CHARLOTTE ROGERS
DESIGN: ENTERPRISE & INNOVATION www.3244191aub.wordpress.com
LUCAS NASCIMENTO 2013
CONTENTS
2. CONTENTS PAGE 3. INTRODUCTION 4. COMPANY HISTORY 5. AIMS & OBJECTIVES 6. LONDON FASHION WEEK 7. BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL PATTERN CUTTING SEMINAR 7,8. PRODUCTION & NEW SEASON 9. CONCLUSION 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. APPENDICES
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INTRODUCTION
This report will conclude my journey of experiences I have participated in throughout my work placement with Lucas Nascimento, along with learning key skills within a professional working environment and getting a real insight into the fashion industry that I hope to one day be a part of. Weighing up my options between choosing the Live Project or industry placement, I came to the decision that gaining experience now would be extremely beneficial for me to take onto my final year standing me in good stead once I have graduated, preparing for my future aspirations. This was one of my main reasons for choosing the work placement option as what I have learnt along the way on my Internship I could never have learnt during my studies. It was a natural progression for me to grow as a designer and become more confident, as you are engaging with real life situations each day that occur in the working environment and taking on different tasks, which allowed me to become independent and required me to self manage certain roles. Working with professionals day in day out gave me confidence and broadened my knowledge not just in fashion but how a business is run. My main aim entering this Internship was to gain professionalism, develop my strengths and gain confidence working alongside knowledgable people. It was also a great opportunity for me to start networking with the fashion circuit as I learned along the way everyone knows one another in this fashion world.
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LUCAS NASCIMENTO Lucas Nascimento a London based Brazilian born Designer who is a fast becoming the next big thing in Knitwear. Showing his fifth collection at the previous Fashion Week, his label is still growing and emerging with strong potential. Which is why Charlotte decided to take up an intern with Lucas as the team was still small and therefore a great learning environment to be in. One of Lucas’s specialities is creating knitwear that does not look like your typical knitwear garments, creating ingenious ways of all things woven. His innovative use of techniques from structured knitwear to neoprene bonded knitted dresses and sheer woven tops which are light as air, fine as feathers. Knitwear like you have never seen before. After graduating in 2008 from London Collage of Fashion Lucas went on to show at Rio Fashion Week for 3 seasons, before applying to Newgen which he has now been a part of since 2011, the orgainisation has been a crucial part of funding his shows and exhibitions also helping him to become globally recognised. Season after season his collections captivates the audience by showing lots of texture and colour through his work but still so effortlessly chic, resulting in him gaining a huge following from women in high end jobs wanting to wear his clothes as formal work wear but still looking fashionable. I think its fair to say he has his fashion aesthetic down to a tee. As a small label Lucas collaborates each season with other various designers, AW13 he collaborated with Piers Atkinson accessory designer creating over-sized leather Alice bands giving the look a futuristic style and Charkviani shoe designer who he has previously on all other collections using the softest of leathers and block heels. The collaborative items do not go onto production they are just used for styling the collection. Lucas will go onto show again at September Fashion Week this year and is hoping to be chosen for Newgen 2013.
