Unit X | Starting to Design

This week we started to take our ideas and turn them into actual designs. Me and Pipp are used to just sampling fabrics and materials, so this is another step further for us. I have previously experimented with placing prints onto very plain and basic garments however I haven't yet designed my own in such detail.

I really enjoyed designing different outfits. I started by drawing templates in order to put in different prints in different places and experiment with placement and tones. During our tutorial with Louise, she told us about range plans and showed us Prada 14 as an example. The collection followed a certain set of trends or elements and injected them into various different garments. For example, they repeatedly used large faces on their designs, imitations of bra shapes on the chest and sports trims. 

I tried to keep this in mind when creating my own designs. I wanted to keep our concept of martial arts in mind at the same time, so I decided to repeat these elements; cross over v-neck, cinching at the waist, culottes, various fabrics wrapped around the body and sheer fabrics. I chose each of these based on martial arts uniforms such as karate jackets and kickboxing shorts.

Unit X | Designer Research

During our tutorial last week Louise suggested that my drawings would work best as a strong placement print. I did some research on designers and placement prints to collect ideas on where and how they might be placed, before I start experimenting with my own designs.

I took a liking to three collections in particular; Tom Ford SS14, Holly Fulton Spring 11 and KENZO SS14.

I like these three collections in particular because of the shapes and drapes of the fabrics. Also, Tom Ford and Kenzo are largely black and white in colour, which makes them really relatable to our work.
Tom ford's collection in particular relates well to my concept of bandages with the lines incorporated in the print. I love the drape in the fabrics Holly Fulton used and the structure of the garments in the KENZO collection.

Summer Inspirations | Part 2

The brief for this summer was to document things such as what you did and where you went, however my summer was rather normal and uninspiring. If I wasn’t at work I was out with my friends, I wish I could have done more activities revolved around Textiles but I just never had the time. I would have loved to go on an inspiring trip abroad however I went to Sunny Beach Bulgaria, and to be brutally honest culture and design was the last thing on my mind. Because of this I chose to focus on my weak points, such as knowledge of various artists and designers. I also wanted to look into pattern and colour because this is a huge part of print design which is the area I intend to specialise in. I feel I have used this summer to successfully broaden my knowledge and pathways and focus in on where I may want to go with my work.

Mary Katrantzou

I found Mary Katrantzou on Pinterest by happy accident and I’m really glad I did. She is a Greek fashion designer and her prints couldn’t be more suited to my interests and the direction I want to go in. They automatically caught my eye and not just the one, after researching her further there isn’t a design of hers I don’t love and wouldn’t wear myself – her SS11 collection is my favourite to date. She even collaborated with Topshop which is really wearable for the general public. Her use of colour fascinates me and I am infatuated with the way she creates prints using different components. She makes use of landscapes and buildings in some of her designs which I have never really been fond of myself but I have begun to see in a changed way. I am much more open and interested in looking at architecture and landscapes now I have seen how it can be changed. I will definitely be using Mary Katrantzou as inspiration many times in the future as I have fallen in love with her work.

I took inspiration from Mary Katrantzou and her SS11 collection by trying the mirror images trend. Over the summer I fell in love with ‘futuristic fashion’ prints, mirrored patterns and repeated images. I have seen this trend all through summer this year, and have purchased clothing myself that follows it. I didn’t have access to Photoshop at home and couldn’t do as much digital work as I would have liked to, however I found an app called ‘Mirrorgram’ which I played on a lot! I managed to come up with some pretty interesting designs using it. My favourites came from edited screenshots of my ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ for ALS. Although I feel I didn’t document my summer properly I’ve realised I have included some aspects of it, even just through trends I have followed and copied.

Unit X | Investigation

Since deciding what my direction is going to be I have been experimenting with colours and patterns.

I started to look at the designs used within typical fairgrounds and circuses. I then wanted to somehow portray this imagery onto animals to put across the idea that they are seen as part of the fairground rather than actual living things. I started with silhouettes because a basic shape is a lot easier to put a pattern onto. I quite like how these turned out, and I really liked the hand painted element.
Although I do really like the silhouettes filled with bright patterns, I also wanted to experiment with more real looking paintings. Bryan Holland paints the animal as it actually looks and turns its surroundings into pattern and imagery. I wanted to try this out for myself.

 

While I was doing some research on Pinterest I found lots of artwork that showed elephants on newspaper and book pages. I really liked how it looked but it also relates to my work, as newspapers were what told people all over the UK that the animals were in Belle Vue to be seen. That's where they were advertised.
I have painted a circus elephant onto newspaper, this time as the elephant actually looks rather than the silhouette filled with a pattern. I found that I really like the texture of the paint on the newspaper, and the finish was lovely. I plan on taking the newspaper idea further in my work.