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CONTENTS 4-5 / DESIGN BRIEF 6-13 / RESEARCH 14-17 / CONCEPTUALISATION 18-25 / DEVELOPEMENT 26-29 / FINAL DESIGNS 30-33 / MANIPULATION 34-75 / TOILING 76-91 / FINAL COLLECTION 92-97 / STYLING/ SHOOT 98-99 / REFLECTION
Focusing specifically on the journey of gradual loss of vision to the dark world of blindness, my collection is inspired by the traumatic experience of losing sight, the major sense by which we navigate and interact around our world. Concentrating particularly on the emotions experienced by this loss, I plan to create a six piece collection which mimics these experiences and emotions. For Fall/ Winter ‘15/16, I aim to create exaggerated silhouettes which imitate the sensation of isolation and the feeling of being trapped within your own body. The layering of multiple garments will create the effect of details being hidden, and unseen. Like blindness, the clothing will be restricting and at the same time slightly exposing portraying emotions of vulnerability. Large tied knots on some garments will aim to create the sensation of feeling constricted and cut off from everyday life and society. Using fabrics such as chiffon and raincoat plastic layered on top of other garments I hope to create the illusion of what is underneath being blurred and distorted. Arm movement will be restricted in my designs to portray the emotion of losing your independence and relying on those around you to carry out everyday tasks. In a world without sight the sense of touch is heightened and because of this I am including suede embossed in braille and garments also lazer cut in braille, creating texture and pattern to the collection. The slogan ‘All We Have Is Words,’ will be used as the braille throughout the collection as it a bold statement which conveys my theme perfectly and describes the traumatic experiences of now relying on others descriptions of your loved ones, the skyline and even your own reflection. When I asked my nana, who suffers from macular degeneration, what she misses most as her vision has deteriorated she spoke of missing the ever changing skies and beautiful landscapes. The pastel hued, dreamy sky 4
DESIGN BRIEF from where I will pull my collections colours. I created a palette of grey’s, blue’s, lilac’s, purple’s and midnight’s. I choose a muted range as when your are losing your vision colours appear less vibrant and bright. My target market is aimed at 21-40 year olds who have a strong personal style and unafraid to make a statement. They are hard working and passionate for what they believe in. They have a good income which they use to accomplish personal projects and buy garments which show their influential and individual style. Their lifestyle is hectic and they are constantly on the go. They want key pieces in their wardrobe which are bold, wearable, innovative and interchangeable. I choose this age range as my collection is for a high end brand where expensive fabrics and design techniques were used and to afford these garments my market will need a disposable and good income. 5
RESEARCH
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Exploring the five human senses, sight, scent, sound, touch and taste, I began my final collection research. Focusing on how a person may feel having lost one of these senses or being born without one, I wanted to investigate how that individual may feel isolated and dependent on others. Each of the five senses had excessive information and various routes of inspiration to go down. I felt I needed to narrow down my theme to focus upon just one of the human sensations. After asking my peers and researching online, I came to the conclusion that vision would be the most detrimental to lose and began exploring the world of the visually impaired and how the other senses are effected when you lose your sight. In the research stages I usually find images most inspiring. However, due to how conceptual my theme was I struggled to find strong images which conveyed my theme and emotions and drew more inspiration from reading case studies and gaining insight into the traumatic experience by way of interviews and personal stories.
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I explored various themes, intrigued by the world of the visually impaired. Those who are born blind, have no experience of colours, visual dreams, facial expressions or what their own reflection looks like, and those who become blind and lose their ability to dream visually as well as being unable to seeing the world around them. I began to investigate many different themes within vision loss, like blurred images, braille, other senses heightening, and feeling vulnerable and isolated. Nevertheless, I got a bit lost within my research as I was making the theme too broad and general and need to narrow it down. I was finding it difficult to imagine my theme turning into a collection, but loved my inspiration and really wanted to stick with it as I knew if I pushed it far enough I could create something beautiful. I refined my theme to that of the emotions felt by someone when going through the traumatic experience of losing vision and this allowed me to begin to visualise actual garments.
