Fashion Ilustrations - inspiration for Portfolio.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying the season.
Feliz Navidad a todos! Espero que todos esteis pasandolo bien.

Over the Christmas period; as this is my 3rd and final year in my fashion and textiles degree, some of my homework is to think about my portfolio and  to begin organizing how I would lay out the pages. So I have started looking at ilustrations and technical drawings, I've looked on fashion portfolio websites and pages such as Arts Thread, of which I have come across a few images that I like and that catch my eye.
So I thought I'd put a few up here so to keep me inspired and hopefully to inspire others!

  I picked this ilustration as I really like the freedom in the lines. The sketch is quite simple but contains everything needed and is pleasing to the eye. It looks like painted


Fashion Workshops of International Arts Instructor Cynthia Padilla padillapost2@gmail.com.
These drawings look more polished-I wonder if they have been assisted by Photoshop or some other computer program. I like the proportion of the figures; with their look thin legs.



Patrick John Ireland is a member of Britain's Chartered Society of Designers and bestselling author of several books on fashion.
I like the drawings of the figures as well as the garments. I also like the contrast of the grey skin tone against the bright colours of the garments.

Susanna Ngao

Fashion Design Resume — New York, NY.
I love the flow of this drawing. For something so simple I find it really captivating. I aspire to draw like this;  with such fluidity by such a simple line. This looks as if it is drawn with either a hard pencil or koln.
  Drawn by Andres Chavez in ink.
I love the textures achieved with the brush stokes and shading with the different tomes of colours.
Lady Gaga by Hayden Williams.
I'm not familiar with Haydon Williams-but I have found some amazing figures. Drawn with just pencil or coloured pencils, but the figures have a good flow from the figure to the dress.

Vera Wang "Holly" Spring  2012Marker and InkAlthough I don't overly like the ilustration and in my opinion it's not drawn perfectly. But I like the angle of the figure with the volume and frills of the fish tail skirt.
Hayden Williams.

Love the figures and the designs! Monocrome with the black and white. I think these are very me!

Leanne Marshall. I like the water colours used on this drawing. I always thought water colours could be a little messy but this has shown me wrong, also shows how vibrant the colours can be.

Hollywood Costume exhibition

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to London and visit two shows; Hollywood Costume exhibition in the Victorian and Albert Museum and the Valentino exhibition in Somerset House.

Firstly I went to the V&A to see the Hollywood Costume exhibition and I have to say it was amazing! I didn’t expect them to have such a large amount of costumes-they filled 3 separate rooms! And there were costumes from all types of films and eras, I loved it!

They were spread out in the middle of the rooms where the public could literally go right up to them, they were not behind any glass so you could see them properly and they were so close you could have touched them. Of course you can’t do that! You couldn’t take pictures or even sketch which I found a bit harsh but where there’s a will there’s a way!

 

Royal section of exhibition.

 

As I was walking around the “Royal” section where they had costumes from Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth, I couldn’t help myself but try to take a few sneaky pics! I love period films and I am obsessed with Tudor fashion (doing my final project in Spain based on Elizabeth I) so this was the perfect opportunity to see them up close. And they didn’t disappoint-the fabric and the beading on them were astounding. The headpieces and ruffles looked so pristine and beautifully made; I remember looking at one gown that has pearls that where sewn all the way around the hem of the outer skirt-It was beautiful.

 

 

Another costume I loved was Cruela DeVil from the Disney film of 101 Dalmatians. They has two costumes there which demonstrated the two sides of Cruela; one where she had become nice and loved animals and other when she returns to her usual evil self. I loved looking at them both and noticing the difference between them even though they were very similar. The bad version had a longer skirt, the pointy shoes were shinier and even though the print was virtually the same print although the bad version had a metallic thread through it so it gave it another edge.

 

Cruela DeVil.

 

Other costumes I loved were Audrey Hepburn out of My Fair Lady, Kate Winslet from Titanic and Vivienne Leigh from West Side Story.

                       West side Story                                              Katherine and Audrey Hepburn

But it wasn’t until the end that I thought I was going to explode! Right at the end of the last room, the last two costumes were Judy Garlands dress from The Wizard of Oz and Marilyn Monroe in the Seven Year Itch!!(The white one!) They were amazing to see and analyse while standing there. Even the Dorothy’s red shoes were there and were beautiful. I especially took a while analysing Marilyn’s dress-her waist and under bust were tiny! And then comparing them to her boobs they looked so big for her size! The dress hung beautifully and it was lovely to be able to see such iconic costumes.

