week one-
Reflection – initial thoughts on the new project
Today I had my first tutorial for module AGP675. I started the new school year on not the best note as I had been in and out of hospital as I had some issues with my stomach. Thankfully I’m feeling a lot better and am able to properly start my ideas for the new brief. A few days before going to uni I was able to go through the handbook and get a start on some ideas and the reading list. I have always loved to incorporate textiles into my projects and with this brief I am going to create a clothing brand that uses second-hand materials to create new unique pieces. So far, I am hoping to source my materials through charity shops, Vinted and Depop. I am also looking into working with vintage shops, but I feel that by sourcing my materials myself I will have some more freedom with my designs.
During summer I started to learn how to knit, and I was hoping to incorporate this into my brand as well. As I am not a very experienced knitter, and it is a very time-consuming task I would like to keep this as a small part of the brand. I thought it would be interesting to work with other people to ensure I am creating durable and high-quality knitwear as well as allowing me to learn more about this new hobby. I am definitely going to do a lot more research into sustainable knitting and look at different ways I can incorporate this into my branding.
Although I know I want to create a clothing brand I’m still a bit stuck on some other aspects. I have started reading “The A-Z of Visual Ideas; How to Solve and Creative Brief by John Ingledew to ensure I fully understand the brief. Through reading this book I am planning on having a better idea of my brand identity.
I still feel that I have a lot more research to do for my brand, but I have a good idea of where I want to start. Through the next week, I want to focus on creating a strong brand identity so I can get a better idea of my target audience. I feel the best way for me to do this is to start going to some events/museums to inspire myself with the types of clothing I want to make as well as starting some mood boards, mind maps and sketches to get all my visual ideas onto paper.
working in my sketchbook- mindmap and initial ideas
When starting my sketchbook, I always like to begin by creating a mind map. I use the mind map to put all my initial ideas and thoughts around the brief. I feel that doing this also allows me to get a better idea of the problems I might face in the future. When starting I knew I wanted to create a fashion brand, I started by reading The A-Z of Visual Ideas: How to Solve Any Creative Brief by John Ingledew. I have found this book very insightful in giving me a thorough idea of what I want to look into, and I will continue to use this book while I develop my ideas. Ingledew’s book has been very helpful in giving me a clearer idea of what will be important to achieve for my clients while also keeping in line with the brief we have been given. For future research I want to look into why people would want to buy sustainably and not just buy from a cheaper fast-fashion brand, I feel this will allow me to get a better understanding of why other sustainable brands fail and a better understanding of who my target audience is.
working in my sketchbook – mood board
For the next part of my sketchbook work, I have begun to make a mood board. This is something I feel will change throughout my development however I feel that I work best with visuals. In this mood board, I have focused on the colours and types of garments I plan on designing. I have felt a bit stuck with my progress so far as I have found it hard to get an idea of how I will make my brand stand out. I am hoping with more research and further tutorials I will develop my small ideas into something unique for my target audiences.
organisation and planning for this project
As I begin this project, I want to always keep my organisation and planning as structured as I can. When using my blogs, I want to use this as a platform to keep my thoughts and reflections throughout this project. I am hoping to use my blogs to add my initial ideas of where my research could go and whether or not I should develop them into my sketchbook. However, I will use my sketchbook to fully develop my research and show the process and progress of my clothing brand.
week two-
visiting the V&A-
Today I visited the V & A museum in hopes of some inspiration for my brand. The V & A was hosting an exhibition on fashion through the ages, I thought this would be a great chance to see a collection of different styles.
I was able to get a close look at the details of the garments which definitely influenced some of my first designs for my brand. I was mostly focusing on looking for different silhouettes, I have been struggling to come up with unique designs. I wanted to use the experience to see up close the details as well as taking photos to study how I could make similar constructions.
Here I have included some of my favourite pieces. I admired this corset made in England around the 1830s out of cotton and whalebone. The Piece was given in by Elizabeth Norton and was styled with 1825 – 30 sleeve supports made from cotton and filled with feathers; an 1830s dress sleeve made from silk as well as an 1820s Petticoat with shoulder straps. I especially liked this corset for its interesting shapes that structured around the body of the mannequin. As I am focusing on keeping my designs ‘timeless’ this garment showed me I can still create a distinctive garment without adding bold colours but rather focusing on the detailing.
The next piece is by Vivienne Westwood and was sourced for Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s London Kings Road shop. The piece is especially known for its association with the Punk revelation. Westwood is known for her work with the band Sex Pistols’ and her extraordinary “deconstructing fashion” which is still to this day recreated. Her pieces were significant to the punk aesthetic, She would often rip the clothing putting them back together with safety pins or use graphic t-shirts to showcase her anti-establishment mindset.
