Report Spring 15

SPRING 15 COLLECTION

BY TEODORA CUCU

REPORT TEKO 2014

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CONTENT 5.abstract thesis executive summary

7. introduction about

8.problem formulation 9. golden cirlce | 15. design dna

24.collection 25. concept | 26. inspiration | 27. process | 27. fabrics | 28. knitting | 29. dyeing | 32. colors | 32. design development | 34. manufacturing | 36. accsessories

37.competitors market

38.conclusion 40.reference

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A B ST R AC T Currently the approaches on conscious design are limiting most designers creatively.

This thesis looks at a balanced design approach and research into environmental friendly aspects of fashion designing.

Another aim is to discover the personal design identity and focus on rising my conscious way of designing through experimenting with fabrics, dyes, knitting, through a RTW Spring collection for both men and women, due to the love of designing for both genders.

During the process, it has been made research on natural fabrics, dyes and knitting techniques, and been chosen ones fitting my inspiration and design aesthetics.

Throughout the collection development and sketching I have had a strong focus on different designing methods, taking further 3d sketching, with focus on layering, cuts and a strong personal inspiration.

Moreover, in order to discover myself as a designer and potential brand, I have shortly used The Golden Circle and a deep Design DNA analysis as methods.

The outcome stands as a personal collection presented through process book with strong visuals, collection development, textile research, look-book and final garments.

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INTRODUCTION During my education at Teko I have had the opportunity to create collections for different international and national brands, as well as working for/ and in collaboration with brands.

This has made me gather most of the knowledge needed about the fashion industry and what I would like to change about it.

Having the opportunity to create a personal collection that describes my personality and my beliefs, makes me question how I can be appreciated by the people with similar visions and values as mine. How I can be innovative through a concept that gives me end-

less design possibilities instead of through a seasonal inspiration.

Discovering my potential as a fashion designer will answer the question of who I am and who I can strive to surpass, instead of who I want to be and whom I want to compete with.

The work described in this thesis will show my approach on how to represent my unique personality. This will be achieved through my knowledge background and previous experiences, which will allow me to discover the techniques I can work best with and my potential for future innovation.

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PROBLEM STATEM EN T

Wishing to make myself fully aware of my designing style and aesthetics, I firstly need to find out who I am as a designer, what my believes are regarding fashion and how I can show clearly my vision through my collection.

Further I will be focusing on analyzing myself and my design aesthetics.

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How can my beliefs be shown through my collection?

What are my beliefs/values/mission/vision?

What is my design DNA? How does the outcome/final collection describe best my personality?

GOLDEN CIR LE

Golden circle is all about making a statement plausible, while advising to firstly sate the reason of your creation, then the process of it and in the end the product.

Although being a business oriented method, I find it relevant to fashion designing process; therefore it will help get my message across easily, reveal important characteristics about myself that transpose into my design aesthetics.

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WHY Born and raised in a certainly not wealthy but endlessly loving family, I have learned to be humble and share.

My background in mathematics and informatics A level has shaped me into a calculated child at the time, but my thirst for letting my artistic nature free has always been too strong. Most importantly, made me experience fashion designing fast once I started studying it, and fed my curiosity from creating garments to creating textiles, dyes, prints and patterns. It started while being thought by my father to sow and being inspired by him as he made my clothes as a child.

Having to make something out of nothing, made me value every piece of fabric, reuse other clothes to make mine. This is where my passion for conscious designing has rooted.

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FABRIC OF LIFE Fabric of life has been a very influential project that shaped my current design aesthetics of today.

Meant to be a trend forecasting project, it made me research deeply into the way I visualize future fashion and serves today as a clear understanding of my mission and vision.

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DESIGN DNA

Taking a step further into analyzing my design universe, I will be starting Design DNA review.

My design DNA analysis is based on most collections and garments I have made so far, independent collections and inspirations I have had. There are collections made for other brands taken in consideration, while they moreover help me discover how strong I maintain my aesthetics while creating under restrictions.

The brands chosen for some collections are showing the market I am trying to hit, or the competitors I would like to have. Creating a personal collection will reveal my real competitors as my inspiration is everything striclty related to my personality and what I am always inspired by.

