London Fashion Week

A few people on my course where lucky enough to get the chance to go and work backstage of London fashion week, and I was one of those lucky people. The event was ON/OFF which was produced by a company called Doll.

Doll is a company who are involved in many different events, ON/OFF is an event they started to get designers who are either not as well know or just breaking into the industry, has the chance to show off their work in London Fashion Week.

My main role was to dress the models for the shows, but I was also involved in the rig/derig of the event and other little tasks that would come up.

The event was running from Saturday 21st February- Thursday 24th February and featured 18 different shows. I was involved in 5 of the shows including the main event. The designers were:
Falguni & Shane Peacock
Krystof Strozyna
Pam Hogg
ON/OFF Presents
Ashley Isham

I toughly enjoyed every show. But my favourite show out of all was Pam Hogg’s. I thought every aspect of the show fitted together perfectly; clothes, models, hair, make-up, music. It didn’t compliment the clothes, it reflected the designer! The whole thing screamed Pam Hoggs, and she was the most organised designer I worked with.

Working in the ON/OFF event was amazing but a lot of hard work and very long days. I had to get up at 4am to get there for 6.30am, the latest I stayed there was 11pm!
Everyone was tired, everyone was getting snappy, but it wasn’t personal, and that was the key thing to remember, just ignore it and keep working.

I’m extremely lucky to have the experience, it was a good insight into another part of the fashion world and something extra to put on my cv along side my up coming work experience.
As well as my work experience which is a part of my course, I am hoping to work again with Doll when they feature at The Clothes Show Live in London.

What is Fashion and who cares anyway?

One PPRD presentation we where shown really helped me think about the industry I’m planning to get involved in.
I have questions, some answered, some unanswered.

What is fashion?
We deal with it everyday, its not just about clothes, it about much more.
Confidence
Art
Expression of thoughts and feelings
A reflection of who you are, who you want to be and how you want others to see you.

Who dictates fashion?
History
Celebrities
Cultural icons
Political figures and royalty
Fashion designers
Trend setters
Magazines
The Girl Walking Past You In The Street!

Does what we wear define us?
It reflects a persons mood. Expression though clothes can be more powerful then words.
It shows what groups we belong to, want to belong to and which ones we don’t. Punks started because they wanted to be different and not apart of a stereotypical group, but by doing so they did.
Acceptance or rejection of a style is a reaction to the society we live in.

There are many reasons why we wear the clothes we wear.

Function- protection from the weather.
Form- physical attraction.
Emotions- we dress up we we’re happy and dress down when we’re down.
Fantasy- emotions; we dress up we we’re happy and dress down when we’re down.
Religion and Identity- religious expression, identification and tradition.

First Term- pattern cutting

In A-level I had to produce a pattern for a corset but this was following detailed instructions and a lot of help from my teacher; it was nothing like any of the pattern cutting done in FDA Fashion.
On our first pattern cutting lesson I was really exited to be learning something new, but also worried that I wouldn’t grasp the method and wouldn’t enjoy it. But once shown how to correctly use the pattern master and explained the basic methods I started to feel really confident producing my own patterns and always looked forward to the lessons.

Now at the end of the term, Pattern Cutting is my favourite unit, its fun, challenging and is maths mixed with practical/design. (I always enjoyed maths at school as well as art and design subjects.) I’ve also found once started its very hard to stop.
With in the term we have produced over 20 patterns and produced a bodice, shirt, pair of shorts and an a-line skirt from our patterns. I’ve also found once started it’s very hard to stop.

When I first started the course I wanted to become a Buyer, but I’m now considering becoming a Pattern Cutter.

First Term- construction unit

In my previous studies I have done basic construction work, but not to an industry standards. I was surprised how much I had learnt in a-level didn’t apply to industry. For example I was told that seam allowance should be 1.5cm, but in industry we use a 1cm seam allowance with the exception of hems and the odd seam.
I thoroughly enjoyed doing construction because I got to refresh my memory and develop skills learnt at secondary school and 6th form, but I also got to learn new stitches and skills at an industry level.

I found the time spent with the tutor and the notes given really helpful if I got stuck or forgot how to construct a garment or a stitch. During the lessons as well a number of stitch samples I learnt how to produce high quality garments. I produced a basic bodice, A-line skirt, a pair of shorts and a women’s shirt. With each garment we learnt a new method or how to use a piece of industry machinery.
The bodice was the first garment we produced in class. In order to construct the bodice I had to a number of basic sewing methods; darts, inserting sleeves and hemmed the cuffs. It was simple and easy to construct, which is why the bodice was the first garment produced.
With the skirt we learnt how to insert a waist band and an invisible zip; it was a challenge but enjoyable. I also liked making the shorts. They also had a zip, but had a running fail stitch running down the centre front, centre back and on the inside leg seams, as all them seam join together, I found it difficult and frustrating, but I finally managed to get my head around it.
The shirt was the last garment we made and it tested most construction methods we had learnt through out the term. I made many still mistakes while producing the shirt, which I think was down to pressure; I wanted to make sure the shirt was perfect. I managed to put the darts the wrong way round and insert the sleeves in wrong. But I finally finished it, happy with the final product.

Although I still have a lot more to learn in construction, I know I’m able to produce most garments with what I have learnt so far, and I am confident to start my next project.