leaving it until last, I knew the time had come... After structuring the shoulder section by experimenting with medium weight interfacing I knew I had a challenge on my hands. I tried using buckram, which was better but still it looked limp. Although it held its shape, it didn't hold the position that I wanted. I wanted sharp, high and big! So it was suggested that I look at sheets of plastic. After cutting round my original paper pattern I unpicked the centre seam on the shoulder structure and slotted the pieces in. The result was exactly what I was looking for.. A MIRACLE.

Final Design

This is my final design. I developed this design by adding seams to visually represent the angles inspiration, the seams also were added for an extra tight fit and to show the contours of the body. The collar and shoulder have been sharpened and lengthened, and piping has been added around the lapels to give a clean, sharp and tailored look. The piping on the lapels is black silk, contrasting the matte fabric choice of the collar. The back of the garment wraps over, taking further inspiration from the tailored dinner jacket and creates a natural split. I am now ready to manufacture my design, my first thoughts were OH MY GOD. But thankfully I found a way of working it out.

Design Development

I developed my initial design by taking more inspiration from a tailored dinner jacket. I sharpened the angles of the shoulder silhouette and shortened them in length to experiment with different shapes. I then added a dinner jacket inspired collar (with lapels) on to the back of the garment. I like the idea of lapels at the back, but they weren't as sharp as I wanted. The collar stand is now visible as a neck piece at the front. I will use red silk for the collar stand to tie in my original theme, lust.

Initial Design

This is my initial design, influenced by angles, tailoring and power. The deep V featured on the back of my design was inspired by a dinner jacket collar. The shoulder silhouette was inspired by the shoulder pads used in power dressing from the likes of Margret Thatcher. This is my first attempt at designing a visionary garment. I am happy with the result but would like to develop it further.

Target Market

My customer is a 25-35 year old woman, working behind the scenes in the music industry. She is single, has no children and lives in lively Camden Town, London. She takes a maximum of 2 holidays a year to the Caribbean to relax from her hectic schedule. She wears size 8-10 and shops at designer vintage stores around the city. She shops on impulse and has her own unique style, she is not trend driven or brand loyal. She will buy outfits for occasions such as album launch parties or award ceremonies. Her spending bracket is £500 -£2000. Her favourite designers are Alexander McQueen and  Gareth Pugh. She reads Kerrang, NME, Q, Vogue and Dazed and Confused. She admires Michael Jackson, Tom Jones and Amy Winehouse as they are highly respected in the music industry.

Fabric choice for final garment

After researching fabrics on Goldhawk road during my trip to London I decided that none of the fabrics I found were Suitable for my design. So I contacted a London soho fabric shop, The Berwick Street Fabric Shop and requested further samples. The samples I was sent were much more suitable for my design but way out of my price range as most were £59 per metre!
The fabric I finally decided on a bulletproof fabric as its strong, thick, heavyweight and slightly stretchy which is perfect for my design. I was shown this fabric by a lecturer and was supposed to cost around £25 a metre, but I bought it through college so it only cost £3 per metre, BARGAIN!

80's inspired shirt dress

During the last few pattern cutting sessions in College we have been working on manufacturing a shirt dress. After making the pattern I had an idea to use colour blocking and 80's inspiration. I chose the colours, neon yellow, hot pink, vibrant orange, silky teal and contrasting purple. I decided on these colours because they complimented each other. I used poppers as an easy open fasten. I am planning a photo shoot inspired by the 80's. Watch this space!
Below are a few images of the final outcome.

Trip to London 30.3.13

On the 30th march 2013 I went to london in search of fabric and inspiration towards my final garment at college. I went with the thought of tailoring,angles and sharpness. Along with a cheeky trip to Brick Lane. When walking through London I found 2 inspiring things. One was a lampshade and the other architecture outside London euston station. The angles and lines were exactly what I was looking for.
After visiting Goldhawk Road for fabrics shops, I went to Brick Lane. It's my favourite place ever! I love vintage fashion it adds character to an outfit and gives individuality. After exploring Brick Lane for 6 hours, I came away with a beautiful pair of vintage, studded Dr Martens, gold hoop earrings, a neon blue beanie hat, (which is bang on trend!) and rounded sunglasses.

Gareth Pugh

Continuing into my research of visionary designers, I decided to research into Gareth Pugh. I found his Spring/Summer 2007 collection incredibly inspiring. I love the use of angles through his collection, everything is sharp and crisp. Although the inspiration is unclear for the collection, a secondary source suggested Pugh was inspired by architectural pyramids in the courtyard of The National Gallery in Washington D.C. The pyramids are sharp and mirrored which are similar elements in one of the 2007 garments.

Design Download Results

After entering the Giles Deacon dress competition on showstudio.com, I have received some great news!  Although I did not win the competition, I was mentioned by the designer, which I am extremely pleased with!

"We had lots of incredible re-interpretations of Giles Deacon's The Troubadour dress submitted as part of our Design Download competition. Both Giles Deacon and Nick Knight faced the huge task of siphoning through the submissions and picking their favourite to feature in an exclusive SHOWstudio fashion film.

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that the winner of the competition is the very talented Leanne Broadway! Her use of unconventinal material won over the judges, 'I really liked how Leanne had given the dress a new feel and the choice of rubber was great and the execution immaculate,' said Deacon.   

Notable mentions also go to some of the other entrants who impressed our judging duo with their creativity. Knight was struck by Paula Maso and Neliana Fuenmayor's floral entry and Craig Warfield's simple elegant design, while Deacon was keen on Jolie Kay's submission and approved of the fabric of the dress made by Nichola Hanson."  

This quote was taken from the design download results. 

I am extremely proud of my submission and even a mention is a huge achievement for me. 

My favourite image is below.

Visionary Designers

We have just received a new brief, which is based on researching ideas and concepts in visionary designer's work. It also includes developing and manufacturing our final garment for the end of year fashion show.  The designers  and collections I have researched into are Alexander McQueen's "Highland Rape" collection and Viktor and Rolf's Spring/Summer 2010 collection

Alexander McQueen's Highland Rape collection caused controversy within the fashion industry and in the press, as many people believed that this collection was inspired by sexual rape, which is untrue. McQueen was inspired by his Scottish roots and was motivated by the brutal rape of Scotland by England for hundreds of years, hence the title "Highland Rape".

I chose this collection because of the controversy surrounding it. 

The second designer's collection I looked at was Viktor and Rolf's Spring/Summer 2010, which consisted of dresses and ball gowns consisting tightly packed layers of tulle that were cut and sliced into, sometimes with circular holes like Swiss cheese. the inspiration behind the collection was that the world has to cut back so this was reflected in their use of cutting into the fabric.