Stripes from the Sea: Development and Conclusion

Before drawing everything together i spent a week developing my 'Stripes from the Sea' fashion forecasting project work in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I tried to transform my work in to inspired source drawings, i also learnt how to put some of my fabric samples in context using Photoshop. This was not quite as successful as i had of hoped although it was still a useful learning experience. The week after this i presented my work based on 'Stripes from the Sea' to a small group of colleagues including my tutor. The experience was very useful as not only did we get the chance to speak in-front of a group of people but we also received useful feedback. Below are images showing some aspects of the presentation boards I created.

The feedback i received was mainly positive, although in the future i think i need to 'de-clutter' my presentation boards and work harder on putting my samples in to context. Overall I enjoyed the project and found it was useful for me to experiment with such a muted colour palette as I am a fan of vivid clashing colours and this tends to reflect in my work. For my next project i get to decide the brief and i intend to do something fun and colorful which incorporates a lot of source drawing.

Tentsmuir and Tayport

Last week I explored slightly more of Scotland with my flat mate, we went to Tentsmuir and Tayport close to Dundee. I took numerous photographs of the harbour in Tayport and also did some sketches of the landscape at Tentsmuir beach. This day out was a source of inspiration for my current Fashion Forecasting project, ‘Stripes from the sea’. It was a very cold wintry day, as I think is visible from the very grey tones of the sea and sky in my photographs. As a result of this my sketches were executed very rapidly. Below are some of the photographs I took.

I have also included images of some of the pieces inspired by the boat masts. I used black Quink ink and bleach to create these images.

Stripes from the Sea: More research

When I first began the ‘Fashion Forecasting Project’ I seemed to struggle a little looking through magazines for garments influenced by my theme ‘stripes from the sea’ but since I stopped looking I have come across plenty of examples and sources of inspiration. For example I have just come across this spring 2010 collection by the Proenza Schouler designers, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McColloug, I think many or the garments in this collection have been inspired by the sea.

website:http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2010/spring/main/newyork/womenrunway/proenzaschouler/#slide30&ss1

Many of the pieces are made from shimmery fabrics, bright blues and yellows and many have tassels or ruffles to enhance the sense of movement. I should perhaps take these aspects in to consideration whilst working on this project. The colours used in the above garments remind me of some of the fish i photographed at the aquarium. Shown below:

Another garment I remember seeing the other day whilst browsing for new clothes is this Shark Print dress by Unique at Topshop, there is also a jumpsuit in the same bold shark print fabric. Here is a link to the Shark Print garment. http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=19551&storeId=12556&categoryId=180026&parent_category_rn=175984&productId=1523131&langId=-1

A slightly more subtle approach to the sea can also be seen here in some of the Miuccia Prada’s garments.

http://www.showstudio.com/collections/seasons/milanwomenswearss10/38518#/2009/09/24/19-05-415x623.jpg

Stripes from the Sea

This semester we have just began a new and exciting main study project entitled ‘Fashion Forecasting’. The idea is to select a current fashion forecast for 2010/11 on which to base our project. After much research and deliberation I discarded ‘Sophisticated rustic’, ‘Rough luk’ and ‘Global Boho’. My source of inspiration will be drawn from ‘Stripes from the Sea’ based on a prediction for summer 2010/11. I began research online and in the library and quickly come across a couple of interesting designers who were influenced by the sea. The work of Junko Shimada is in many instances very unusual and colourful. I find the garments particularly inspirational. The second designer who caught my eye is Lie Sang Bong. Below are some images of their work.

Junko Shimada (http://www.junkoshimada.com/)

Lie Sang Bong (http://www.liesangbong.com/index.php)

The initial task after deciding on a theme for my project was to create a mood board. To do this I decided to take a trip to North Queensferry just outside of Edinburgh for inspiration. I went to Deep Sea World (a large aquarium), had a stroll along the beach and also took time to explore the quaint town. Throughout the day i took a lot of photographs, roughly 200 at the aquarium, however less than a quarter of those were of any use! I found photographing the fish very challenging, they move very quickly, the tanks are often poorly lit in a fairly dark room and using a flash reflects off the tank. Below are some of my more successful photographs.