Okay, first word to anybody trying to become a fashion designer without going to school to do so. My dears, my poor poor dears please listen to me very carefully, this is not Chanel's era, we all need to do things differently now, you must learn everything you need to know as a fashion designer before you attempt to wing it on partial knowledge, okay? This is what just happened to me, I contacted a clothing company and they were interested in my designs and wanted to acquire the specs for my garment designs, I don't yet have pattern making skill though and had actually forgotten about the technical aspects of fashion illustrations (the flat 'technical' line drawings used by the pattern makers) and so, there is no practical way to for the company to do business with me in the way that this business is run now. And that's okay, because although I've been dis-illusioned and dis-appointed I was aiming to learn all I had to know as a fashion designer any way. So I haven't of course been knocked off my path. I haven't and you shouldn't be either. Just keep going and focus on the next step in front of you and not how long the journey is.
Anyway though, I've joined the fashion industry network and I've been making a few friends along the way. There are also some products that I know are going to help me out in my path and here's a list of which wonderful things they are: The Lutterloh Pattern Making System, Islander Sewing's Industrial sewing training DVDs and 'Il Figurino Di Moda' Fashion Design Techniques Book and the Portfolio Presentation for Fashion Design book (I've just ordered this last one) So I'm digging in my heals like usual and continuing to find my way.
I wish you all a wonderful day,
Ayisha (Emma)
Showing posts with label couture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label couture. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Fashion Designer Vivienne Westwood's Summer 2010 Collection
Okay, I'm holding on to my dream of being a fashion designer one day in the future (before I'm 50 that is) but at the moment I'm forced to put it on the back burner for a while, yet again. So instead of putting my interest in fashion on the back burner too, because that's stressful you know? I'm going to make this blog about fashion things that strike my fancy and arrest my attention. One such thing recently has been Vivienne Westwood's Summer Collection. In a phrase, her collection strikes me as a kind of nightmarish fantasy of apocalyptic day dreams.
It's confusing at first and disturbing throughout but, yes her collection is thought provoking and I must say I usually appreciate anything that makes me wonder.
Among her pieces are garments that at first sight regardless of the model's 'match flame' hair and ghostly makeup are almost pretty takes on historical costumes and modernized garments. Then when you look a little closer there's awkwardly matched color or textile types or you realize the cut or an accent on it is an "improper" "anti-aesthetic" item that simply feels wrong.
However, retrospect thinking about what a lot of people (such as myself) perceive as beautiful is often reflective of ideals about human virtue or what we feel or wish the world could be like.
In contrast, Vivienne Westwood's fashion deconstruction, seems to oddly reflect the precarious character of humanness. Our aspirations to be something beautiful and peaceful while at the same time existing as a blindly destructive force corrupting that which is around us and ourselves. This approach to fashion, resulting in a collection that has a kind of confident haunting sadness and doom about it. At the end of this I wonder if between the two perspectives of
- one, the beauty of hope, ideals, and positive potentials and nature, etc etc
- and two, the perhaps more presently "realistic" art of fashion deconstruction
...does Vivienne Westwood's "art" hold more validity than the pursuit of traditional beauty as an art style that should be pursued?
As I think about this quote by Napoleon Hill, "What your mind focuses upon, your mind brings into existence.", I'll say this, if words are the building blocks of thought and a picture (and any other visual medium) speaks a thousand words than I feel that it's crucial that we focus on the creation of beauty as it reflects health, balance, human virtue, hope and the possibility of a positive future and not the glamorization of post apocalyptic matches brought to life even if it is art. You can check out what I'm talking about at fashion watch tv . com here's the link to Vivienne Westwood's summer 2010 collection
Till the next Fashion Item catches my thoughts, stay tuned for more and thanks for reading my post.
Have a wonderful day,
Ayisha
It's confusing at first and disturbing throughout but, yes her collection is thought provoking and I must say I usually appreciate anything that makes me wonder.
Among her pieces are garments that at first sight regardless of the model's 'match flame' hair and ghostly makeup are almost pretty takes on historical costumes and modernized garments. Then when you look a little closer there's awkwardly matched color or textile types or you realize the cut or an accent on it is an "improper" "anti-aesthetic" item that simply feels wrong.
However, retrospect thinking about what a lot of people (such as myself) perceive as beautiful is often reflective of ideals about human virtue or what we feel or wish the world could be like.
In contrast, Vivienne Westwood's fashion deconstruction, seems to oddly reflect the precarious character of humanness. Our aspirations to be something beautiful and peaceful while at the same time existing as a blindly destructive force corrupting that which is around us and ourselves. This approach to fashion, resulting in a collection that has a kind of confident haunting sadness and doom about it. At the end of this I wonder if between the two perspectives of
- one, the beauty of hope, ideals, and positive potentials and nature, etc etc
- and two, the perhaps more presently "realistic" art of fashion deconstruction
...does Vivienne Westwood's "art" hold more validity than the pursuit of traditional beauty as an art style that should be pursued?
As I think about this quote by Napoleon Hill, "What your mind focuses upon, your mind brings into existence.", I'll say this, if words are the building blocks of thought and a picture (and any other visual medium) speaks a thousand words than I feel that it's crucial that we focus on the creation of beauty as it reflects health, balance, human virtue, hope and the possibility of a positive future and not the glamorization of post apocalyptic matches brought to life even if it is art. You can check out what I'm talking about at fashion watch tv . com here's the link to Vivienne Westwood's summer 2010 collection
Till the next Fashion Item catches my thoughts, stay tuned for more and thanks for reading my post.