In this garment, you can see how she has deconstructed the garment. Not only does she add a dramatic sleeve, but she also creates holes that create a much more textual look to the piece. I especially like the detailing on the top of the garment with the small holes. The details create a much more unique look and with the added texture make the garment look flat or uninteresting. I was particularly captured by this piece as I am interested in looking at adding some knitwear pieces to my collection. I am a bit uncertain about doing this as I am stuck on how I would source my wool in an ethical way whilst also maintaining a high-quality look. I am hoping to look more into Vivienne Westwood as I am very inspired by her mindset of not following the rules of textiles whereby, she is able to create much more eccentric garments.
I also found myself mostly focusing on the embroidery on some of the garments. I really enjoy doing embroidery and would love to incorporate this into some of my designs. I really liked his “1823 evening dress” which was made from hand-woven muslins that were imported from East India and Scotland.
Finally, I have included some more images from my day. I have included garments that have inspired me with their structures, colours, and detailing. This exhibition has allowed me to start questioning the smaller details of my brand. I want to start focusing on my brand identity and how I will attract my audience.
research links –
https://www.lofficiel.co.uk/fashion/vivienne-westwood-sex-pistols-punk-fashion-history
https://www.vam.ac.uk
week 3-
creating a zine –
Today I created a small zine in hopes of inspiring my brand identity. I used this time to be creative freely. I used magazines, thread, pens and more to create a small book that showcases my initial ideas on what I think my brand will be.
On the first page, I have collaged colours that attracted me and created a circular pattern. I really like the deep reds and I thought It would be fun to create a pattern using contrasting colours. I then used a needle thread to add a bigger circular shape using blue and green lines. I’m really happy with this final design and I imagine my brand using interesting colours like these for the detailing in my garments.
On the next page, I have added some cut-outs of some photography I liked. I hope to use my brand as a community of creatives not just customers. I would love to create a platform for people to find inspiration not just for outfits but for photography and art. I feel that this will create a more intimate connection with my audience that other mostly fast fashion brands do not try to approach. This is something I want to research further as I start looking into my social media.
On the final page, I found an image I liked cut it up into strips and glued it down unevenly to create a fun effect. I was drawn to this image for its colours. I see my brand focusing on a neutral colour scheme to keep to a timeless look but by adding pops of colour with embroidery and other techniques I will be able to create a more unique garment. I have also included a short video of the process of making my zine.
I still feel that I have a lot of research to do but I am happy I have a clearer idea of what I want my brand to look like. I next want to focus on my research for my brand, I want to use my time to think about how people see fashion and it’s ever-changing trends and how I will encourage people to follow my brand with it being a slow fashion brand.
week 4-
Target Audience-
today I have created a page in my sketchbook where I have been able to look at the charactistis i would expect to find within my target audience.
week 7-
In today’s tutorial, I have made a much clearer idea of the type of brand I want to create. I had been struggling a lot with what I wanted to create so through this I have created lots of drawings and ideas that don’t really make sense and rather than creating things that I value and find inspiring I have tried to create something that I want other people to find interesting. After hearing Elliot spoke about his project and his thoughts on fashion and how creating something you love is also slowly destroying itself. Fashion isn’t sustainable even if you’re doing your best to be thoughtful there will be a tiny part that is unethical. As well as even if every brand turns sustainable the circular cycle will grow into another issue.
This conversation brought me to the mindset that I should work on the values of my brand rather than the feedback. I still want to create something that will be visually beautiful to look at and experience but rather than thinking about it in a branding way I want to focus on the heritage side of my designs and the how the world around me inspires these garments.
week 8-
Research – Tessa Perlow
After my tutorial with Emma, Emma suggested looking into Tessa Perlows’ work. Perlow was born in West Long Branch and grew up in a small town on the Jersey Shore. In 2016 Perlow graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology where she studied Fashion design. In an interview with Spicewoman Perlow said; “I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember and when I was in high school, I started making my own clothes as a way to feel original”1. Perlow creates embroidered pieces using vibrant colours she is often inspired by nature, plants, and animals. Similar to my work Perlow uses the nature that surrounds her to enhance her ideas for her projects2.
1) https://speciwomen.org/fashion-archive/tessa-perlow
2) https://sarahkbenning.com/craft-with-conscience/craft-with-conscience-tessa-perlow
week 9-
Research – Vanessa Marr The Duster Project
While I start to do more research for my brand, I also have begun to think of ways I can make my brand stand out from the rest. After my tutorial with Emma, I began to think of the importance of brands similar to mine and how they show a positive outlet not just their values as a brand but through the products themselves. In this tutorial myself, Emma as well as Elliot discussed the effects of our own making. This brought me to this research; Vanessa Marr created the Duster Project as a way to get perspective from more than one type of woman. The Duster Project was created as a way of getting the thoughts and struggles of women’s daily lives in an artistic form. The duster project is a collection of yellow duster cloths a common household cleaning object, whereby Marr has given to multiple women to embroider their own feelings towards the expectations of the modern-day working woman. Through this research, I am hoping to get some inspiration on a way I can create a more engaging brand or product for my audience.
week 10-
further reaserch – who can I contact?
