ALEXANDER WANG LAUNCH_

Working at H&M brings great opportunities to get involved with exciting things within the fashion world. The obvious one is getting to see clothes from the catwalk refined to become more retail friendly,  but I often get asked to help with visual tasks and outfit building. Recently however, I was asked to travel to London to work in the Regent street store, to help out with the Alexander Wang launch. I had heard about this collaboration many months before, and researched the collection. My first reaction? I wasn't overly crazy about it, it seemed very much like gym wear, almost a bit boring. But they were just photographs, seeing the real thing was a completely different feeling.

As I had already worked for the Isabel Marant launch the previous year, I sort of what to expect, however upon arriving, this already seemed like a bigger deal. More hustle and bustle, more crew, a more professional set up; we even got our hair and make up done to make us look more 'Wang'. You could tell everyone was excited, people running around like maniacs getting the store looking 110%, after all, the head of H&M in Britain was attending.

The set up for the collection was amazing- it was dark steel frames, quite bulky looking, situated in the middle of the store. It was almost like that of a dark, dingy, run down gym, sporting upper class garments. As a member of staff I obviously got to see the collection in person before most (although I didn't get a good chance to look at it at first as I was running it upstairs). When it was on the rails though I fell in love. Whoever thought me of all people would want to purchase sports wear would be deemed insane, but it was happening! Of course the collection was highly influenced by sporting wear, with a lot of figure hugging garments, and neoprene as a statement material. The collection even included boxing gloves, towels, water bottles and yoga mats, so it wasn't all 'fashion'. The colour pallet was rather monochrome, with accent colours of blue and yellow. I enjoyed the colours, it made the collection feel dark and moody, ready for action and a fight.
The press evening was crazy, the store was packed to the brim. People were grabbing anything they could, in the fear of it running out (which a lot of it did)!
Considering it was still in collaboration with H&M, I was a little skeptical about the quality of the garments, but in fact they were very well made. The material choice was wonderful, simple but effective. Actually in a way the whole collection was simple, there wasn't to much fuss on any garment, usually just the name Wang, creating a sporty feel.
All of the staff got to purchase what they wished on the press evening, a day before general sale. I was going to buy the fastest selling Wang cropped jumper, but after trying it on, it wasn't for me, I did however fall in love with the see through dress, something I had had my eye on all night. It was a very delicate knit from a heavy thread, with a white/ see through band of textured knit at the top. It was a boxy dress, and looked wonderful oversized. Best purchase.
Two days of running around took it out of me, but I am so thankful for the experience and opportunity. Roll on next year!

DURDLE DOOR_

I've been going to Durdle Door since I was 18 months old, my mum and dad got married there. It is quite possibly my favorite place, so I was very excited to be going again. The beautiful Dorset area is inspiring, from the rock formation to the incredibly rough sea, even the way people live. My family (all 5 of us) crammed ourselves into a pokey caravan, listening to the wind crash and whirl against it. It gives us a chance to relax, and completely isolate ourselves- you can't even get a phone signal! Dominoes and cards were the main games played, along with pool and a pint. We even managed to have a swim in the ice cold water. But it was the wonderful things I discovered and picked up there that made it really special. Small antique shops and vintage markets displayed wonderful items, and I picked myself up a set of deer antlers (possibly starting a collection). Rock and fossil shops were in great abundance, but I had my favorites. I picked up small intricate shells with textural qualities, painted stones and crystals, all great inspiration for shape and form. The forage appeared different, so I collected some plants and dried them out, and later used some of them as scratchy paint brushes to give texture and raw form. The landscape itself was breath taking, you could look in any direction and and be amazed. My mind was going crazy putting shapes together, and I was capturing interesting images which contained form, texture or colour to document this and work with later. The colours were very neutral, due to the weather and nature of the rock and forage. It was bleak, but this appealed to me and I thought that these colours perhaps with an added accent colour taken from the bright houses at the harbor could work very well. 
Although I travel down every year, it always feels like a new experience, with new things to be seen. I almost feel honored that a place so wonderfully beautiful is so close to home. 
My main source of inspiration for my project was skeletons and skulls, and I could incorporate the florals I found. But I feel the shapes and texture of the rock and landscape is very relevant to include.   

