Final Design Evaluation

After completing my original narrative design, I had thought of many more creative ideas, in which I didn't include. My original summery design to suit Jean Paul's narrative story reminded me slightly of beachwear, and so from this I decided to create a design that would suit womenswear beachwear, for Spring/Summer 2014 - still suiting to Jean Paul's narrative story.

When I think of Indian womenswear, I think of the gorgeous gold jewellery that Indian women wear. When I think of that typical sailor look, I instantly think of blue and white stripes. Therefore, I decided to combine the two in my design. I think I went for a kind of 'cop out' with this, however I think that the simplicity of it works perfectly. I didn't want the design to be too overcrowded with embellished Indian patterns, as I was scared it would drown the sailor twist within. Going for a simple blue and white striped bikini would have been fairly lifeless, and so I dazzled this up with an Indian style sarong, in the colours of the common sailor stripes. Then I have hemmed the outfit with small gold aluminium plates, to give it that feel of the gorgeous Indian culture. As body jewellery is not only popular for Indian women, it was also becoming very popular in sales at the end of last summer, and so I have included a gold body chain, of the same material as the hemming jewels. I love the dramatic effect this has on the outfit - I feel it creates a great balance between the two themes in the narrative story that it is based upon.

Evaluation

Analysing the Vivienne Westwood dress from her 'Red Collection', came naturally to me. I found the task of being able to recognise the designer, and the era in which the garment was influenced by, fairly easy. Noticing the different aspects of the design such as the, boning, drape across the bust, and the halter neck straps helped it to become very obvious that the dress was to enhance an hourglass figure.

Taking the time to choose my items from the V&A museum came from instinct of what I found eye catching, suited to my personal taste. It might also have party been psychological, based on having similarities with things that I have researched or analysed before. The first item that I chose was the Turkish tiling, which is also my favourite of the three. This is due to the gorgeous colours that consists in the piece, and also that repeat patterns really interest me recently. I have studied repeat patterns in my two previous design projects in a separate unit, and created garments based party on this. This reason might also relate to why I chose this item. I'm happy with my decision on the Turkish tile, and the typical late 60s women's suit, how ever I feel that I let myself down on the lack of knowledge for my third item.

Researching into; narrative, abstract and conceptual styles of fashion designs, has been extremely beneficial to me in this unit. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the three separate methods of designing. Researching at least two designers for each method allowed me to explore more collections within this area, and the ideas that they consist of. This wider range of research has been a great influence for my designs. I found that the narrative approach most definitely allowed me to create to most successful ideas, in comparison to the others, which also resulted me to create the most successful design out of the three. I think that this is down to the fact that with a story, one will have more of insight - more of an inspiration. The list of adjectives helped me to receive a clearer image, allowing a lot more creativity.  I chose to base my narrative design on Jean Paul Gaultier's collection, based on the story of a sailor, experiencing Indian culture. I am pleased with my outcome from this, and I definitely find this method the easiest to work with. After experimenting with narrative designs, I feel that is definitely something that I will use when designing my own collections, to allow me to create the most inspiring ideas.

My Abstract Designs

These two design ideas above are examples that I created to show abstract fashion design, based on my research. These are both designs for womenswear. I feel that these designs on the stand express abstract, due to the bold shapes and dimensions. For the final designs of these, the colours would be very bold. For example, the design on the right; the diagonal strips could be red, and the rest yellow.

Abstract Design

I really do love Dolce & Gabbana's, SS 2013 collection, which is shown above. I just adore the simplicity of it all, and how effective that really becomes. The collection was based on a summer beach holiday, which got everybody rearing for summer.

I really love abstract designs, with these in particular. The bold and fierce stripes completely absorb my attention. Even the shape of the items themselves - No matter how much I adore an outrageous and unique 3D fashion design created from absurd materials, I think coming back to a rather more formal collection, is fabulous.

Fashion journalists and other parts of the media disagreed with this collection, slating the designing couple for 'staying in their comfort zone' - their comfort zone being very sicilian and neutral. Dolce and Gabanna often use a lot of white in their collections, suited to the curvy figured women. (In my opinion, I think that their typical style can often be quite tacky), so personally, I disagree.

Alexander Mqueen's collection for SS 2014 'Abstract Expression', says it all really. It's explainable in itself, for the meaning of abstract fashion. From the bold shapes to the vibrant, shocking reds, this collection is as abstract as could be. I even love the stiff fall that the outfits have. I think it's absolutely brilliant, and I take this as a great inspiration. 

Conceptual Design

Iris Van Herpen is a conceptual Dutch fashion designer that uses 3D printing to create her collections. Her work is absolutely astonishing to me - I find her creative ability fascinating. The creations shown below are examples from her Spring/Summer 2012 haute couture collection shown in Paris on January 23rd 2012. 

The 3D printed outfits are first of all created by a pulsed laser that layers powdered rubbers or metals into a shape calculated by computers. This manufacturing technique was originally developed for engineers, and also has a history with footwear and jewellery.

