JENNIFER FEARN Exhale Autumn/Winter 2016/2017
Process Analysis Document
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Contents
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4-5 Brief 6-17 Research 18-21 Conceptualisation 22-29 Development 30-37 Fabric Manipulation and Textiles 38-63 Toiling Process 64-77 Final Construction 78-81 Reflection 82-83 Bibliography
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Exhale... An overwhelming feeling of stress and anxiety is something myself, and many other students, are all too familiar with. Sometimes all that is needed is the space to breathe deep and exhale; an opportunity to escape life’s worries and feel safe and comforted for a while. The raw, empty expanse of the mountainous Scottish landscape provides the perfect environment to do just that. The overwhelming scale of the hills, valleys and glens are the perfect antidote to the trivial worries/ problems we obsess over in our everyday lives, dwarfing them and helping us to see the bigger picture. Learning to be on our own and to be able to manage our anxieties is vital to our peace of mind. I aim to create a collection that inspires a sense of calm and serenity, with a feel of the outdoors, achieving this need for escape when there is not an opportunity to do so. Running away to the mountains to be alone and free will be the main inspiration behind this collection. Focusing on this need to run away I will design a collection, comprising six interchangeable outfits, for Autumn/Winter 2016-17. I will design and create a minimum of twelve garments. Garments will be designed with thematic key words in mind; relax, breathe, escape, warmth, comfort and security. These words will influence everything from silhouette to colour and fabrics. Garments will be predominately oversized and cocooning, enveloping the wearer and fulfilling the want for comfort, warmth and protection. Voluminous garments will illustrate the feeling of finally being able to exhale and relax, giving the wearer space to breathe without restriction and a creating a comforting blanket effect. Tops and jackets with combined scarves and wraps create a sense of ease and effortlessness, adding warmth and comfort without the added weight of extra layers. Other wrap over features create a feeling of comfort and warmth, of being held close but this will be achieved without feeling restrictive. Transparent elements in the collection hark back to the sensation of exhalation and clarity of mind as the wearer can finally think and see clearly again, away from worry. The collection should not be overly conceptual, so as to have commerciality to it. Due to this, trend forecasting will play a small part in the influence of the garment design, creating a base for the more unique and experimental pieces. The colour palette for the collection will come from the beautiful Scottish landscape. Soft and calm greys inspired by the perpetually overcast sky will be complimented by the varying greens of the hillsides and the plants that cover them. Chartreuse will be the accent colour, adding a bright and eye-catching focal point. White will lighten and lift the collection and bring a sense of peace and purity. The darker, more sombre colours will have a sobering effect in the collection while the lighter chartreuse, white and sand will lift it and keep the overall feeling of calm. 4
Keeping in mind the key points of the collection, fabrics will be a combination of natural and technical and be appropriate to the season of Autumn/Winter. The natural fabrics; boiled wools, silk and suede will relate to the landscape while the technical fabrics; Ventile, waterproof and scuba will take on a more literal representation of being outdoors. Fabrics are mainly light weight, continuing the feeling of ease and not weighing down on the wearer, with heavier fabrics included only for warmth and seasonal appropriateness. Soft jersey and padded Cupro characterise the comfort element of the collection with their soft to touch handle. Lastly, silk-mix organza brings in a sheer and metallic element to the collection providing a contrast to the mainly matt fabrics. Relating back to the landscape, texture will be a very important element in this collection. Topographic maps will be the inspiration behind this component of the collection. These maps communicate the idea of running away and getting lost in the mountains. Elastic shirring thread will be used, in an unconventional manner, to create texture portraying these maps and the mountainous element of the collection described earlier. The uneven shapes on topographic maps will form the basis of this surface pattern design which, when sewn with the elastic thread, will bounce up forming undulating hills, emulating the mountains and valleys these maps depict. This elastic sewing will be created on the garments made of boiled wool, the uneven texture of which connects directly to the varying textures of the outdoors. The topside of the fabric will be sewn in contrast thread to make the pattern more clearly identifiable but without taking away from the texture itself. The white, scuba tops in the collection will be punctuated by topographic lines, hand printed