GH LEATHERS _

For nearly a week I was excited about this. I had always been a fan of leather and fur, so GH leathers was the perfect contact to have. The good thing about this company is that all their products are bi-products of the meat industry, so none of the animals were bred purely for their skin/fur. This made me feel less apprehensive about buying fur, although I had always been confused as to why it was okay to buy/ wear leather but is seen as sin to buy/ wear fur. I understand that some animals are bred purely for the fur, and I don't agree with that, but a bi product of meat is surely more acceptable? Surely it is better to use 100% of the animal if it is already slaughtered for meat, than waste the skin/fur purely because people don't think it's socially acceptable. But back to the point, incredible skins were bought in at affordable prices, meaning I went on a bit of a spending spree. I couldn't part myself from the fabulous bright yellow Mongolian fur plate, (12 sqft), and spotted rabbit skins in two shades of blue and a maroon. Funnily enough my rabbit likes to sit on them. And right at the end I spotted a beautiful distressed blue/grey leather pelt, and decided that had to come home with me. I spent a mere £90 on these wonderful pieces, and have numerous ideas about how I will put them to use. The Mongolian fur I think will be turned into a gillet, and the blue leather a clutch bag. The rabbit skins I think will work well as detailing, on collars or cuffs, or even as pockets. 
GH leathers does amazing student prices, so it easy to get hold of if I need some in the future (which I definitely will).

   

VISUAL _

I was thrown in at the deep end. I'd done a little visual training before- dressing a mannequin, changing an A-area. However I had never rematched a whole concept, so doing this by myself was quite daunting. I studied the papers which told you what has to be where, what the colours for this season were, and started to collect the main garments and put them into outfit groups. It was a process, much like the design process. So once I got into it, it didn't seem to bad. It was actually thereputic, as it gave me a chance to organise the department and put the garments into size order, making it look professional and wonderfully neat. 
It wasn't the biggest department, and there wasn't too much space to work with, so it was quite frustrating having to cram in a lot of clothes. But for a first attempt I was proud of the outcome. Divided red was the concept I was re matching, and this contained a lot of the same patterns and/ or shape garments, so matching it was a nice process and a good starting point for more visual work. It was a good experience for me, and was valuable towards my course, as it is very much a design process, and matching garments together helps me with putting colours or patterns together within my fashion and textiles work. 

GALLERY VISITS _ Natural history museum/ The Minories/ Firstsite

My main module was looking at skulls and taxidermy, and incorporating floral into that. So what better place to start than the Colchester natural history museum! Id never been in my life, so I wasn't expecting wonders. However it was very informative, and contained many a skull and dead animal. Perfect.
I was Interested in the textures and shapes formed by the skulls, the natural decay and rough, jagged edges. I recorded this by taking photos and making sketches and references, but in my head all sorts of ideas for garment shapes and prints were forming.

Minories visit and the exhibition was 30yrs of 12pm, which was formed in 1984. It was a direct response to the need to provide mutual support and enable a group of like minded artists to meet frequently and exchange/ discuss ideas. Artists such as Jane Frederick and  Doug Selway caught my eye because of the use of abstract printing. Jane, who used monotype printing, produced a wonderful piece using different layers. It struck me as quite sinister, maybe because of the colour palate, but upon research I realised she wanted to get a sense of panic across. The print almost seemed as if it was magazine cut outs layered and collaged, and it made me think of ways in which I could I could incorporate this into my own work, maybe through fashion illustration.
Doug's print appealed to me because of the scratchy, textural approach. The drypoint was wonderful and sketchy, and made the viewer come to the conclusion of hat the print is about. I really enjoy the two tones in the print, and the outline of the drypoint covering this. I felt this print was very similar to some of the mark making i have been producing, and it inspired me to perhaps become more abstract with the way I draw objects.

Firstite- Bruce Mclean: Sculpture/ Painting/ Photography/ Film.
If I'm honest I hadn't actually researched who was at this exhibition space, but I was wonderfully surprised. I walked in and was bombarded with colourful posters and drawings, with quirky outlines over the top. Very inspiring. Perhaps I didn't find inspiration from him and his sources, but i definitely did find it from his work. I loved the simple illustrations and the quick continuous line technique was very similar to the illustrations I had produced. The quick, vibrant burst of colour were very effective and eye catching. I enjoyed the sketchy illustrations, the quick style in which they were drawn, perhaps with writing or colour over the top.

The trio of paintings that really appealed to me were Fish and Pan head (1983), Going for Gucci and The Gucci Girls (both 1984). These were a large series of paintings that playfully comment on the conspicuous consumption and social climbing in the British society in the early 1980s. They were absolutely gorgeous (in my eyes) fashion illustrations. The acrylic is hastily painted on to give a long brush stroke with texture, the garments added as if he had a long brush and sweeped the paint on. The colour palette together works well and compliments each other. I will definitely be incorporating long colourful brush strokes into my fashion illustrations so get a surreal abstract  effect.

HELLO BRIDGET!_

 Bridget Stanford: 
   I had an amazing opportunity to be able to meet Bridget and discuss her eccentric and eclectic vintage collection. She was a wonderful woman, and fully welcomed us to talk about her clothing and passion for all things vintage. She has fully immersed herself into this passion- everything in her life revolves around vintage, from interior design to her social life.