Have a wonderful day,
Ayisha
Monday, June 2, 2014
New Resources To Help You With Your Online Fashion Degrees
Over the past few days I've come across 3 great new information resources for those of us Fashionistas that are looking to become fashion designers on a DIY basis or through traditional college or by getting a few online fashion degrees. (I'll provide the links to each of these sites after I tell you a bit about them)
First, I came across a wonderful explanation behind the precarious copyright laws regarding the protection of Fashion Designs, it's good for any fashion designer to familiarize yourself with these laws, your designs are not protected for your own good, if they were, your work could prove to be your legal undoing, a liability.
However pretty much direct copying is still a frowned upon disgrace, some designers have won battles with each other over this. Thank God, but it's a good thing too because we should all strive to be more creative.
For the greatest amount of protection of your work, document your fashion design process. You can do this by keeping your sketch book of the evolution and inspiration of your ideas, keep the mood board. Collect all your material created during the fashion design process, put it in an envelope and mail it to yourself, and never open it. That's one way, it's all about the creation date, another way I should think, is to post your work online, on a blog, on an online portfolio, person website, the internet is an archive of dated material.
I've done this with my own work already so I guess I've successfully protected myself in a way. Now all I have to do is get my work on the store shelves, well that's another story.
Second site I've stumbled upon was Top Fashion Designers, this webpage is a listing of all the top name fashion designers, not only can you check out their latest collections but you can also get a brief over view of each designers biography. I've enjoyed reading quite a few of them already, they're highlighted facts about their background, how they got started, just a very interesting information resource.
If you're attending an online fashion design school or you have to do a paper on a famous fashion designer, this is the place to go to find out which one you want to write about. As for all of us non-student, DIY people, read up on these designers, you never know where you're going to get your heads up about the next move you should make and that's besides the great collections they've got up.
Third site I found called Couture Candy, would be great in helping your creative wheels turn in the fashion design process. It's a special store that sells very high end, designer label, avant garde street wear, I love the site it's got some great garments to look at, I could get lost browsing this fashion store/gallery for hours looking for the next idea to work with. Not steal mind you, but mutate, add too, and other wise use as a jumping board for my own semi-original garment collection.
So far as the buying is concerned, the prices are high of course, but they aren't too bad at all if you've got the money.
Watch Johanna Blakley talk about Copyright Law in fashion:
Copyright Law In the Fashion Industry
The one stop site for quick biography highlights of all the best designers:
Top Fashion Designers
And here's that great fashion store I found:
Couture Candy
You can find more info and resources at:
Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources
First, I came across a wonderful explanation behind the precarious copyright laws regarding the protection of Fashion Designs, it's good for any fashion designer to familiarize yourself with these laws, your designs are not protected for your own good, if they were, your work could prove to be your legal undoing, a liability.
However pretty much direct copying is still a frowned upon disgrace, some designers have won battles with each other over this. Thank God, but it's a good thing too because we should all strive to be more creative.
For the greatest amount of protection of your work, document your fashion design process. You can do this by keeping your sketch book of the evolution and inspiration of your ideas, keep the mood board. Collect all your material created during the fashion design process, put it in an envelope and mail it to yourself, and never open it. That's one way, it's all about the creation date, another way I should think, is to post your work online, on a blog, on an online portfolio, person website, the internet is an archive of dated material.
I've done this with my own work already so I guess I've successfully protected myself in a way. Now all I have to do is get my work on the store shelves, well that's another story.
Second site I've stumbled upon was Top Fashion Designers, this webpage is a listing of all the top name fashion designers, not only can you check out their latest collections but you can also get a brief over view of each designers biography. I've enjoyed reading quite a few of them already, they're highlighted facts about their background, how they got started, just a very interesting information resource.
If you're attending an online fashion design school or you have to do a paper on a famous fashion designer, this is the place to go to find out which one you want to write about. As for all of us non-student, DIY people, read up on these designers, you never know where you're going to get your heads up about the next move you should make and that's besides the great collections they've got up.
Third site I found called Couture Candy, would be great in helping your creative wheels turn in the fashion design process. It's a special store that sells very high end, designer label, avant garde street wear, I love the site it's got some great garments to look at, I could get lost browsing this fashion store/gallery for hours looking for the next idea to work with. Not steal mind you, but mutate, add too, and other wise use as a jumping board for my own semi-original garment collection.
So far as the buying is concerned, the prices are high of course, but they aren't too bad at all if you've got the money.
Watch Johanna Blakley talk about Copyright Law in fashion:
Copyright Law In the Fashion Industry
The one stop site for quick biography highlights of all the best designers:
Top Fashion Designers
And here's that great fashion store I found:
Couture Candy
You can find more info and resources at:
Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Zac Posen's 09/10 f/w, Karl Lagerfeld's and Armani's new 2010/2011 collections
I'll be adding the links to each of these shows at the bottom of their reviews, enjoy reading and watching and feel free to leave me a comment,
Zac Posen's New Fall/Winter 09/10 Collection
Zac Posen's new Fall/Winter 2011 collection can be described as Luxurious Victorian Futurism. The rich metallic hues with just the right amount of dressy frills along with lovely bias cut numbers make for an elegant collection embodying a Victorian nearly turned minimalist feel.
Each look has a skillful absence of anything overdone and yet contains all the decadence of one of histories most romantic eras. The best Couture way to step into the future.