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CONCEPTUALISATION
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With my research adjusted, I created a more refined idea for my collection. I was now exploring when an individual who had good vision slips into the world of blindness and how this makes them feel and the changes the person goes through both physically and mentally. From reading interviews and blogs I gained insight into the traumatic experience of losing not only your vision, but your independency and the ability to see your loved ones. I wanted to create a collection which emphasised on the various emotions felt by the individual whilst losing their vision. The feeling of being trapped, restricted, vulnerable, exposed and completely dependent on others to do the simplest of tasks. Through design details in my collection I wanted to portray these emotions in an innovative and contemporary way. Braille, I find fascinating, the raised texture that allows the blind the read by touch. I wanted to make braille a key feature in my collection to add texture in an innovative and exciting way. As the eye sight worsens, things blur and distort in and out of focus. Object and people do not appear as they truly are and I wanted to replicate this effect in my collection using transparent layering and innovative garments.
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My colour scheme I wanted to keep muted as colours are not vivid and bright when losing sight. I pulled my palette from the pastel and darker hues of the sky, as when I asked my nana and other people what they would miss most if they lost their visions the most frequent answer was that they would miss the beautiful landscapes and changing colours of the skyline. My main colours in my collection being that of muted pastels, midnights, grey’s and purple’s.
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DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
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I began my design development, and I was struggling to get my design ideas to flow and pull concise inspiration from my research. After revisiting my sketchbook I felt much more in touch with my theme, I also looked to other designers for inspiration and found images of garment that had details which inspired me (pages 22 - 23). I experimented with the idea of those losing their sight needing protection so developed various puffer jackets, oversized silhouettes and padded garments. However, I felt using more transparent layering less bulky garments was more effective and developed this idea further. For the emotions of entrapment and restrictions I played around with silhouettes where there were wrapped, knotted and tied elements. I began developing garments where the limbs were restricted from full movement, but still wearable. I also played around which garments not appearing as they should with a skirt looking like a jacket tied around the waist and other design elements like this. I ended up doing pages upon pages of design development until I created a line up I felt was strong, cohesive and portrayed not only my theme well but also depicted my own personal style and fashion handwriting well. Once I had a rough final line up I also had to play around with various colour variations which looked cohesive and fit in with the A/W ‘15/16 season.
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As you can see on these pages, my first line ups were not strong and my ideas and themes were muddled. The designs did not reflect my style, colour palette or theme strongly and looking back on these now I have my final line up I barely recognise them as my designs.
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FINAL DESIGNS
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My final line up I am very happy with I feel the darker colour palette suits my style much more and I feel the looks are all cohesive and interchangeable. The design details within the collection manage to portray the emotions of going blind in an innovative and fashion forward way. The transparent garments portraying the blurring of vision with the use of chiffon and plastic fabrics. The use of the oversized knots and wrap around ties create the idea of being restricted and trapped within your own body. The entrapment of arms in some of the garment convey the lose of independence. Also the low cut garments and the see-through layers convey the emotion of vulnerability and being exposed.
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FABRIC MANIPULATION
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Within my collection I used braille as the inspiration for my fabric manipulation. Using the slogan, ‘All We Have Is Words,’ in braille I am embossing and lazer cutting it onto fabrics. Using the heat press I embossed the braille onto suede creating a texture, also making the slogan readable in braille. This needed several trials to get it right. The first time I tried embossing the leather using beads on the heat press, however they melted onto the fabric causing a stain and melting the beads. I trailed other techniques of trying to emboss but the fabric would melt or the paper would crush underneath leaving an imprint on the suede. I finally found a way using heat press studs to imprint the braille, and by managing the temperature and how long I put the fabric under the heat press to keep it from burning. On crepe I lazer the braille slogan on an entire dress. The holes created in the dress by the lazer cutting also portrayed the emotion of feeling exposed and vulnerable as they expose part of the body. ‘All We Have Is Words,’ the phrase I choose to be the name of my collection and the braille embossed and lazer cut, I feel sums up my entire theme and collection so perfectly. It describes how you have to rely totally on other people descriptions as you lose your sight. All you have left of the visual world you once knew is other peoples words and descriptions. I first came across the phrase in the image on the opposite page and it was one of the most inspiring images I came across during my research.