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AIMS & OBJECTIVES As a brand Lucasʼs main aim is to produce high quality and exceptionally innovative clothing. Striving for success by creating a strong design aesthetic and his key signature chic designs. Within the marketplace he stocks to exclusive stores such as Dover Street Market, Matches and LNCC where the orders are still adequate but not as big say if he was stocking to Selfridges or Harvey Nichols. However, emerging talents such as Lucas own some credibility by sticking to the exclusive ʻcoolʼ stores such as LNCC rather than maybe selling to Selfridges that can be known as too ʻcommercialʼ. The brand is still emerging, so with each season a struggle financially it is always a risk take after each collection to weather or not the orders will be placed. Fortunately Lucas has had no worry there as stockists are growing globally each season. The structure of the company is very much in place but relies strongly on interns as Lucas only has 2 employees, his assistant and production manager who are contracted full time. With only a small team everyone pulls together and the workload is spread interns run some errands but are still very much involved with production and orgainisation. However, Lucasʼs assistant deals with everything in the office but is still very much involved in the studio, alongside the interns and the production manager who is pattern cutter/seamstress. Interns are judged very quickly upon what they are capable of, by the second week Charlotte covered Lucasʼs assistants role while she was holiday, held responsible for replying to all e-mails keeping professional at all times, prior to that week Charlotte had put together a spread sheet consisting of each look from the show with descriptions, colour and size with dates 1st - 31st. Her job was to keep check of all samples on there whereabouts, which date they were sent out and what date they were to be returned along with orgainising couriers to come and collect the samples (see appendix 3). With all press days eventing around the same week this was where orgainisatioin was key and there was to be no lack of communication between Charlotte and the buyers, as samples must not overlap with one another. Delivery notes were updated and typed out with each send out, this was extremely important that they was clearly attached to the front of each delivery for our records and also for the buyer to see what they have received. This was a real chance for Charlotte to prove she was determined and enthusiastic to learn. The studio can go from being full of interns to only one, the majority being international and interning with Lucas for a couple of months on sponsorship schemes from their learning institute, it is a struggle for interns here as he does not pay travel or any kind of expenses. The role as ʻinternsʻ should never be under estimated by a designer as without 5
them there company would most probably fold. Fortunately Charlotte lives fairly close so was saving on rent however the travel expenses took its toll, a longer internship would of been great with Lucas but the travel expenses are becoming costly. A growing problem within the fashion industry, students are being exploited but will it change? A new law brought in from the 2nd April at least National Minimum Wage should be paid to a student/graduate undertaking any experience, where responsibilities and tasks are given as part of the role, and where it is not an accredited part of an academic programme of study.
LONDON FASHION WEEK Back in February Charlotte was given the opportunity to work with Lucas and his team during the last week leading up to LFW. There was no time for training as everything was go go go! Thrown straight in at the deep end Charlotte had to become familiar very quickly with the collection which consisted of 24 looks and how things were done. As a studio assistant her role required her to prepare for model castings, hand stitching all hems and facings from the collection (see appendix 5), making all of the roll neck sweaters that were worn under each look and representing Lucas on his stand within the Newgen space in east wing of Somerset House. Here Charlotte spoke with buyers, press and members from the British Fashion Council answering any questions people had about the designer or just general interest, this was a great way of networking as there was such a variety of professions there from photographers to bloggers, architects, journalists, models along with a few celebrities. Charlotte was also fortunate enough to collect some business cards for herself, one to mention was a photographer for the Royal Family who now travels all over the country speaking with students about his exciting journey through photography and business skills. Extremely long days after Somerset House Charlotte would then go back to the studio to carry on helping towards the show, little sleep lots of work is definitely the case during Fashion Week. However, the adrenaline was overwhelming and an amazing opportunity to participate in. From this one intense week Charlotte had learnt and absorbed so much, and left feeling enthusiastic and excited to come back.
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BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL PATTERN CUTTING SEMINAR As Lucas is a member of the British Fashion Council, they invited 3 of his team members to come and join a creative pattern cutting seminar day held at Somerset House. Charlotte and two other interns were fortunate enough to take up this request and meet with some of the most talented pattern cutters within the industry. Each seminar was extremely interesting with such inspiring guest speakers. From this it gave Charlotte the initiative to challenge herself when it comes to pattern cutting and try out these diverse techniques. Each professional held a different skill from a Bespoke Tailor who worked with a freehand method- Tom Mahon founder and creator of English Cut Ltd demonstrating his tailoring techniques by drafting patterns freehand (see appendix 4), an interesting point he raised was becoming a Tailor is all about training the eye, trusting the eye over numbers and measurements can be more accurate at times as you know when something does not look right. Onto another method of pattern cutting was Julianna Sissons using primary shapes and attaching sides to create seams which is known as geometric pattern cutting, with the outcome almost having a japanese style to it, again a very fun and free way of working. A truly inspiring guest speaker; - Anette Fischer famous for her skill of draping on the stand recreating a Dior SS13 dress in just 25 minutes which she made look so easy and quick. Finally Janice Mee a fascinating seminar on contour fashion about the ʻbraʼ, the development and design process that goes into manufacturing a bra is an extremely lengthy process a real interesting area of fashion that is maybe sometimes forgotten about. This whole experience really opened up Charlotteʼs mind to experiment and explore more into her passion for pattern cutting and garment construction, engaging with these professionals made her hunger even more apparent to why she wants to follow her ambition in fashion. PRODUCTION & NEW SEASON All of the manufacturing from Lucas Nascimento is produced in the UK and constructed ʻin houseʼ. However, Lucas has now decided with his AW13 collection pattern grading and part of the production orders will be manufacture at a local factory as each season was becoming more stressful meeting order deadlines also the workload is too much for the small team he has to take on. The production side of things has been a great insight for Charlotte especially with all manufacturing done in house Charlotte has got to see first hand the scale and precision on how things were done at a high level. Her experience on the build up to London Fashion Week was fast pace and manic, but now she has been 7