Zac Posen's 2009/2010 fall/winter collection slideshow
Chanel Fall/Winter 2010 Couture Collection
Karl Lagerfeld as always, has managed to project us into his luxurious well lit otherworldly lair of dreams by producing another collection from his sheer genius of design. Nearly everything in his fall/winter 2010 couture collection is a bolero silhouette but somehow, with all the elements he's used he's managed to make the very repetition of the silhouette itself consistently exciting and a delight for the visual palette.
Look after look, they're all gorgeously exotic designs without easily being culturally placeable with the exception of a few subtly Indian embellishment inspired garments that brilliantly stand far apart from even the remotest associations with Bollywood. Leaving you overwhelmed from the beauty like one that's just woken from a dream you'd rather not have left. We want more Karl Lagerfeld!
Armani's Collection fall/winter 2010
Armani has yet again exhibited his ability to masterfully produce the ultimate feminin easy to wear business suite without using any of the usual fashion additives to do so , no frills, no pink, no lace and none of the usual low cut exposure cheats.
Added, this collection has included a unique and interesting signature medallion size button/clasp type accent reminiscent of tribal style deco yet too sophisticated to be labeled as such adorning the necks and waists of those refined articles of luxury apparel.
You can find more info and resources at:
Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources
Zac Posen's New Fall/Winter 09/10 Collection
Zac Posen's new Fall/Winter 2011 collection can be described as Luxurious Victorian Futurism. The rich metallic hues with just the right amount of dressy frills along with lovely bias cut numbers make for an elegant collection embodying a Victorian nearly turned minimalist feel.
Each look has a skillful absence of anything overdone and yet contains all the decadence of one of histories most romantic eras. The best Couture way to step into the future.
Zac Posen's 2009/2010 fall/winter collection slideshow
Chanel Fall/Winter 2010 Couture Collection
Karl Lagerfeld as always, has managed to project us into his luxurious well lit otherworldly lair of dreams by producing another collection from his sheer genius of design. Nearly everything in his fall/winter 2010 couture collection is a bolero silhouette but somehow, with all the elements he's used he's managed to make the very repetition of the silhouette itself consistently exciting and a delight for the visual palette.
Look after look, they're all gorgeously exotic designs without easily being culturally placeable with the exception of a few subtly Indian embellishment inspired garments that brilliantly stand far apart from even the remotest associations with Bollywood. Leaving you overwhelmed from the beauty like one that's just woken from a dream you'd rather not have left. We want more Karl Lagerfeld!
Armani's Collection fall/winter 2010
Armani has yet again exhibited his ability to masterfully produce the ultimate feminin easy to wear business suite without using any of the usual fashion additives to do so , no frills, no pink, no lace and none of the usual low cut exposure cheats.
Added, this collection has included a unique and interesting signature medallion size button/clasp type accent reminiscent of tribal style deco yet too sophisticated to be labeled as such adorning the necks and waists of those refined articles of luxury apparel.
You can find more info and resources at:
Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Climate Change and the Future of Fashion
We love the fantasy and beauty of fashion, a love that borderlines on being a helpless addiction for some and why shouldn't it? It's art and nearly the ultimate expression of the beauty and love of life itself. But what many of us dedicated fashionista's, stylists and fashion designers may not know is that fashion is one of our biggest sources of pollution.
As much as I hate to admit to it it's true, but the reality is taht if we love our planet as well as our fashion we need to look at how fashion pollutes so we can stop it and help save both our planet and our continuous creation of fashion.
How does fashion pollute? What are the factors we need to put an end to?
Take a look...
natural fibers (example: cotton and flax)
Pollution caused
- pesticides and fertilizers used in crop production pollute water systems and often effect the bird and bee population
- non-biodegradable bleaches, dyes and finishing chemicals used in textile production that again pollute water systems
- fossil fuels used in the production and transport of textiles and fibers
synthetic fabrics (example: polyester, acrylic, nylon, spandex)
Pollution caused
- sythetic filiments produced to create polyester, acrylic and other synthetic textiles are basically polymers, leaving us with the same pollution problems as we have with plastic production, after we've thrown our clothes away we'll have a surplus of these waste materials in the environment for 1000s of years to come
- chemical additives, dyes and finishes as well as special chemical treatments, all non-biodegradable, used in their production, polluting water systems around manufacturing facilities
- fossil fuels used in the production and transport of textiles and fibers
As with the other textiles that are in between natural and synthetic such as rayon, they also have similar pollution creation factors attached to them.
As for wool, leather and fur we've got the pollution factor of methane gas, a major green house gass associated with the production of livestock for commercial use) as well as serious animal cruelty issues we don't want when it comes to the treatment of sheep and the killing of animals for their hides.
Now this is not to say we should put fashion in the closet for good for the sake of our planet, this does mean though that we need to put an end to how we pollute throught the production of fashion.
In my next blog post we'll look at the possibilities and solutions necessary to create a new fashion industry using sustainability concepts.
As much as I hate to admit to it it's true, but the reality is taht if we love our planet as well as our fashion we need to look at how fashion pollutes so we can stop it and help save both our planet and our continuous creation of fashion.
How does fashion pollute? What are the factors we need to put an end to?
Take a look...
natural fibers (example: cotton and flax)
Pollution caused
- pesticides and fertilizers used in crop production pollute water systems and often effect the bird and bee population
- non-biodegradable bleaches, dyes and finishing chemicals used in textile production that again pollute water systems
- fossil fuels used in the production and transport of textiles and fibers
synthetic fabrics (example: polyester, acrylic, nylon, spandex)
Pollution caused
- sythetic filiments produced to create polyester, acrylic and other synthetic textiles are basically polymers, leaving us with the same pollution problems as we have with plastic production, after we've thrown our clothes away we'll have a surplus of these waste materials in the environment for 1000s of years to come
- chemical additives, dyes and finishes as well as special chemical treatments, all non-biodegradable, used in their production, polluting water systems around manufacturing facilities
- fossil fuels used in the production and transport of textiles and fibers
As with the other textiles that are in between natural and synthetic such as rayon, they also have similar pollution creation factors attached to them.