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TOILING & DEVELOPMENT
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LOOK ONE
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LOOK ONE // V-NECK TOP In this garment I wanted to create a deep exposing V-neck to convey the emotion of feeling vulnerable. Using the women’s size 10 blouse block, as I wanted no darts and a loose shape, I began drafting my pattern. I extended and widened the bottom of the top and by using the cut and spread technique created flared sleeves to match the fluted bottom of the matching lilac trousers. I split the sleeve pattern into 6 sections and spread the pattern open to add 3 cm into each gap. I made the sleeves longer by 20 cm, so they hang over the hand, to portray the idea of your hands being harder to use as you have lost sight. My toile worked out well the first time with only a little adaptation need to the sleeve to create a straighter seam running down the arm. I also tapered the sides in to create a a more dramatic silhouette. I feel like the V-neck is a statement in the top as it is quite low cut. I was worried how the V-neck would turn out once the facing and lining were attached as it is often hard to create a clean pointed V-neck.
LOOK ONE // FLARED TROUSER I began drafting the matching lilac trousers by using the size 10 women’s trousers block. I added 10 cm to the length as I wanted them to fall to the floor when in heels and make the flare more dramatic. I also took in the side of the trousers at the thighs to make them tighter to create a more emphasised and flattering leg. My toile worked out well first time round. I feel like the fit is very flattering with the tight leg falling into a large flare at the bottom of the garment.
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LOOK ONE // SUEDE JACKET This pattern took time to create as I wanted the jacket to look tailored and very professional. Using a tailored jacket block, size 10, I altered it to make it look more like a biker jacker. Adding Princess seams down the front panels to create a more fitted appearance I also added a fold back lapel and collar with a centre front zip to make the jacket more innovative and new. I wanted the back of the jacket to be a bit looser so created a full back panel piece. I drafted the lapel and collar to mimic that of a classic biker jacket. I felt by restricting the embossed braille in certain areas like the cuff, waistband and collar it would keep the jacket a classic piece with innovative and textured details. Working with the pleather for my toile was difficult but I thought it was a good practice run to get me prepared for sewing the suede on the final piece. I trailed out the top stitching of each seam whilst toiling, choosing to do a 0.5cm stitch on either side of the seam to create a clean and high end finish and make the seams lie flat on the garment. I was happy with the toile of suede jacket, the fit was exactly how I wanted, flattering and slighting loose fitted.
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LOOK ONE // TIED SKIRT Using the size 10 skirt block I began drafting this pattern. The style feature on this garment being the huge oversized knot so for the rest of skirt, I drafted a basic mini skirt. I made the length of the skirt 50 cm from the waist down and used the sleeves I drafted for the bottom of look 6 dress as the tied sleeves on this skirt. I attached the sleeves to the side seams of the back skirt pattern piece as it was cut two, however, the front piece was cut on fold so I was unable to fit the sleeves onto the side seams and for it to be able to fit on the fabric. Due to this I created separate pattern pieces for the front sleeve panels. The knot looks like wrapped sleeves. This makes the skirt look like a jumper tied around the waist, the theme of things not appearing as they seam. The toile worked well, only minor adjustments were needed. I liked the fit and the statement of the tied knot at the center front of the skirt. I shortened the skirt by 5 cm as there are trousers going underneath and I thought they would look better with a shorter skirt on top. In the toile fabric the knot did not appear as chunky as I wanted but thought once I tied it in my final fabric of wool it would be bigger and more of a statement.
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LOOK TWO
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LOOK TWO // CHIFFON DRESS I created this maxi dress, by using the size 10 blouse block as my starting place. I elongated the block to make the length of the dress 145 cm, to make the dress able to skim the floor when worn with heels. I also made the sleeves longer and tighter to create a more ruffled effect in the chiffon when worn. I shaped the side seams of the dress to make the dress slightly more fitted and flattering. The fit of the toile was good, the sleeves needed a slight adjustment making them slightly tighter and more fitted. However, I was happy with the length and managed to practice french seaming the chiffon whilst sewing up the toile.
LOOK TWO // BRIEFS I wanted to create big, high waisted briefs to go under the chiffon dress as I feel the wearer will be more confident in a see-through dress when the pants are covering more. Using the small swimsuit block I drafted the pants. I cut the bottom of the swimsuit block off under the waist line and from this created the underwear. I created princess seams down the front of the pants to be cohesive with the princess seams seen throughout the rest of the collection. The toile was fairly quick to sew together using jersey fabric and the four thread overlocker. I was happy with the fit and loved that they were high waisted and they were flattering on the body.
