Lisa Kokin

From researching a range of textile artists. I am starting to realize there can be so many different method

s that can be created through textile art. One artist in particular Lisa Kokin stood out to me the most out of all the designers i have looked at. I love her work and the use of buttons her designs are completely innovative...

Lisa Kokin

This table is very abnormal something that stood out to me i liked the way Lisa had stitched together various photos made out of box shapes and created a table?!

Above is another piece of Lisa's photograph work she has cut out a facial image with a interesting background I feel this work gave the piece structure and was interesting to look at. I could establish this by interoperating what she has done and develop this idea further.

Lisa's button work wow !

Nightmare dress disaster!!

As part of my pattern cutting unit we have been looking at a wide variety of the different zips added to garments in the clothing industry. I bought a dress from a fashion shop and realized the zip was broken !! Luckily I recognized the type of zip it was (invisible zip) and can fix it in college not only am I going to be able to amend my dress but its helping develop my pattern cutting skills...

Above is the broken zip this is where the end of the zip had come away...

Following on from this i had to un pick the zip that had been sewn into the seams of the dress

I then looked in my pattern cutting folder to see what a invisible zip looked like and then followed my step by step guide...

From looking at my step by step guide i followed the various step i pined a grey invisible zip into the over locking so i could hold the zip in place whilst I began to tack.Dress with the grey zip added above. In conclusion to altering my dress I could of looked at a variety of different options of zips or had a zip that completely matches the colour of the dress instead I wanted to have the grey zip as a feature in my dress.

My final completed toile!

After alot of effort I Finally managed to complete my fairy tale skirt :) I am pleased with my final result and my improvements for next time would be to develop the leaves to being more established for e.g. adding jewels as a embellishment.

Outcome for unit 3

My final toile design...

For my final toile design I looked at a selection of different ideas and concepts that I could use for my outcome. I came to a conclusion of creating a Urban Fairy Tale so inspired by my theme I used my ideas to create my final skirt.

Below is a picture of my final fabrics for my skirt, the colours reflect my theme ' Urban Fairy tale'.

- Shiny white material to reflect the fairy tale

- Green and grey material to reflect the Urban colour in my design.

Below is a picture of my petal stencil that I am going to place on top of my skirt as an embellishment.

Here I am preparing my fabric to place my pattern peices on. I doubled the fabric so I could get two petal shapes in order for me to sew together and bag out.

I then began to create my first draft of my pattern and began tracing of each pattern piece so I could draw in my darts. Once I had completed my two paper front and back pattern pieces I pined them onto the calico upside down. I did this to ensure I did not waste any fabric. (As shown below)

I then inserted a centre zip into the centre back of my toile.
Below the picture shows tacking in my zip to hold it in place whilst it was being sewn, this can then be un picked when the zip is firmly in place.
I then began to construct petals in my three fabrics I had bought to be sewn onto my skirt. A problem that occurred during manufacture of this was that the thinner shinny material that I had picked (shown in pictures below this) to convey ' Fairy Tale' was very slippy, so therefore it was a slow process.

Below I began reducing the bulk by cutting away the seam allowance to ensure a neat finish to the petals.
I then added a facing to my skirt and I did this by also making a paper first draft and pinning it onto my fabric. I wanted to add a facing to my skirt as it would supply quality and make the waistline on my skirt much stronger and give it a neater finish. I had to use the facing pattern to cut out some interfacing that I ironed to the facing. I made sure I also over locked the material as this would stop the edges of my fabric from fraying.
I then attached the facing to the waist of my skirt...
After I had completed the facing I began to sew my embellishments (petals) on to my toile I layered them on top of one another as I wanted to create a layered effect. I wanted the petals to be symmetrical to one another this is what the petals look like once layerd :)

Looking at current fashions and the shaping...

Learning the correct terminology in pattern cutting..

' The Selvage on the fabric'

-The selvage is the term for self finished edges on fabric often the brand name is printed on the edge for e.g. Laura Ashley. Selvages keep the fabric from unraveling or fraying

'The seam'

The point where the fabric is sewn.

'Manipulation of the fabric'

When fabric is twisted in a certain way to create a ruffled look or unusual turns in fabrics as seen below:

Seam allowance is the area between the edge and the stitching line on two (or more) pieces of material being stitched together. It allows fabrics to be adjusted if the garment is to big.

Yoke a piece of a garment that is closely fitted, either around the neck and shoulders or at the hips, and from which an unfitted or gathered part of the garment is hung.

Grain-line refers to the orientation of the yarns in woven fabric.

Ambiguous If something is ambiguous it means something has two meanings. Is often used when people have two different points of view on how they look at something.

Exploring different themes...

Big Dresses slim fitted glittery dresses ...
Colour matching to your dresses...
Bright coloured dresses?
Own style
Big over the top hair...

Transport....

As part of selecting my theme for my third assignment i have thought about developing this into my own concept. I have already looked at Disney land as one of my 'inspirations' for my chosen fairy tale theme and because Disney Land is very americanized i chose to compare this to the prom industry and how the whole picking the perfect dress is very fairy tale like. The prom dress idea was founded in America. From this i felt by using my own prom pictures would help put across the image i was trying to convey...

Third assignment looking at a range of designers...

As part of our new assignment we have been set we have been asked to look at a range of different designers i felt by looking at the brand Barry M cosmetics would give me a wider outlook on my chosen fairy tale theme. We were asked to choose a theme for the individual skirt we are going to create over the up coming month...

Aims of the brand...

- To be as big as Rimmel

- They aim to use street models for there advertisements

- Using social networking sites as part of there adverting campaign.

Who is the designer of the brand...

- Barry Mero is the founder of Barry M cosmetics

- Dean Mero managing director

What is the brand all about...

- Quirky outrageous make up that is based around the people of the streets its aim was never to use big celebs like Kate Moss or Sophie Ellis Bextor its all about 'the customer being the ambassador' when it comes to style it should come from every day people. Barry M cosmetics has always stood out to me from other make ups it has only been around for a few years but it gave me inspiration that all Meros ideas come from the streets and every day people. Many big branded fashion designers get their ideas from the streets and i found it interesting that make up artists can do to.

Inspirations

- From every day people?

.. Even the most sophisticated of us cant resist Barry M's shiny rainbow shades as seen in magazines like Vogue!

'Over the top' fashion brand Monsoon accused of employing child labours...

Over the top glitter, big bold bright colours, accessories that stand out above other brand names.. I was shocked when i read that Monsoon uses child labour!

Over the past few weeks Monsoon has been accused of using suppliers in India who employ children to work in sweat shops working in poor conditions and being paid under minimum wage. When i read this article on Monsoon supplying 'handmade' clothing made by children? I was shocked by the allegations made againstMonsoon. In my eyes has always had a outstanding reputation for the quality of garments and was disappointed in the store as i have always been happy to pay a higher price tag for the Monsoon label. Critics have said that it's a 'embarrassment for the store'

Company Owner Peter Simon owns about 1000 stories in 50 countries including 400 in the UK and has said vast improvements are being made to tackle the problem of child labourers. Monsoon website boasts ' the intrinsic beauty of fabrics' if the fabrics are so beautiful why treat children so badly?