part of everything that happens after with last SS13 orders and moving forward orgainising AW13 production, the pace of Fashion never slows down it is a continuous working environment. As a studio assistant Charlotte dealt with all finishings on garments being sent out with SS13 orders such as, Brand labels, closing knit tubulars on collars, cuffs, hems and sleeves, attaching lops to the inside of the garment so they can be hung, and finally fixing holes within sheer knit pieces, all of these tasks were finished hand sewn and to all consist of the exact same measurements and equal stitches. For AW13 all yarns being used for production have to be weighed to gather an estimate of how much yarn is already in stock and how much more needs to be ordered. Sorucing all of this information has taught Charlotte a lot about different yarns and there purposes. For this to be as a accurate as possible each garment is weighed along with weighing each roll of yarn to give an approximate weight for consumption, taking into consideration if the garment had lining or was only part knit (see appendix 6). This goes with counting the number of snap buttons, hooks and invisible buttons the collection requires also measuring all zips noting their colour way and weather or not they are an invisible zip, heavy duty or standard. Two pieces from the collection that are now going into production are part silk bomber jackets with a boucle knit lining along with silk green lining for a coat, for this Charlotte had to source all of the same silks used or to the nearest colour match by exploring lots of different fabric stores gathering samples. This job role taught Charlotte future preference of the orgainisation that goes into manufacturing a collection and fabric awareness. The past few weeks of Charlottes work placement, designing for SS14 has come into place which was really interesting to see how a concept grows right from the start and is transformed into 3D, surprisingly all early research used was fashion imagery some recent designers work and some dating back to the 1950Ęťs. Lucas hires a free-lance pattern cutter to come in for a couple of days and discuss concepts and thoughts to start a journey for his new collection shortly after the pattern cutting of first toiles begin. Being part of these surroundings at such important times of the season has been a real learning curve for Charlotte on how a fashion business is run.
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CONCLUSION In summary to my work experience, I feel it has given me great preparation for future professionalism. My aim right from the start was to step out of my comfort zone, be myself and absorb as much experience as I can to help broaden myself as a designer and also my design identity. Studying a Fashion degree I feel it is an important time to explore as many aspects within fashion, this is why I chose to intern with a knitwear designer as it was an area of fashion I was keen to learn more about, after interning with a sportswear label last summer and enjoying it so much, it had such an impact on my design ethic. By taking up a knitwear intern it has definitely had the same effect and given me ideas on combining knit with my sporty design aesthetic for my third year collection. The time I was there I felt I was part of the team, an employee and took on a significant job role. Throughout my work placement I can honestly say I strived each day to produce my absolute best work in every task that was asked from me, although doubting myself from time to time when things got stressful but looking back on what I have achieved I no this is exactly the career path I wish to follow. Working for such a high end brand I feel I have Gained a high level of professionalism and confidence in myself to take with me through to third year, and taking the skills I have learnt building Lucas始s collection transferring them into my own. From keeping a weekly blog it has definitely helped with my writing and also having more fun when it comes to writing blogs, it is a great way to reflect on your progress and keep track of what you have done. Working with a professional team everyday has strengthened not only my communications skills but technical skills which was one of my key aims that I wanted to improve on. One of the things I was worried about choosing the work placement option was loosing my creativity or design identity, however, I feel it has taught me the most important aspects within fashion and how to keep your identity strong and individual by always considering the market place you are targeting with a character in mind, someone you feel who would love to be wearing your creations. My goals for the summer are to carry out more interns with various designers and Bespoke Tailor, Tom Baker, to broaden and further my skills, finishing up with London Fashion Week in September back with Lucas Nascimento ready for my third and final year of my degree. Please visit my blog for more visuals and information about my journey: www.3244191aub.wordpress.com
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APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 - HEALTH AND SAFTEY FORM
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APPENDIX 2 - CV
CHARLOTTE ROGERS Woodlands The Drive Chislehurst Kent BR76QS Tel: 07957 614 578 e-mail: c_rogers04@hotmail.com
EDUCATION BA (Hons) Fashion Studies The Arts University Bournemouth September 2011 - present Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Ravensbourne September 2010 - June 2011 MERIT A-levels Coopers Technology college Product Design - B Media - Merit Graphical Art - B
PROFILE I am a highly motivated, adaptable, creative individual who is currently studying a BA fashion studies degree. With a strong interest in fashion, it has been a natural progression for me to work within the industry from the age of 16. Learning about different brands, business structure and retailing has given me the knowledge and confidence to pursue my career in fashion. I successfully combined my studies with work and other commitments showing myself to be selfmotivated, orgainised and capable of working under pressure. I enjoy working on my own initiative or in a team. In short, I am reliable, trustworthy, hardworking and eager to learn.
