Week 19 (03/02/25) - (07/02/25)

 This week with Lareen, I learnt how to pattern different styles of dresses which is a new and interesting thing that I am glad I have now figured out. I think the different ways that the patterns are made allows you to visualise many more different possibilities and boosts my creativity as I can imagine more things that could make up a dress design. Another thing we did with Lareen, is go back to learning about different techniques we could use, this time with elastic and cord and while I couldn't think of many things that I could do for the different techniques, I used different fabrics and layers to see how it would affect the end results. One thing we also learnt, which was helpful, was how to pattern a peplum and how the pattern would affect the result (appearance) of the peplum. This was helpful and will allow me to consider my goals in the future for how I want a specific thing to look and how I could pattern it differently from normal to create that effect.

In photography I didn't have any practical work to carry out so I spent my time placing all my photos from every shoot I have taken this year into my folder that I will use for my photography zine so that all the links will work with InDesign. This took me all lesson for a few reasons; I have a lot of photos, and I am not used to Macs. I was confused for a while before I was able to get a hang of saving my photos to the file, but I am glad I have learnt a new skill as Macs are the industry standard.

 

Within Stretch, my goal was to finish the seven experiments that I had to complete by the eleventh of February. I would say I am successful in this because I managed to get onto the seventh experiment which is embroidering in different ways so I can consider, if I want to embroider, how and what would be the best for embroidering something. It also helps to see the effect and texture of the embroidery so I can consider how it would work with the rest of whatever design I may come up with. Some of my experiments looked at distressing and the effect it has on different fabrics, poking holes and cutting at different angles and fraying edges. I believe this will go along with my topic of clean water and sanitation because my aim is to bring light to the damage that toxic water brings to everything. Though I might design a few designs that represent a clean look, I believe I will ultimately choose the former, messy and dirty route as I feel it will have a greater impact on the viewer of my garment.

With Sam, we watched a documentary called 'Fashion's Dirty Secrets' where I learnt a lot about the dangers of the different parts of the industry and just how uneducated people are not only because of their own uninterest but also because of the lies of businesses that tell people they are 'greener' and more sustainable than they are. All this paired with the effect this has on locals that live around these areas that are producing and creating the fashion that people buy. I found it shocking to see just how much clothing people have and people buy since I am frugal with what I buy and wear. I have a lot of clothes that I have used for quite a few years and the last thing I bought as a clothing piece/ accessory was my shoes during the summer of 2024. So, it came as a surprise to see all of the clothing that people buy year-round, and, in my head, I ask how much they use those clothing items and what they are worth to the people who buy them because I have items I prefer over others but that doesn't mean I won't wear them at all. However, when and if I find that I have no use for them and I buy more clothing I will simply decide to buy a shirt with my desired fit at that point, so I don't waste money and resources by deciding that I won't wear it.

Charlie taught us how to create parents on InDesign and I believe it will be a tool that I find very useful in the future so I can have an easier time while staying professional. It is a little bit tricky to remember all the things I must do but I think I will be able to catch on quickly so I can create both my zine for photography and my look book for Charlie.

On Wednesday, I didn't learn anything in lesson because we were walking around the college capturing different parts of the buildings, creating a mood board with drawings and images. This was fun and I was able to practice my drawing skills while keeping the sketches themselves simple so that I could develop them later.

    I managed to get a bit of research done on Thursday which included client research, a page on 'fashion's dirty secrets', a page on the Rana Plaza incident and a page on Fashion Revolution's transparency index. I think my research pages for these topics were completed to a higher standard than my previous research pages in my last topic which I think is a good thing as it shows my development of my own thoughts and making sure they are seen clearly on the page/pages.

 

On Friday, with Sam, I learnt how to weave using different techniques. This is very interesting as it means I can create interesting textures by interlocking the thread in different patterns and using different size thread and some strips of fabric to create unique designs that I could carry on into my final product for this project. For one of them I simply used a pain weave, but I had braided some thread together which ended up working well because I used some complimentary and analogous colours. My other weave that I did during the lesson was a diagonal pattern like a twill or satin stitch that turned out nice because I managed to make the diagonals consistent and the lines of weaving tight.