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LOOK TWO // KNOTTED TOP This particular top has changed a lot since originally designed. I find it much harder to drape straight from the stand as I do to work with flat pattern. However, I wanted to challenge and push myself. I began this top by getting the rough shape and drape I wanted directly on the stand, I cut several strips of fabric all 20 cm in width and played around with how the arms would be entrapped in my garment. After draping on the stand I transferred my measurements onto a paper pattern and toiled it. My first toile was too bulky and was not flattering on the body. I had to totally re-pattern my design. By the getting the basic shape of the top I then took this pattern and slashed it open to create a draped and ruffled effect. This cut and slashed pattern is then sewn onto the base pattern to make the top drape sit better. I then re-toiled this top in a thinner more fluid fabric that I thought would sit better on the body. However, it was very complicated to sew and even more complicating to try and put on. I felt it would have very little hanger appeal and was not flattering on the body. Also after my review I realised the top was very draped and I did not have anything of similar design aesthetic to it within my collection. I decided to redesign it completely after helpful comments in the toile review of reincorporating another knotted feature into the collection.
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I started re draping again on the stand creating a simpler shape still entrapping the arm to the side of the body. I created a huge knot sitting on the other side of the body, which is now the statement look in this garment. I wanted the top to cover the chest completely as the dress underneath is sheer. I took the drape from the mannequin to a paper pattern and toiled it. I had to re-toile the top several times until I was totally happy with the drape, I had to figure out how the attach the drape to the base lining in a way that made it sit right on the body. When I finally got the drape correct I was very happy with the top and the statement knot which is very cohesive and innovative in the collection.
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LOOK THREE
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LOOK THREE // THE BRAILLE DRESS I created this garment using the chiffon dress pattern. I wanted the length to be the same as the chiffon dress and wanted no darts in this dress. I curved off the shoulder seams and brought the side seams out by 10 cm to entrap the arms in the garment. I cut out two hand holes in the shape of eyes where the hands can poke out of the dress. I made the turtle neck 25 cm in length. The turtle neck I wanted to be long and scrunch down to create a ruffled effect and keep cohesive throughout the collection. The toile worked out well, as it was quite a shapeless garment however I feel it looked both flattering and innovative. The turtle neck had to be taken in slightly to make it smaller as it appeared too baggy and loose on a neck. The entire front of the dress was to be laser cut in braille, cutting holes in the bottom half of the dress, however, the fabric was placed wrong on the laser cutting machine and cut the pattern out the wrong way. The laser cutting would now be placed from the shoulders down on the dress. Although it was a mistake I feel this laser cutting works much better as it exposes more of the body with the holes, which is in keeping with my theme, and it also looked more conceptual and innovative.
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LOOK FOUR
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LOOK FOUR // TURTLE NECK TOP Using the size 10 blouse block I drafted the pattern. Keeping the top quite fitted I tapered in the side seams. I wanted the sleeves to be able to be scrunched up at the elbows creating the same effect as the high necks in the collection. To achieve this I had to add extra length to the sleeves making them very oversized. I used the same turtle neck pattern as that from the braille dress to keep the design detail cohesive. First I toiled the top in a chiffon as I wanted the garment to be sheer. It was too baggy and not as tight fitting as I wanted it to be. The top also had to be a certain size to get a head into it and it was just too baggy when on around the neck. I made my pattern pieces more fitted and brought the turtle neck in as I was now going to make the garment in a stretch fabric to make it more flattering on the body and allowing the scrunched high neck and sleeves to be more dramatic. I re-toiled it in a stretch fabric and I was very happy with the fit and the drape of the fabric around the neck and elbows.
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LOOK FOUR // TIED DRESS I created this dress by beginning with the size 10 dress block. Using the darts already in the block I cut into them and created panels in the dress running down the princess seams in the front and back pattern pieces. I feel this gives the dress a flattering and feminine touch. I made the dress a midi, to be cohesive with look 6 dress and added ties around the calves to create the idea of restriction and to mimic the ties around the waistband in the trousers on look 5. I created a deep V-neck again to portray the emotion of vulnerability, and to show off the turtle neck top underneath. I decide the use thin straps to hold the dress up to also portray feeling fragile and delicate. The toile worked out well, the fit was bigger than I expected it to be, but felt the bigger shape worked well in the look as the suede skirt pulls in the dress at the waist creating a strong silhouette. The V-neck is very plunging and I did have some difficulties getting it to lie correctly on the body, I tried bringing in the side seams slightly but it just made the ‘V’ too revealing so I stayed with the less fitted silhouette.