WORK EXPERIENCE Intern, Lucas Nascimento- Hackney, London February 2013- Present Representing Lucas at Somerset House over London Fashion Week within the Newgen exhibition space, talking with press and bloggers about the label and designer, also dressing backstage during the show. My jobs at the studio consist of hand stitching, pattern cutting, and running errands. Fit Model/Intern, Work Out Life- Old Street, London August 2012 - October 2012 Global sportswear and lifestyle concept brand. I gained the knowledge of garment construction, fabric awareness and business structure. Also experiencing a trip to Europe with the team visiting factories and suppliers has given me a huge insight into the production side of the industry. Sales Assistant,Peppermint- Canterbury, July 2011- 2013 Greeting and communicating with the public. Merchandising the shop floor and window display, making sure best sellers are clearly visualised. Working closely as part of a team. Designing/ shooting web banners using photoshop for the companies online website. Sales Assistant,Ted Baker- Covent Garden, London 2009- July 2011 Based in the Menswear tailoring department. My job role required me to fit suits, pinning to alter any corrections inline with customers needs and build up a strong knowledge of the construction and fit of tailored suits. Working at Ted Baker始s flagship store taught me how imperative it was to understand every aspect of the brand and to be attuned with any directional changes the company made. Secretary, Kalmars Residential Estate Agents- Bermondsey, London 2008-2009 Responsible for providing secretarial and administrative support to all parts of the business. Meeting and greeting visitors, answering and dealing with incoming and outgoing telephone calls solving queries and taking messages.
SKILLS Competent sewer, Basic pattern cutting skills, Measurements of a garment, Time Management meeting deadlines, UK full driving license, Photoshop, Basic skills of Illustrator, and Team work.
MY SPARE TIME In my spare time I enjoy horse riding which has been a great hobby of mine for 17years, Bikram Yoga, cycling, exhibitions and exploring this big wide world we live in!
References are available upon request.
APPENDIX 3 - Deliveries
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APPENDIX 3 - DELIVERIES
Here are AW13 samples being sent out to MyWardrobe and LNCC. They were to be packed very neatly all in garment bags and sustainable hangers, with the delivery note attached in an envelope at the front of the garments. (Blog post from www.3244191aub.wordpress.com)
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APPENDIX 4 - Tom Mahon
A seminar I could not wait for. Tom Mahon founder and creator of English Cut Ltd. He also works very freely as a cutter he uses the freehand method. With his skilled trained eye he could tell how a persons shoulder slop would look the depth of an armhole. Unbelievably talented. I agree with his way of working as pattern cutting does not always have to be about numbers and measurements sometimes our eye can be more accurate. (Blog post from www.3244191aub.wordpress.com)
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APPENDIX 5 - HAND SEWING
Using a cross stitch over lapping each time so if the cotton was to break it would not unravel. An extremely time consuming job but great for improving my hand stitching and accuracy. (Blog post from www. 3244191aub.wordpress.com)
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APPENDIX 6 - Production
With orders in from the AW13 show its time to start ordering in the yarn from Italy, so here i took each piece and weighed the garment taking in consideration if the garment had lining and other extras. The production manager would go by this estimate and calculate how much yarn is needed. (Blog post from www.3244191aub.wordpress.com)
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APPENDIX 7- Mid Term Questionnaire
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APPENDIX 8 - Mid Term Questionnaire
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