Primark Work Placement Update

Week 11

·        Was on tills most of the day – keep being sent onto folding knicker tables as they know I enjoy doing it – shop was really busy so had to keep going back onto the tills to help out – shop got quiet again so tidied behind the tills and put the stock out that I collected

·        Had to help supervisor on the knicker tables – sorting the front stand out – how it should look

·        Had to tidy the front displays near the till – mark down the socks with a colleague and neaten them up before the customers arrive in the store

Week 12

·        Worked on the coat section all day – going around size ordering them all and making sure no garments were lying on the floor from customers and it was all neat and tidy – stressful doing it alone but really enjoyed it – got positive feedback – tidiest it has looked in a long time – really pleased

·        Was on tills all Sunday – really busy day – had to keep tidying behind the tills and sorting the baskets out – taking them back to the front of the shop

·        Had to work on a pillar on womenswear – making sure the vests were all size ordered correctly

Interview With a Designer..

For part of my AD201 project, I have been asked to interview an

industry professional. For this part of the course I interviewed designer

Pamela Thompson who was a former designer at Betsey Johnson and Heatherette

who now runs her very own online tiny frock shop, producing and selling

dresses for dolls that emphasises the styles and accessories from the 1940's to present day.

Pamelas interview and website can be found below:

Enjoy!

www.tinyfrockshop.com

Do you try to send out a message or theme in your clothes?

Yes. I start with a theme and center the styles, color and fabrics around it.

Where do you get your inspiration from for your designs?

Anything and everything. Designers get their inspiration from all different places including: the street, magazines, books, vintage, exhibits, art, movies, the news, nature, cultures, history etc. Your inspiration comes from the elements that affect your thinking and make you feel the need to express your views or thoughts on the subject using clothing as your canvas.
 
What are your hours?

Again it depends. When you work for yourself, you work 24 hours! When you work for a company you can work 9-6 or as late as 9-10…and sometimes weekends. It just depends.
 
The types of fabric/materials you use and why.

It depends on the label I am working for and the category they do. When I worked for Betsey Johnson for instance, she loved using wovens, prints, and bright colors. The higher end the label, the nicer the fabric you typically use (ie silks, cottons, wools). With a cheaper brand you will use more polyester.
 
Where do you see the industry going, in terms of future development?

I hope it turns back the clock a bit and stops with the insane fast fashion. It makes fashion into a commodity rather than an expressive art form. Also I hope we start manufacturing more clothing in the USA again.
 
What advice could you give to me as a budding designer?

Immerse yourself in the fashion through TV and magazines. Fashion is a cycle and if you are very aware of what is trendy now you will begin to see the cycle and understand how it works by the time you finish school. I would also take art classes in high school to help prepare you for drawing and thinking creatively. I used to take a sketchbook to high school every day and practice drawing (not just fashion, but draw anything and everything). By the time I got to college I felt more prepared and a bit ahead of the game. Keep your sketchbooks to refer to and you will see how your design influences change over time.

What is design to you?

Everything! I see design in everything I view. Not just fashion but design in general. I love art, photography, street style, movies etc. All visual elements represent and exhibit design in some way.

How did you get started in the industry?

I never felt like I had a choice. I always wanted to be a designer and decided early on I would succeed at it. I'm not sure why I like it, I just know that I get so many design ideas in my head that I would eventually explode if I didn't find and outlet for them all. It just seemed natural to translate them into fashion. I went to the University of Wisconsin at Madison for 3 years and to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City for one year. The program I was in was perfect because the two schools I attended had an agreement that allowed me to go to university for 3 years and finish my senior year at FIT and receive two degrees; a bachelor of science in fashion design from UW and an associates degree in fashion design from FIT. Personally I feel it is beneficial to go to University for the simple fact that it is a good learning experience, super cool fun, and helps you grow up. There are a number of other Universities that have a program similar to this. If you plan to work in NYC it is helpful to go to fashion trade school here (Parsons, FIT, Pratt etc).

What is the environment like to work in?

Again it depends a lot on where you work. Most design companies have a crazy fast paced environment. What most people don't realize about a piece of clothing is how many people had to collaborate in order to produce it. Unless you are producing a line totally import (where the import vendor handles all of the variables and simply ships you a finished garment) there are a lot elements to juggle. In making just one garment, many people must be involved, from the patternmaker, fabric vendor, marker and grader to the contractors and shippers. All of the people involved are from different companies, in different areas, and all must come together at specific stages of the production of a garment to make it work. Sometimes it is tough to orchestrate all of those involved to do everything timely. That can make the work environment very stressful. Another element of stress comes from the fact that fashion seems to move at such a faster rate than the past. Therefore, clothing lines are generated quicker than ever before. It's not all stress though. I mean, you must remember that we are not saving lives or sending people to the moon. It's just clothing and can be a flaky and fun environment as well.



Styling Project Week 6

Week 6

·        Started photo shopping the final 12 images! – found it quite difficult at first as I have never really used photoshop before – had to look on youtube at the tutorials on how to create certain effects

·        Looked at blurring backgrounds which I found worked really well – will use on final images

·        Done colour placement, blurring, black and white filter, vintage filter, overlapping images, duplicating images, half black and white and half in colour – really pleased with outcome of them all

·        Put photos on a disc to choose final images with, with tutor

·        Decide what technique I will use on final images!

