Auntie Fadol

WEEK 10 : The collection

21:03

I worked together with my group members in developing this collection and I have seen other group's presentation. I was very impressed by them as I could see how well-planned and thought out their garments were. I took notes as my own personal reflection as I was looking for my areas to improve.

Reflection

- Before I begin designing, I need to think of what season will I be designing clothes for. For instance, spring/summer or fall/winter.

- Next would be the brief introduction of the concept and theme that I have chosen. The garments that I have designed should reflect the theme and concept.

- Decide on a colour scheme. Colour scheme should also be appropriate for the season. I could visit WGSN to look through all the trending colours.

The picture above is a draft of our collection. We have decided to design a red carpet wear with a little playful twist. A paisley print which would be a printed fabric is the element of fun in our design, added to the elegance of the garment. Hence, we named our collection "Red Carpet Shenanigans".

[Left: Floor length gown] [Right: Above-knee dress]

I have designed a gown and an above knee dress.

The gown on the left is an hourglass silhouette. It has a halter neck collar fringed with ruffles sewn to the printed fabric. There is gathers at the waist and the length of the gown falls to the ground with a train at the back. The front of the skirt opens up to reveal the model's long legs The hem is extended with a sheer accent fabric. The model is accessorized with a pair of triangular gold metal earrings, a gold metal arm cuff bracelet, a pair of gloves, a gold metal leather belt and lastly a pair of olive green heeled boots.

The detail that was used in this garment were flounces, which were inspired from Gucci's floral printed suit from Paragon.

The long sleeved dress on the right falls above the knee of the model and it originally has a tent silhouette. The dress is a combination of the plain fabric and the printed fabric sewn together. It has funnel collar and the sheer accent knife pleats at the hem. The look is completed with a pair of earrings, a belt and a pair of black glossy platform heels.

The details that were used in this garment were the belt, knife pleats and belted cuffs. They were inspired by the details from Gucci's floral printed skirt and Burberry's lace trench coat.

The pictures below are the technical drawing for my garments.

[Technical drawing of the gown.]

[Technical drawing of the above-knee dress]

WEEK 9 : Developing a collection

07:48

Topic of discussion

- Preparing a collection of garments

Objectives

- In your group, each group member is to design two garments and develop a collection as a group

Developing a collection is not that easy. The week before, we were told to design garments as a group and I realized that there is more that to just drawing clothes. Before designing garments and putting together a collection, a designer must arrange a plan and conduct extensive research for the collection to be a success. Key topics arise in developing a collection and they help designers work towards the goal. Such key topics are:

1. Concept and Theme

There is a difference between and concept and theme and both topics sometimes get mixed up. To clarify this, *a concept is defined as an abstract idea and it is specific while *a theme is a specific subject or idea that recurs in a particular piece of work and it includes various ideas.

Examples : Concept - Sci-fi

Themes - Space, robotics, technology

Concept - Nature

Themes - Floral(plants), animal prints, texture, habitats, wild-life

When visualizing a concept, I need to ask myself whether the concept is good or bad in terms of how I look at it and how deep I can get into the subject.

2. Selling points

A unique selling point makes my design different and sets me apart from my competitors. I can always follow up a trend but that does not mean I have to copy everything as there would be nothing different in my designs. Looking at the season may also help me in designing the type of clothes that suits the weather. Other matters to note are the functionality of my design and how is it wearable.

3. Target market/consumer target

Decide who my target market would be or to which group of people do my designs cater for.

Why is it important? - Through target market analysation, I would be able to attain customers effectively and keep them interested in my designs. It also guides me to serve target customer's needs and expectations, arrange promotions or marketing plans to attract my target age group and assists me on where I should find or how to reach to my customers.

A proper design research is highly crucial why it matters because I should always design garments based on facts and not assumption. One of many ways to produce a good design is to detect the problems and solve them myself. Lastly, I have to analyse my competitors to realize who my main competitors are and who I am dealing with. By conducting competitors' analysis, I would have insights to the latest trend and by that, I could create a similar design that is already on the market but make it unique in my own way.