using disperse dye. These small sections of print will help unify this design feature throughout the collection. Lastly, needle felting will be used to join silk organza and woven wool. The technique is a unique way to join two very different fabrics together to make one garment. The texture created along the seam of the two fabrics is raw, uneven and unpredictable- a perfect definition of the outdoors. The target market of this collection will be hardworking women with hectic lifestyles who enjoy the peace and serenity of nature and like to escape through fashion. They are creative and individual, unafraid of garments with a touch of the unusual. They are aged from 25 to 35. They care about quality and luxury fabrics and are willing to pay for this. With an eclectic style they favour clothing that straddles the line between clean and detailed, enabling them to dress their garments up or down. They buy investment pieces that can be worn time and time again and are interchangeable. The collection will be placed at the mid-level designer market level and will satisfy the needs of this target market. All of the features and elements mentioned here will work together to achieve the feeling of comfort, peace and serenity that this collection strives to create. 5
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Research 7
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My collection research started out as an exploration of journeys and why people choose to go on them. I quickly decided I did not want to create a collection inspired by the destinations of people’s journeys, which would have different cultural elements to it and so I decided to narrow my research down to a specific type of journey and the reason behind it. I started out by conducting some primary research by asking friends and peers the reasons they went on journeys. The main answer to this question was to relax, get away and learn something about themselves. I began to look into what I though journeys were for and so created a mind map to get me started. The words and phrases in particular that really struck a chord with me were escape, run away, peace, solitude and contemplation. This mix of feelings made me begin to think of the journey more as an escape and a way to run away from everyday life. I felt this was very relatable to not only myself but many others with stressful lifestyles.
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I began to imagine to where exactly I would go if I could run away. I’ve always been hugely inspired by nature and in particular the natural beauty of Scotland and so I decided the journey would be an escape for just a few days, somewhere which could be close by but which felt like a million miles from real life. The peace, solitude and vastness of the mountainous Scottish landscape fitted with this perfectly. There is something beautiful and calming about the mountains and I felt this created the perfect setting for the visualisation of my concept and would also be a strong source from which to pull my colours, fabrics and general mood of the collection. At first I struggled to work out how to turn these feelings of escape and running away into something tangible. I decided that my collection would be for the woman who wanted to run away. Visualising her and how she felt helped me work out what to create for her. I imagined her need to run away to somewhere totally empty and quiet and her want to be alone. From this I thought of what kind of clothing you would want if you felt like this. Comfort felt like an important element and so I decided I would focus on designing garments which felt this way.
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Searching for visual, secondary research I used my key words from my mind map as search terms. I looked into using weather as an element in my collection. The one area of this research which worked was wind. The images related to wind had a sense of freedom and happiness to them. I did not want to directly use wind in my collection but this made me think of the sensation of exhalation and being able to breathe deeply and freely. This exhalation inspired me to create loose, voluminous garments. I decided to relook at the WGSN mega trends I had researched in summer and noticed correlations between my forming concept and the Elemental trend. WGSN describes the trend as ‘Exploring the elements of nature, it has a solitary, roaming spirit as it moves from the ruggedness of the great outdoors…’. The idea of ‘duvet dressing’ and blankets as design references influenced the way I thought about my designs and how I would incorporate the comfort element of my idea into the garments.
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I researched stories about running away and came across the autobiographical book Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. In the book Strayed decides to embark on a three month long hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, in western North America, when her life begins to fall apart after the death of her mother and her divorce. The setting and mood of the story related perfectly to the atmosphere I wanted to create in my collection.
"Maybe I was more a wid 14
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alone than anyone in the whole de world. Maybe that was okay." 15
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I conducted primary research by visiting different areas of Scotland to photograph the landscape. These photos helped me to choose my colour palette; varying shades of grey coming from the sky and the rocky cliffs, and greens from the plants covering them. I wanted the colours to exude a feeling of calm and felt that sticking with lighter colours achieved this. Texture and feel of the fabric would be an important element in this collection so I chose fabrics with my key points in mind- comfort, warmth, calm. The fabrics also had to be suitable for my chosen market which is mid-level designer. The fabric selection I chose was comprised of mainly wools and chiffons. Wool was chosen for its warmth and natural texture. Next in the research process I looked at the elements of my idea I could use to create surface detail such as print. I first looked at using photo realistic prints to show the landscape but this felt a bit too literal and so I went back again to my mind map. I decided from here to look at maps. I felt maps connected well with the idea of running away and getting lost.
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Concept
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The result of my research into journeys and why we go on them led me to the concept of exhale. Designed for Autumn Winter 16/17, Exhale is inspired by, and created for, our need and desire to escape the stress of everyday life and find a place of solitude to breathe deep and find peace. The Scottish landscape proved to be the perfect place for this journey of escape to begin. Research into the emotions behind this need to escape has influenced every detail of the design process. Comfort, warmth, calm, security, exhalation and a feeling of escape are the key driving points behind this collection. The raw beauty and vastness of the mountains have lent their colour and texture to the fabrics of the garments. A variety of lush greens, calm greys and pure white give the collection a feeling of serenity. This serene colour palette fosters a sense of exhalation and relaxation vital to this concept. Bold chartreuse acts as the focal point for the collection, adding depth. This combined with textile manipulation in the form of elastic sewing creates bold and unique garments perfect for the target market. Small areas of placement print take the form of topographic lines inspired by the undulating hills of the landscape. These small details add interest while retaining the serene and unfussy feeling pertinent to this concept. When analysing what comfort connotes, the importance of lightweight, warm and soft fabric became clear. Comfort is conveyed through fabrics such as wool and the soft delicate feel of lightweight jersey, Cupro and satin. The key elements of warmth can be seen in these fabrics also, with the addition of wadding to create a padded duvet coat. Through silhouette comfort is portrayed as loose, voluminous garments. These garments also illustrate the aspect of exhalation and having room to breathe. The occurrence of wrap details throughout the collection lends itself to the feeling of security. These wrap over or wrap around pieces imitate the feeling of being held close. Influence from trend forecasting can be seen in blanket inspired garments and the worn in textures created by nature. Overall the collection should be an escape for the wearer, a touch of the outdoors and the peace that fresh mountain air creates. With elements of the Scottish landscape influencing this collection it is a tribute to the beautiful landscape without being a stereotypically Scottish inspired collection.
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Design Development
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Relating back to my key words I began designing garments I felt connected with these. I looked at various designers for inspiration for key features I knew I wanted to have in the collection; Ellery and Roksanda for fullness, The Row for simplicity and oversized elements. As previously mentioned, elements of the elemental trend also contributed to design inspiration. Although initially pleased with the majority of my original line up I decided to change and adapt a few garments that were too ‘pretty’. Although my collection is about running away and feeling calm it is not about vulnerability but instead being strong enough to take the time for yourself to relax and be content in solitude. This needed to be reflected more in my line up. Some of the garments felt too simple and under developed so more complex features were added. In outfit one the original jacket was just a wrap with little pattern cutting required. I complicated this by creating a short jacket with a wrap element attached, coming from the sleeves. I added pleats to the wrap elements in the collection to add volume. To incorporate this pleating elsewhere I changed the designs of the trousers in outfits one and four to include pleats down the font of the legs. I wanted the two pairs to be completely different but retain this unifying feature therefore I designed outfit one’s trousers to be wide with lots of fullness, due to large box pleats, and I made outfit four’s trousers have similar box pleats but that tapered back in at the ankle. I think this created a very interesting and unique design. Outfit three in the original line up needed to change as it was too much of an evening look and did not fit with the rest of the collection. I struggled with the redesign of this outfit as I wanted to keep it as a skirt or dress to have a balance in the collection of three trousers and three skirts/dresses. After exploring different designs incorporating fullness I decided to take inspiration from dress five and reinterpret the handkerchief hem skirt, which I loved. This new dress, like outfit five, incorporated two fabrics and helped link in with the newly redesigned sleeves of top one. Another feature of the original line up was the use of a chiffon layer over or under garments to incorporate the idea of seeing and breathing clearly. After reflection these layers seemed unnecessary. This led to using sheer fabric within garments instead. Sheer sleeves were added to top one and the bottom of dress three. The top and skirt of outfit six required changes as the top did not fit with the rest of the collection. The first redesign was unsuccessful as it was too pretty and strayed too far from the key components of the concept. The final design came from taking elements of other garments to create a top that could fit anywhere in the collection. The final stage in the development process was going through the line-up and making sure there were unifying features that made it identifiable as one interchangeable collection.