As for wool, leather and fur we've got the pollution factor of methane gas, a major green house gass associated with the production of livestock for commercial use) as well as serious animal cruelty issues we don't want when it comes to the treatment of sheep and the killing of animals for their hides.
Now this is not to say we should put fashion in the closet for good for the sake of our planet, this does mean though that we need to put an end to how we pollute throught the production of fashion.
In my next blog post we'll look at the possibilities and solutions necessary to create a new fashion industry using sustainability concepts.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
My Lemon Tulip Skirt Only Needs A Button Or Two Now
I just managed to finish my lemon tulip skirt portion of my portfolio piece today, I had to blind slip stitch the waistband to the wrong side of the skirt and then tack the hen facing to the inside of the skirt edge with the same blind slip stitch. I have to say, after seeing how it looks, I think I change my mind about wanting a fine hand rolled hem instead. I really like the way this turned out. Take a look below...
I love the way it curves gently outward from the waist then tapers to a narrow opening at the hemline...just like a tulip. So lovely. Now, I remember hearing on Fashion File, years ago, they were talking about one of John Galliano Couture collections for Dior had such fine craftsmanship, but that it was done with such a fine hand "...the clothes didn't look beat up". I was afraid that once I tacked down the facing to the inside of the skirt that it be weighted down and look overworked instead of looking like...a tulip, but it turned out great. Thank God.
I just have decide on what kind of closure type I'm going to use. In a Threads Magazine article, I read that any kind of closure on lingerie should act as additional embellishment and treated like jewelry. Okay, I've got to look for the right buttons then and make sure I've got 4 altogether, two for the skirt and two for the bodice piece.
When I'm finished with this portfolio piece though, I mean the entire look, not just this skirt, I'm going to put up another Patternmaking ad and include my portfolio link, I think I'll redo the url for that thing too, it's not great for Google pick up with the words it's using now. I think I'm going to offer my old deal again too, 4 patterns at $35 EUR each get the 5th one free.
On another note now though, I've put together a Pinterest board in dedication to my mom who has passed away. I haven't been able to think about much else lately, it troubles me that not enough people got to know just how wonderful and loving my mom was. She had an extremely well rounded range of interests and concerns for many things, the kind of things that mattered. I miss her very much and wanted to share what I could about her character. Here is the link to the Pinterest I made for her: http://pinterest.com/ayisha1978/all-about-mom/ and the photo of her that I'm going to use as the cover.
If you'd like to read more about fashion, information on the industry and online schools check out my site at:
If you're a designer or home sewer and you'd like to find some cool eco-friendly fabrics and more check out my resource page at:
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Only The Buttons Left To Do On My Lemon Tulip Pattern
Okay, I've got to fess up, this post is a week late as I did all this work last weekend and simply wasn't able to write a post for the life of me due to housework. It's a shame, but here are the photos of my finished look. My only complaints about the finished design, is that I think I should have made the waist and midriff band half the width (I just had to say that), I wish there was at least an extra 1/2" of ease in the waistband and the sleeves, although every bit as beautiful as I wanted them to be, should have been a bit shorter by at least 2". I'll be sure to put in all these tweaks when I re-work the pattern.
It might have to wait till next weekend though because I've got a pile of dishes sitting in the kitchen (note, I didn't restrict it to 'sink' eeeck!) and unfortunately my article writing suffered this week so I've got to make that up too.
I've got another confession to make as well, out of all the "how to" fashion books I've read, pattern making, sewing secrets, couture sewing, designer details, pattern grading and even various book on the fashion industry but .... after all is said and done, I realized last week that I've never actually read a book on Fashion Design. Isn't that crazy? I've got to get another book on pattern making, either dealing with women's suites, specialty patternmaking or patternmaking for lingerie, but my next book purchase will have to also include a book on Fashion Design, as in the design process that goes into collection development. I've already got a list of books I'm going to be picking from.
I'll have to choose between a book that focuses on the process itself from the perspective of a fashion school professor or another that focuses on the history of fashion design and the process. (I'm a sucker for history so this is a tough choice). Soon as I get my web cam up and running, or get a real camera, I'll start making book reviews of all the cool books I've been reading, or rather have read on fashion and patternmaking.
Any way, I didn't eat anything yet since early this morning either so I better get busy with my non-fashion work for now :(
Other than that, there are only the buttons left to put in and those are going to be the metal ball buttons. I still liked them after I had the garments sewn up, they're a little quirky for the design, I know, but I like them, it fits anyway. I'm not so sure about the lingerie part though actually, lol, after watching a few Tinkerbell movies, great 3D movies there, I think my design is more of a fairy costume, so funny. I'll have to do some serious lingerie another time, Oh hold it, I had an idea for a piece a few months back, I should work it out for my portfolio...! Awesome idea there. I think I want to do my jacket design anyway though. Now to decide which one I'm going to work on first.
It might have to wait till next weekend though because I've got a pile of dishes sitting in the kitchen (note, I didn't restrict it to 'sink' eeeck!) and unfortunately my article writing suffered this week so I've got to make that up too.