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INSPIRATION WOMENSWEAR 16

INSPIRATION MENSWEAR 17

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PRODUCT

USER

Values Pushing the boundaries of creating silhouettes and volume

Emotional

Technical: Manipulating fabrics Utility: Exploring the form and function of design.

Look: relevant make up and style - natural Colors White, black, gray, navy, metalic, mustard, violet Pastels: nude scales, grayscales, blue scales.

Fabrics: organic cottons and jerseys, suede, silk, leather, wool, linen, velvet, viscose, velvet, lace.

Symbolic: Name tag labels Each collection varies between 10 to 12 looks

F Comfortable Powerfull Real

pastels

M Strong Masculine Proper

Culture

textures

Personality: Composed A reinterpreted classic Confident Fun loving Social active darks

whites

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Analyzing briefly the overview of my manufactured items and line up, as a conclusion, there are obvious details that makes the style unique and recognizable: contradiction in color and fabric combinations rich textures in fabrics as fabric manipulations asymmetry unconventional fabric combinations modeling silhouettes slim silhouettes stand out pieces(velvet lingerie, wing sleeve blouse) rich fabrics(wool,silk 100%) handcrafting ( pulled out threads and raw edges, pleating, draping) classic silhouettes once piece styles, urban looks mysterious looks.

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SPR I NG15 C OL L E C T ION

Spring 15 is a wearable collection based on conceptual approach, where the visuals are influenced by the fun process and balanced aesthetics.

Aiming to obtain a coherent whole by using opposite edges and contradiction, I am creating clothes meant to be worn, but with an edge. There is a mixed collection for men and women, that plays with knitting methods and fabric combinations, the point where art and design meets.

Target group Creating for those who looking sharp and being comfortable have always been an issue. For those who feel that peripatetic culture has become an intrinsic part of our life and it is changing modern society. People aiming for refinement and subtle elegance, lovers of tradition transposed to a modern look, the ones that appreciate hand work and uniqueness. No age restrictions given by the adequacy of lengths and silhouettes.

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CONCEPT

Spring 15 is pushing my prior boundaries of conscious designing.

The collection is wearable and comfortable with a loose fit. Rich in fabric textures, is giving a great palpable experience and a delightful next to skin sensation. The silhouettes are modeling the body in order to accentuate each gender characteristics, emphasizing the beauty of the human body. Clean cuts and hidden seams are working in contradiction with the raw edges and natural dyed fabrics.

The natural fibers and yarns colors are subtle interrupted by black - a non-color as a non-compromise for the sake of sustainability. Reaching the comfortable balance is clearing the personal human conscious while manufacturing and while wearing, serving also as one delimitation in the process.

Focusing on versatility for piece combination, it is increasing the outfits’ possibilities, and therefore expands the accessibility to multiple personal styles.

Versatility is also aiming to be reached through making clothes that fit different body silhouettes and close size numbers, by using loose fitting and knit.

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INSPIR ATION Strongly believing that in order to create a new and original experience through clothing, it is important to look for inspiration more on the inside than on the outside.

After analyzing my personality through the golden circle, for this project, I have chosen to communicate my aesthetics through putting together only visuals that I have gathered throughout the years, from my childhood, from what I have always been drawn to and what I believe in, in order to reach the original expression mentioned above.

The inspiration stands as my main design DNA, as learning that no matter how I wish to design and visualize what I would like to create, the final is an overview of my background and personality that needs to be set free. Drawn to airy tailoring and comfort, the collection is strongly inspired also by silhouette emphasis.

Flowy fabrics combined with rough textures, layering and the color choices serve as a contradiction that is describing my DNA. Some of the pictures selected for the moodboards have strongly influenced the summer vibe and the looseness. Being taken by myself while traveling, have moreover a bigger impact for my creative process. While traveling from Denmark to Spain have been inspired by the idea of ‘North meeting South’, therefore using old methods of dyeing and knitting with asymmetrical and clean cuts, minimalistic natural whites (gown) and black blocks inserted as panels (shirt).

*VISUALS AND INSPIRATION IN PROCESSBOOK 26

PROCESS

HOW

Starting with abstract painting has set a creative mood and set free my hand to play with fabric dyeing and color combinations. *PAINTINGS CAN BE FOUND THROUGHOUT PROCESSBOOK FABRICS Inspired by the love of being tactile, I have chosen fabrics that are rich in texture.