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Further development came later through fabric changes. The fabrics I intended to use originally were four different colours of wool, satin and chiffon. It was noted that there were too many wools and the fabrics were too similar and not very contemporary. A sheer organza was added in, which has a metallic finish, bringing a contrast to the other matt fabrics. To contemporise the collection technical fabrics were added. These also linked in well with the outdoor aspect of the concept. Waterproof polyester in khaki, grey Ventile - a densely woven 100% cotton waterproof, and a white scuba instantly changed the dynamic of the collection making it more contemporary and stronger. The addition of the khaki waterproof led to the design of an extra jacket to go over the dress in outfit three. Dark khaki Goat suede was brought in later after a redesign through the toiling process which will be discussed in more detail there. The fabrics are very high end and work well with the design to make a strong, contemporary and high-end collection. The order of the final line up has been changed, from those previous, for colour and fabric balance.
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Fabric Manipulation
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Textile Design
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Fabric manipulation was inspired by my research into maps. I wanted the designs to remain clean and unfussy, two elements crucial to the atmosphere of calm. I looked at the various markings on maps and decided to continue the lines that went off the edge of the paper- following the paths and the topographic lines. I loved the interesting shapes the topographic lines made so tried to replicate them in various forms, finally deciding on using clean pen drawings to depict the lines. I also played around with adding ‘journey’ lines through the maps but felt this spoiled the patterns. To add interest, and fit with the Autumn/Winter season, quilting was explored. Topographic patterns were sewn onto fabric backed by wadding. This created an interesting effect but was not quite right so the same pattern was sewn using elastic thread in the bobbin of the sewing machine. This created a very interesting 3D effect where the patterns rose up like the mountains. This manipulation fitted with the concept perfectly and was a good literal representation of the landscape whilst still being conceptual and unique. Different fabrics were used to experiment with the technique and different colours of thread, both matching and contrasting. The final decision was to use the effect with the chartreuse boiled wool and a contrast grey thread to create statement pieces.
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Other fabric manipulation was achieved through the use of needle felting. This technique was inspired by my research into the textures of the landscape which I hoped to recreate. Again different fabrics were used to experiment with the needle felting machine, the ultimate goal was to connect two contrasting fabrics by needle punching. The fabrics that worked best for this technique were the metallic organza and the brushed woven wool. The needle felted section created a raw but beautiful section between the two fabrics. The technique achieved the desired effect of creating something unpredictable and raw like the outdoors.
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Finally print was used to create a clearer image of the topographic maps. As I only wanted small placement prints I explored options including using the heat press for different effects such as foiling, flocking and embossing. Embossing did not work very well; I tried using wire to recreate the lines but the result was messy and childlike. Flocking and foiling were initially of interest to me as they would have created a nice feature but there was no way of making the lines as delicate as I wanted using these techniques. I settled on using the sublimation printer to print my designs on to heat transfer paper which was then placed on top of the fabric and put into the heat press. This enabled me to have complete control over the placement of the prints. The end result created focal points on the garment and added detail without being overly fussy.