Source

* - http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-concept-and-vs-theme/

WEEK 8 : Creating garments

08:35

Assignment

* Details that you have identified from the garments that you had found during the trip to Paragon, create your own garment and apply the details to your own.

This week, we were instructed to create our own design based on the details that we had identified from the high-end brand garments from Paragon. Below are my fashion illustrations:

This look is inspired by minimalism and menswear. The design finished off as a simple and clean image but I made it unique by manipulating fabric and adding layers. The top is a turtleneck with elbow-length sleeves that ends with knife pleats. A belt is sewn onto the top to create a division between the upper and lower part of the top. The bottom is a combination of a knee-length pants and a pencil skirt.

Details

Top - Belt (Burberry), Knife pleats (Gucci)

Bottom - Vertical pockets (MIUMIU)

The second design is also inspired by menswear with a feminine touch. The top is a military-inspired fitted double breasted jacket. I added details such as epaulettes, ruffles at the sides of the jacket and belted cuffs. Part of the epaulettes are embellished with crystals to add elegance to the look. The bottom is a simple palazzo pants with a yoke in comparison to the jacket to create a balance.

Details

Top - Epaulettes (Burberry), Belted cuffs (Burberry), Double breasted jacket with lapel (Burberry), crystal embellishments (MIUMIU)

WEEK 7 : Blog evaluation

08:30

This week, we were each called to the lecturer's desk for a one-to-one blog evaluation session. I have written down a list of comments that I had received about my blog entries and how I think I can improve to write better and high quality contents.

Criticism

1- The use of slang found in some of my blog entries.

2- No annotations of the pictures or contents that I have put in.

3- Incomplete blog entry

How I can improve on my blog writing

1- Annotate : add notes to (a text or diagram) giving explanation or comment.

When posting up any contents, for instance a picture, I need to explain further what the picture is displaying to clarify the purpose of it being put up.

2- Do not use slang words - They are considered informal and unprofessional. The contents of my blog have to be formal hence the use of proper vocabulary and fashion terms are required.

3- Do not ever plagiarize - Taking someone else's work and making it your own without crediting the owner is accounted as stealing. I am allowed to use the information that I have found on the internet for reference but I still need to give credits to the owner. They have worked hard to research thus I have to make an effort myself.

4- Include the use fashion terminology and identifying fashion details on garments.

WEEK 6 : Presentation day

07:51

Lesson learned

* Details on garments are the main topic and focus.

* Note to always speak with fashion terms and vocabulary that I've collected as it is being professional

* Exercise on promoting a garment to consumers

* Primary and secondary research are important elements to a good presentation

* Teamwork is a sign of good communication among group members

* The difference between high-end brands and low-end brands are the quality of fabric, details, effort and time used into assembling garments together

When presenting....

Don't

1- Read every word that is written on the Powerpoint slides

2- Mumble or speak with a low voice

1- Face the audience you are presenting to

2- Speak with a loud and clear voice and with confidence

3- Have done extensive research as a preparation

WEEK 5 : Exploring details in Paragon

08:10

Objectives
1- Take a trip to Paragon
2- In your own group, locate high-end brand stores and take pictures of garments of your choice
3- Pictures with close-up of it, the brand name, price and material that the garment is made out of has to be presented in powerpoint slides in class

Burberry Lace Trench Coat in Parade Red [SGD 4595]

Material : (Outer) 53% Cotton, 41% Viscose, 6% Polyamide

(Lining) 100% Silk

Details : Epaulettes (an ornamental shoulder piece on an item of clothing, especially on the coat or jacket of a military uniform), lace, belted cuffs, belt, lapel collar, double breasted front

As lace is in trend, it is mainly used for the shell of this jacket. In my opinion, what makes this clothing item extremely costly is the different types of fabrics used, the number of details added to it and the quality of fabric and work put into creating this garment. I like the epaulettes most as I feel that it makes the garment seem classy. Due to the silk lining, it is not recommendable to wear this piece as this material makes you warm.