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LOOK FOUR // BRAILLE SUEDE SKIRT The size 10 skirt block was where I started with the creation of this pattern. I made it a mini skirt like the skirt in look 1. Using the darts on the block I created panels in the skirt to mimic the princess seams throughout the rest of the collection. I created the opening of the skirt on the left side which would be closed with hook and eyes leaving it open and exposing. I wanted the skirt to be fitted and flattering on the body. The braille would be embossed on the waistband, which took several drafts to get perfect as it was going to be the focal point of the garment. In my first pattern and toile the waistband was too tight making the skirt pull and gather strangely around the waist. I redrafted the waistband by tracing off each of the skirts panels and joined them creating a semi circle shape. After I re-toiled this waistband and made the skirt a little shorter I was happy with the appearance and fit of the skirt. I had to create two side seams on the waistband, however, to make it able to fit on a suede skin.
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LOOK FIVE
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LOOK FIVE // RAINCOAT I used the small ski jacket block as my starting point, as I wanted a dropped shoulder in my design. I extended the length of the jacket to be 104 cm from the shoulder seam, to make the hem of the coat to lie at the knees. I flared out the side seams by 10 cm to create a long and flattering silhouette for the coat. I traced of the same lapel and collar pattern from the suede jacket to keep it cohesive and I feel this tailored jacket detail would be effective on a raincoat. I created a 2 cm button stand on each side of the center front where the poppers would be attached. I created two patch pockets which I thought would look innovative on a see-through raincoat. The toile worked out well I was happy with the oversized fit of the jacket and thought the lapel and collar worked well. I practiced sewing some french seams and binding on plastic before I began my final jacket as I knew it would be a bit of a nightmare to sew.
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LOOK FIVE // TIED TROUSERS The trousers were created using size 10 trouser block. I wanted an extremely high waist on the trousers to make the wrap around ties more effective. I wanted a slight wide leg to the design so brought out the side seams by 10 cm on each side. I traced off the same ties from look 4 dress so they would be able to be wrapped around the body several times and be cohesive. I wanted to incorporate the lazer cut braille into another garment so decided to create a pocket bag on the garment which would include the braille. I created the pocket pattern by tracing off the centre front side seam and attaching to the waist where it will hang down. The toile fit was good. The high waist in the trouser was flattering and although the ties went over the pocket bag and did not allow the hand in easily I feel this fitted in with my theme well. Making the pocket difficult to access and restricting the hand.
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LOOK FIVE // BODICE This was my first pattern and toile I did, and it needed several remakes. Using the small swimsuit block I began drafting my pattern. To create the arm entrapment pieces in the garment I took the side seams out by 10 cm each side and curved them up to the shoulders. I brought the neckline up to sit tightly to the neck as there was cut outs I did not want the neck line to be exposing. I created the cut outs measuring where the waist was and creating the shape of the cut out falling to the hip. I wanted the cut outs to mimic the same eye ball shape cut outs in the look 3 dress. My first toile worked well but the shoulder seam was sitting baggy so I pinned the excess away on the toile, traced it off and removed it on the pattern. This created a more curved seam on the shoulder so I re-toiled. On the second toile the shoulder curve was still sitting strangely again so I smoothed off the curve further and the bodice now fit perfectly on the shoulder and the rest of the body. I also had the make the neckline slightly bigger to fit over a human head.
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LOOK SIX
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LOOK SIX // KNOTTED DRESS I began creating this dress by first creating the bottom layer first. Using the size 12 dress block I added 26 cm to the length of the front and back panels of the dress. I also removed the center darts from both front and back as I wanted no visible darts in the design. I used the size 12 block and added 3 cm to each waist seam to create an oversized shape. For the sleeve I made the length 96 cm to make it more oversized, I then traced off the sleeve for the bottom of the dress, where they would be attached to the side seams. I made the sleeves at the bottom 85 cm in length on the front and back to create the bulky knot at the front. I opened up the neck hole to make it bigger so a head would be able to get in without the need of a zip. For the top layer with raglan sleeve, I drafted the pattern by using the top part of the same dress block. I closed off the darts and created the raglan sleeve using the guide in the Winifred Aldrich book, I kept the same length as the other sleeve. I then drafted a grow on turtle neck which was the same size as the others in the collection.