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Toilling Prosess
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Outfit One
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Jacket - As previously mentioned in the development section I decided to make the design of this jacket more complicated. My first idea was to create a cape with a combined wrap. I created a cape shape by using the blouse block as starting point and extending the shoulders down over the armholes. I then made a rectangle to be used as the wrap and to be sewn into the side seams. There were various problems with this design – the first being that the wearer had no arm movement when the cape was closed and the second being that it was still too simple. The design changed after this to become a cropped jacket with short sleeves. The pattern for this started with the bodice block as I wanted a close fitting jacket, the shape of which would not be affected by the wrap when it was tied. The wrap section became pleated to add fullness and detail. The first toile worked well and only needed a few adjustments to fit and length. I toiled the bodice again later after deciding to change the darts to princess seams to link in with another garment in the collection. The final toile worked perfectly and was used just to test different finishes to the wrap edges. Top – The pattern for top one started with the blouse block as I did not want it to have any darts. The bodice section was simple but I had to attempt the sleeves multiple times. I wanted the sleeves to have plenty of volume so cut them in half, making the bottom section a large rectangle which I would gather to achieve volume. Elastic was used to create the gathers. This took multiple attempts to get the density of the gathers right. After a few months this design changed slightly and so had to be toiled again. The sleeves were changed to look more contemporary and so lost the gathered section and changed to a more streamlined sleeve that still had volume. This was achieved by slashing and spreading. Trousers - These voluminous pleated trousers began with the basic trouser block. I slashed and spread the block until I got the volume I required and then split them up the middle and added in a box pleat. The first toile was almost perfect with only slight adjustments to fit. The biggest issue I had with these trousers was the hem as they had been slashed and spread so much, and with the added pleat, they were very uneven. It took several attempts to get them perfect.
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Outfit Two
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Dress- As I wanted the dress to be very straight I used the bodice block to get the shape of the top half of the dress, extending it down to the knees to get the desired length. I extended the shoulders down to make small sleeves and added on an oversized grown-on neck. For the skirt section I made a circle skirt pattern but left the hem square to create an uneven edge. I layered two of these pieces on top as I thought this would give me more fullness. The first toile was not very successful. I got my measurements all wrong and the dress and sleeves were much too long and the body too shapeless. The skirt did not need two layers and looked fussy. After this the design changed slightly, losing the sleeves, helping unify it with other garments in the collection. I shortened the top half of the dress and lengthened the bottom section. I only used one circle for the bottom half this time and it worked much better. The grown on neck was widened to make it sit better which eliminated the need for a fastening. The final toile worked perfectly. Jacket – This jacket incorporates an unusual lapel which was the hardest part of the pattern cutting and toiling process. I used the ski jacket block to give dropped shoulders and a loose fit. I slashed and spread the pattern slightly to give it a more A-line shape. The main problems I had were with the lapel and getting the angle, at which it sat, correct and getting the fit right as it was double breasted. The collar took a few attempts to get right as I wanted it to be able to stand up when it was closed. I cut into the collar and added sections until it stood the right way. The sleeves of the jacket were originally bracelet length like those of top six but due to the dropped shoulder I felt they did not work and so decided to use flared sleeves which matched the sleeves of top one. These were made by attaching a circular pattern to a shortened sleeve.
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Outfit Three
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Top – I wanted this garment to be close fitting to the body, to let the fabric manipulation on the sleeves be the focal point. I first toiled using the bodice block with regular bust and waist darts. The fit was not quite right so I toiled again changing the darts to princess seams. I also made one toile using the knitted top block but this was far too tight and restricting, especially as the final fabric only had a slight stretch to it. I also toiled my elastic sewing on the sleeves of this top. I left one sleeve half-finished as I liked the flared effect it gave the bottom, reminiscent of top one and jacket two. Ultimately I decided against this effect and went for the fully manipulated sleeve. Trousers- I started these trousers using the basic trouser block then extended the waist height to create a super high waist. I then split the legs down the middle of the front and back and added a section to create box pleats. The fit of the first toile was not quite right and needed adjustments at the waist. On the second toile different techniques were tried on each leg to get the pleats to sit better. After trying samples on final fabric I decided pressing them would be the best option. The next few toiles were just for small adjustments to get the pleats to sit better. I combatted this by adding into the pleat and adding at side seams of the trousers. The pleats were also extended - sewn from the waist down to the hips and 13cm up from the ankles. Coat- as the coat was an unusual shape I decided to create the pattern by draping. This took a couple of attempts to get right and work out exactly how I would join the pieces. I then took my drape and transferred it to a paper pattern. My first toile was just a single front panel, used to find the desired shape. I cut into this until it sat the way I wanted it to. This toile was almost perfect and just needed a few adjustments to the shape of the neck.