I've got another confession to make as well, out of all the "how to" fashion books I've read, pattern making, sewing secrets, couture sewing, designer details, pattern grading and even various book on the fashion industry but .... after all is said and done, I realized last week that I've never actually read a book on Fashion Design. Isn't that crazy? I've got to get another book on pattern making, either dealing with women's suites, specialty patternmaking or patternmaking for lingerie, but my next book purchase will have to also include a book on Fashion Design, as in the design process that goes into collection development. I've already got a list of books I'm going to be picking from.
I'll have to choose between a book that focuses on the process itself from the perspective of a fashion school professor or another that focuses on the history of fashion design and the process. (I'm a sucker for history so this is a tough choice). Soon as I get my web cam up and running, or get a real camera, I'll start making book reviews of all the cool books I've been reading, or rather have read on fashion and patternmaking.
Any way, I didn't eat anything yet since early this morning either so I better get busy with my non-fashion work for now :(
If you'd like to read more about fashion, information on the industry and online schools check out my site at: If you're a designer or home sewer and you'd like to find some cool eco-friendly fabrics and more check out my resource page at: |
Sunday, October 20, 2013
You Never Leave Parsons - Graduation & Final Thoughts
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| Parsons School of Fashion Graduation 2012 |
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| One of our last nights working in the studios |
But I digress. Lets talk about this final semester at Parsons. This time around, I decided to take it easy - taking on a low workload of 4 classes
and an internship as compared to the 7/8 classes workload I have become accustomed to in the previous semesters. I decided that I had worked hard enough and I wanted to take the time to take care of myself and enjoy what could be my last few months in NYC (which btw, I had hardly explored thus far).
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| Georgina & Keren |
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| Brigitte's Couture techniques samples |
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| Professor Brigitte Conti |
All this combined with my Marchesa internship taught me what couture was all about. That is, a lot (and I mean a LOT) of hand sewing and patience. Marchesa showed me to effort that goes into creating every single exquisite piece that is now expected from the label. Everything is possible. Can't find the exact shade you were looking for? Then stand by the dyeing stand in the kitchen and spend an entire 8 hour day mixing colors and making samples until you get that exact one you want. Trims? Look for them in both high-end and discount stores, then dye them to make sure they match exactly. Cut them out, play with them to create something that nobody has ever seen before. Parsons and Marchesa were quite possibly the perfect combination for my final semester, they both pushed me to think outside the box and never to settle for anything less than what I had in my mind. And this invaluable lesson will be something I will always carry with me into every aspect of my future and my life.
All in all, my experiences at Parsons exceeded my expectations. It is a school which, if you let it, will guide you and hone you to become whatever you want to be and give you every single opportunity you can dream of. Despite the workload and the frequent tears and frustrations, it was the best decision I ever made in my entire life, and for any of you considering the school and weighing its costs (which admittedly are insanely high), do it, you will not regret a single moment.
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| Officially a Parsons Graduate! |
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Lemon Tulip Lingerie Pattern Completed ! What To Do Next...
Here it is, my pattern is all done, anotations, pattern markings, seams and print ready layout:
If you'd like to read more about fashion, information on the industry and online schools check out my site at:
Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources
If you're a designer or home sewer and you'd like to find some cool eco-friendly fabrics and more check out my resource page at:
The Eco-Friendly Fashion Designer's Resource Page
Now before I did the layout of the blocks I looked for a print shop that could make me a print out of the finished pattern. I settled on Staples, you got to love that place, however, unlike the Staples printing services that offer affordable printing for custom oversized print outs, Canadian Staples only offer print jobs that fit into poster sized layouts. This being 24 by 36 inches and 22 by 79 inches. Not bad but I would have liked having the US oversized Staples options available. Oh well, this will be good too.
I decided to make the front blocks pink and the back blocks green just so it would look pretty on my blog, but if I was sending this out to a client, I think I'd better stick with black. It's more professional, unless of course they like the color idea.
Now I have to find out how much it's going to cost to get this printed out for the prototype garment. If it's a bit too pricey for me right now, I guess I'll 'cut' the layout up in Adobe Photoshop and print the little letter size portions out on my HP and tape it all together. I'll only do that though if I get too impatient and someone isn't ready to send any work my way in the coming week.
This is so neat to be sewing up my own pattern. I know that it's going to be a big learning/thrill experience that will help me gain some terrific insight into patternmaking. However, I've got my worries too, such as
1. how relaxed and puffy will the gathers in the skirt and tulip sleeves look? I want it to look really floral, not tired
2. will the darts in the bodice allow the bodice to sit nicely on the bust area?
3. how will the wide, deep neckline sit on the shoulders and neck? (I took care of the gaposis issue following Connie's advice in her book "Patternmaking Made Easy" but you never know right with one this large, I'll learn through this experience)
4. how will the hem facing affect the hang and 'puff' of the tulip skirt? I hope it won't be too heavy
5. how will the bias cut effect the hang and puff of the tulip sleeves? Again, I want them to look floral not droopy, at the same time though I didn't want to give it a normal hem and stitchy up the edge of these "flowers" so I took up Roberta Carr's suggestion in her book "Couture: The Art Of Fine Sewing"
6. I cut the side seams of the bodice band at an angle matching the angle of the bodice side seams and I'm wondering if it'll allow the bodice to sit right and look okay while gently anchoring the garment just below the bustline?
So I'm apprehensive, excited and even a little scared, but my curiosity of course has got the better of me which is a good thing.
Soon as I have the esemble complete I'll post it here on my blog, but that may be awhile so the next several posts will mostly likely cover patternmaking issues/discoveries I make through working with my clients and so on.