Judy Garland's dress from the Wizard of Oz.

The shoes!

Marilyn Monroe dress from Seven Year Itch.

There was so much more of the exhibition; there was a Robert Deniro area, they had costumes from Cleopatra, Gladiator, Indiana Jones, The Addams family, Dracula, Die Hard, Rocky, Spiderman and Cat woman as well as loads of others. I would defiantly advise anyone who is interested in costumes or even just an enthusiastic film fan to go and visit the exhibition. I loved the really old costumes such as Audrey and Marilyn but I would be confident in taking my fiancé there as well as there was loads of newer and action films. I’m defiantly going to try and get back there again and try to take my Mum as I’m sure she would enjoy it as well!

 

Some of the other costumes in the exhibition.

London College of Art Exhibition celebrating 175 years.

This week I had a trip out to London.  During my trip, I went to the London College of Art to visit their exhibition that is celebrating 175 years of the school. It showcased some of their previous students work such as Christopher Bailey and Henry Moore. If I’m honest I didn’t know what to expect; the exhibition was quite big and consisted of different kinds of art, sculpture and a bit of fashion. I had a little mooch around and found some items and pieces really interesting-I didn’t know very many artists there but there were plenty of different pieces to keep you intrigued. The exhibition is free to enter and it was prohibited to take pictures-though I did take a few!

 I found this sculpture quite intreeging. I don’t know its significance but I enjoyed looking at it. The smoothness of the circular forms and being made in a stainless steels gives it an appealing visual look.  

Line of Thought by Tony Cragg 2002

I loved this sculpture, I found it really eye catching and different. I don’t know what the meaning is but I understood it as a protective significance as the tiger was growling and shoots out spikes of protection.

Spike by David Mach 2012

A couple of painting I did like was these ones;

I didn’t realize until after, but they are painted by the musician Ian Dury. I thought they were very different to what else was in the gallery. I found them quite feministic to begin with but now I am wondering if there was another meaning behind them.

(And I did Google Jemima Proust and from what I can gather she isn’t a real person!)

Shingo Sato live at the Colchester Institute-Box intergration.

Yesterday was such an amazing day!

The designer Shingo Sato has been visiting the UK and as well as visiting Central St Martin’s and London College of Fashion during his visit, he kindly popped in to the Colchester Institute!

Shingo Sato is a Japanese designer who is known for his Transformational Reconstruction technique which is a different method to cutting patterns flat from patterns and concentrates creating more in 3D. As he is possibly the only person that uses and teaches this technique; it was a fantastic opportunity!

 

Shingo Sato

 

When he arrived and gave a little speech and presentation about his work and explained what he does, showing samples of his work to the group. It was exiting listening to him and hearing him quizzing students about how to create these designs. We were then lucky enough to take part in a workshop with him where he decided to show how to make Box integration.

Box Integration technique.

 

 This included making a bodice block up to then work upon, creating a box design on the front that touched the apex’s of both front darts. The box is measured and then out of card and stuck onto the bodice with tape. Then drawing the style line across the bodice and box, create the new seams which once sewn will create the new design. After cutting all the pieces out and transferring them onto fabric all that’s left is to sew it all back up.

 

 

 

 

 

Finished bodices from the class.

 

As another class mate Sam Purnell and I had previously done this technique, Shingo gave us our own “1 on 2” lesson and taught us the box integration on the shoulder. This was really exiting although I did feel the pressure! This was a similar technique but moving the box onto the shoulder.

Shingo giving a personal lesson on box integration on the shoulder.

My bodice.

Photo taken by Shingo-concentrating!

All the pattern pieces cut out onto fabric.

I’m not sure if it was because I was feeling under pressure as he was there watching but I found the technique a little difficult. It was all ok and I felt really confident- then I got to the “sewing it all back together” part and miraculously lost two of my four points on my square! Gradually, it was sorted out and I managed to finish it feeling really proud of myself!

My finished bow integration.

From the top-showing the shoulder square.

