Saturday, October 23, 2010

Outfit 5

Another outfit down! Well, almost. I've finished the skirt with leather panels sticking upright and made the foundation top, all I have to do it attach the leather shoulder armour to the top. It sounds easy, but like everything else, I'm sure it will take 3 times longer than I plan.

This week I designed and made my labels and attached them, as well as care labels, into my garments. I also went out and bought a heap of wooden coat hangers and stuck my label on those as well. Everything looks so professional with labels!

50% of our garments have to be finished and handed up on Monday, and the other 50% by Thursday. Model fittings are on Thursday so fingers crossed that everything fits. I really, really, really don't want to have to adjust things. There's also the minor fact that I haven't started my 6th and final outfit. As in haven't even pattern made it. That sounds a lot worse written down than it did in my head. If I write another post on Friday, I'd say it will be a good sign that I've got everything finished and haven't had a breakdown with a half completed dress laying next to me!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Post for the Media

I have always loved fashion! Growing up in the country two hours from Adelaide, I had limited access to shops. I'd spend my time pouring over fashion magazines and dreaming up my own designs. I'd stick A4 paper together to draft my own patterns and sew them with the help of my Mum. In year nine I realised that fashion could be a career, until then I'd always imagined myself going to uni and studying something 'academic.' I studied Home Economics Textiles throughout high school and my fantastic teacher did everything she could to expand my knowledge and skills to prepare me for tafe. I feared not being accepted into the Applied Fashion Design and Technology course. Luckily for me I got in, shifted to Adelaide, and have loved every minute!

My graduation collection, titled Intergalactica, is architecturally based and inspired by space and the plates of armadillos. Verging on pieces of art, the collection treads a fine line between being wearable and gallery showpieces. A robotic image is created with rigid leather panelling and exaggerated silhouettes, then softened with sheer but structured elements. It's futuristic, outrageous and shocking.

I can't decide on my favourite piece,it changes every day, today I'd have to say it's the outfit I used in my photo shoot. It's a black and gold snakeskin print leotard, with black leather armour at the hips and shoulders. I love the silhouette and strength it portrays. It probably sounds a bit obvious, but it's the sort of thing I can see Lady Gaga wearing.

Next year I hope to gain employment within the fashion industry in Adelaide. As a side project, I plan to design and make a one off outfit every month and auction them online to cover my costs. Everything I design is a statement, big, dramatic and bold. I'm also a perfectionist, so everything I make has to fit perfectly and be sewn with precision. It will be my creative outlet, not something I plan to make millions out of... but you never know what might happen in the future...

My design aesthetic?

"Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary?"


Inspiration Board

Four Weeks to Go!!!

I had a slight (read: huge) freak out the other day. For some reason I thought there were only 3 weeks until the parade, but still, 4 weeks will go just as quickly. Tickets for the parade went on sale today and I don't really know what to feel. I'm excited and stressed and nervous all at the same time. I pattern made and toiled the skirt for my 5th outfit today. Unfortunately I've left the 2 hardest outfits to last. Hopefully I can almost finish the skirt tomorrow. I shouldn't be blogging right now, I have clothes to make, otherwise I won't have anything to put in the parade!

Oh, and another couple of things to add to the list:
1. I need to make an outfit to wear to the matinee parade
2. I need to make an outfit to wear to the evening parade
3. For some stupid reason I decided to have my 21st party the week after the parade, so i have to organise that,
which brings me to...
4. I need to make an outfit to wear to my 21st

I say 'need' because how would it look if I, a graduating fashion design student, rocked up to my own parade/birthday in a bought outfit. I can just imagine the disappointment on my family and friends' faces. Well, more to the point I don't want to have to answer every single person who asks "that's amazing, did you make it?" with a "no," leaving them wondering what the hooha I've been doing for the last 3 years if I can't even make my own clothes.

GET BUSY HANNAH!!!

PS, if its a sign that you're going crazy when you start talking to yourself, I have gone completely utterly mental.

Photoshoot

This year we were lucky enough to have models from Finesse supplied to us for free for our photo shoots. Our lecturers also organised us to have TAFE photography and hair and beauty students work on our photo shoots for us for free. It's made a huge difference and made life a little less stressful knowing that we don't have to pay for this on top of everything else.

My wonderful photographer, Ben McLaren was inspired by the 1920s film Metropolis for the style of the photo shoot. Angles, shadows and perspective are emphasised is the expressionist film, which reflects my range really well.
My model, Lucy H, was gorgeous and so lovely to talk to. The outfit I used (the first outfit I made - bodysuit with hip and shoulder armour) fitted her perfectly and looked amazing on. Better than I could have ever imagined.

The hair and makeup students did a fantastic job, luckily I knew what I wanted done because they only had an hour. The look I wanted was sleek and strong and I think they portrayed that very well. I was a little concerned when two different girls were doing the eyes...it wasn't the most even eyeshadow I've seen, but you can't tell that in the final image because it's more of a profile of Lucy's face.

I am so super excited about the final image!! Ben has done an amazing job, I couldn't be happier. The photo looks like something out of a fashion magazine. This is the first time I've ever had anything professionally shot, so I'm really excited. It's such a great feeling of accomplishment to see my work like this.

Outfit 4

When I finalised my designs, I'd have to say that this outfit was my least favourite. Now that it's almost finished though, I love it. It's a dress with lots more sticky-outy panelling and a big neckpiece. It's taken me ages to do though becasue I couldn't find any non trashtastic gold leather. The bonus with leather is that it has the right stiffness so it doesn't have to be fused, and it doesn't fray so the edges don't have to be finished or bagged out. Double bonus. My luck has run out though and I spent my weekend fusing a billion (well probably not quite) panels and bagging them out and attaching them to the skirt. This outfit has intersecting seams and they match perfectly, if I don't mind saying so myself! The zip on this dress was tricky to insert becasue of the bulk where all the seams meet, but I finally got it to work. All I have to do is bag out the hem lining and finish off the neckline, almost done!

Dress and Neckpiece Toile

Outfit 3

My third outfit is pants and a jacket. The pants have leather panels sticking out at the sides. I toiled them in a very anattractive purple snakeskin vinyl and had to keep reminding myself that they would turn out much better in the real fabric. No major problems making these.

The jacket is in gold with a black lapel and leather panels on the sleeves/shoulders. It's finished apart from the button and buttonhole. I'll have to get it drycleanded because the black leather has rubbed off onto the gold fabric.

Pants Toile

Outfit 2

Sometimes it would be nice if things just worked! I made a bodysuit for my second outfit, using the exact same pattern as the first, finished it, put it on a model and BAM! Massive double bum. Even on a teeny tiny model. I decided it was easier to start again and it worked fine the second time, it's all to do with the stretching of the elastic around the legs.

This outfit has big sheer organza sleeves, with a sheer organza hoop skirt over the bodysuit. It took a fair bit of toiling to get the sleeves and and skirt to sit right, I've had to sew on satin channels to feed boning through to hold the structure. The only problem is that the circumference of the skirt is so large that is keeps on curling under itself. I'm going to take it home and see if dad has some wire that i can use to hold the shape.

Sheer Skirt Toile