BACK FROM THE DEAD

So it has been a little while since I wrote on my blog...I guess my organisational skills (or lack there of) have become apparent. This break has mostly been spent thinking of the work that needs to be done rather than actually doing it. It is very easy to get into the habit of putting things off when you know you have a fair bit of time. I left last semester with very pleasing results and a critique that went rather well, which very much surprised me. I have always vowed never to allow results to dictate how I feel about my work as long as I know that I have tried my absolute hardest and I have accomplished what it is I set out to achieve. The criticisms I did receive were minor and beneficial which forced me to look at things in a different way and the very sound advice at the beginning of the year from my tutor being; 'stay detached from your work so that you can continue assessing your progress', came in very handy. I constantly take time to pull my personal opinions away from my work in order to see it as an outsider would. The next few months will most probably be the most challenging and grueling months to date and I hope to document the process...good and bad.....as the semester unfolds. For now all I can say is; everything I have worked so hard for comes down to these final months and every time I feel like throwing in the towel all i must remember are the sacrifices over the past five years and the enormous window of opportunity that will present itself if I get this collection right!!!!

MY TIME SO FAR

I have really enjoyed this process of blogging so far. At first is was difficult to release my work and even my opinions of my work, but in actual fact I have found it an effective way of assessing my progress. In having to keep up to date with posts I have to always be researching or working in order to blog about something beneficial and interesting and in doing so I have found new ideas and ways of looking at my concept. I hope that I can continue this blog as the year goes on and for it to help me analyse my work in the future as it has done to date.

Fourth year.....well it has always seemed like a huge wall that first, second and third year has been preparing us to climb. I can hardly believe that first semester is coming to a close and even more than that, my studies will soon be ending for good. I have been studying for the last six years, as I began at Sydney University studying an arts degree with every intention of majoring in politics (I know what a stark contrast to what I am doing now) and then after a design bridging course finally starting at UTS. I had a dream of studying fashion from the age of 12 and after much preparation to enter the course when I graduated, I decided against it due to pressure to 'consider my options'......in other words 'do something worthwhile'. I listened for some time until I finally realised that my dreams were not going to be stopped by anybody and my journey began. I can hardly believe that this long road or chapter will soon be ending and I am incredibly excited about the next chapter after uni.

Until then though I have long journey ahead and I cannot wait to see my collection come alive with every day that passes.

LOOK 2-JACKET

So this look was slightly a challenge because its actually the simplest and most narrow of all the looks that I will be making. I wanted to do this look so that it sets the standard for how full the other looks should be or rather how I want them to be. This is very reminiscent of a more tailored look and also has some feminine qualities to it, but will be paired with very edgy pants and a shirt with a cowl neck, rather than  a conventional collar. I have made an effort to mix fabrication and this actual look might in fact be made out of heavy canvas as the under structure. The details have yet to be placed- which include buttons and button holes in the lapel collar (Navy blue), shoulder straps, oversized pockets and lining have not been put on. Only the first toile, so I am quite happy with it.

THE SHIRT DRESS

So I never imagined that a long shirt or shirt dress as I call them, would actually be that difficult. Well they are!!! I need to get length, flare on the bottom half, fit on the bust and shoulders, not too bulky in the back (needs to go over the hips but fit the arch) and also have design features that make it my own!!! Not easy. I think I have tried a million variations and I have not been happy with any of them!!! At this point I have to fit the one I have and hopefully some time and more draping can fix the minor problem I am having!!! And there are no pictures because I am slightly embarrassed by them.

POST-APOCALYPTIC INSPIRED PHOTOGRAPHY

Some more photographs that I took of abandoned buildings to inspire my prints.

AND SO THE COLLECTION COMES TOGETHER...SLOWLY

It has taken much time to eliminate many original drapes from the hundreds that I had. In doing so I was left with only the most inspirational ones and from there the sketches began. However these sketches are purely an outline for when I go back to drape my toiles. I am a draper and nothing I actually draw will ever come out exactly how it looks because I allow the drapes to speak for themselves. I don't believe that what you draw should be precisely what you end up with because you are forcing a natural process. For those people who prefer to flat pattern make, their sketches are vital, but for myself and others they are simply there to facilitate an idea. So in saying that my 'outline collection' is coming along and I cannot wait to start draping to see what I can come up with. For the purposes of the critique and a rough idea of what the collection will look like this outline collection is essential.

WAY BACK WHEN....DIGITAL PORTFOLIO

In the process of getting us ready for this year and the possibility of needing to send out a portfolio we have been asked to put one together. So I got some friends together with a make-shift white backdrop and had some fun!!!! This is just one of the black and whites of a dress that I made...styled and photographed by me!

PRINTS..

