Wrap/ Unwrap: Initial Research Photography

I decided to begin by doing some initial research photography in my garden that explored the key words. I found some interesting examples that explore the ideas of plants wrapped in a layer of snow or covered in a layer of water droplets. Completing this photography task showed me that the ideas in the wrap/ unwrap brief can be found all around us. 

Wrap/Unwrap

New Project Brief: Wrap/Unwrap

The first thing I did after receiving this brief was to look up the definitions of the key words. 

Wrap v. To arrange or fold something as a cover or protection

               To cover, envelop or encase

Unwrap v. To remove the covering from something

Layering n. The wearing of lightweight or unconstructed garments one upon the other as for style or                      warmth.

Layer n. A single thickness of a material covering a surface or forming an overlying part of segment

Reveal v. To make known, to cause to be seen

Conceal v. To keep from being observed or discovered; hide

Doing this research into the meanings of the key words helped me to understand the brief a lot more. After this I decided to look up some interesting images that relate to these words. 

Steve Mcdermott - wrapped in a layer of bubbles

Steve Mcdermott - wrapped in a layer of bubbles

Layer of water covering the tiles

Wrapped in a layer of snow

Fashion Illustration

Juxtaposition/ Structure and Shape: Self Evaluation

How well have you responded to the given brief?

I feel I have responded well to the brief. I did a lot of research into my two themes and felt I undertook them both. My final outcome incorporates both juxtaposition and structure and shape and I have completed a paper maquette, design development and idea generation.

How broad has your research been? Have you undertaken sufficient research?

I have completed primary research into juxtaposition on a research walk, research on the internet into juxtaposition in various areas (fashion, nature and sculpture) and research into structure and shape in fashion. I feel I could improve on my research by looking in the library rather than just on the internet.

Have you used your reflective journal and sketchbook as an integrated part of your project?

Both have been integral parts of my working process. I have reflected on my decisions and what I'm learning in my journal and my sketchbook contains all my research, idea generation and design development.

Have you been motivated and well organised? Have you worked as hard as you could/ should?

I have really enjoyed working on this project and have therefore been motivated throughout. I feel I organised my time well, even though I had to work a lot of the night before the deadline, but that was more due to the fact I had never made a garment before and had underestimated the time it would take.

Can you prove your commitment and organisation through entries in your reflective journal, timetables of planning documents?

I feel the amount of work I've produced proves I have been organised throughout the project, as does my meeting of the Thursday 12:30 deadline.

Have you finished the work that you set out to achieve or progressed beyond what you set out to achieve?

At first I didn't think I'd ever ben able to create an actual garment, but I did, and therefore I have gone far beyond what I set out to achieve.

Are you confident that you are able to make informed choices and decisions when solving problems?

I came across a few problems when creating my garment such as it being too small and the back design not fitting together as I'd hoped, but I was able to resolve both of these problems and still meet the deadline.

Do you have evidence of a sustained and committed approach to your work?

I think so. I feel I have completed a substantial amount of work for a three week project.

Juxtaposed/ Structure and Shape: Final Design Development

Design Five, Development One

I chose this design as I think it is the most visually exciting and will probably be the most challenging to construct. I feel it fits the brief as the delicate lace is juxtaposed with the sharp triangular panels and the harsh black binding. It also relates to structure and shape as it is very geometric and the accentuates the shoulders, waist and hips.

When faced with the challenge of constructing this garment the first thing I did was look at materials. I decided upon a black lace with black bias binding that would encase strong wire. I wanted to stiffen the lace so I experimented using starch spray, however this didn't give me the desired effect so I tried PVA glue and this worked well. I then decided that before attempting to construct the actual garment, I would create a paper maquette which would then give me the panel shapes to use as a pattern.

This was a difficult process as the paper didn't always sit how I wanted it to due to its material properties. However it was very useful as it allowed me to see my design in 3D and see whether the panel shaping would work.

Juxtaposition/ Structure and Shape: Geometric Fashion Research

Geometric Fashion

After deciding to work from a development of design five, I felt it was necessary to do some research into geometric fashion to see how this theme had been explored before. I found some extremely interesting shapes and I also noticed that most were also monochrome, like my design, to keep the focus on the shape and structure of the garments.

Amila Hrustic

Amila Hrustic

Stephen Rolland

Iris Van Herpen

Artem Schwemmer

Biophelia

Winde Rienstra

Sandra Buckland

Georgia Hardinge

Irina Shaposhnikova - 'Crystallographics'

The most interesting pieces I came across were from Irina Shaposhnikova's 'Crystallographica' collection, of which she said; 'The collection is made up of hundreds of triangles and diamond shapes. The fabrics are soft, so to structure the silhouettes into staying stiff and prominent. I used plastic, depending on the fabric, the thickness of the plastic was different. I liked the effect of transparency and lightness combined with structure.'

Juxtaposed/ Structure and Shape: Design Development

After coming up with my initial design ideas I was rather stuck as to where to go from there. I didn't feel I wanted to choose any of the designs as they were to create, so I began playing around with the shaping of a few of them. I used layout paper to create some quick sketches of how the shapes, of what I thought were my three strongest designs, could be altered. I found this a very useful process and the working quickly was a big part of it as it allowed be to let loose and be more free with the lines I was creating and I found myself creating much more visually exciting garment designs.

After this I decided to collage a few of my strongest designs on top of ASOS models to see what they'd look like as real garments. This was a very enjoyable process an they turned out much more realistic than I thought they would. The photocopies of these collages looked better than the originals as all the paper sat flat so the final image looked like the model wearing my garment design. To do this I photocopied samples I'd made/ fabric samples and used a hole punch to create tiny circles of foil to represent the metal discs for my design two development.

This process allowed me to see which designs worked well and which were the most visually exciting. I decided the development of design idea 5 was my favourite as the juxtaposition between the sharp geometric shapes and the delicate lace fabric was interesting to me. I liked that these designs were monochrome as I feel colour would have made the garments over complicated. From these developments of my fifth idea I decided to take development one forward as the shaping was the most extravagant which appealed to me. It also posed an enormous challenge in terms of creating which, seeing as I had never made a garment before, scared me but also made me want to try to see if I could pull it off.