Finished Trend Book...

Make Do and Mend

Well I finally finished my trendbook and presented my work last week which I feel went really well. Here are just a few pages from the book. The main focus is on colour, prints and fashion illustrations. I did the pages in photoshop using my own drawings and scanned in fabric samples. I printed my pages out and have bound them into a book which includes fabric samples. I'm pleased with my final designs and looking forward to my next project!

Sourced Fabric and Colour Palette...

I sourced the above fabric over the weekend from a local fabric shop. I'm loving the first 3 samples and I am going to get more and will be using it to print on. I'm not so keen on the bottom sample, I feel it just doesn't work so when I go back for more fabric I will look for something else. On the right is my colour palette as it is at the moment. I might have to make some changes to it once I start my fashion illustrations as I am not entirely sure how it will work. But hopefully all will be ok and the colour will look great when I start to print. Only time will tell.

Tutorial...

Had my tutorial again today which went great. I now know exactly what i'm doing with this project and my work is going in the right direction. So far I have a sketchbook full of ideas and inspiration. I have a colour palette, I have sourced fabric, and started my print designs, all of which I said I would have done by this week. My original market was 'All Saints' but last week my work wasn't really fitting the 'All Saints' brand. This week I gave more thought to which brand my work could fit into and I have found a way to make it fit 'All Saints'. I am going to look at unisex clothing, and mens suits as inspiration, as in pre-war times, women would alter their husbands suits to fit them, as there was a limit on fabric. My print designs are ok aswell, I just need to play with scale and push my ideas. I said last week I wanted to bring the 'Make Do and Mend' theme back into my work, I have decided to do this with print.

So to do by next Thursday:

• 
  
  Finish print designs
  
  
  
• 
  
  Play with scale and placement print
  
  
  
• 
  
  Screen print some small samples
  
  
  
• 
  
  Digitally print
  
  
  
• 
  
  Photograph sewing machines in the 'All Saints' Market Street window
  
  
  
• 
  
  Look at unisex fashion
  
  
  
• 
  
  Analytical drawing
  
  
  
• 
  
  Design garments/Fashion illustrations
  
  
  

Laura Laine Editorial for Muse Magazine...

I'm loving this editorial! The illustrations are by Laura Laine for Muse magazine! Really inspiring for my own fashion illustrations and how I can make them just that little bit different. I'm particularly loving the first image! It really relates to my own work and my 'Make Do and Mend' theme with the needle and thread.

I found these images here.

Tape Measure Rose

Ok well i'm trying so expand my research and come up with fresh new ideas that are completely out of the box! I would like to try and bring the 'Make Do and Mend' theme back into my work, because at the moment I feel that it has been referenced but i'm only really taking inspiration from the time of 'Make Do and Mend', the 1940's. I found this broach on this website and I think its a great idea for using household objects, especially those associated with sewing and using them in fashion.

1940's Vogue

Here are some pages from Vogue from the 1940's, some images are from 1940 and some 1943. I thought it would be a good idea to look at how Vogue handled the War and the 'Make Do and Mend' campaign. I found pages offering fashion tips on how to get the most out of a dress from instance and how to revamp those old boring suits! The adverts were for patterns and wools and various items the 1940's woman could use to revamp her wardrobe without buying new.

Make Do and Mend Vogue Style ....

I scanned these gorgeous image from last months Vogue. 'The ultimate money-saving fashion flash is to make your own clothes - using "objects domestiques". shona Heath, William Tempest and Peter Jensen turn recycling into DIY couture. So grab your stick tape, scissors and PVA glue, and begin with a surrealist thought.'

Its a great source of inspiration for my next project to see what other designers and photographers are doing to tackle to credit crunch and using 'Make Do and Mend' as inspiration. I really love this shoot and it will be good to compare how different my work will be since it has the same influence.

You can see the rest of the images here.

Photograhed by Tim Walker

New Project!

Ok so with the trendbook project now out of the way its time to start a new project! This time we have to write our own brief which is going to be interesting. I have decided to do another trendbook, mainly because I want to explore new ideas rather than carry on with the same theme I explored in my previous Trend Book 'New Exotica'. Another reason I want to do another trendbook is because i'm starting to become really interested in magazine and book layout and i'd like to work on my illustration skills.

In fashion external events influence fashion so I have decided to use the credit crunch as my starting point and link it with the 'Make Do and Mend Campaign' from 1943.

To Do This Week:

• Research into my theme and have a range of ideas I can start to develop into designs next week.
• Look at trendbooks that are already out there.
• Write my Learning Agreement.