Final Collection: Progress

Above: Progress of boiled wool coat for my final collection.

The coat is almost finished (still needs buttons and top-stitching/facing finishing). The panels are all hexagons, with welt pockets in the side panels (along with flaps). Large brown buttons will be added down the centre front in order to finish it off. The seams are all on the outside, as a design feature (as they do not fray). This adds structure to the coat.

Some sketches...

Laser cutting

Toile: Laser cutting layered over a chiffon blouse.

More final collection work...

Development of toiles, which are all cut from hexagon shapes.

M&S photoshoot

An image from a M&S photoshoot for the Leeds University M&S Archive. The outfits been styled and chosen by myself and two others.

Some final year development work...

Illustrations for my final collection

Progress: final collection

Own work: Nonwovens...

These images show a jacket constructed using nonwoven material that I designed, pattern cut and made as part of a group project. It is inspired by the McQueen reptile collection- i love the silhouette and convex sleeves.

Butterflys...

Photographs and Illustration by myself.

Garment Construction...

Here are some recent pieces that I have made whilst working for 'Ages of Elegance':

Mary Katrantzou...

This collection was more about "the woman in the room" stated the designer. "It's more fluid, more real." Katrantzou imagined the woman as a connoisseur, surrounded by objects including Fabergé eggs, Meissen porcelain, cloisonné enamel, and Ming vases. And all of these reproduced in hyper-vivid prints.

Personally, I am not quite sure about the silhouettes of some of these outsides, such as the ones that slightly resemble a lampshade. But I love the bias-cut dresses in which the print is positioned perfectly. The prints are mis-matched together to create a lot of bright, bold colour. Although I think they are a little too mis-matched for my liking. However, I do think it was a great, bold end to London Fashion Week.

Fall 2011 LFW. Images from style.com.

Elie Saab Couture

Elie Saab was as pretty and feminine as expected, but today he displayed a lighter touch than in recent seasons and the dresses were all the better for it.

'A pale palette of nude, pink and beige – as well as a new pale-grey-to-the-point-of-white shade that appeared at Chanel and Givenchy as well this week – accentuated the new delicacy and allowed flashes of green, red or black to shout even louder.' Vogue

"It was much lighter and much prettier as a result," said fashion director Lucinda Chambers after the show. "Even the embroidery was less heavy on lovely chiffon full length dresses – he has a new focus and it suits him."

I love all of his work, especially the small details and feminine touch, with draping chiffons and satins. He is definitely one of my favourite designers, along with John Galliano and McQueen.

Some Sketches & Samples...

Alfa Romeo Young Designer Award!

I have been shortlisted for the Alfa Romeo Young Designer Award, which I am very excited about. I am really happy to have got this far because it is such a big award. The 5 finalists will create a capsule collection for a fashion show and photoshoot, where the winner is chosen and presented with £1000, a feature in FS mag and £500 towards their fashion line. FS 2011 will provide all of its Young Designers with the opportunity to exhibit your unique design alongside Fashion Houses such as Armani, Prada, Miu Miu, Stuart Gladstone, Nicole Fahri, Elle Macpherson Intimates, Jaeger, Edun and more. This exposure draws media attention from local and national press (past coverage has included features in The Sunday Times, Harper's Bazaar, The Handbook, Teen Vogue, Pink Memo, The Sun and Country Life).

It has been featured in Vogue as ' a key event on Scotland's social calendar, is student-run organisation set up with the aim of giving young talent a platform'

Ruffle Inspiration!

I'm loving ruffles at the minute, and heres some off the Spring 2011 catwalks that I like:

Sketching...

Alexander McQueen Inspired Garments

In a team of four, we have been working on four garments, focusing on research, patterns, toiles and embellishment in order to reach our final designs. They are inspired by the McQueen garments (shown in a recent post) from the latest collection.

They are produced from nonwoven fabric, making the processes of construction and pattern making quite different.

After all the hard work, I am very happy with the final results!

Alexander McQueen

A project I am currently involved in is based around McQueens last collection, with an underwater theme. Working in a team of four, we are making four nonwoven garments (two jackets and two skirts, inspired by the images image, with a large emphasis on embellishment.

Above are some research pages, development, ideas and toiles.