My research started with natural fibers, choosing to work with Hemp, Linen, Silk, Cotton with Borangic contexture and Cotton.

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Initially, finding Hemp on http://www.hempfabric.co.uk/, I took at notice that the best quality of hemp they are supplied with, is from Romania, therefore I have made research on hemp and other natural fibers in Romania.

Purchasing all the fabrics from Prodin Factory in Romania, known for producing natural fabrics ‘natural fabrics = healthiness’ - http://www.tesaturisanatoase.ro (‘healthyfabrics.ro’).

Contradiction has played again a role into combining the fabrics for the styles, chiffon silk with rough linen has been used as well as slightly rough linen or rough hemp with the soft cotton with borangic.

KNITTING The knitting process has started having prior testing and experimenting. Taking in consideration the conscious designing, knitting has played an important role for my concept. For the final, I have been choosing a natural looking fiber, in order to help communicating my concept into the final product clearer.

Being a tubular knitted yarn already itself, is increasing the elasticity which is adding to my versatility concept of fitting and sizes. Using knit has forced the handwork for tree of the collection pieces, while hand sowing has made possible to put safely pieces together and make finishes.

The knit methods have been : simple stitch knit, using no pattern card, on different tensions, and Flat Knitting Machine, Stoll CMS 303 making, with gouge 5, type 323, width 1270 mm 50 inches, 3 numbers of fees.

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*The process book is provided with all the samples that I have made at Teko.

DYEING Using natural dyes has been the first thought while being environmental friendly and being inspired by cultures and tradition worldwide.

Inspired by how leaves are staining the concrete, I have realized that I am surrounded by pigments in my daily life.

Making research on color and what I can use in order to follow my color inspiration, I have read and taken notes from ‘Farver af Planter’ by Esther Nielsen, which is given information about fixators and pigments for linen, cotton, wool and silk.

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Also visiting Godsbanen fabric dyeing atelier in Aarhus, gave me more techniques to try for prints and advice on what natural dyes I can use and how to provide and maintain them till usage in case of they can no longer be found in nature due to seasonal weather.

My dyeing process started with preparing the fabrics by washing them well with homemade soap (to keep the sustainable approach where possible).

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After washing the fabrics, left wet, they need to be left in fixator for at least an hour. Fixator used for fruits is salt and for plants, vinegar. Using dried fruits and leaves, I have placed my fabrics only in vinegar.

For a more personal approach I have also tried to dye yarn prior to knitting, but have not succeeded due to its tangling.

After fixing, fabrics must be abundantly cleansed with cold water.

Silk (used for the dress) Aiming for a non uniform dye and a print effect, I have placed my pigments (rose petals, leaves, rosehip, seabuckthorn, parsley, chrysanthemum flowers) and layered my silk, sink it in boiled water and let it to dry over the night. After being stained, I have rolled it, tied it and dried it on intense heat (on the radiator) over night. The last step has been boiling the fabric again for an hour to fixate the colors and then dried again.

Cotton with borangic (Lining for hemp jacket) Coffee dye with seabuckthorn After the same fixating procedure, I have started boiling coffee into a big pot,placing in my fabric while still wet after vinegar cleansing, adding more coffee meanwhile. Planning to obtain a pale tone, have only boiled it for approximately an hour until I reached a slightly darker color than I wanted, after intense washing it can loose a tone or two. *SAMPLES AND VISUALS IN PROCESSBOOK 31

COLORS The natural color palette has been forced by the natural yarns and natural fabrics, together with the natural color of the chosen yarn. Black is playing the role of breaking the palette, aiming to add a touch of its own characteristics as a non-color: elegance, power, mystery. As a rule breaker that enriches the balance in my looks.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Always being drawn to geometrical shapes to start with, in sketching, have chosen multiple geometrical forms, layered pictures, industrial, interior and architectural designs and perspectives; as well as the asymmetrical shapes in earth stones as adding a natural element that I have been very inspired by since my research for stones and their colors at ‘Natural History Museum’ of London.

Started with 3d and layering digital sketching and tracing followed by overview design development and final pieces design development.

