Design
To develop more contemporary garment ideas, I started by creating collages on photoshop combining modern garments such as denim jackets and shirts with my smocking samples. Then from this I started to draw lots of new designs. My tutor suggested not drawing the garments on the body which I think helps me focus on the garments silhouette rather than spending time on drawing people. It also stops you being distracted by the mood/style of the person reflecting on the way the garment looks. From these ideas I really liked some of the shirts and bomber jackets, so did some research of recent runway shows that had these garments to get more inspiration. In the end I’ve decided to create one of the bomber jacket ideas as I’ve already started to develop a successful sleeve shape in nylon fabric. I think I’m going to create one garment but develop a collection, as I love some of the other ideas I drew. This also means I need to change my brand research in my market report to reflect this different direction.
During another tutorial it was suggested that I focus on a specific style as my designs are a mixture of sportswear, tailoring, feminine dresses etc. Because I’m developing a bomber jacket I think I’m going to focus on sportswear, as I like the juxtaposition of these garments with historical references. Therefore, I’m going to do some research of both modern and historical sportswear to get garment ideas such as trousers and skirts. This could then help me create an outfit which combines lux sportwear, 1800’s references and smocking/shirring. I don’t want the sportswear to be like Nike or Adidas but more like Prada or Gucci who’s sportswear which is more luxurious and not to be worn for sport. I think sportswear also fits in well with how I want the garments to have a soft, fluid feel rather than stiff. This links into my research of the aesthetics movement who took inspiration from Pre-Raphaelite painting of women in fluid dresses and created un-corseted garments. Furthermore, comfortable clothing plays a big role in positive design, especially when combined with something more luxurious and special which helps people feel more confident.
Because my ideas are changing, I need to carry out further fabric research of more technical fabrics. So far I’ve been looking at sustainable and natural fabrics as I want to be conscious of the materials I’m using. However, I’m finding it difficult to find what I want. Therefore, I’m going to just source suitable fabrics regardless of whether they’re sustainable or not. Then explore other options which could be possible if I was a brand, such as developing sustainable fabrics with a factory. This is something I want to explain more in my market report.
When developing the bomber jacket I started off creating the pattern by hand and have now moved onto altering it in LECTRA. This is another thing I need to explore more in my market report. I’m interested in how technology can help pattern cutting be more sustainable as it reduces the need to waste lots of paper. Its also quicker, but this isn’t what I’m focusing on as my projects about slow fashion and questioning why we need to make as much clothes as garments as fast as possible. Another type of tech which I could use is CLO 3D to maybe visualize other garments which could go with the bomber jacket or maybe recreate the bomber jacket and try out different colour variations.
