2.3.10. Final Selected 12.

This week I have whittled down my chosen final 12 designs which are these

I have spent significant time deliberating this decision, ensuring the correct items were selected to represent my designs, expressing my progression and development creating my ultimate 12 designs.

I feel those finally chosen best reflect me, my concepts and development. I kept foremost in my mind the repeatability aspect of design presenting it through different aesthetics. Taking the feedback from Tom, in reference to our presentation and applied it to my work. I made a few tweaks to my final set up thus ensuring at each outfit has its own uniqueness. Using concept development as a structure for my design of the garment and my developed knits as the detail to the garments to create individuality.

Before hand-in I plan to set my work out  in a professional manner by creating a portfolio of designs, flats, swatches, concept and mood boards and the overall 12 design set up, fully exhibiting my work as a whole.

2.3.9. Group Presentation.

Though out this unit, we have been working together to present our ideas to a member of the James Long team. We have learnt to work together, to pool our strengths to form a range of 12 fashion designs to pitch to Tom. Our presentation comprised of our  12 designs, our portfolio of work, which backed our ideas, showing our preliminary starting point and our development samples created for him, illustrating the processes we explored and those processes we developed more fully.

 We worked as a team to pitch the power point touching upon all of our strength textile areas.

The feedback from Tom was critical but positive. His feedback included points such as, we explored lots of different techniques, that we worked well as a group, that more development could have been made in some areas, ovrall however we had a strong and fitting colour palette which pulled everything together as a whole collection.

This is just 4 examples of how my knit and designs have inspired other girls in my group and brought the designs together, which involve knit, print and weave.

For me this has been a very positive experience. It has given me a chance to develop my ideas, learning from the expertise of others, and learning new processes which I can now employ within my individual submission.  I have come to understand how the details matter most, and how I can use my visual pieces of knit to translate them into a more developed manner.

Over the coming week I will be developing, honing and selecting my final 12 designs to put forward. 

2.3.8. Evolving Together.

This week is all about working as a team, with our presentation to James Long next week. We intend to select the best articles from each others designs to bring out the better style of designs. Putting together garments to form outfits, by selecting pieces that work well together from each other’s design developments.

Collaborating together, delegating and taking responsibility, for the roles of process, designing, detailing garments, drawing flats, fabric, research and design boards; pulling together as a team, creating a power point, all crucial parts for our presentation to James Long.

Through our presentation we want to detail our initial research, the textile processes we have used, design development and the final 12 fashion illustrations. Presenting as a team we all have our selected roles to play.

Further to working as a team, I plan to start whittling down my own ideas, refining designs, forming my final 12, editing these in different ways to see if  there are alternative choices I could make, changes which could enrich them, changing shape, colour and design to finally have a fully developed and finished 12 illustrations to be proud of.

2.3.7. Detailed Placement.

With my design development last week I felt I was playing too safe, too practical with my ideas. In total contrast, not playing safe is exactly how I wanted to attack my week designing, by the layering of patterns, fabric choices and volume of shape.

Similarly as a group we were decided to stretch ourselves more, to push the boundaries of comfort zones to the limit by fully exhausting an idea, exploring it to its fullest. Expanding on how one design development could be used in different ways. Pulling in the initial details of the karate suit we first had with the wrap around detail of the jacket, belt, cross-over detail, wrap style of the bandages, fabric quantity and over sized look. Personally I explored the ideas and methods of wrapping bandages, placing them in different ways and areas of the body. 

I found that this process was helpful to me in different ways. It showed me how placement of detail may not suit one area of the body but maybe ideally suited to other areas. Working to my strengths of my specialist area I made various pieces of knit which have now been printed on by other team member. In my opinion this was highly successful, we worked really well together to produce a collaborative piece.

Subsequently I plan to produce a large range of design developments in preparation for next week’s tutorial.  This will ensure I have choice as to which ones I would like to take forward to explore further in colour choice and place of detail.

2.3.6. Illustration Development.

I have spent most of last week designing through fashion collaging, Working on boldness, oversizing and the detail of my knit in my designs. This week I wanted to focus on hand drawn illustrations showing a more practical side to how garment could be worn.

I also took my knits to the stand, pinning them in certain places to see how they would drape and the fabric fall and form on the body. Consequently when it came to creating the illustrations I could have more understanding of shape and design. Changing positions of the knit on the stand encouraged me to find different ways of displaying the pattern or shape of the fabric to see if I could create boldness or oversizing.

Within our group we pulled together our final range plan deciding which generic garments were going to be most prominent in our collection. Working together as a team and sharing design ideas ensuring design aesthetics ran throughout each other’s collections. Subsequently leading to repetition when it came to presenting our final collections.