Developing on from our double page spread and my theme of ‘Off-Centred Escape’ we were able to have the chance to work with a tutor who is a professional photogarpher and another one of my tutors. This allowed me to become really creative and experimental with how I was going to dress my model with props and the types of lighting and and positions I was going to have my model doing. I really enjoyed playing around with the lighting to create different shadows and highlights to different parts of the props and model. Experimenting with different colours in front of the lights to create a filter to the image. I really like the pink image of the where you see her face just slightly with the highlights, which the tutor thought was interesting , however I could make this a lot better by using a more sheer paper quality which will allow the image to be more clear and will reveal more of the face. Furthermore, I really like the top image of the model where she’s standing up showing the full length of her body. I really like this image because of how the colour of the netting fades out at the bottom of the image but the fairy lights are still visible to see. I like it because it makes the image more dramatic and focuses more on the upper half of the body which is where I want my viewers to look.

Setting up

Setting up

Off-Centred Escape final image

Off-Centred Escape final image

Off-Centred Escape final image

Off-Centred Escape final image

From my developed theme of ‘Off – Centred Escape’ we had to come up with a double page spread that would be published in King Kong magazine. Using a variety of materials to create props to use in our photoshoots, I wanted to use materials such as duck tap which implies being trapped,  torn fabrics to show the release and the effort of escaping, having different pieces of fabric conveyed the idea that they are rapped up in the fabrics and in the hair trying to escape the constant layers and chicken wirer rapped around to imply the war and the harsh and brutal materials used. I really like how my props have turnt out, I believe that they do show my theme of escaping but not the usual way, with a bit of fantasy shown through the coloured fabrics. I really enjoyed making the props and styling my model however I found it hard when it came to thinking of the positions for my model to express my theme. Furthermore, I could develop this by researching more into different poses by looking into magazines and how the models positions helps to convey the theme through the image. Using the selected images to create a double page spread. I wanted to play around with the positioning and colours to see what worked well together and which images really conveyed my theme that I wanted to get across to the viewer. I really like how I have placed the images out across the page however, I need to improve on editing my images so that they are up to standard for a magazine post.

For fashion promotion we explored King Kong magazine, a magazine that applies no limits and is known for being rule breakers. Researching into their customers and creating a customer profile which we found was young adults in their mid 20s and early 30s, that are quirky and have a unique and off-centred style. We found this information from the styling and photography in the magazine advertisment and content. From our customer profile we looked at a woman who has a simple style but it was the pose that we were more interested in. Also using images of thrift shops and raw materials in the back ground to show that the customer is more interested in the style of the clothing rather than the brand, seen from King Kongs magazine content especially the styling is very important as its their selling point. Our tutor really liked our profile as it was simple but really captured the type of customer we were researching into. From my original idea of escaping the war into a fantasy, I came up with the idea of looking deeper into that theme of ‘Off-Centred Escape’ I was able to come up with the theme by watching the Kenzo advert which had much more deeper understanding. From the dancers movement and facial expressions really made me feel uncomfortable and made it obvious that what Kenzo wanted to present was the idea of escape from the dancers restricted life. Unusual movements but effective implying that she had been holding this release for a very long time.

Over a couples of days I have learnt from a step to step guide to make my own toile. This has allowed me to explore independantly which has taught me how to make my own toile but to also learn from my mistakes and what I can do better for next time. I found the steps easy to follow as I went through

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

. Using the calico was really helpful as the material is structured so it helped me when sewing and folding the material such as the darts. I feel that pinning and sewing my darts went really well after seeing it on the mannequin the top really fitted well. Finding the grain-line went successfully which helped me to find the right side of my fabric when it came to placing my templates onto the fabric. However, when it came to the seam allowance around the collar and arm hole, I had trouble sewing a curve, instead it looks more like a box shape then a curve. For next time I could pin the the armhole and collar while on a mannequin which might help me to visually see what I am doing with the shape, to see whether I am creating a curved shape or a box like shape.