 

It is made with a soft brown cord and a cotton fabric; which had a facing ironed onto it to help keep the form of the square upon the shoulder. I’m very happy with it as a first attempt and am quite inspired by this.

I’m now considering thinking what else I could use this technique for and to create my own way out designs!

Check out You Tube to find Shingo Sato videos on Transformational Reconstruction.

Pleated fabric-Ciment Pleaters in London.

Last week, I was at a presentation by one of the last pleaters in the UK; F. Ciment Pleating LTD. I have previously been to their presentation last year, which I enjoyed also and was looking forward to it.

Terry was the speaker and introduced the patterns and fabric samples. I knew from the previous year what could be accomplished with pleating- as I agree it’s hard to see past your Nan’s pleated skirt-but there were some really amazing futuristic looking folds. I really enjoyed listening to his presentation and after, had a look at some of the samples he had brought. The pleats are created by hand folded patterns made out of card which the fabric is then placed into and put into a vapour machine. Its impressive to see how intricate the pleats are and that they are all handmade-one sample size piece of cardboard can take up to 80 hours to create.

Handmade cardboard pattern.

 

There was an amazing plastic material which appeared to have fabric inside it?! I asked about this and he showed me there were samples there made from everyday transparent plastic bags and from clear shower curtains, folded into amazing pleats. Then within the fabric was a piece of coloured fabric sealed in it, which when asked can be achieved at the pleaters. With the plastic fabric is a man-made material, it should hopefully keep the pleats in it. Terry said a good first test to see if your fabric would pleat is just to fold it with the iron-if it seems to hold you could look into sending it off to get pleated.

Shower curtain pleated with fabric inside it-How cool is that?!

 

 

If you haven’t heard of Ciment Pleaters; they are a company that has been running since 1925 and are one of the only pleaters left here in the UK due to China and other countries with cheaper labour. Originally they designed fabric for mainstream fashion departments such as M&S but now with business not being so busy they now delve in more of the theatrical designs and couture.

 

Ciment Pleating have also worked very closely with the royal family-and even designed Her Majesties helicopter skydive dress (and the real one!) at the opening of the 2012 London Olympics! They also receive orders from big fashion houses and designers and have designed Lady Gaga’s last world tour outfits, including the Born this way outfit off the video.

Lady Gaga's outfit made from the shower curtain and pleated.

 

Nowadays, they have been working with BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and even in Downton Abbey! Terry had commented if everyone had watched the final episode last night-as there was a garment within it-so I’m going to have to watch it back!

I know they are trying to sell the business but I sincerely hope they don’t close it, as it seems such a shame to close something that can earn and has been such an institution in this country. So next time you want to be inspired ,come and have a look at Ciment Pleating LTD. Their based in London-so support our countries working trade!

F.Ciment (Pleating) Ltd.
18a station close
Potters Bar
Herts EN6 1TL

Bride of Frankenstein handmade Halloween Costume.

This week was my favourite holiday-Halloween!! And I went to a family party with my fiancé, brother and sister in law- and it was great!

I was trying to come up with something different as a costume as I felt I had worn all other options out so I planned to go as The Bride of Frankenstein. I looked at You Tube to get some inspiration and watched parts of the film. As it is an old school film-made in 1936, I really liked the glamorous feel and even though it was meant to be scary it was quite elegant as well. Also as I don’t do scary very well-I thought it fitted quite well!

The Bride of Frankenstein in 1936 film.

Beautiful draped dress.

 

So after researching the film and looking into what she wore, I bought some sheeting from a fabric shop-which worked out cheaper as it was double width! And then using my Shingo Sato inspired technique-I made a base dress and cut triangular goudes into it; giving it flair around the front and sides. Then cutting the pieces out again on the bias created a fully flared dress which hung well and had good drapery.

The end result was a fitted squared top that then flared out from the bust at the front and back and also from the hip at the sides. A quick side zip was installed to make sure the top would fit and facing was ironed onto the shoulders to help keep the structure. I bought 3 metres of sheeting and used most of it as with the bias cutting took a lot of fabric up.

The top of the dress.

The full legth of dress.

 

I was happy with the result and that I had created something that I had envisaged originally. I know it may not look like much-a bit like a giant white tent-but I was pleased with the way it hung and I think it portrayed that there was skill behind the pattern of the dress.