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*find more in processbook under design development

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MANUFACTURING Drawing, draping, knitting have been all inspired my aesthetics. The concept and my DNA have influenced my detail choices and finishes. Involving handwork and hand sowing have thought me to be patient and added value and uniqueness to my pieces.

Womenswear Silk and linen dress- had draping as a basis for placing the silk, placing the silk to emphasize the prints and the feminine shilouette while in movement. The panels of silk have raw edges and are natural dyed, as well as the panel surrounding the bust area, where added the linen panel to support the breast line. The upper part is geometrical and bold in contrast with the raw dyed organza.

Knitted dress has front and back graduated lengths of thread pannels sown. I have covered buttons in the knitted fabric. The hems are rolled to create volume, and handsown.

Knitted shorts are handsown, with a different knit tension panel on the front, closure by braided lace.

The vest has been made in slightly lighter linen than the dress, fused and with a cotton –borangic lining. The front opening emphasis the thread panels and the cut on the back is revealing them as well.

The rich textured cotton jacket has a strategic closing mechanism that holds together the front piece and follows the geometrical lines. With a raw edge attached panel on the right front piece, that adds continuity to the thread used for closing. The subtle volume on the sleeves is cut in by pleats and geometrical cut-in above the cuff. As trimmings: Buttons are covered in the same fabric.

Black linen trousers with front pleats and long darts on the back, are aiming to serve as a classic piece that balances the attention on the outfit. *LOOKBOOK PROVIDED WITH PICTURES OF FINAL GARMENTS 34

Menswear The hemp jacket has airy tailoring. Fusing and strongholds out of hemp, and a coffee dyed cotton-borangic lining. With drop shoulders and increased sleeve volume, is aiming to serve as an oversized jacket as well, apart from the suit with the lapel look.

Knitted sweater has a geometrical block shape, rolled and handsown neckline.

Hemp trousers are manufactured with an airy tailored look. On the other hand, a raw image is given by the extra long pocket bags hanging.

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ACCESSORIES The round coconut shell plates have been braided together to maintain the geometrical shape that has been used for inspiration for the garments as well.

The wool handmade tie has been died with coffee (brown shades) and sea buckthorn (orange shades).

PHOTOSHOOT has taken place in Romania at BelAmi photography, with the help of Ileana Greavu as photographer and Laurentiu Stan as backstahe photographer, Andrada Neagu and Radu Sabados as models.

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COMPETITOR S After having an overview of the collection and my design aesthetics and identity, it can be taken a further look on who I can compete with and fight to surpass. As a future possible brand, finding my competitors, places me also on the fashion market and helps me enter and meet my niche.

Adrian Oianu – for texture and traditional designing. http://www.adrianoianu.com/ Mina+Olya – for sustainable designing with a classic, clean look and subtle tailoring http://minaolya. com/ Svilu – for thoughtful design and environmentally sensitive fabrics utilized whenever possible http:// svilu.com/sustainability.html Ana Livini – for tradition and sustainability and knitting http://analivni.com/SLOWfashion/philosophy.html As an artist, my mission is to stand out through my personal inspiration and process, which can make my designs enlarge the environmental friendly customer niche.

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CONCLUSION

W H AT

In conclusion my beliefs of consciously creating wearable clothing are clearly communicated by traditional touches as in hand dyeing using natural dyes and methods, handwork, classic pieces, color pallets and accessories.

The parameters brought through my designs are aiming to model a new vision upon modernism in fashion, as well as a new perspective of conscious design wear.

Conceptual by being worked through, from research and tests and visionary by a personal background inspiration - the collection is offering a blend of social adequacy and mobility, freedom of movement and freedom of conscious. Not only the fabric and manufacturing brings a slightly environmental friendly contextualization, but also the belief in expressing and transforming into a better self.

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R EFER ENCES

Golden circle: http://www.slideshare.net/ohmgrrl/sinekexpand1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Tw0PGcyN0 Dyeing book ‘Farver af Planter’ by Esther Nielsen Aarhus Kommune Biblioteker https://www.aakb. dk/ting/object/775100%3A05981182/query%3Afarver%20af%20planter%3Bentry%3A1 Fabric charts information : Nike Making App http://nikemakers.com/

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