30 May 2011

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.

29 May 2011

25 May 2011

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.

23 May 2011

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!






21 May 2011

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.


19 May 2011

...........

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!

17 May 2011

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.


11 May 2011

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!


09 May 2011

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!!! 



07 May 2011

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!

05 May 2011

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!!!!!


04 May 2011

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!!!!!!!!

02 May 2011

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.