PHOTOSHOOT_ FINAL IMAGE

GENDER GAMES FINAL IMAGE 

BA Fashion and Textiles – Gender Games

Designer and stylist: myself

Photographer: Deimante Photocreations

Photography assistant: Greg Culhane

Model: Johnny 

Hair: Gemma and Lou

MUA: Becca

PORTFOLIO_

GENDER GAMES PORTFOLIO_

We had previously created portfolios for our work, but we had never done a complete one- it would usually just be to present our final ideas and prints together. So come this semester, when we had to create a full portfolio showing all our development, I was a little stuck. I had never really thought about showing my work in this format, so I didn't have a style. I began to research portfolio layouts, but there were so many different styles I was overwhelmed. perhaps I was trying to fit too much onto one page, but I felt the pages I created, especially the research and development pages, were cluttered and messy. To develop, I would pick a style I liked and have it constant throughout my portfolio, not try to mix tommy different aspects together, because that doesn't suggest a flow.

For this portfolio, I felt it looked a bit simple. It didn't show my work to its potential, nor did it properly demonstrate my skills and the way in which I work. It seemed basic and lifeless, not having much depth to it. It didn't suggest the theme I had adopted throughout the live brief.

The pages I enjoyed were the technical flat drawings. I feel these looked professional. However, I didn't follow the same format throughout, so some were portrait and some were landscape, which messed with the way you would approach it. 

In future, especially with my next live brief, I will develop a constant (such as a style, a colour palette, a boarder etc) relevant to the research and theme collated from the brief. I will spend more time developing my portfolio, so that it is to a higher standard and fully shows off my work, not rushing it. 

It was a learning curve, and it taught me portfolios are no easy way out. They take time and careful consideration, with lots of tweaking and moving around before it is anywhere near perfect. 

FINAL LINE UP

BESTDAYS_ TWO PIECES

BESTDAYS_ TWO PIECES

Having worked at the best days warehouse for a little while now, the resources and ideas (naturally) began to wear a little thin. It wasn't that there wasn't the clothes and materials to use, it was knowing what to do with them, and any ideas I had had to then translate and be made from the materials I had. There was only so much that could be made from a denim shirt. A really simple idea I had, which began to use up the unwanted, really large shirts, was to create two pieces from them. These were a simple set to make, only having to make a simple pattern for the skirt, so the shape was consistent. I would cut across the middle of the shirt to create a cropped shirt, and then using the remainder of the shirt, I would taper it in and hem the top to create the skirt. A really quick production, it would take me about 30 minutes to produce a set, meaning I could get 6-7 done in one day. The only downside to this was that I had to source shirts that were long enough to create a shirt and a skirt, luckily these weren't in any danger of disappearing. 

The 2 pieces appeared to be a big hit, with sets selling instantly. Because the store is small, there was no need to be constantly making them, as the demand wasn't as great as a bigger shop, but it was still encouraging to know people wanted to buy and wear garments I had customised and created.

ILLUSTRATOR_

USING ILLUSTRATOR_

I had had brief experience with using illustrator before the dedicated sessions within the course. I knew the basic tools, which did help me when it came to using illustrator a lot. Within the sessions, I feel I picked up the processes relatively quickly. The step by step guides for each new process were incredibly helpful, going through every detail needed to achieve a specific look. I really enjoyed illustrator, and felt the actual programme was a lot easier to use than photoshop. At first, I found it difficult to get the garment shape similar/exact to the original drawing and developed idea, however with plenty of practice I was able to get more of a hang of it. Having the sessions were so valuable, especially before I did my final lineup so I got the experience and was able to perfect simple garments (vests, t-shirts, shirts, shirts, trousers etc). The problem I had with illustrator is that I would rush the garments, almost feeling like I had a time limit. I would develop by spending more time, really taking care of the shape, and adding as much detail and stitches to make the flats as informative as possible. Another area I need to develop on would be when I insert print and colour. I haven't quite got the hang of being able to completely fill the garment, some areas would not be complete shapes so the colour would not fill that part. I would need to make sure that I  create complete shapes within the garments to suggest the different sections, so that the colour would take to it and it would be a complete garment in colour.

I was really pleased with my approach to illustrator. It was a really valuable experience and the classes made portfolio work a lot easier to tackle.

GH LEATHERS_ USING LEATHER IN WORK

GH LEATHERS_ USING LEATHER IN WORK

There is often a lot of debate within the fashion industry about whether its ‘right’ to use fur or leather. Animal welfare, as it should be, is becoming increasingly known about, and ways in which people go about acquiring the leather products isn't always as harmless as people may think. 

I do use leather in my work, as do I wear it. But I do have my conditions. The furs and leathers must come from a reliable source, and be a bi product of the meat industry. It seems a lot of people aren't aware of where leather products come from, and assume that just because they don't wear animal products (usually fur) it makes it ok. Yet will still continue to wear leather shoes because they ‘last longer’ and will consume meat in almost every meal. Something doesn't add up there. 

GH Leathers is a leather source I really value. Not only are they great partners with my university, they also source the animal products from reliable sources, only buying from the meat industry. This means that its is a bi product of the meat (which will be used regardless), the animals aren't bred purely for their skin. This way of using the skin is actually better for the environment, as the skin now has a use, and will not cause unnecessary resource wastage disposing of the unwanted skin. It also then has another life, and can be appreciated through garments and being worn rather than being chucked away. And if the animals are being bred and slaughtered for their meat anyway, why not use every part of it.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM/JIMMYS FARM

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM/ JIMMY’S FARM_ Looking for butterflies

For my diversity project, I was incorporating the harsh boldness and masculinity of boys toys with the delicate nature and beauty of butterflies. To source more primary research to base my ideas on, I visited the natural history museum. Here it had a wonderful archive of taxidermy butterflies, situated in the darwin centre. There was a whole array of different species- diffe

rent sizes, shapes, colours, patterns- all informing my work. I especially liked the bright coloured ones, as I felt it related to the bold robot colours. Through out the museum, the butterflies where presented either in flat frames, or in a mock up of their environment. It was interesting to see how much more energy they carried by their shape- while the patterns and colours were still there, the delicacy was not translated.

To get a feel for the butterflies movement, I also visited Jimmy’s farm, who has a wonderful butterfly house full with interesting butterflies. As I went towards winter, the butterflies were feeding on fruit, so it was a great opportunity to see the real deal up close, even holding them. Some were fluttering around, and it appeared to me that although they are dainty, they are also quite clumsy, flitting from one place to the next. But I liked how their prettiness contrasted with this. I was even able to experience cocoons, as there were many hidden in the nectar trees. I was confused as to what they were at first, there were loads of caterpillar shapes hanging around. But then it clicked, and i was almost able to track down the process through different cocoons being at different stages. The process of the butterfly also related to the transformation side of my project.