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Outfit Four
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Dress- Again the blouse block was used as I wanted the top half of the dress to be wide. The block was extended down and widened to be more A-line, while the sleeves were narrowed slightly and extended. There are two front panels to the garment, one is plain and the other cut diagonally across the body mimicking the wrap effect in other garments. The skirt follows the same design as that of dress two. Again I overestimated the length I needed and ended up making a floor length dress instead of knee length. This turned out to be a happy accident and I altered the design to be floor length as I preferred this. For the second toile I changed the angle of the diagonal cut to make it more obvious and narrowed the sleeves more. As with dress two, I discarded one layer of the skirt which gave a neater finish.
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Outfit Five
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Top one - this top only needed one toile as it incorporated elements of other garments I had already made. The over-sized grown on neck was the same as dress two and the rounded bottom and back worked perfectly first time. Top two – This top was draped to get the correct angle and placement of the pleats. It took several attempts to get right by gradually adjusting the height, amount and width of the pleats until they sat perfectly. Skirt – The design of this skirt changed as in the first design it had a pleated panel falling from the waist and the rest of the skirt was fitted. This did not work as the pleated panel was too heavy for the light jersey skirt. The final design was kept simple so as not to detract from the statement coat in the outfit. The knitted skirt block was slashed and spread from the hips down to give a lightly flared effect and then cut diagonally to create an uneven hem, similar to the diagonal cut of dress four.
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Coat – The ski jacket block was used for this pattern. It was extended to the floor and slightly widened. The sleeves were extended and a lapel was added. The collar was quite tricky as it was grown. The fall of the collar was not quite right as it stood up and I wanted it to lie flat. To combat this I cut into the neck of the toile until it lay flat and then traced around this new curve of the collar to adjust the pattern and make a second toile. I toiled just the collar at first to check if it was correct and then went on to toile the whole jacket again, this time slashing and spreading more to give a fuller shape and curving the hem up towards the centre to give a waterfall effect.
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Outfit Six
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Culottes- The culottes were at first to be made of boiled wool and have a gathered waist. I started by using the trouser block pattern and shortening it to just below the knee. I then extended outwards from the hips to make a waist large enough to be gathered. Again due to the thickness of the wool the gathered waist had to be achieved by using elastic. The first toile was not gathered enough and so was far too big but the second worked well. After changing the sleeves on top one I decided to change the gathered waist of the culottes as I didn’t have gathering anywhere else in the collection. I also felt the design was not very flattering and needed to be contemporised. I changed the design to a wrap over front with lightly flared legs. I wanted to make the final culottes out of goat suede which limited the amount of volume I could add and also made it necessary to split the legs into two halves, creating a seam on the front and the back. The second toile worked perfectly. Top- The pattern for this top started with the blouse block because I didn’t want any darts. The sleeves were shortened to reach a bracelet length that was unusual and would be a good way to show off the print on the final. The pattern was split diagonally from the neck to the armhole to sandwich in the scarf. The scarf was given three knife pleats to allow it to open up and be very full. The first toile of this worked very well with only adjustments needed to the height of the neck. A later slight adjustment to the design meant another toile to perfect the new rounded and shorter front of the top.