So these are two prints that I digitally printed in the UTS labs...colour came out weird- the blue should have been really bright and the brown bits black- but the colour combinations in this print work really well! All of my prints would have come from my journal graphics and they have originally come from my own photographs. I think this will add to the overall uniqueness of my collection and the more raw the graphics are the more of an impact I think they will make.

...........

Many changes to be made and way too boring to actually tell you about!!!! the collection is kinda slow at the moment because I just can't bring myself to put pen to paper..a REALLY BAD HABBIT OF MINE! Am slightly stressed out at this point but I will get through it as I always do. In the mean time I started working on prints which took me away from the many problems I have with my toile....those will come soon!

FIRST TOILE...FIRST ONE HUNDRED PROBLEMS

So the first toile.....I tried incredibly hard to get the toile to look like my drape which i surprisingly did. The colours are not the same (tan replaced with banksia and the white plastic buckles with metal ones) but I will be using wool and the very, very, very difficult mesh that will be bound with orange cotton drill in 'safety orange'.  Like I said....just the first toile.

COLOURS IN SCRAPS CONTINUED

THE BLUES

THE GREYS

'THE' ORANGE

BANKSIA

THE COLOURS IN SCRAPS

I thought it might be effective to show you the colours in scraps from the samples. I am always looking for new ways to do things and I think this particular method suits my decayed and rustic concept! Refined colour palette is looking good but there are some creams missing!

TO DYE OR NOT TO DYE?

I am not really sure if dying is my thing but I attempted it anyway with surprisingly some luck!!! I loved having the freedom to try anything I wanted and create colour combinations that at that moment just seems to fit. This dying process actually made me rethink some colour choices which I hope to refine and post later on. I dyed with wool, canvas and cotton shirting because I think they will be staples in my collection!!! 

CLASSIC IMAGES NEVER DIE

I found this image in a book about trench coats and I found it absolutely sensational!! The way that they are posed and the small yet distinguishable differences in all of their trench coats!!! This one is going up on my wall!

WHEN YOU HIT A WALL: GO BACK AND TRY AGAIN!

Well i did hit a wall slightly.....I just felt stagnated and couldn't get out of my head!!! So I went back to my journal which i have found is my source for everything. It is the place that I started so it should be the place that I can always go back to and in the process it made me re-think my prints!!!!!

TEXTILE ISSUES

So the industrial textiles I plan on using are GREAT but I am not sure if I will able to get as much as I would have liked. I think I might need a fair bit and I don't really want to impose and ask for a lot. Also the textiles I am using will make toiling quite difficult as I will need some sort of substitute, especially the mesh which will not be cheap!!!!. Might head over to Clark Rubber and see if I can't find myself a cheap banana chair fabric!!!!!!!!

INITIAL COLOURS

Taken from my journal (so the colours are not great) these are the colours that I will be exploring. The blues are more on the icy side, along with some warmer colours of mint and cream and the darker hues of rust. All have come from images that I sourced or created for the visual inspiration in my journal.

THE BEGINNING PART II- THE BOOK OF ELI

The second most inspirational movie....The Book of Eli.

THE INITIAL INSPIRATION-THE BEGINNING

I thought it might be good to actually post what it was that initially inspired me. I spent most of the christmas break watching and reading post-apocalyptic movies and books which sent me down the road I am on now. I sat and watched them all again in the mid session break and I know why I was so inspired. Some people might think its freaky and scary but this movie in particular is amazing and I could never get sick of watching it. Enjoy!!! and if you haven't seen the movie.....WATCH IT!!!!

HOW RAD!!

Rad Hourani uses the most interesting and unconventional fabrics to create multi-layered, sculptural garments.

Rad Hourani

FASHION OF THE APOCALYPSE[VOGUE ITALIA EDITORIAL]

Amazing editorial from Vogue Italia. Whether it is a post-apocalyptic editorial it doesn't matter because its strong imagery can only imply a decayed and almost dystopian sentiment. The bright colours mixed with subdued, rag like clothing alongside the sculptural and heavy shapes is all inspiring and one of the better post-apocalyptic inspired editorials I have seen.

RICK OWENS[NO TEXTILE IS UNUSABLE]

Looking outside your field for inspiration and unique fabrication.

Thick industrial rubber does what even the thickest leather couldn't achieve!

(http://www.newfashionnews.com/news/5/home.html)

THE BOARD IN PROGRESS:NOMAD

While the boards are all over my room, this one in particular is everything that keeps me in touch with the mood I need to be in to design. It sits directly in front of me and can never be forgotten!! The war references are not direct links but they certainly evoke a heavy, survival instinct atmosphere which I am always trying to capture in my designs.