(Top) Gucci New Flora Silk Jacket [SGD 2190]

Material : 100% silk

Details : Gucci ribbon, flounce sleeves, ruffles

(Bottom) Gucci New Flora Print Skirt [SGD 2350]

Material : 100% silk

Details : knife pleats

This garment is my favourite out of all that I've selected as I love how simple and elegant the pattern of the jacket and skirt is but the floral prints compose the whole look. I've always been attracted to the Victorian era inspired look and I'm interested to work with it. The signature look for the jacket would be the Gucci ribbon and I've notice that it is Gucci's trademark. They didn't forget details as tiny as buttons as I can see that they had put in effort to pick buttons that suit the jacket.

MIU MIU Crystal & stud-embellished leather bomber jacket [SGD 5000>]

Material : Leather

Details : Ruffles, ring zipper, studs, pull up zipper pockets, embroidery on the back

We were drawn to this bomber jacket due to its colour and details that overall gives off a youthful and cheerful appearance. The designer added mini ruffles to the jacket and although not clearly visible, there are crystals and studs embellished onto the jacket giving off a hint of rocker chic. There is also embroidery on the back of the jacket. I discovered that bomber jackets were first worn by Amelia Earhart when she flew across country.

Sketches of the details:

[Fig.1] Gucci jacket and skirt sketch.

[Fig.2] Burberry trench coat sketch.

[Fig.3] MIU MIU bomber jacket sketch.

WEEK 4 : Technical flats

18:47

Topics discussed in class
1- Technical flats
2- Skirts and sleeve lengths

What are technical flats and what purpose does it serve

Technical flats has been mentioned frequently in this module. They are basically the three-dimensional front and back view of a garment as it is laid down and viewed from above. It gives a better understanding of the structure of a garment as well.

How is a technical flat drawn

- A pen or pencil would be used to trace a realistically 8 or 9 head template croquis figure

- the same templates should be used to for all of the drawings for consistency

- A hand drawn technical flat can be drawn larger than the intended scale

- Details like top stitching may be enhanced

- Flats should be drawn with clarity and accuracy

- Flats can be symmetrically drawn by drawing half of the garment, folding the paper over to trace off the other half

My own experience with hand-drawing technical flats

1- Time-consuming
As flats are required to be precise, it took me some time to draw them perfectly. Another wrong line would be erased and re-drawn again.

2- Therapeutic
Though it is slightly challenging and time-consuming, I still enjoyed drawing them.

3- Stimulating
As front view of a garment has already been provided, we were required to imagine what the back view would look like and have it drawn.

[Left] Straight-legged pants. Details: Darts, zipper, slash pockets on the back

[Right] Harem pants. Details: cuffed hem

[Left] Trousers with button. Details: Button, Pockets, Zipper

[Right] Jodhpur pants. Details: Patches, button, zipper

[Top, Left] Pencil skirt. Details: Tiers

[Top, Right] Fixed box pleat skirt. Details: Box pleats

[Bottom, Left] Wrap skirt. Details: Darts, buttons

[Bottom, Right] High-waist flared skirt. Details: yoke, gathers

[Top, Left] Wrap skirt. Details: Dart, button, knife pleats

[Top, Right] Pleated skirt. Details: Knife pleats

[Bottom, Left] Bubble skirt. Details: Gathers

[Bottom, Right] Gathered skirt. Details: Contour waistband, gathers

Sleeve, Skirt, Dress lengths and necklines

[Fig.1] Activity on naming necklines, skirt and sleeve lengths in class.

I browsed through the pages of a book called "Fashionpedia: The visual dictionary on fashion design" by Fashionary and I found an information on skirt and dress lengths. I found that this book is useful for beginners like me as they provide visual information on fashion terminology, fashion items, materials and manufacturing knowledge and all contents related to the fashion industry.