This is the last project before 3rd year so this is our chance to trial anything new, or new design ideas before our final collection has to be made. I started looking into a book that had a collection of graphics images taken from retro video games. There were a lot of lasers and geometric shapes involved. This inspired me to look at light shows at events that I had been to and the use of the lasers there. With the collection of all this imagery I made a print which was a mix of different lines and shapes in black and white with accent colours of blue and orange which are used in my final colour pallet. We had to make 3 garments for this project with one of the piece being an outerwear piece to again practice using linings.
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During our second term we are all require to take part in a competition. I chose to design for the sportswear brand FitFam. We needed to choose a concept and design a 6 piece collection for them but no 3D work had to be done. My collections name was OffShore, I was inspired by the colours and shapes that are made by water on the shore line and out at sea. I designed a collection for summer with a lot of bright prints and optional lounge wear pieces too.
For this project, back in September, we were put into groups of 6. Over all we had to make 4 complete outfits that meant each person made 2 garments. It also had to be menswear and something that could be sold in an individual concept store for the global brand NEXT. We knew it would be a challenge working in a team but luckily my group get on really well. For our concept we looked into 70's and 80's sportswear used in motor sports and skiing. This meant looking into good quality thick fabrics such as cord, tweed and wax coated materials. We thought of classic silhouettes with a casual sportswear twist in a colour theme that was both modern and incorporated shades that we though best represented our theme. We named our casual collection Imola81.
This project took up the second half of my first year. My concept was based on crowds, the shapes and patterns they make as people stand around as well as the reason that people are stood in those crowds. It could be because they are waiting for something or in a club or festival. I also looked into what colours I connected to the emotions that we feel in certain crowds. The title 'The Colour Project' just meant that we could use any colour for our garment, but the piece we made had to be an outerwear piece so we could learn about linings and the different layers involved such as pockets.
With my first term at Nottingham Trent done the first few weeks back at uni in 2018 were really intense as I pushed to finish my first piece that I designed myself. My concept title is 'Architecture in Nature'. I looked at the natural shapes and structures that are created in natural as well as the shapes that we put into nature. My designs were all very structural and required a strong fabric. The brief we were given was that we could make anything that we wanted as long as we only used white fabric. As this is our first project it took off the pressure of another task of finding fabric and a colour pallet and we could concentrate on manufacture and design alone.
The presentation of your exhibition on this foundation and all the different parts of your work coming together in a display thats interesting and impressive is the most important outcome in the FMP and not necessarily having 1 main final piece. This could mean a selection of successful or dynamic tests or a collection of different prints and photos. My final idea has lead me to making lace out of wool. Using a very natural looking curly, unbrushed wool and loosely binding the fibres together giving a lace like effect. It was a looooong process to make all of the pieces, especially as they all came out so delicately and I had to re felt most of the wool. I then, using a patchwork process, places the pieces on a mannequin to create the shape of a long sleeve top. I wanted to be able to model the piece as well as having it hanging up in one piece in my final exhibition. So my solution for this was to sew a network of black thread around the whole top after all the pieces are together to give it some strength. Resulting in my finishing product...!! My final exhibition consisted of a selection of tests, images, mini models and this piece.
My concept tile for my Final Major Project at Manchester Met is Felt. Im looking at Mongolian Culture and why they use felt as well as looking at the different techniques that can be used with felting. My background from school is mainly textile based but the time I spent in the Fashion/Textile section on this foundation course has led me down a mainly Fashion Design route. Therefore the ways that felting is used in clothes is important so I can follow some of the knowledge onto my degree.
My final submission to apply for a Fashion Design degree at a new University has been sent. My decision to leave Manchester Met was based on the uni being too close to where I live and I want to experience a new city for my 3 year degree. My work so far this year in the Fashion/Textiles section of this course has taught me that I can use my knowledge of textiles that I already have to apply to fashion design. This decision may also impact what I make for my Final Major Project in the coming months.
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Mimi Stevens.Writing about my time at uni, thought processes and ideas behind the projects and garments I've made whiles on my Foundation at Manchester Met and my Degree at Nottingham Trent. Sep 16 to date.
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