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PRISMATIC

PROCESS ANALYSIS DOCUMENT Rosalynd E Mair H00129055 Capsule Fashion Collection E19CA Aude Le Guennec BAF3 WORD COUNT:

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CONTENTS

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DESIGN STATEMENT

Design Brief

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Introduction

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Lace Trips

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Lace Research

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Designer Research

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Sensations

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Transparent Layering

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Trend Research

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Design Development

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Print Design

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Construction Process

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Conclusion

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Morton Young and Borland Ltd.

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Beauty By Design

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“Prismatic” is an intuitive garment collection taking inspiration from the sense of sight and the traditional fabric of lace. Focusing on the transparent nature of lace, sheer fabric will be used to represent this aspect of the material. Another common feature of lace, the floral design, is being portrayed through a large, bold print, which transforms this delicate aspect into an exaggerated, contemporary feature. Focusing on the sense of sight, this has been portrayed through bright, neon colours that will stimulate the eye. Layering the transparent fabric over the bright colours will allow splashes of colour to show through, creating contemporary designs and accentuating the revealing properties of lace. The prism, which transforms white light into bold, bright colours has inspired the shape and silhouette of the garments. Geometric shapes and strong angles have been used to represent the shape of the prism and create strong dynamic lines through the cut of the garments, paneling and also through the sharp angles of the floral print on the top chiffon fabric layers. The Spring/Summer 2015 Trend, “Memory” has inspired the simple silhouettes and the reinvention of lace. The bright colours and floral print reflect the bold and dynamic aesthetic to the trend, making my garments eccentric and exciting.

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INTRODUCTION “Prismatic” is an intuitive garment collection taking inspiration from the sense of sight and the traditional fabric of lace. Focusing on certain qualities of the very traditional fabric of lace, such as its transparent nature and floral detailing, I have modernised these aspects to inspire and influence a very contemporary design collection. The sense of sight is being portrayed through strong, bold colours which have been inspired by the prism, which has also been represented through the shape and silhouette of the garments. Sharp angles represent the geometric nature of the prism, not only through the cut of the garments but the geometric floral print which conveys both sight and lace elements. I have chosen to take the delicate, elegant features of lace and transform these aspects into exaggerated contemporary features. The Spring/Summer 2015 Trend, “Memory” has inspired this reinvention of lace as well as the simple silhouettes. The bright colours and floral print reflect the bold and dynamic aesthetic to the trend, making my garments eccentric and exciting.

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LACE TRIPS The trips to Morton Young and Borland Ltd. and the “Beauty by Design” exhibition introduced to two very different sides of lace. At the Morton Young and Borland Ltd. Mill they keep to very traditional methods of manufacture, which allows the lace to be of very high standards with very intricate designs. Seeing how the fabric is produced, was very inspiring and allowed me to truly understand the fabric a lot more, enabling me to expand from these traditions into a new direction. The mill manufactures a large variety of lace from very traditional to contemporary pieces, with the modern, more geometric, pieces catching my interest. I liked the idea of taking this traditional fabric and using it in a contemporary way exploring its versatile nature.

Incorporating lace in to my designs in a modern way may enable them to be contemporary but the inclusion of this fabric will also allow them to contain a unique history and story to them, unlike any other fabric. The “Beauty by Design” exhibition enabled me to see the contemporary side of lace that had captured my interest so prominently. There was a series of jackets on display that were inspired by historic figures such as Mary Queen of Scots, James I and Lady Napier fused with contemporary design. Lace was used as the main feature of the garments and its delicate nature was contrasted by using it to create a strong architectural structure within the garments, especially in the sleeves. All of the jackets were in black, triggering my curiosity and interested into the use of colour within lace. Although both visits were extremely different, I took similar things from them: that lace has a very strong and unique history that adds depth and meaning to the garments it turns into, as well as its versatility into creating traditional and contemporary designs. I liked this reinvention of lace and wanted to explore and continue this transformation of the traditional fabric into modern fashion garments.

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LACE RESEARCH

DESIGNER RESEARCH

When first tackling this project, I began looking into the history of lace to find inspirational images that I found interesting and appealing. After collecting a wide range of images, I began comparing and contrasting them. I found that the majority of garments only used lace as an elegant detailing, which although beautiful and subtle, I felt that such a delicate fabric with elaborate detailing should be at the forefront of the garments as a main feature, rather than a small detail. I also found that the majority of lace was white, creating an innocent and naivety to garments, although sometimes too simple. Occasionally the fabric is dyed black but there was never any strong colour, something that I would have like to have seen, I therefore made note that this was something that I would like to research into. Lace is strongly associated with class and sophistication, which is no surprise for such a delicate and intricate fabric, but I decided that I wanted to see a more bold and exciting edge to it, and decided to research further in this direction.

Looking into modern designers that use lace, such as Alexander McQueen, Roberto Cavalli, Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad, I liked the more confident, modern designs. The lace was used as mainly a prominent feature in the garments, and was often layered over other fabrics to exemplify its transparent features. I liked this translucency of the lace and how layering this delicate fabric can make it strong and bold, and wanted to explore this quality of the fabric. Most of the garments were in black and white, but there were a few that were in bold, bright colours, which I found the most appealing. Often it was black and white lace layered over the colour, a technique that I found very effective. It allowed the lace to be kept traditional, but was injected with a contemporary edge through the layering of vibrant colours. The way the colour shows through the transparent fabric creates a bold depth and excitement to the garments creating dynamic and dramatic pieces. Using this technique would allow me to keep to the traditions of lace while working parallel with modern designs creating contemporary pieces that I strive for.

Also while researching these contemporary designers I found that the lace was mostly of floral designs, so decided to take this element forward into my designs but find a way to modernise this aspect. I decided I wanted to step away from the pretty delicacy of flowers and make them bold and dynamic. In order to combine both of these elements that I wanted to incorporate in my designs, of the bold flowers and transparency of lace, I decided that digitally printing onto sheer fabric would be most effective in creating this affect I desired. It would allow me to take both elements of lace and combine them within the one fabric, creating a bold statement and adding an exciting edge to fashion pieces.

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SENSATIONS

TRANSPARENT LAYERING

Exploring into the idea of sensations, I discovered that, what I believe to be, my most prominent and important sense was sight. Sight is a very powerful and strong sense, and when I think about sight, I think of things that capture the eye. Most eye catching things are bold and colourful, and really stimulate the eye. Vibrant colours really attract my attention, and focusing on this aspect of sight would allow me to combine the coloured lace elements that I liked. I then began researching into how colours are created and the reaction of light, which lead me onto white light and the prism. White light enters the prism and then refracts into bold and bright colours. I also liked the geometric shape of the prism and decided to incorporate this element into my designs through the silhouette and shape of the garments. I also used the angled shape to inspire the contemporary edge I wanted to inject into the floral nature of lace through geometric flowers. Layering sheer fabric with a geometric floral print over bold and bright colours would create interesting and unique designs that combined the elements of both lace and the sense of sight in an effective and contemporary way.

After deciding to focus on the idea of transparent layering I decided to research this concept and how it can be used effectively. The designs that I believed to be the most successful and aesthetically pleasing were the garments that layered light colours on top of dark or bright colours. This created a bold and vibrant look and added a sense of depth to the garments which I found extremely effective. It also assured me in my idea of combining lace properties with the sense of sight. David Koma’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection is a perfect example of combining transparent fabric and bold colours. The extremely effective use of layering of strong prints over vibrant colours hugely inspired me through his bold yet very elegant and feminine looks.

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TREND RESEARCH

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Looking into trend research was my next step after coming up with a strong design concept. I found the Spring/Summer 2015 trend “Memory” best matched my design ideas. It focuses hugely on bold prints and the reinvention of old trends, which I found fitted well with my idea of the modernisation of lace.