Budget Online Fashion Design Schools and Resources
If you're a designer or home sewer and you'd like to find some cool eco-friendly fabrics and more check out my resource page at:
The Eco-Friendly Fashion Designer's Resource Page
Friday, March 5, 2010
I'm Back From The Dead Ya'll
Oh, the problems that hit you when you're trying to make it in life. My computer broke down, did I tell you that? (I have to use my brother's now, a total bummer) Then I've been unable to log into my blogs here, not been getting too much money made and been up to my ears in anemia and too much house work and errands and not enough sleep. Well, I'm taking a breather right now, sort of.
Here's a little change in plans, thanks to a friend of mine, I'm going to be working on writing and working on a cool fashion related web site, unlike anything else on the web right now. You guys (all my fellow fashion enthusiasts out there) are going to love it. I'm not giving away any secrets yet though, you'll have to wait at least a month or so I'm thinking but, I'm working on it. Anyway, I've got to go for now.
Have a good one
Here's a little change in plans, thanks to a friend of mine, I'm going to be working on writing and working on a cool fashion related web site, unlike anything else on the web right now. You guys (all my fellow fashion enthusiasts out there) are going to love it. I'm not giving away any secrets yet though, you'll have to wait at least a month or so I'm thinking but, I'm working on it. Anyway, I've got to go for now.
Have a good one
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Finally Working On My Collection Again
Whoa, I'm finally working on my collection here again. Got 3 color ways I'm playing around with, I just love them. Can't wait to get started on the samples, but I've got to focus on finishing the presentation for this collection first and putting food on the table. My boss hasn't gotten around to giving me more written assignments, let's just say I'm scared. More bills too, well my philosophy is this, when you have to wait, don't wait, do something else that needs to get done, no matter how scared you are, be productive while you're waiting, work on something you've been working on and be careful not to start anything new. This painful delay gives me a chance to work on my collection so I should be grateful, just grateful with an ulcer starting but never the less grateful.
Also I've got to concentrate on what I need to do to get the collection illustration ready into a complete presentation/portfolio, 1. color everything in the different color ways 2. do some from behind 3. create the front and back 'flat' views (this is to show the basic pattern shapes, shows you know what you're doing, helps out the pattern makers) 4. arrange everything on your final 'support' whether it be digital or not 5. decorate the support to complete the 'look' or 'mood' After that you're done and ready to show the world your work or get busy putting together your samples or rather both at the same time.
Also I've got to concentrate on what I need to do to get the collection illustration ready into a complete presentation/portfolio, 1. color everything in the different color ways 2. do some from behind 3. create the front and back 'flat' views (this is to show the basic pattern shapes, shows you know what you're doing, helps out the pattern makers) 4. arrange everything on your final 'support' whether it be digital or not 5. decorate the support to complete the 'look' or 'mood' After that you're done and ready to show the world your work or get busy putting together your samples or rather both at the same time.
Monday, February 15, 2010
A Few More Set Backs But Keep On Kicking
Hey now, my computer just broke down a few days ago and business is going to be seriously slowed down for a while. I've got to redo all the the Photoshop line touch-up stuff on my collection pieces and I've got my bills to pay. Well this is a littel goods news/bad news kind of thing. The credit place gave me another chance with the situation I keep telling them (my brother skipped out on me and racked up his cell phone bill with premium calls, I've got a 900 dollar mistake on my hands) and I'm not working a regular job, yes it's no exageration it's extremely hard to keep the food on the table (I wasn't able to afford toillete paper and toothpaste okay, it's no joke) Any way though, my boss has apparently got more writting work coming my way, I hope I've got a bit of a raise coming, cross my fingers, so I'll be able to swing with, God willing. Lord knows I'm willing to work for it. One of my brothers is here helping me pay the bills so together we should be able to pull through.
Also, the folks at Lutterloh pattern making system got back to me and said that yes I can put together different patterns to come up with my own patterns! So yeah, I'm going to get that package as soon as I can and then, then, I'll be able to create my own samples! I'm so excited by the thought of this, all I have to do is get through this financial crunch and I'll get another chance.
Also, I haven't been able to get any volunteer models in so that I can do my makeup artist course, well, I had another idea I'm going to advertise it like this:
Free Elf Cosmetic High Quality Product try out/Marylin Makeover
Somebody should be interested in that, I'll see how it flies...
Any way I got to get to work here, keep you posted
Also, the folks at Lutterloh pattern making system got back to me and said that yes I can put together different patterns to come up with my own patterns! So yeah, I'm going to get that package as soon as I can and then, then, I'll be able to create my own samples! I'm so excited by the thought of this, all I have to do is get through this financial crunch and I'll get another chance.
Also, I haven't been able to get any volunteer models in so that I can do my makeup artist course, well, I had another idea I'm going to advertise it like this:
Free Elf Cosmetic High Quality Product try out/Marylin Makeover
Somebody should be interested in that, I'll see how it flies...
Any way I got to get to work here, keep you posted
Monday, February 8, 2010
Collection in Progress
Well, last night I managed to get quite a lot of work done, not only did I get my mood board done finally but I prepped all my designs for coloring on the computer. This involved opening up all the files in Adobe Photoshop 7 and...
1. Converting them to grey scale, this allows you to more efficiently 'clean up' your image later on. Basically what your doing is extracting your line work and throwing the rest away.
2. Go to brightness and contrast and increase both values to 50 and hit okay.
3. Take the magic wand and make sure it's value is at 50
4. You need to get rid of the grey background of your work so you can complete your images, with the magic wand choose a grey area that's a bit lighter than the middle tone of entire background quality and click.
