Evaluation

Overall, in this unit I feel that I have become more confident in myself and my work. There have been many experiences that helped me gain more knowledge in my work, such as the presentation and live project.

I feel that the live project very much helped me to break out of my refined concept and way of thinking and encouraged me to use more experimental yarns and techniques. In unit x I shall be continuing to communicate through garments and sampling developing a more experimental colour pallet and taking inspiration from a more broad subject, which will help to further develop my samples for garments.

Adding colour

In this unit so far I have based most of my samples in black, grey and white. To push my designs as much as I can in terms of style, and development I have began to experiment in my samples with colour and techniques finding inspiration from new visual sources.

These samples are influenced by the cloth on the womens head in the image above

Colour inspiration also came from these images from Heidi Andreasen, who created a series of collage images which I found very relevant to my concept.

I took a lot of inspiration from these images as there were many elements that I could translate into samples. These images are also very creative and interesting giving a simple head shot a more contemporary feel.

I began to experiment with inlay, using Chenille and Lycra. The pull of the Lycra helped to give the Chenille movement. I also experimented with the ripple technique to give my samples some texture.

Adding colour into my samples, I felt that it blurred the concept and removed what I was aiming to achieve and gave my samples a random feel. I felt that keeping to black white and Grey would refine my samples and focus more on techniques that I was using and why I was using them.

While I was continuing to research I found another tribe which live in Pa Pa New Ginuea, where the men paint there bodies red, as they believe that this will make them more sexually attractive.

I began to introduce the colour red into my samples in many various ways on both the dubied and domestic.

     

I felt that by adding another colour, this helped me to push my samples and use techniques which i have not used before such as plating. I felt this also made them visually exciting and stronger. 

I

Luetton Postle

The Luetton Postle brief was a great opportunity, I felt that it took me away from my comfort zone and engaged me to approach new methods of producing experimental samples.

I choose to work with two themes, which were 'child-like paintings', and 'tribal'. These themes gave me the chance to work with photoshop and research designers in different fields such as graphic and print, these two factors  hugely influenced my final samples, working with the two themes allowed my samples to be fun and experimental.


Amy Sia

 

 

Tyler Spangler 

 

 

Nicole Cohen 

 



I found that working from artists and designers pieces helped to push my samples and clearly influence where my work was going, keeping to the chosen themes. As this was a short project, I really committed myself to my samples and enjoyed working in a fast paced environment maintain a high standard of work in a new style.

Photoshop Images

Final Samples

Being able to meet and present to a designer made me feel more aware of what the future may bring, and what I am to expect. I also feel that this brief has helped my working style and thinking to become more loose and articulate when infusing different media and methods.

Mark Making

Taking inspiration from different cultures, I found some very interesting visuals from a tribe in Africa who paint them selves white to protect them from evil spirits. I began to do some simple mark making using my fingers and black paint to re-create the patterns they had on their faces and body.

I found these abstract marks interesting and enjoyable to re-create, I then began to look at these simple prints as marks left on the body, from another person symbolising a number of things. Focusing on this same concept, I then moved onto experimenting with identity through finger prints.

Judith Braun is a mixed multimedia artist who typically uses charcoal to create these pieces of work with her finger tips. I admire her work greatly as Braun uses the most simple media to create sophisticated pattern.

Inspired by Judith Braun's work, I then took this concept further and visualised these finger prints onto garments.

Although I greatly enjoyed the creative journey arriving at this concept I feel that, as a collection or to push this single idea would be limited as the design show, it is a single finger print on a garment. I do feel however, this idea could be taken in many paths in terms of execution and style.

TRANSLATION THROUGH KNIT

I began to push this concept of 'leaving a mark', further through in my samples by briefly experimenting through techniques and yarn choice. I knitted a relationship time line of a single person using black to symbolise a permanent place in the persons life, grey for a more temporary stand and White to symbolise freedom.

 

My first samples to represent mark making through knit

 

 

I was pleased with my first attempt at mark making through knitting, as these samples are simple but have the basic concept of what I set out to achieve.

 

I pushed this concept further by experimenting with more complicated techniques, on both the domestic and dubied.

 

 

 

 These samples were designed based on more permnant marks on the body.



Week 1

In this unit I am excited to develop my practise as a knitwear designer, specialising in menswear.

INSPIRATION

These three images are the inspiration for this unit and why I have chosen to specialise in menswear. These pieces are visually interesting to me as they are full of colour, texture and pattern, the contrast of such feminine finished garments on typically masculine males is something which I find playful and experimental.

CONCEPT
I have continued to research the theme 'Feminine on Masculine', while researching this theme in knitwear I came across a small community which live on Taquile Island, off of Peru. Knitting is a key part of this communities culture where it is typically part taken by males, it is also an important part of their culture as  a system of clothes and colours clearly communicate their martial status. Married men wear a patterned hat that is red, while single men wear hats that start with a band of red and then turn into a white hat with a pom pom. Red detonates responsibility while white shows that the wearer can be care free. This simple, honest and open way of martial communication inspired me, as in the society we live in  is so closely monitored where we crave privacy and  others live in the opposite way, embracing it as a way of live wearing their martial status as proud symbols.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Island also celebrates the Festival of Saint James (Fiesta of Santiago), on days of the festival the village gather to dance in the plaza to the sound of wooden pipes and drums. The clothes which are worn on the day of the festival consits of brightly coloured head pieces and highly embellished clothes using feathers and beads.

 

 



 

 

 

I find these images inspiring as they are full of colour, energy, and texture. I feel that this is a great starting point for me in this unit as my research is strong in concept and visuals, which will help me to develop an over arching theme and there are many directions which I could take this further. The concept in which the male wears such feminine style clothes in order to communicate his marital status is also a concept which I am interested in exploring in more depth, focusing on highly designed and embellished pieces stating the freedom of ones relationship and less adorned pieces and styles for a male who is in a relationship and more reserved.

 

 

 

Drawing inspiration from the garments that the people wear on the island I have began to to draw inspiration from the catwalk, looking at a range of womenswear and menswear, looking at highly embellished and three dimensional surfaces. In past projects I have enjoyed working in these styles, and find this a very creative and exciting way to work. 

 



Focusing on the theme feminine on masculine, I am excited to explore the two contrasts in this concept.