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I toiled my dress and I was happy with how the fit and the knot turned out. Adjustments were needed on the sleeves and the curved hem of the top. The normal sleeve was much tighter than the raglan and the difference was very noticeable. I dropped the armhole down by 12 cm and added 6 cm to each side of the sleeve to make it baggier and more ruffled. The curved hem needed to be taken up by 5 cm to make more of the dress underneath on show. The second toile worked out much better the sleeves looked much more cohesive and were sitting better and the neck scrunched down matched the scrunched up sleeves.
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FINAL GARMENTS
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LOOK ONE// V-NECK TOP I finished this top by french seaming as the fabric was silky on the inside, and lining the top from the neck down so the V-neck would lie nicely on the chest. I also under stitched the lining around the neck line to stop the lining from flipping outwards. I left the sleeves unlined as you get a flash of shiny fabric when the sleeve slips backwards. I finished off the hems with a neat pin hem. FLARED TROUSERS The lilac trousers I sewed together using french seams down the side seams as the fabric feels luxurious against the skin and this is a high end finish. I used the invisible hem machine to hem the bottom to create a neat flare and added a waistband and invisible zip running down center back. SUEDE JACKET Suede jacket I sewed together using the lockstitch machine and top stitching each seam flat at 0.5cm. This was an effective design detail and finish. I lined the jacket and faced the lapel, finishing the jacket off with a braille embossed waistband and cuffs which I closed using silver poppers. TIED SKIRT The skirt I sewed together using the lockstitch machine and finishing the seams using the overlocker. I finished off the hem and knotted sleeves with the invisible hem machine and the drop lining, in contrast lilac colour, I attached to the waist facing. Invisible zip closing the garment at the center back.
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LOOK TWO// CHIFFON DRESS This dress was the first final garment I began. The fabric was a bit of a nightmare to work with but I managed to french seam the entire dress. I unfortunately cut one of my sleeves wrong and had to unpick the french seaming and attach a new, correct sleeve. I finished off the neckline, sleeves and hem with neat pin hems. I also had to pin hem each side of the seam where the zip was getting sewn in at center back to create a high end finish. BRIEFS The briefs I sewed together using the 4-thread overlocker to allow the garment to stretch and be pulled on. I finished off the waist and leg seams by binding them using the stretch binding machine to create a neat and professional finish. KNOTTED TOP I sewed together this top by using a bagging out technique. I finished the inside seams by using the lockstitch, overlocking them and then under stitching to get the top to lie correctly, as the top layer was baggy and this allowed it to drape on the body. I finished off the side seams, at the left side, using a neat french seam. The tied knot was finished using a pin hem.
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LOOK THREE// THE BRAILLE DRESS As this dress was lazer cut incorrectly sewing some of the seams together was a bit of a nightmare due to the holes, however I managed to finish off my seams using the lockstitch and overlocker machine. I under stitched the side seams flat as I did not want the overlocking to be visible through the holes in the dress. For the neckline I created a facing so that no seams would be exposed if the turtle neck ruffled down. The hand holes I finished using bias binding of the same fabric and sewing it on with the bias binding machine. The hem of the dress I finished with a neat pin hem, cohesive with the rest of my collection.
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LOOK FOUR// TURTLE NECK TOP The turtle neck I sewed together using the 4-thread overlocker as the powermesh is stretchy. Using the twin hem machine I finished the hems and left the neck seam raw as it will not fray and any other finish would look strange on the neckline. TIED DRESS The dress I sewed together using french seams; to create a stiff seam. I bagged out the ties and attached them at the side seams. I used thin suede straps to tie in with the suede skirt in this look, which I sandwiched into the facing and dress. I used a facing and drop lining in this dress to create a high end finish and to get the ‘V’ neck to lie correctly. The fabric pressed very well so felt it was unnecessary to under stitch the facing. The hem I finished using the invisible hem machine, the lining hem I pin hemmed. I used a navy lining to tie in with the other navy looks in the collection. BRAILLE SUEDE SKIRT I used similar finishes to the suede jacket on this look. I topstitched each seam down at 0.5cm to get them to lie flat. I left the hem, the opening seams and waistband raw as I liked this as a detail. The waistband I embossed with braille and fastened the skirt using silver hook and eye to keep one side of the body exposed and open. I used a drop lining in this look which I finished using the lockstitch and overlocker machine and hemmed it with a neat pin hem.