5. The selection is not always perfect but you can do a light clean up after ward with a 'soft' eraser, it's better than getting rid of some of your line work, you don't want to waste time doing that.
6. Get your image back to RGB (or CMYK if you're planning to print them out after, wise choice although not my favorite because blues and greens in cmyk are a lot duller in hue and tend to be more of a challenge to use)
7. When you're ready to color them up create a layer on your image and make sure it's in 'Overlay' mode so you don't have to re-do line work as it will just show through your colors. You're done for now!
I'll keep you posted on my progress hope the info helps you all out :)
1. Converting them to grey scale, this allows you to more efficiently 'clean up' your image later on. Basically what your doing is extracting your line work and throwing the rest away.
2. Go to brightness and contrast and increase both values to 50 and hit okay.
3. Take the magic wand and make sure it's value is at 50
4. You need to get rid of the grey background of your work so you can complete your images, with the magic wand choose a grey area that's a bit lighter than the middle tone of entire background quality and click.
5. The selection is not always perfect but you can do a light clean up after ward with a 'soft' eraser, it's better than getting rid of some of your line work, you don't want to waste time doing that.
6. Get your image back to RGB (or CMYK if you're planning to print them out after, wise choice although not my favorite because blues and greens in cmyk are a lot duller in hue and tend to be more of a challenge to use)
7. When you're ready to color them up create a layer on your image and make sure it's in 'Overlay' mode so you don't have to re-do line work as it will just show through your colors. You're done for now!
I'll keep you posted on my progress hope the info helps you all out :)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
My First Digital Mood Board
Hi everybody, here is my first ever mood board period. I usually just keep the ideas all in my head, but professionally you can't do that any way so I've got to change my practices. Be sure to let me know what you think. Thanks
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Ahh Life, Another day Another delay
It's alright, I've been dealing with this for years, any way a little secret I've learnt that if you perpetually think about what you're going to do to achieve your goal before you actually go through with it, it'll go smoother and faster than if you just sat down and did. Well that only goes so far. Had to catch up with some funds, my home job employer has given me some lower pay pieces of work to do so it's consumed my time and I've been feeling really worn out with my little daughter having a growing spurt while she's on the breast full time, ahhhh! Bare with me.
I've recently found out about a pattern making system (lutterloh)I want to get my hands on, for $125 I can get it and I've got my mind set on it after I email them and ask can I use the system to create my own patterns from it, give or take a few changes/modifications, and the creative such, design lines will always be a custom job, that's what it's all about, but you want your basic pattern to be somewhat conventional unless you're izzy miyaki or balenciaga, I don't even like their stuff although it is a break and a sometimes eye opening lead into creative thinking.
I prefer Alexander McQueen and John Galliano myself, LLOOVVEE THEM!
Well as for my mood board for my collection, I've managed to get all the pictures off the internet for it, and now all I have to do is put it all together in adobe and decide on some color way variations, (I apologize if I said this already in an earlier post) Also for my collection designs themselves, I've got to start working on those, first repairing the line work, you do that by first putting the photos to grey scale in adobe, then enhancing the lines. Then you convert the images back to rgb and you're set to go with your color work.
When I got my mood board finished I'll post it here.
Bye for now everybody, got to make the weekend mean something for my husband :)
I've recently found out about a pattern making system (lutterloh)I want to get my hands on, for $125 I can get it and I've got my mind set on it after I email them and ask can I use the system to create my own patterns from it, give or take a few changes/modifications, and the creative such, design lines will always be a custom job, that's what it's all about, but you want your basic pattern to be somewhat conventional unless you're izzy miyaki or balenciaga, I don't even like their stuff although it is a break and a sometimes eye opening lead into creative thinking.
I prefer Alexander McQueen and John Galliano myself, LLOOVVEE THEM!
Well as for my mood board for my collection, I've managed to get all the pictures off the internet for it, and now all I have to do is put it all together in adobe and decide on some color way variations, (I apologize if I said this already in an earlier post) Also for my collection designs themselves, I've got to start working on those, first repairing the line work, you do that by first putting the photos to grey scale in adobe, then enhancing the lines. Then you convert the images back to rgb and you're set to go with your color work.
When I got my mood board finished I'll post it here.
Bye for now everybody, got to make the weekend mean something for my husband :)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Mood Board Delay
Well now, yesterday I wanted to put together a digital mood board with three color ways and everything that led to my new collection. However my brothers popped on by for a surprise visit. And my day went to hell, then I got busy with my virtual assistant job, then my house work then more VA...you get the picture. Hopefully, today will be different, only thing is, today I'm worried about one of my cats again, one took of two weeks ago and never came back, now another one has taken off last night and hasn't returned yet. I'm going to get ulcers I assure all of you. this kitty is fat too although she's obsessed with running around outside and I'm afraid she might be so fat and slow that she got hit by a car. Then again maybe she's just hiding from the rain. I really hope so. If I'm losing my cats out here though I'm going to start getting suspicious of my neighbors. Mood board, mood board, I have to think about my mood board. You know those are supposed to be put together before your collection, I know that. It's just that it was so well ingrained in my mind that I never needed to put it together for my own use and inspiration, I'm just now putting it together for the sake of my portfolio. :) I'm not showing off, I'm just talented.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Back to the Grid But With Plans
Always have your plans, gotta make some money today though, get back to my fashion collection when I've got a gap of time available. trying to develop some plans with a friend from US of Africa and take care of my kids and my sick cats. One of the kittens have swollen front paws and diarrhea and I don't even have grocery money let alone vet fees to spend on him. I'm trying some ground black seed though, it's apparently a powerful anti-microbial and immune support. And mustard seed powder, you may not know this but it contains the now coveted selenium, anti-cancer agent as well as other things. I'll start a new blog for my cats and herbal log there.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Yeahh! Got My Sketch Work Done For My Collection!
