illustrations

i decided on my colourways and have used that to create my illustrations, here they are :

another deadline

ive been working flat out to get my work finished for the deadline. ive finished all of my flats and spec packs (which i hope are right) and then realised i hadnt experimented with colour for the coats. ive now printed these and and will try to choose the colour ways so that i can finish my illustrations tonight. here are my options:

after ive done my illustrations, i need to compile my flats booklet and finish my presentation, which shouldnt be too hard as i already have everything to go into each, but they are quite time consuming. i also need to do the finishing touches on my sketchbook and il be all done! wish me luck!

final coats?

ive been into uni today to show my tutor my final 4 coats, while there i began to realise they didnt link together enough and wouldnt sit well in the same collection. i came home and began to work back into my designs to see if i could bring some of the features from some coats into others to make a stronger link and better the designs. here is my second draft of the coat collection:

i can see my designs have already improved and can see the coats sitting together better. im not 100% sure on the 4th coat, im not sure how to bring some of the other elements in the other coats into it. 

more research

so after my initial rain coat and puffer coat research i began collaging and designing (previous post) and ive began sticking all the work ive done into my sketchbook and realising i needed more images linking to my retro swing theme. ive also realised that most of the coats i seem to be designing are A line, which does link to my theme (great) i also seem to be designing more 'cocoon' shaped coats, which ive found on WGSN as a predicted trend and very 50's, so i think my research might be a bit stronger on this part of the collection. during a tutorial with my tutor i was told that my research for the first part of the collection hugely let the level of my work down so im trying to focus more on it this time and making sure i have all the imagery i need, which is proving to take a while!

 this is one of the coats i found from the 1950's, i really like how it could be worn nowadays without changing a thing, proving that era's fashions are timeless. the oversized body and A line silhouette are some of the elements i am including in my design process.

this is a classic 60's style coat, A line silhouette and double breasted. i think i need to include more of this style of fastening into my designs so the theme is present throughout. i have also included this style of collar in a lot of my designs, as i did in my collection as i think it perfectly defines that era.

this is just one my favourite coats i have come across while researching. it is very similar to the first picture, so very 50's inspired but with a modern twist, oversized pockets and oversized sleeves. i like the way she has layered under the coat, which reflects the real purpose of a coat, to keep you warm.

designing

i began my design process by collaging other coats and pieces of my retro swing collection together on top of my illustration figures to create new and interesting shapes. i then printed the collages off and have begun to draw over them on some tracing paper to find different ways of building each coat together eg; seams, sleeve lengths and collars. i find this the easiest way of carrying out design development as they are just quick sketches and can be changed and developed more after i have decided on which ones i think would work the best within my collection. after this process, i am going to start drawing them on illustrator on top of my illustration figures again to refine the lines and shapes more to develop the garment. here are some of the collages i have drawn on top of:

i have started experimenting with different hoods and pocket placement from the research i have carried out. i find this helps to mix the two different styles of rain coats and puffer jackets. i am finding it quite hard to input my theme into these coats, but that may be in colour and print as a more subtle element.

new brief

ive been home for the weekend so haven't got as much research as i would like. our brief is to design 4-6 coats to sit along with our previous collection. they have to incorporate a puffer and a raincoat element into each one. ive been thinking about using my prints from my retro swing collection as trims or smaller details to make sure each coat can be worn with a number of different outfits. i was also thinking about using the puffer element for smaller sections like sleeves or collars to make the silhouette more sophisticated. while i was at home, i went shopping and took some photos of current coats on the highstreet to gain some ideas to help me with designing my collection such as trims, fastenings and different ways of quilting.

here are some of the photos taken in TKMaxx in Guiseley, Leeds, which means some are more high end than the usual highstreet:

i really like the way this coat fastens, the design feature of the lapels and the button fastening add another detail to the collar area, making it more attractive to the customer.

i like the oversized hood on this coat which acts like a sort of cape over the shoulders when worn down. i also like the high zip fastening which would make the coat warmer to wear, fitting the brief.

i find the way that only the top part is quilted, which has given me some inspiration for my designs, i also like the fur collar, although it would have to be detachable for it to be suitable to be worn in the rain.

Final push

Got my flats booklet and specification pack printed yesterday, quite pleased with them both.

 Just finishing off some sketchbook work (cutting and sticking) and then I should be done! All ahead of schedule. I've tried really hard with this project and can see my progress since even the beginning of year 3 which makes me feel a bit more confident in my abilities and hopefully means i'll be more qualified to get a job after I graduate. I just hope my hard work pays off!

presentation

its taken me almost 2 days but my powerpoint is now finished (i hope), i spent ages trying to find music that would go with the theme and have a good beat for the slides to run to. i hope it works! im not entirely sure what is supposed to go into the powerpoint (checking tomorrow with my tutor) but ive put in all of my illustrations, flats and some of the boards which help to explain the theme of  'retro swing'.

specification

ive been working for 2 days solid and started and finished my specification packs (could not be happier)! here is one of the pages:

deadline looming

i got up at 9am this morning and have been doing uni work ALL day, with a few breaks but ive still done alot! ive pretty much put my flats booklet together and will just be getting some feedback tomorrow before the deadline next week. here is one of my design portfolio boards, complete with illustration and flats for the outfit:

new boards

here are a few of my amendments to my portfolio boards with improvements my tutor has advised:

i have added more text to the customer profile to explain more attributes of my customer.

portfolio boards

here are a few of the portfolio boards i have just done, i was wanting to achieve a simple, clean layout so that the images and writing were able to stand out for themselves. i have also added some small black outlines to define the images:

collection title?

okay, so ive had a 'working title' of '1950's Americana' for my collection for so long but obviously it isnt a very good one! im finding it so hard to think of a name for it, its driving me crazy, ive gone through a thesaurus, google and wikipedia to try and find a name, but i havent found anything.

i have also been adjusting my models by changing hair styles, makeup colours and adding shading to their bodies to make my lineup look more professional, here are some of them so far:

i am also wondering whether to add shading within the garments to make them more realistic.

final designs?

okay so i have been doing uni work for the last week constantly (feels like months) and i think i may have my final collection designs. i will find out tomorrow if this actually the case as i have a tutorial with my tutor, she doesnt seem hugely keen on my designs, so probably not going to be getting a design job! all i seem to do is work and they just dont seem to be what she's looking for, which i have to say, i find quite disheartening. its not like im not trying, its just i dont feel i have the 'design gift'. anyway, here are my 'final' designs:

figure silhouettes

i have developed some figures from a photo shoot to build my design and illustration ideas on top of here are the results:

          

i now need to go back into these figures and adjust parts to improve them. i will also use these figures for my portfolio illustrations but add a more creative twist to explore my skills and style.

changes

so, after a chat with my tutor, we decided i needed to make the look of my collection more appropriate for my 24-29 year old customer. i have shortened some of the hemlines and added some extra details, such as the bow fastenings on some of the longer sleeves, taking the bows from other garments and showing they have influenced other parts of the collection. i also tried to make sure there was enough autumn/ winter influences by adding a few longer sleeves and roll necks, to bring the winter look to the collection.

here is my collection with these changes: