FMP Critical Review

For my project I have looked at and researched into my nan and her past life that she has spent in Bermondsey. ~Looking how Bermondsey has aided her and how they have both grown up together by using the objects and the old photographs that I have found from her flat. These have helped me and my research into discovering her experiences of living in Bermondsey from a young age to her elderly age. Undertaking my Pecha Kucha slide show at the beginning of FMP I feel that I have done exactly what I stated, by using primary and secondary research and having the critical review from other peers. This really did help me to broaden my research by looking at my nan’s clothing, her routines, what she liked doing; this also really helped when it came to creating textiles and prints for my designs.

Going to different exhibitions that don’t really link with my project, but have a small connection, helped me to create more conceptual work that might not look obvious, but that I can relate to my theme. Each exhibition had something that I could develop to link to my nan, but it was the technique or the style that really helped. Another technique was using WGSN especially when first creating my customer profile. It helped me to acknowledge trends that where coming up, which aided me to then create trend boards. I therefore knew when it came to designing it would help me to develop what I found in my research into something new that I could take forward into my designs. Also using Instagram helped me to find my customer, using magazine pages such as ID and Love, and looking at the people that follow the page to get my customer. My customer has been the most important part of my FMP as without having a customer profile I would have found it difficult to develop concepts and idea’s for my final garment.

From my whole year of foundation I have developed a real strength for creating collages, which then helped me to progress and develop into designs. Using my nan’s figure from images that I found and then using other research, such as objects from her house or from books, I have collage them onto her form and then extract shapes, which I have developed further into designs. This has made it much clearer and assisted people ,when they see my sketchbook, to have a clear understanding of what I want to create and develop further. I also used a lot of CAD work, especially when it came to making my prints, it has been easier to put them onto CAD and then from there send them to prototyping so that I could test on different fabrics, but I would always have them on CAD first and also develop them on CAD.

When doing my first initial research I found that my nan did a lot of knitting when my mum was young. She would knit them scarves and jumpers when her children where really small. Now she wouldn’t know where to start ,but I wanted to bring that important part of her life back. It was a time where people didn’t have enough money so they used to make their own clothes especially for their children. I tried different techniques of knit creating a pattern using two colours which I had to problem solve a lot and I found really hard. I also linked my interest in making prints, which I wanted to combine with the knit, therefore testing print onto different types of yarn to see how well the pigment would come out. I further developed my print testing onto different materials to see how the pigment would show, one being onto acrylic, which I used laser cutting to create the shapes, and then printed on after which was successful. However, much of my problem solving came from the toiling when the crotch on the shorts where to big because the block was big so I had to work and find a way of reducing the size to fit my model.

At the beginning of FMP I created a timetable in my proposal which I had when first started. This really helped me, especially in the first two weeks, when its just research, therefore knowing where I was and what I needed to do next really helped me. When I got closer to making the garment and finalising my boards and designs I made check lists of certain things that I needed to do and complete for that week. I found it better to do pen on paper because then I would always look at what I needed to do and I found that it would help with my stress. This also helped me when developing my work and not getting worked up and rushing it all. Although I created these lists, one thing that I have learnt from this is about managing my time better and really sticking to that timetable, especially at the end when it came to finalising my project.

Whenever it came to designing I would create a board every time. This really helped when I got to a stage or a design that I wanted to develop further and wanted take forward. Making the boards  help when it came to finishing off the final designs. It helped to narrow it down so that I wouldn’t get confused with using other designs. Also by adding fabric samples, stand work and research it also reminded me where I originally got these ideas from and how maybe going back into that research and changing slight things to my drawings, could make the design better. Leaving annotations in my book, also what I liked and wish to take forward and what I didn’t, helped me to understand when looking back at work and finding further research and development. It really helps when creating design boards. Keeping up to date with my blogs and writing what I done in the week also helped me to evaluate my work and what I want to take on. This helped especially because you just focus on one thing, which makes you really go into detail about what you like, dislike and how it involves your customer and research.

To find my intended audience I mainly used Instagram by looking at some of the magazines such as ID and Love magazine. I then looked at the people who follow these brands which gave me a general understand of what my customer was going to be like. From this research I created a customer research board which technically sums up who’s my customer? Whats their name? What they do as a job? and how much they earn? and other information that would help me to understand what kind of person this is. From looking into WGSN, and the trends, I found that one of the trends was bringing back older patterns that where around when my nan was younger. I found this material throughout her flat, which I then wanted to take and revive combining with another trend such as block colours. Therefore using bold colours in my prints as seen on the picture of my customer board. Using shorts that are slightly sexy and younger, using knit in a different way to a jumper or a cardigan, new ideas that I feel would suit my customer.

From this experience I feel that I have developed substantially with my researching skills, not just skimming over things, but in-depth research. I have developed my problem solving from different experiences and asking people for help with ideas instead of just trying to do everything myself. From a research and development point of view I personally don’t think I would of done anything different. I feel that I have captured what I wanted to gain from my FMP, it has pushed me so much in the sense of trying harder things that at the beginning I would have been to scared to try. Embarking on my proposal with only one garment and then making four garments and two accessories came from the fact that I wanted to push myself and develop my skills. The only thing that I would develop is my time management and being a bit more organised and sticking to times when I want something to be done.