Okay, now we're talking, I've got all the sketch work done for my new collection, I've taken pictures of all of them, I have to load them up to my computer now from my camera so I can do the color work on them and other stuff, flats and so on.
The other day I went on apparel search.com and tried to find out where my collection would be well received, Europe is almost a sure shot. Well I was talking to my husband about it when he called and he was asking me afterwards "how do you know you can have a job like that? wonder if you can't keep having those wonderful ideas?" His seeming lack of faith in my imagination and ability really kicked me but I told him something really valuable I've learned over the years thanks to reading Julian Seamans books, there are no original ideas, and no such thing as artists block. When you need ideas for a new collection, you don't necessarily look for inspiration to come from your own head, ideas, concepts, nothing. What you need to do is be yourself, cultivate a love and appreciation for everything visual, art, architecture, history, all cultures, museums, landscape, past fashion, so called futuristic fashion, movies and so on, even cultivate the ability to appreciate the visual elements of things you don't like or rather be able to spot whatever there is about them that is worth something of note.
You love everything, so what next? Okay, what you've got to do now and this is where being yourself comes in, anything that speaks to you, think about it, look for what ever things you've seen you'd like to combine in different ways to produce some interesting, functional, wearable and beautiful ideas for garments, that's simply what I do. It's true you don't do this very well if you don't culture a love for visual elements everywhere from pretty much everything, but that is something you can learn. Don't forget to learn about different design elements, garment cuts for example so that you've got a variety of them as well that can be combined with your visual chemistry's.
While your putting things together like that you've also got to keep current fashion trends in mind, see if some of them can be thrown tastfully into you collection's design and also be aware of color trends to for what ever forward season you're designing for that way you're collection will be up to date. Have fun!
The other day I went on apparel search.com and tried to find out where my collection would be well received, Europe is almost a sure shot. Well I was talking to my husband about it when he called and he was asking me afterwards "how do you know you can have a job like that? wonder if you can't keep having those wonderful ideas?" His seeming lack of faith in my imagination and ability really kicked me but I told him something really valuable I've learned over the years thanks to reading Julian Seamans books, there are no original ideas, and no such thing as artists block. When you need ideas for a new collection, you don't necessarily look for inspiration to come from your own head, ideas, concepts, nothing. What you need to do is be yourself, cultivate a love and appreciation for everything visual, art, architecture, history, all cultures, museums, landscape, past fashion, so called futuristic fashion, movies and so on, even cultivate the ability to appreciate the visual elements of things you don't like or rather be able to spot whatever there is about them that is worth something of note.
You love everything, so what next? Okay, what you've got to do now and this is where being yourself comes in, anything that speaks to you, think about it, look for what ever things you've seen you'd like to combine in different ways to produce some interesting, functional, wearable and beautiful ideas for garments, that's simply what I do. It's true you don't do this very well if you don't culture a love for visual elements everywhere from pretty much everything, but that is something you can learn. Don't forget to learn about different design elements, garment cuts for example so that you've got a variety of them as well that can be combined with your visual chemistry's.
While your putting things together like that you've also got to keep current fashion trends in mind, see if some of them can be thrown tastfully into you collection's design and also be aware of color trends to for what ever forward season you're designing for that way you're collection will be up to date. Have fun!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Every Step Brings You Closer
I watched 'Signe Chanel' again on youtube, I love french documentaries especially about fashion, got to find some more. I've got a little more than half my sketches left to do on my collection before I can get them on my computer for finishing. When I'm done I want to do three things
1. put together my fashion design/art resume
2. post my new collection on all the free portfolio/fashion portfolio sites
3. send my links over to all the Turkish and Kuwait and whatever other clothing manufacturing companies that I think may be interested in my work.
Sounds like a plan, I want to see if someone will hire me to design even without me knowing patternmaking. Also I've got to remember that I should draw up the flat images of the garments to accompany the illustrations. Those are for the patternmakers there to understand the garment better so they can make a pattern that will re-create the depiction of the illustration. See? My mind is thoroughly on my dreams.
Any way though, I've got to get back to my writing work, just had to drop in and let everyone know that I am still in the fashion design hopeful sling. I'm just stuck like the pig in the mud of life. Wait Till The Summer! Oh God, I plan to be done with my new collection way before that, and I think I'll make it the trend cast colors for this coming fall and winter navy blue and brown. Well that's a wrap, back to the grind folks.
1. put together my fashion design/art resume
2. post my new collection on all the free portfolio/fashion portfolio sites
3. send my links over to all the Turkish and Kuwait and whatever other clothing manufacturing companies that I think may be interested in my work.
Sounds like a plan, I want to see if someone will hire me to design even without me knowing patternmaking. Also I've got to remember that I should draw up the flat images of the garments to accompany the illustrations. Those are for the patternmakers there to understand the garment better so they can make a pattern that will re-create the depiction of the illustration. See? My mind is thoroughly on my dreams.
Any way though, I've got to get back to my writing work, just had to drop in and let everyone know that I am still in the fashion design hopeful sling. I'm just stuck like the pig in the mud of life. Wait Till The Summer! Oh God, I plan to be done with my new collection way before that, and I think I'll make it the trend cast colors for this coming fall and winter navy blue and brown. Well that's a wrap, back to the grind folks.
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