Now having a clear and well thought out design concept, I began designing garments based on the decided factors. Focusing on the angled shapes of the prism I created strong silhouettes that replicated this through sharp lines and bold angles. These were to primarily make the under layers to my garments with the top layers taking on the simple silhouettes from the Spring/Summer 2015 trend “Memory”. This created a contrast between both layers through the silhouettes, fabric and colours. I then selected what I believed to be the most successful designs and began experimenting with the application of colour. At first I only applied a single bold colour to each garment and then experimented with different colour combinations. I found that having a variety of bold colours in each garment represent the prism and conveyed the sense of sight most effectively.

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PRINT DESIGN I then began designing the print that would be a key feature on the top layers of the garments in my design collection. Starting by just drawing simple flowers, I then began to develop them into more angular shapes based on the prism. After creating my basic final shape I experimented within this to form different petal designs. I then combined these to create one final print and replicated this on computer software to enable it to be printed on to my chosen fabric, chiffon which has transparent properties effectively conveying my chosen quality of lace.

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CONSTRUCTION PROCESS To start the manufacturing process, I began with making the shorts for outfit 3. After toiling only a few minor amendments were needed, adjusting the length of the shorts to make them shorter was all that was needed. When making the final garment, I lock stitched all seems and then pressed them open and over-locked to create open seems that would fit in with the chosen market and keep a high end appearance. I then began creating the lining; originally I was going to extend the hems to attach to the lining but decided it would work better having the lining open at the bottom. This would allow for easier movement and would be more comfortable preventing seams from splitting when sitting down, therefore had to change pattern and adjust fabric. For the second pair of shorts I followed the same technique at first but these shorts were not going to be lined as they were too short and would look more professional without. I had to pay particular attention when sewing the crotch to make sure all seems were pressed and sewn the right way in order to be comfortable. For the bralettes, I began pinning tape on a mannequin, round the upper chest and breast area, working with the curves and lines of the body. I then drafted my patterns from this and toiled both garments. A few minor adjustments were needed in order to create the desired angle of the designs before production of the final garments. I approached the manufacture of both bralettes in the same way, first selecting the colour order for each panel and then cut out the pieces. I began by sewing all the individual pieces of the outer shell together and then constructed the lining and combined both pieces, ensuring to leave a gap at the bottom for turning inside out. Zips were originally planned as the fastenings to the bralettes but these appeared to bulky and distorted the desired appearance of the garments. I then turned them inside out and hand stitched the holes, followed by attaching hook and eye fastenings. I then began constructing the outer garments made of chiffon, by beginning with the skirt of outfit 3. I lock stitched the seams together followed by cover stitching to finish off the edges neatly, hemmed and then added the coloured waist band. The top was sewn in the same method of using lock and cover stitching. Looking at the garments, it was decided that the blue of the skirt took away from the overall look and lowered the market level of the garments. Also due to the chiffon fabric it had puckered when sewing, so I decided this needed to be corrected. When remaking the skirt a thin strip of fusible was placed on all edges so that when sewn it would make the fabric sturdier and hold the weave in place preventing puckering from occurring, creating a more professional appearance. For the waistband, I decided to use the printed chiffon to match the rest of the skirt, but due to it being a very lightweight fabric it needed to be sewn onto a cream cotton to make it a sturdy and appropriate waistband. I then attached the new waistband to the skirt making it more professional and desirable. Following the same technique of adding fusible around all of the edges before sewing, I constructed the jumpsuit completing the manufacturing process. I believe I tackled the manufacturing process in the most effective and successful way, despite a few issues with the outer garments but this was mainly due to the lightweight chiffon and the fabric properties that made hemming difficult.

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CONCLUSION After researching into the history of lace and combining this with the idea of sensations, I believe I have created very successful and effective designs. Taking inspiration from the transparency of lace and its floral elements and combining this with the sense of sight through bold colours and prismatic shapes, my resulting garments are very contemporary unique pieces, which not only make a strong statement but also are very wearable designs that can be sold at a high-end level. Modernising lace and combining it with contemporary fashion elements has created an innovative and successful design concept, which lead to dynamic and bold designs. I believe I have tackled this project in a creative and intuitive way, producing effective and aesthetically pleasing contemporary pieces.