RICK OWENS[NOT AFRAID TO CHANGE THE WOMAN]

(http://www.scout-holiday.com/blog/?p=277
Manipulated on photoshop)

TOP HEAVY OVERLOAD[COMPUTER GENERATED DRAPES]

Line up of heavily worked individual drapes. I find I get some of my best designs at the end of overworking individual pieces. I don't see the point in moving on completely if something isn't working, I find that it only takes some small changes to get it right.

TOP HEAVY OVERLOAD[COMPUTER GENERATED DRAPE MANIPULATION]

Some drapes taken further and manipulated with top Heavy silhouette in mind as well as industrial textiles. Getting an idea of where I want my collection to go. Working in quick and rough manner gets my creativity going and I have never been one for neat and tidy approaches

USING THE UNUSABLE[INDUSTRIAL TEXTILES 2]

Waxcon Industrial Textile no.2: Moleskin Pants Fabric.
The most amazing thing to drape with and I have never been as inspired by a fabric as I was with this textile. It is multi-dimensional being both structural and yet creating a magnificent drape. It took me to another place where I was imagining a young man or woman in a post-apocalyptic world trudging through the snow completely consumed by a coat or cape and their face is barely visible. Feeling a connection with my fabrics as I drape with them is important in my design process and so this drape experiment was incredibly beneficial.

USING THE UNUSABLE[INDUSTRIAL TEXTILES]

My collection will rely on the power and uniqueness of industrial textiles to fully engage with the idea of a post-apocalyptic world. Fortunately for me I have sought out a prominent industrial textile manufacturer in Australia who is willing to provide me with any textile I desire and free of charge! The company is Waxcon and they are not only fabulous and durable but they are AUSTRALIAN MADE!!! It is amazing what an industrial fabric can do and just how inspiring they are to work with. This is industrial textile number one (the easiest one to work with) which is an Army tenting fabric which I have done experimental stand work with in order to understand its handle and drape. I Am very excited about working with this fabric!

PHOTOS SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS

There is something spectacular about the decayed and the destroyed. There is an honesty behind everything that is left behind to grow old with its surroundings. My grandfather worked on Cockatoo Island for most of his life and as a child he would take me past the island on the ferry and tell me stories. I don't remember most of them but somewhere in my photographs they resonate. A photograph will speak to me just like a piece of music and transport me to a new world, whether it be the place in the picture or somewhere unrelated.........every photo speaks a thousand words.
                                
                         PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN ON A TRIP TO COCKATOO ISLAND

'TO SOMEBODY'[DAY 275]

An excerpt from a journal entry I created for my journal to get a sense of the narrative.


I'm not sure what day it is today, to be honest I have completely lost track of time. I know it's day because the sun comes up and night because the moon comes out and on a terrible day like today I have absolutely no idea. It  is as grey as can be and the ash is so thick I can't see two steps in front of me. I don't understand the ash and why it still lingers so long after, but I guess the earth is trying to tell those of us left that it's not finished reminding us of how much we stuffed up. I found refuge in a car by the side of the road to get away from the smoldering, suffocating air. I don't sleep in cars often which sounds pretty weird, I mean it seems like the most logical place to sleep in these circumstances- away from the cold and reasonably comfortable- but it's the most unsafe place to be at night. The rebels tear the cars apart on their scavenging escapades looking for anything they can take back to camp and if you get caught by one of them, then you would have wished you suffocated from the ash. They walk around like lost souls, I mean we are all lost souls now, but them...they're like nothing I have ever seen or read about. You know a rebel around here, the makeshift tattoo on their right hand they have cut and smothered in ink-it reads 'II'. My only guess is that represents the second life, the second established order, the new established order. Anyway I know they're not coming out tonight, the ash has kept them in camp and they would not risk a 'soldier' for some scrap heap car. 


The car is owned by a family i know that much from the sticker on the back -'Water World', all ripped and tattered but still recognisable. I just sit there in the back middle seat staring out the front slightly keeping arms incase I am completely wrong about the rebels. The seats are quite comfortable. I find a box in there that has clearly been raided by 'them' and dumped when all they find are photos. I know for sure at that moment that they were not only a family but a big family, five children. The photos are dusty but beautiful. I know my world has changed at that very moment when at seventeen I cannot tie what I am seeing to my own life, a life only a year ago resembling this one much the same. I had pushed back my memories so far it physically hurt my head to bring them to the surface again. So I take one photo of the little girl-holding a flower- fold it and tuck it away in my jacket. I am not sure why but maybe one day in this terrible existence I might find the strength to surface my memories and this picture will be the gateway. I slip my hands in my pocket, rest my head back and for the first time in days I fall asleep. 

IMAGE FROM MY JOURNAL

DRAPE [THE TRANSFORMATION]

Drape with one trench coat