Can you tell us where your passion for fashion and textiles came from.
    My mother was a textiles designer before and during the war, and my father was a textile agent (a middle man between the mill and high street retailers)' which is where they met. So we always had a house full of fabric, and grew up in a world of patchwork and print.

Can you tell us about your design background?
   My mother went to Glasgow school of art, so I was always immersed in drawings and art, and gave me the confidence to start drawing. Because we didn't have television or computers, we just to draw and write. And the more you draw, the better you become.
   I've always enjoyed drawing and fashion, and thought I wanted to become a fashion illustrator, but I dint think I was very good. I went to colchester school of art, and feel the drawing side of textiles is very important. 
   My mother worked for a company in Hanover square, which contained a huge archive of rose drawings.the idea there was reinventing something new each time, especially as a commercial textile designer. I then ended up working in the same studio as my mother. I used to be told 'I want you to create a little brother or sister of this magazine cut out' , not to rip off the print, but to design something with the same qualities.

What do you think print can bring to a garment?
   Print tells a story about a person, it reveals little bits about you, and stamps your style. It gives people clues to your personalities.

Have you got a favorite style of print?
   I love novelty, ridiculous prints that are quirky and fun. My mother used to say 'don't wear that, it's a Manchester print'. She used to dislike this style of print because it was made in the factories in Manchester, it was one colour, Victorian print on cotton. It was often a repeat pattern on a roller meaning it was cheap and easy to produce. 

What do you think of prints on the high street?
   I'm a bit out of the loop as I wear a lot of vintage prints, but I often go with my daughter. I recently bought a dress from sainsburys as it had a print of a pin up girl and umbrellas, it was really sweet. I didn't like the style of the dress nor the fabric, but I bought it to add to my collection.

Do you have a favorite designer who uses print well?
   Horockses are a British company that produced beautiful good quality prints. Most of them are floral, but they are so lovely. Biba have quirky fun prints. At the time the brand was fun, affordable and badly made, but now garments are highly sought after as it didn't last. My first school dance dress was a biba, very retro. My sister dressed me in it.

Is there a favorite piece in your collection? 
  One of my favorite pieces is a jacket I bought from a jumble sale. It has a beautiful, layered, vibrant print, and really depicts my personality. Unfortunately it never fitted, so many a time it was on my throw out pile, but I couldn't get rid of it! 
   I also love this dress as it has a jewellery print on the fabric, as if a string of pearls have been thrown onto it. It's very surrealist and flamboyant. Versace use a lot of jewellery in their prints,so it's interesting to see how things come around and what brands are inspired by.

How do you describe your personal style?
   That's a hard thing to describe, as I don't want to be put into a pigeon hole. My collection of garments are usually 40s or 50s. I really love the vintage Vivienne Westwood, cartoon and pop art prints. I think it's important to ask 'why do you like it?' If you feel confident in it, wear it. Everyone has a personal style, which is important, it defines you. Everyone puts outfits together, there is always a thought process. Design identity evolves, everything is from your view point.

Who inspired/ inspires you?
   From an early age I guess I was cutting pictures from magazines of Marilyn Monroe, and Hollywood starlets. I love old films as the colours and garments are incredible. I wanted to believe there was this glamorous world, but I thought it might as well be this one. Nowadays people such as Lady Gaga and Vivienne Westwood inspire me, and Dita Von Teese because of her vast vintage collection.

Vintage has inspired everything everything I do/ have. It has inspired my home, the music I listen to, the films I watch and the social circles I immerse myself in. One thing I'm not shy about is mixing my eras- I'll have a little bit of everything from every era dotted around.  

INVESTIGATING THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE_

Investigating the Cultural Landscape, by Sean O'Deal - Research, sources and methodologies.

This was a very interesting and informative lecture about how research is a key component in your work. It reflects and inspires everything we do, changes view points and informs you of your chosen areas.
Sean discussed with us his techniques of researching, and the best way to record primary and secondary research.
Place- Visit, photograph, document, analyze, evaluate, interview, participate, interact, discuss.
Subject- Search for documents, extract quantitative and qualitative data, interview participants, statistical data form reputable sources, journals and press.

It was interesting to see research from an others perspective, as I feel sometimes one can get lost in the midst of research and not really know where to go. Its hard as primary research is so vast, you can literally relate anything to the work you are producing. so where do you start? following the steps mentioned earlier seems like a good process, and design after all is a process so it ties in together. sometimes a designers brain is all over the place, so a recipe one can follow helps the madness from occuring. 
Art wouldn't be art without research,being inspired by something. I feel I learned that its important to record everything- the resource, articles, interviews, photos. its all so important in that design process.

Primary research: National archives; Essex records office; Digital resources; Early newspapers/magazines; Photography

Secondary research: Books; Journals; Magazines; Internet