I wanted to start to think about other brands I could start to talk to based in Brighton. Cerys Williams is a past student of the University of Brighton, her brand Zesty Reworks has been very successful and has many similar aspects to my brand. Like my brand, Zesty Reworks is a collaborative clothing brand that uses vintage garments that are damaged or not in a good state to sell and turns them into new unique pieces. Currently, Zesty Reworks has been working on a bag collection that she sells at different events throughout the UK. I thought it would be useful to ask Cerys some questions about her brands about her struggles and mistakes as a small brand owner in hopes of getting an insight into the things I might face as a small sustainable brand.
week 11-
Logo and visuals for my brand-
I wanted to start looking into what types of logos and visuals I want to create for my brand. I have been inspired to create my logo around Welsh symbols, as my brand is heavily influenced by Welsh heritage, I thought it would only be fitting to create a logo around this theme with some modern twists. I have been looking into historic symbols such as the Celtic knot which is a very familiar symbol in Wales for its religious and historic significance. This also began some brief research into the religious significance in Wales. I have also begun to look into tapestries and stained glass as growing up in Wales I often saw churches and chapels in my village. I have never considered myself a religious person however being from a small area Christianity has always been a part of my surroundings through the historic buildings, castles and ruins I would often visit as a child. This is something I want to develop throughout this week, I was hoping to use the study week to go back home and gather some photography and drawings to develop this ideas.
week 12-
Designs
Here I have added some of my first designs these designs are going to be further developed throughout the project. Whilst I am doing more research and visual planning I will also be adding and changing the designs to ensure I have a unique final project. This week I am planning on making some practice tops with old materials. I want to make these tops to get a better understanding of issues I might face during the making process. As I will be making my garments out of used clothing, I will have to keep in mind how much material I have and how I can deconstruct a garment into a new piece.
week 13-
Instagram mock up-
Here I have created my first mock-up for my brand’s Instagram page. I created this as I thought it would be a good way to show how I will showcase all the components of my brand in one platform. For my Instagram, I want to use it as a platform to show photography, art, and writing as well as use the reels as a way of showing how I have created some of my garments. I also would like to use the highlights as a way of showing behind-the-scenes content of photoshoots and designing to build a good connection with my followers. As I feel I will get most of my engagement with my audience from my social media I want to put a lot of time and effort into the types of content I will be uploading. I am planning on doing some more research throughout my sketchbook on how to create an engaging page. As well as creating a schedule of when I will be uploading content to ensure I am keeping myself organised and frequently adding posts.
week 14-
Research – Kate Fletcher
For my next step in research, I will be looking into Kate Fletcher. Fletcher is a research professor, author as well as a design activist. She is currently a professor at the Royal Danish Academy focusing on sustainability and design in Denmark. Her work focuses on the fundamentals of nature as well as the culture within fashion and design. I felt it was important I research Fletcher’s work as she has a very open idea about the possibilities of the future of fashion. Fletcher focuses her work on the idea of nature and humans being equal as one to explore the changes we could make to change overconsumption. I have been reading her books “Craft of use; Post-growth World”, “Design and Nature: a partnership”, “Earth Logic Fashion Action Research Plan”, as well as looking into her other pieces of work including her pamphlet “multi- centred Worlds” which explores different aspects of nature without the impute of human inputs or references. I feel that her work will value my research as I carry on exploring the different ways I can create in a sustainable manner.
https://katefletcher.com/profile/
working in my sketchbook – beginning to look at inspiration for photoshoots
I have begun looking at some inspiration for my photoshoots, I have started by just looking in magazines. From these magazines, I will begin to do some further research into other styles and photographers. The first magazine I looked at was the Vogue, May 2022 edition. I loved this photoshoot for its styling, hair, and makeup, I imagine my first photoshoot being similar with innovative hair and makeup. I also loved the contrast of bright colours next to black and white images.
I also saw another photoshoot in this same magazine. I was inspired by this photo shoot as I loved the colours and how it looked like it was taken on a film camera. In my photoshoots, I would love to use some film and digital. I personally love the outcomes of film photography and I think it would look amazing in a studio photoshoot.
The final photoshoot I looked at was from Dazed and Confused Korea magazine, released in January 2022. I actually found this magazine last year for free and I loved this certain photoshoot in the magazine. I think this photoshoot is a great example of what I’m trying to achieve when attempting to show a garment whilst also using the surroundings. I think because my work is so inspired by Wales, it only makes sense to photograph the nature as much as the garment. This is something I would hope to do for my own social media and maybe a small lookbook throughout my FMP.