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Final Garment Construction
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Outfit One
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Jacket- The main body of the jacket was full lined. The pleated wrap on the jacket was left raw because as the wrap was sewn into the seams of the sleeves there were too many layers of fabric to add hems or to line. As it was made from boiled wool I knew it would not fray and I felt the raw edges were suitable for my collection as it gave the garments a natural feel. The wool was cut very carefully using a sharp rotary cutter ensuring neat edges. This jacket was quite difficult to make as there were so many layers in the sleeves and I wanted to make sure the pleats matched down the seam but I managed and I am very happy with the finish. Top- Due to the needle-punching on the sleeves of the top I could not fully line it. The solution was to line the bodice and bind the seams of the wool part of the sleeve and French seam the organza section. It was difficult to make these seams match as I had already needlefelted the organza on to the wool before constructing the top. I think overall I was able to achieve a professional finish. Trousers- These were by far the hardest garment to make due to their volume and the difficult fabric. My toiles had been relatively easy to make so I was not expecting these to be too difficult but the satin fabric was very slippery and pulled constantly. This resulted in an uneven hem which I was advised to finish with the rolled-hem machine due to the light weight of the fabric. This caused more problems as the machine spat oil on to the fabric, although I had made sure to clean it before starting. I lined the trousers with the same fabric as the main body to keep the weight and silhouette uninterrupted. Although I had many problems with these I am happy with how they look on the body, they perfectly embody what I my concept is about.
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Outfit Two Jacket – The main body of the jacket was easy to make, I just had to take care with the fabric as any mistakes left holes in the waterproof. The jacket was fully lined to the top half of the sleeves and the bottom flared part was left unlined as I felt this looked better. To finish the sleeve hems I double-turned by half a centimetre to give a neat finish. The hardest part of this garment was the lining which I had a few issues with.
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This dress I found quite easy to make. Like top one I bound the side seams of the dress and then lined until a few centimetres above the organza. The needle-punching, I feel, is very successful and creates a beautiful feature.
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Outfit Three Figure 42
Top- the most time consuming part of this outfit by far was the elastic sewing on the sleeves. This took around 10 hours of sewing but it was worth it because I am very happy with the result. The sleeves are bold and create a statement sticking out from the short sleeved coat. The top was fully lined to cover the elastic stitching. Trousers- The stiff woven wool of these trousers was perfect as it gave the right amount of structure to the pleats. After many adjustments to the pleats in the toiling process, they sit perfectly. They were partially lined to make them more comfortable for the wearer. Coat- Although I used two layers of wadding in the toile of this coat I decided to only use one in the final as the extra wadding made it difficult to move in, heavier for the wearer and hard to go through the machine at the side seams. I am happy with the final result and feel the shape and fit of this garment is exactly what I wanted.
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Outfit Four Dress - this dress was overlocked together because of the jersey fabric. It was relatively easy to put together although I had to be careful not to get the diagonally cut layer trapped in the wrong seams as I had in my toile. I had to change the jersey I was originally using as the one I had hoped to use sold out. The new jersey had a lot more stretch in it and so when I attached the waterproof fabric for the skirt the jersey pulled down with the weight more than I thought it would. It was not drastic though and I do not feel it has had a detrimental effect on the dress as a whole. The dress is paired with jacket two in the photographs.
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Outfit Five Top 1- The scuba top was overlocked together and the bottom hem left raw, as is appropriate with scuba. They were cut very carefully to ensure a high quality finish. Top 2 – This suede top was fully lined to give a clean finish. Although difficult to make, it turned out well. Skirt- The skirt was overlocked together and then a second layer was added, acting as a lining. The hem was then coversitched.
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Jacket – The elastic sewing for this jacket was extremely time consuming, taking well over a week to complete. The jacket was fully lined for a professional finish and I am very pleased with the final outcome because it’s a statement piece that really rounds out the whole collection.
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Unfortunately the coat was not fully finished for the photoshoot and so was draped on the model.