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MORTON YOUNG & BORLAND LTD. After visiting the Morton Young and Borland Ltd. Mill, I found that heritage is very important when it comes to design. The mill uses very traditional methods to create their lace, and it is this that makes the company so successful. Keeping to traditional methods allows the lace to be of very high standards with very intricate designs. The fashion industry is constantly modernising techniques and machinery which allows the creation of new and innovative designs, but going back to the foundations of the lace industry allows you to truly understand the fabric and then enables you to expand from this into a new direction, creating new techniques and unique designs. Walking round the mill I found it very inspiring.

Seeing how the fabric is actually made and all the processes that go in to the manufacture helps you to understand the fabric a lot more. The mill had an extremely large variety of lace on display from very traditional, to contemporary pieces. Before the visit, I only really thought of lace to be mainly floral, but saw a very large variety of different designs on the visit. The companies more recent designs featured very geometric shapes that I found very inspiring. I like the idea of taking a very traditional method and modernizing it. Many people think of lace as a very old fashioned fabric that is hugely associated with the 1800s, but I like the idea of taking this fabric and using it in a contemporary way, making it differ highly from its associated centuries. Lace is a very versatile fabric which is used in wedding dresses and also everyday wear, and I would like to explore this versatility. The visit to the mill opened my eyes to the large variety of uses that lace has and that it can have many designs, it is an exciting fabric that can be used to create very innovative pieces. Fashion garments made from lace can have very contemporary designs, but the inclusion of this fabric also allows them to contain a unique history and story to them, unlike any other fabric.

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BEAUTY BY DESIGN

REFERENCES

Upon arriving at the “Beauty by Design” exhibition, I was almost underwhelmed at the amount they had on display, but soon realised this was because they were all strong pieces, and a minimalistic approach allowed the focus to be on these pieces. The piece that I found most striking was “Silhouette en Dentelle” by Mal Burkinshaw, situated in the centre of the room. This was a series of 6? jackets, varying in sizes, going from small to large. The whole exhibition focuses on the idea of body shape and addressing the need for diversity in the fashion industry. The varying sizes of jacket show that fashion is for all sizes, and you do not need to conform to one in order to be beautiful. It does not state whether these garments are for males or females, showing that design is not gender specific and that anyone could wear these garments. The designs of the garments were inspired by the paintings in the gallery, representing the development of the perfect body shape through history. Looking at the portraits of Margaret Graham, Lady Napier, Mary Queen of Scots, James VI, James I, Lady Arabella Stuart and Lady Agnes Douglas, Burkinshaw takes inspiration from renaissance fashion and fuses it with contemporary design.

A common factor in all these portraits is the use of lace, which was clearly popular within the aristocracy at this time, therefore the jackets are made out of lace. Collaborating with lace producer Sophia Hallette, the designs show the intricacy and skill that goes into the production of lace. Each garment is made of unique lace creating interesting designs and also silhouettes, as the fabric is used to create structures in the garments, especially in the sleeves. The colour black was chosen as this colour of lace was highly popular at the time, and I believe adds to the diversity of the pieces keeping them gender neutral. Overall, I believe that these jackets are all very strong designs, which could be displayed as individual pieces rather than a collective. By showing them as one piece, the concept of diversity is shown. All pieces could be high fashion pieces, that could be easily worn by both male and female, creating the idea of gender neutral fashion pieces. The fashion industry is extremely centered around gender, but more and more these days it is common for girls to wear guys clothing, such as shirts and jumpers, but Burkinshaw has shown this in a highly contemporary and successful way, creating garments that can fit both body types with the design and colour of all garments also being gender neutral. The varying sizes of the designs, going from a lot smaller than what to you would see on the typical highstreet, to a lot bigger, shows that you do not need to conform to the fashion industry’s standard sizes. The use of intricate detailing also brings a bit of history to these contemporary pieces, creating overall, very strong and unique fashion pieces.

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