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LOOK FIVE// RAINCOAT The raincoat I sewed together using french seams and binding, made of the same plastic. It was a bit of a nightmare to sew and getting the patch pockets on was near impossible. I finished the hems with neat pin hems and bagged out the collar. Attached silver poppers as the fastening. TIED TROUSERS The trousers I sewed together using the lockstitch and overlocker machine. I bagged out the ties and attached at the side seams again. I created the pocket bag using the blue chiffon as a lining which was quite tricky to sew together using french seams. I faced the waistband and unfortunately due to the pocket bag being attached the facing was quite bulky at parts. I finished off the hems using the blind hem machine. BODICE Bodice I sewed together using the 4-thread overlocker and finished off the raw edges using binding, sewn with the stretch binding machine. I used silver poppers as the fastening at the bottom.
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LOOK SIX// KNOTTED DRESS The dress I sewed together using the lockstitch and overlocker machine. I sewed the outer dress together first, finishing off the hems and tied sleeves using the invisible hem machine. I had to sew together the lining before I could finish the outer dress as the lining and dress were sewn on in various stages. The dress and the drop dress lining were sewn together with the facing attaching at the neckline and the armhole where the raglan sleeve would be. The raglan sleeve top and lining were attached at the turtle neck and at the sleeve hem. Before the whole garment was finished by the attachment of the other sleeve. This was one of the most time consuming things to sew as I did not realise that when a garment is asymmetrical the lining pattern needs to be flipped when you are cutting it. This meant I had to re-cut and sew the raglan top again but I was very happy with it when it turned out correctly. I used the same lilac lining fabric as the grey wool skirt to keep the looks cohesive.
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I found it so rewarding to see my garments come together in their final fabrics after seeing them only in toile fabric. Some fabrics were a bit of a nightmare to sew and I learnt a lot about how to finish a garment properly and to a high standard. I realised through the process how important it was to think everything through before starting the garments. I also learnt how using high quality and high end looking fabrics can totally change the appearance of a collection and are more of a pleasure to work with. However, when you have the perfect fabric in your mind and are running around London trying to find it is not so fun. But it was a real learning experience about fabric sourcing and awareness when fabric shopping in London and feel I ended up with beautiful, innovative and cohesive fabrics in the end. When I was finishing all my garments I began to get a bit worried about seeing all the outfits and looks together and it was not until the day of my walkthrough when I finally saw everything come together. It was both wonderful, weird and very overwhelming to see a something you have been working on so long finally come together.
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STYLING/SHOOT IDEAS
On the next few pages are ideas for locations, styling ideas and poses for my graduate collection photoshoot. As the theme is blindness I felt any outside location would not fit in with the inspiration. I wanted it more striped back. I decided on the ECA studio where its a white back drop and you can use your own props and make your own background. I decide to create props such as transparent sheets and pyrex boxes for the shoot which would make the pictures more interesting and innovative. For make-up and hair I wanted a look which was both natural and edgy, which suited the aesthetic of my collection. My model has strong brows so I want to emphasis these and keep the rest of the make-up dewy and stripped back. The hair i gelled back into a fierce middle parting which I played with in different styles. I shot the looks as seen in my line up and styled different possible looks as I wanted the garments to be interchangeable. It was very rewarding to see my clothes on a styled and professional model.
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POSES
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LOCATIONS
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MAKE UP /HAIR IDEAS 96
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REFLECTION
In reflection I cannot quite believe how far I have come with my collection and my own personal aesthetic as a designer from the beginning of the year to now. I feel I have developed so much and learnt so much as a designer and as a pattern cutter. Although the whole process has been a stressful one I have enjoyed it and feel I will never have this freedom again in my life to spend a whole year creating a collection with is totally me and my style. I wonder how different my collection would have been if I did not have my tutors and peers there to advise me and give me constructive criticism along the way. I feel my collection would be completely different to how it is now. I am very happy with how my collection turned out, I feel it portrays my aesthetic, theme and skills in both an innovative and fashion forward way. Of course there would be slight changes I would make to my process and time management if I was to do it all again but overall I feel I worked constantly and really pushed myself as a designer trying to work as independently as I could and trying to explore my own design aesthetic and style and much as I could.
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