I find Iris Van Herpen most inspiring due to her individuality as a fashion designer, and her dare for a unique style. Her creations are like something i've never seen worn on a human figure before. The detail that consists within, is simply astonishing - especially the allow for comfort and practicality. The female dutch designer, is a true inspiration to me.

Issey Miyake is a Japanese fashion designer well known for his technically driven clothing designs. He has been experimenting with technology in fashion since 1997.

This is an image of Miyake's latest experiment using custom software to create complex, digital patterns. Within this, he created three dimensional garments that were not cut - nor sewn; instead they are folded with permanent pleats to fit the garment to the body.

This creative idea is fascinating, and the though processes within his work is without a doubt incredible. How ever personally, I cannot grow to his designs to suit my personal taste. I feel that this collection is too dark and alien like for me.

Narrative Design

NARRATIVE STORY FROM STYLE.COM
SEPTEMBER 20, 2009LONDON

By Sarah Mower

Luella Bartley's girl has calmed down and smartened up for Spring. Where for the past few seasons every dress had been multicolored, flower-printed, beribboned, buckled, or frilled up in various pop-ironic ways, for this outing her clothes have become almost straightforward, in a mid-sixties Sunday-best sort of way. Stripping away the teeny, cutesy haberdashery of the collection had the effect of focusing attention on silhouettes: princess coats with Peter Pan collars, pannier dresses with padded hips, and various other devices lifted from the Balenciaga era Great Granny knew so well. If it hadn't been for the fact that Bartley's color palette was bright and cheerful—lemon, lipstick red, teal, camel, and sugar pink—and all the shapes were cut short and given a girlish raised waist, it could have been an uncharacteristically sober affair for a designer who's made her name by supplying a hearty dose of cheek to runway proceedings. As it was, without the surface froufrou (excepting the tulle-frilled dress and skirt), the collection looked well made and set fair to compete on the same kind of ground as Marc by Marc Jacobs—although these clothes are going to read as several degrees more dressed up and formal than Bartley's usual offerings.

From reading and analysing the narrative for this collection of Luella Bartley's, I can tell that the Spring 2010 collection was based broadly on the typical mid-sixties look, and the Balgenciagra era.

NARRATIVE STORY FROM STYLE.COM
JUNE 28, 2012PARIS

By Matthew Schneier

The sailor is a house icon at Jean Paul Gaultier. There seems to be no limit to the number of times the designer will go back to that well. The twist for Spring is that our hero, the marinière, has traveled to India. That is to say, he wears the seafaring garb that is his standard and classic—the buttoned panel sailor's trousers in denim, the Breton stripes, the cape-back tops—but many pieces bear the influence of Indian craftwork. Those Breton stripes are picked out in a scattering thicket of beads. The sailor's tattoos (anchor, siren, so on) are embroidered onto shirtsleeves and fronts. A toile de Jouy, meanwhile, featured scenes from sailorly life, including le mâlefrom the ads for the JPG cologne Le Male. It may be a lot of Gaultieriana if you're not already a Gaultierite.

From reading and analysing the narrative for this collection of Jean Paul Gaultier's, I can tell that the Spring 2012 collection was broadly based on the typical sailor style, with a twist of Indian culture.

NARRATIVE STORY FROM STYLE.COM
SEPTEMBER 29, 2012PARIS

By Tim Blanks

The British Embassy, with its rooms full of nineteenth-century furniture and walls hung with twenty-first-century art, was a perfect backdrop for Vivienne Westwood, who has often fused past and future to great effect over the course of her four decades in fashion. Of late, however, her interest in the future has had more to do with the issue of climate change. Today's show, for instance, was called Climate Revolution. Westwood insisted the title actually had nothing to do with the collection, but there was an unfinished quality to the clothes that you could read as an anarchic delight in dystopian rawness—if you were inclined, that is, to the designer's apocalyptic train of thought.

From reading and analysing the narrative for this collection of Vivienne Westwood's, I can tell that the collection was broadly based on the British Embassy, with a twist on things to support climate change.

Analysis Of Fashion Item

This is a Vivienne Westwood dress, that the college were lucky enough to get hold of for us to analyse.

The dress is an item that was designed as part of the 'Red Collection'. Being created recently, means that it is a modern wash label, rather than a vintage.

I could tell that the dress was Vivienne Westwood before knowing, down to the 'rocky' theme that this garment has. I think also the colours, and the shape gave it away. It is kind of Vivienne Westwood's typical style that she is known for.

Other than this 'punky' feel to the dress, I have also noticed that the shape of the dress is possibly influenced from an 18th Century court dress, due to it's corset, silhouette shape. The boning in the sides suggests that it is influenced from an older era, rather than a modern. The drape across the bust also.

This dress is most definitely designed to give a silhouette shape, not only for it's boning corset, and the drape across the bust, but also the halter neck straps. Having the straps at a diagonal like this gives the bust a great enhancement. The skirt being wide, also allows the waist to look smaller.