weaving using duck tape, old shirts, bandages thread, wool, plastic bag

ribbed

honey comb mixed colours

honey comb

Over the past two days I have adventured into the world of knitting!! And …. I ….. LOVE IT!! I have been shown how to use a knitting machine (shown in the images), how to set it up on my own, the basics of knitting and a few techniques that I can do with a knitting machine that creates different patterns and structured 3D effects. On Monday we were taught how to create different techniques such as Honey Comb, Lace, Ribbed and Orange Peel or Spiral. The next day we continued looking at fraying, jacquard 3D effects and weaving using different materials. I felt really confident with each of these techniques and really enjoyed creating the Honey Comb and Ribbed that I thought I achieved well and my favourite was the weaving, however, next time I should experiment more with the two patterns maybe crossing them over or creating them at a different angles. In addition, I need to improve on the lace by creating different patterns and not letting the wool fall off the pins so that the knit comes apart from the rest of the knit. I also found mixing two colours together easy to achieve seen from my work but could experiment more with colours that apply to my theme (rather than Dennis the menace!!)

I was given the task to research and experiment with a method called Slash and Spread. From this I have a greater understand of what darts are for and what they do. Darts provide construction to the garment by allowing flat fabric to take on a shape to fit the body, especially a woman’s bust and a men’s chest area. The darts that we have traced from Uni from our original bodice block are called mid shoulder dart and vertical dart. The three darts that I have uploaded onto my blog are called Mid Neck dart which is the biggest image, top left is the Mid Armhole dart and bottom left is the Centre Front Bust dart. From this experimentation, I found it easy to understand and demonstrate seen from the images, however I need to improve on the cutting and perfect measuring the line to the centre so that each of the slashes are the same length. As I saw when I joined the some of the parts together they where not in line with each other, so perfecting this will help me to improve on this skill.

mid armhole dart

centre front bust dart

mid neck dart

Today I was a part of a draping work shop which encourage me to expand out of my comfort zone. Looking for more interesting shapes using the influence of words, music and my theme of war to create different silhouettes using 3 materials calico, muslin and stretch fabric. Each fabric represented the mood of the music, word or our theme. Most of my draping was looking at scrunching the material to create a dramatic and messy affect that generates an image of cracking and destruction. Using calico as my main fabric, when it came to draping as the material, is easy to shape for its architectural form allowing me to create the bold, dramatic and messy shapes for war. I really like using the calico because its easier to construct and build on. Then using the muslin to capture a descending shape as it hangs down from the stand, which I wanted to represent the idea of parachutes from when the soldiers jump out of the planes. To improve my drapes I could look at starting in different areas of the stand, starting from the back or the bottom of the stand, not just starting from the shoulders, which then allows me to look at clothing parts such as a skirt or the back which may make my draping style different. I really need to develop further with looking at different types of clothing like trousers or maybe a jacket and develop further with those then just looking at just the top.

Crunch

Final drap

Volume

gravity

gravity

side of the final drap

close up of final drap

Ive never been great at drawing and have only done life drawing twice, so I was willing to learn a lot. Using a variety of medias to explore what drawing materials I like using and some that I don’t. I found that using the regular 2b pencil was good and allowed me to get the proportions right of the model. From then I could then explore using the different medias. I really liked using the chalk because I liked the shadows created and being able to build it up to create darker areas, such as the drawing below where I have used different medias on top of each other. It has taught me about layering drawings which makes me feel more open to looking at different ways of displaying my drawings instead of just 3 drawings on 3 separate pages. Looking at more positioning on a page. However, I need to improve on the shapes of the body, making it more realistic and in proportion to the other body parts. Such as the drawing at the bottom with the pen the arms and the legs don’t look inproportion and don’t really look like the models body shape. when I first looked at it I thought I was rubbish but now looking at it again I really like the technique that was used when drawing the picture. When doing this drawing I couldn’t lift the pen off the page which I really loved because of the unexpected shapes that are created. I also really enjoyed using tape which I would of never thought of drawing with, you can build on it and also make it 3D by rolling it up and scrunching it up.

Thanks for joining me! This is my blog that I will keep updated as I go through my Foundation year, showing my progress and work that I want to share with everyone!!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton