Collar research

Below are some research pages of my collar research for tomorrows design development exercise.

I also looked into cuffs but found it a bit irrelevant to my theme so my research was strictly technical.

I first found this image of this lovely chav and his 'popped' collar.

I then typed this into google and this image of a guy wearing 20 polo shirts with popped collars came up:

The image reminded me of Viktor and Rolf's layered collars:

I then started to experiment with layered collars:

I then came across this image of Roisin Murphy wearing a dress created out of collar shapes:

Fabric research

On Friday 19th Feb we were given the task of collecting fabric samples which related to both our designer and theme.

With my group I visited both Cloth houses on Berwick st., and Libertys on Carnaby st. As Textile King specialises in tailoring fabrics, which Westwood uses a lot of, we also had a look in there. The samples i gathered from these places are shown below. I tried to get fabrics which were reminiscent of Westwood so focused on patterned wool and suiting.

Textile King

The first sample is definitely Wool, but i think the second might be a wool mix. It will be interesting to perform the burn test on them to find out in the next session.

The Cloth house, 47 Berwick st.

I thought this shop was excellent for suiting fabrics, but can also be a little pricey.

The first sample is pure wool at £23 pm. I dont know the content of the other 3 samples, but they were all priced £16 pm.. I think the wool suiting is very westwood, but i really like the 3rd sample; it would be really good for a really structured garment like a tailored jacket.

The Cloth House, 98 Berwick st.

The fabrics in here were suitable for non-tailored garments. There were some beautiful silk velvets and knits amongst other things...

The first sample is a cotton jersey i believe at £8.50 pm. It feels like something you'd make a polo shirt out of. The second is a patterned cotton at £18 pm. After seeing it now I've got it home I'm not sure i like it all that much, but i'll keep it in mind if i design a shirt or blouse.

Libertys

We also went to Libertys on our outing. I adore this shop, so many beautiful things! The fabrics here though are almost too beautiful to consider using for a Westwood collection. The fabrics are mostly floral cottons and silks mostly and again very pricey but lovely.

Harry Brown

I watched the film Harry Brown to learn about gang culture. I thought it was a brilliant film. Really dark, and slightly disturbing, but brilliant. I'm going to try to find some film stills to put in my sketchbook.

I want to look at some more films for inspiration as well. Perhaps This is England, Kidulthood, and Greenstreet.

Initial Research

Today i did my presentation on Vivienne Westwood and my initial ideas. I was the first person to present which was a bit nerve-racking but it went OK i think. My feedback was good; i kept it interesting despite the amount of information. I'm pleased that i dont have to worry about it now, and i can concentrate on my own theme.

I've been developing some of my ideas from my concept board, looking at different cliques within youth society. I've started to put together a few research pages on photoshop, some of which are shown below. I've looked at things which would be associated with certain types of people, for example big plastic glasses we often associate with geeks.

Goths

Geeks

Emos

Chavs

I think goths and emos might be too much like work Westwood has done already, so I think i'm going to look more into geeks and Chavs; perhaps opposing the 2 by looking at geeks and bullies. I also want to look at the darker side of the concept, looking at gang culture.

Revised concept

After a discussion with Karen and Alexis about my original concept, i needed to make it less Westwood, more 'me'

I have decided to follow the cultural aspect of my original concept. Looking at youth culture, and social groups.

I will probably go on to focus my research on one particular social group, so i expect there will be another revised concept board to come.

Concept board:

I'm still working on a title. Words i have been working on:

Cliques

Labels

Gangs

Stereotypes

Cliche

Cults

Band

Followers

Religiously

Allegiances

Sect

Mould

Uniform

Mass Produced

Regimented

Homogenized

Conform

Standardized

Segregated

Youth

Adolescence

Juvenescence

Juvenile

Childhood

Ideas i have come up with so far are:

'Out of the mould'

'Regimented Britain/Youth'

'Uniformed Britain/Youth'

Initial concept

My initial concept looked at Westwood British routes, and what it means to be British

Looking back at history, at costume, artefacts and traditions.

What is quintessentially British?

Some words we discussed as a group were:

Uniform

Historical

Masculine

Royal

Afternoon tea

Patriotic

Tradition

Culture

Group work

Le Thi for Ann Demeulemeester.

Concept board based on hidden identity.

Henzah for Burberry

Concept board based on war and military uniform

Tiffany for Chloe

Concept board based on nature and texture

Chloe for Givenchy

Concept board based on dark beauty

Material girl

In order to understand fabrics and how to use them, we have been asked to identify what fabrics Westwood uses in her collections, focusing on one garment in particular. We are interested in particular in the way it is produced and its properties.

The garment I have chosen is from Westwood's gold label, made from an 'interesting' gold fabric...

Fibre content: 61% viscose, 27% polyester; 12% PM; Combo 1: 100% cotton.

Viscose - A mixture of both man-made and natural components.

Production: It is produced from wood cellulose acetate treated with caustic soda. Viscose can also be made into the more common form of rayon that is used for many types of textile products, including clothing.

Properties: Viscose rayon has a silky appearance and feel, and also has the ability to breathe in a manner similar to cotton weaves. One of the more popular properties of viscose rayon is that the fabric tends to drape very well. One of the disadvantages to textile products made with viscose rayon is that the items will wrinkle very easily

In the burning test, Viscose burns similarly to cotton. It ignites quickly with a large bright yellow flame. The odour smells like burnt paper, and the ash is light and feathery grey.

Polyester - A manufactured product made from synthesized polymers.

Production: To make polyester, ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate are mixed together. The chemical reaction results in bisterephthalate. This substance is heated to 270° Fahrenheit (132° Celsius), where it reacts again to form polyethylene terephthalate. To make polyester fiber, an extruder is used to produce very fine threads of PET. The fibres can be knitted or woven; they are mostly knitted to maximize the flexibility of the fabric.

Properties: A strong and durable synthetic fabric. Polyester dries quickly and can be washable or dry clean only. It is not the easiest fabric to remove stains from, and doesn't breathe as well as other fabrics may.

Burns slowly and melts when burning. May melt and pull away from small flames without igniting. Melted area may drip off clothing carrying flames with it

Poly - Viscose blend: The thermal insulation and water-vapour resistance increase with the increase in polyester content. Polyester is often used as a blend with other fabrics to lend wrinkle resistance

PM - I don't have a clue what this is, and can't seem to find out either. I'm going to assume it's the surface treatment that gives the fabric the gold shimmer.

Westwood's fabric

Below is a snapshot from my Powerpoint presentation looking at the most commonly used fabrics in Westwood collections

Westwood has a massive interest in British-produced fabrics such as Harris tweed and tartans. She also uses quite a lot of patterned wool suiting for her tailored garments.

V&A - Fashion

I was hoping a visit to the V&A fashion section would inspire some ideas.

I want to look at historical clothing, especially tailoring, to inspire my collection.

I'm particularly interested in the seam lines and garment shapes as I find these details in historical clothing much more exciting than contemporary garments.

Just a few images from my visit:

Westwood dress

V&A - British galleries

Here are some images from my visit to the V&A British galleries.

From these i want to develop some imagery, possibly in the form of a print.

Royal school of the arts at the V&A

Graduates of the RSA MA course were showing their work at the V&A when i was there.

I was in awe of their work. Some of it was so amazing. Especially some of the material they used.

One designers work that i thought was quite relevant to my work was Siri Johansen for her pattern work. She looks at tradition fabric patterns like herringbone tweed, and plays with knit and print.

I found this image in the book 'British fashion designers' by Hywel Davies. Its a Westwood print that has been produced digitally from lace. I'm quite interested in working with print in this way.