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Outfit Six The scuba top was overlocked together, the same as outfit five, top one. The sleeves and hem of the top were left raw as was the boiled wool scarf, much like the wrap on the jacket in outfit one. The top was finished off with topographic lines printed around the hem of the sleeve. This drew attention to the bracelet length of the sleeve and worked well. Culottes- the suede culottes were easier to construct than I had thought. The glued seams created a very clean finish and the open lining created a professional finish on the inside. The only issue with the suede was that it stretched easily, meaning I had to take care when sewing.
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Reflection...
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Over the course of my final year in fashion I feel I have learned lots of valuable new skills and gained confidence in myself as the semesters have progressed. I learned and utilised new skills and am happy with the textile techniques I used as I have always been interested in textiles and it is something I feel I can take forward into my career now. The collection as a whole perfectly demonstrates my concept and what I wanted it to portray. I feel it shows my style as a designer and is a good reflection of the many different skills I have gained throughout my four years. There have been many ups and downs throughout the year but I feel I can be proud of myself and what I have achieved because I know I have worked as hard as I possibly could have. I think the greatest skill learned and utilised this year was time management. The absence of regular deadlines meant having to work to your own time-constraints, something I usually struggle with as I am such a perfectionist. I feel I still spent more time on certain aspects of the course and could have split my time more evenly but I am happy with the final result of all my hard work.
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Bibliography Figure 1- Savage, A. (2013). Surreal photograph. [image] Available at: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/alicia-savage-morning-light-imagined/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2016]. Figure 2- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Surreal Figure 3-Glen Coe. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://rachapun.tumblr.com/ post/83207358973/glen-coe-scottish-highlands [Accessed 26 Apr. 2016]. (edited by Jennifer Fearn) Figure 4-WGSN. (2015). Elemental A/W 16/17. [online] Available at: https://www-wgsncom.ezproxy1.hw.ac.uk/content/board_viewer/#/56015/page/2 [Accessed 25 Apr. 2016]. Figure 5-Sleet, M. (n.d.). 29. [image] Available at: http://michaelsleet.com/29 [Accessed 25 Apr. 2016]. Figure 6-Wild movie scene. (2016). [image] Available at: http://blog.sinuhexavier.com/image/108184992665 [Accessed 25 Apr. 2016]. Figure 7- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Glencourse Reservoir Figure 8- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 2 Figure 9- Jennifer Fearn (2015) Lineup 1 Figure 10- Jennifer Fearn (2015) Lineup 2 Figure 11- Jennifer Fearn (2016) lineup 3 Figure 12- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Final Fabrics Figure 13- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Final Lineup Figure 14- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Elastic Sewing Figure 15- Jennifer Fearn (2016 Needle Felting Figure 16- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Print Figure 17- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 1 Sketch Figure 18- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 1 Tech Figure 19- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 1 Toiles Figure 20- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 2 sketch Figure 21- Jennifer Fearn (2016) outfit 2 Techs Figure 22- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 2 Toiles Figure 23- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 3 Sketch Figure 24- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 3 Techs Figure 25- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 3 Toiles Figure 26- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 4 Sketch Figure 27- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 4 Techs Figure 28- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 4 Toiles Figure 29- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 5 Sketch Figure 30- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 5 Techs Figure 31- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outift 5 Toiles Figure 32- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 5 jacket Tech Figure 33- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 5 Jacket Toile Figure 34- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 6 Sketch Figure 35- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 6 Techs Figure 36- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Outfit 6 Toiles
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Figure 37- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 1 Woods Figure 38- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 1 Side Figure 39- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 2 Close-up Figure 40- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 2 Dress Bare Figure 41-Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 3 With Coat Figure 42- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 3 Without Coat Figure 43- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 4 Walking Figure 44- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 4 Figure 45- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 5 Open Figure 46- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 5 Wrapped Figure 47- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 6 Close-up Figure 48- Anna Cervinkova (2016) Outfit 6 Figure 49- Jennifer Fearn (2016) Campsie Fells Quote- Strayed, C. (2012). Wild. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
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