Development Sheets - Photoshopped



FMP, Week 11.

Week 11

·        Bought belt loops and stitched onto collar using invisible thread – wrapped edges of the bow around and stitched down – making sure each bow hung at same level when left tied down

·        Sewed pearl beads onto the bow where stitched down near the belt loops – done a row of two – looks really effective

·        Couldn’t decide whether to sew bead embellishment onto the edges of the peplum – wanted to add extra detailing to make it more special – tested out on a small area – tutors and myself agreed that it worked really well – continued to sew beads around rest of the peplum

·        Finished garment! – really pleased with how it turned out and love the colour of it

Finished Garment:

Bow & Collar

Peplum & Embellishment

Front

Back

University Update!

After a long 5 years of trying, I have FINALLY been accepted into

Northumbria university to study Fashion BA (Hons).

I have decided to accept my place at Northumbria

where I will be entering in the first year.

I have decided upon this because of the opportunities available to me there,

as Northumbria is one of the most respected universities in the country for fashion

with many successful designers coming out of it such as Scott Henshall.

I feel the final fourth year fashion show has great opportunities for me in

helping to get my name into the industry after I graduate,

I will gain a degree in fashion, there are visits and live briefs from

designers which I feel are extremely beneficial and learn a lot from and there

are pathways into menswear, womenswear, textiles and knit.

After 5 years, I am extremely happy with the placement and very excited to start

in September!

Roll on a further 4 years of study!! + student discount!

Now to find the £8,500 to pay for first year!

FMP, Week 10.

Week 10

·        Continued with garment manufacture – spent majority of the day pleating the chiffon fabric – couldn’t decide on width – started at 3cm – told the pleats looked too big – didn’t flatter the garment or fabric – decided upon 1cm pleats – used industrial iron to try and set them in – found it really difficult – fabric kept twisting and losing its shape and was very time consuming

·        After pleating fabric I carefully stitched along the top of the pleats, overlapping them to create a flared effect – time consuming again – needed to be very precise – making sure same length was kept throughout

·        Not sure on how I want the bow to look for the neck – fabric wasn’t stitching properly – re-cut the pieces – could see selvedge on it

·        Hemmed the pleats with a rolled hem – done by hand – really difficult

·        Stitched the peplum onto the waist of the skirt and attached the skirt to the bodice – pinned first to make sure the seams joined up – once completed the sewing from where the pleats had been joined together was visible so had to do a 1.5cm join and unpick stitching that was still visible

·        Sewed the zip onto the dress – had difficulty at the top as one collar was slightly bigger than the other – fixed by stretching other side of the collar to get them to match up once the zip had been put in place – doesn’t fit on stand as the zip wasn’t long enough but once I tried it on it fitted perfectly

·        Put tape in the shoulders to make them stand up more

·        Had to take more off the darts on the bodice so the seams joined up

·        Pinned bow ties onto the neck – still need to buy belt loops and pearls – play around with how I want it to look

·        Almost finished! – really pleased with how it has turned out – love the fabric and the contrast of the satin and the chiffon

Almost Completed Dress!

FMP, week 9.

Week 9

·        Started sewing real garment! – excited to see what it will look like!

·        Started by setting sewing machine up – using a very fine needle so it doesn’t snag the expensive silk satin fabric – tested on scrap material

·        Sewed the darts into the bodice and skirt panels – decided to line the bodice as well as the skirt – cut bodice pieces out in lining

·        Cut facing out for the collar and heat pressed onto the collar panels – when doing it one panel had miss-shaped – didn’t match up to the original pattern shape – had to iron it back to the original shape – also realised the facing had snagged so having to use the front pieces as the back now so you can’t see the mistake on the front of the collar – sewed panels together

·        Sewed bodice seams together – shoulder and sides – sewed lining onto satin and sewed collar on the top – overlocking the edges as progressing

·        Sewed the top stitch on the collar wrong – frustrating – cant unpick

·        Gathered the sleeves and sewed onto satin and lining – difficult getting gathers right on lining – sewed hem on sleeves – rolled hem – looks really effective – tricky to do

·        Sewed skirt panels together – overlocked all edges – sewed hem on inside so can’t see stitching on the outside of garment – sewed top stitch along edges to hold the lining down – sewed wrap over together – ready to add the peplum on before attaching to bodice!

 
To Do:
Need to pleat fabric, add peplum and sew on bow then complete

Really pleased with how far I’ve came along the past 2 days – got a lot completed and fabric not as difficult to work with as I thought it would be!

Lookbook For Fashion Week!

Sneak peak at the photoshoot at college of what the inside pages of the

lookbook will look like!

Stay tuned!

Styling Project Week 5

Week 5

·        Got the images back off my photographer – really pleased with them! – took time to get them back – hard to get in touch with photographer

·        Got sent 4 contact sheets with all photos on ready to print off for file – annotated them on which ones I plan on editing – excited to get started! – have to learn photoshop!

·        Tried some images in black and white – don’t look quite effective without the red lipstick

Contact sheets:

Annotated to help choose final images

A lot to choose from!

Photographers contact information:

Georgia Claire Tyrie

http://www.facebook.com/#!/georgiaclairephotography