M A N I F E S T O
What is Fashion? It is interpreted differently to every designer but to me it is simple silhouettes, bursting with colour, textures and excitement. PRINT I am a designer with a passion for print, bold colour and quirky contrasts. With a love of reading I wish my garments to convey stories to capture children’s imagination. The type of child I design for and how I intend to meet their requirements are always at the forefront of my mind. Children have functional needs whether running, skipping or climbing, each piece of clothing will have its own adventure and therefore garments needs to be equipped for this. With a love for illustration and art I have found that print is a way to transfer my thoughts and fun personality onto garments.
Drawing inspiration from leading designers like Stella Jean, Mary Katrantzou and Mathew Williamson who each have a different style towards print design. I admire the way in which Stella Jean ‘locally sources artisan crafts of hand-painted and hand-embroidered fabrics’. It really interests me as she stays true to her mixed heritages. A background similar to my own of being mixed race (Indian/English) which affects my work, as I love heavy embellishment and patterns (Mehndi/Rangoli). These could combine with soft pastel tones to reduce their harshness and create something more delicate, suited to childrenswear.
Print Colour Quirky Contrast
ETHICS Stella Jean also has strong ethical views on helping disadvantaged people by using them to help create her fabrics. When thinking about ethics, I would like to take a greater consideration over sustainability and organic production methods for future projects. I believe children should be educated about the effects of our throwaway society. I often look for interesting fabrics in charity shops and like the idea of reusing unwanted items, although health and safety must be considered if children were to wear these items. Sea-salt is an organic cotton company I like, who build their prints using inspiration from Cornwall Coast (ref) They’re a good example of a successful company using organic methods alongside print design. I will consider lightweight fabrics for practicality, with different sections of my garments taking different properties from the selected materials.
CULTURE Japanese arts and African/ American tribes are cultures that particularly interest me. The use of vibrant colour and intricate beading detail attracts me to tribes where as the soft floral and water prints appeal with Japanese culture. The contrast of forms that would not usually be pushed together is something that would typically define my style. I like individuality and combining many ideas together to take the form of one print design or interestingly shaped garment. I like to challenge what goes together and what doesn’t with the intention of opening people’s eyes to new possibilities and combinations.
It’s important to me that my garments are appealing and desirable to children who have a sense of fashion identity from an early age.
With a family all heavily interested in art, it’s something I have always been drawn towards and it continues to influence my design decisions. My mum in particular is a big inspiration to my work as she often helps me to link new concepts and reminds me of past art topics I have picked that I would be interested in re-exploring in a fashion mind. My favourite art style is impressionism with artists like Monet, Renoir and Degas. The imagination captured through strokes of colour and blurred realities really captures me. Transferred onto fabric this could create some original results. I’m fascinated concepts of single moments in time that cannot be repeated and apply this to my everyday life, by taking photos. I have a special appreciation of Monet’s work that relates to my love of water and the sea. Crashing waves, tones of blue and lack of control. All things around me, both natural and man-made structures, can inspire me.
I enjoy exploring new places and incorporating elements through photography and illustration. Gaudi’s architecture in Barcelona especially stood out to me from his use of colorful mosaics and twisted structures. I was able to appreciate shape and take into consideration that small alterations on garments could be used to create impressions of whole structures. During my degree I would like to specialise in childrenswear, focusing on print. I believe it’s a niche market in industry and that my illustrative print ideas will allow me to create unique products for the high street market level. As well as looking at children from a fashion perspective their developmental learning has always fascinated me, relating to my mum being an early years tutor. Incorporating a form of learning into garments with interactive features like changeable components for my target age of 8-10 year olds would be an area I’d like to explore further.
Working at a holiday club alongside young children allowed me to witness ways in which they interact and consider important features their garments need. Previously I have incorporated children’s drawings and screen-printed them onto my garments, which adds a personal touch and relates to the children. I like that the illustrations are on a level they can achieve as this could help build confidence. Currently I’ve been exploring children’s mark making as a form of escape from the chaos in the world, displaying these as rectangular patches sewn on in a random sequence. I have also been using scribbles of colour to symbolize chaos itself.
Throughout first year I gained confidence in many areas such as pattern cutting and garment construction. I am now skillful at using Adobe software to help me design, print and communicate digitally. I recognize the key features expected in sketchbooks and the process to go through from initial ideas/concepts to final products. My design identity shows me as wanting to challenge stereotypical motifs used on childrenswear for girls. To provide something fresh that relates to them better through unique illustrations and new textures. I will use fabrics fit for purpose/comfort with a contrast of bold colours and subdued pastels to create fresh, fun and print busy designs inspired by my excitable personality. My manifesto as a designer will constantly be adapted as I risk take, problem solve and discover what I believe is fashion and how I intend to apply this to childrenswear.
DESIGN IDENTITY FINAL PIECE
JASMIN VIRDEE