Market Research moodboards and statements.

Fetish

Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

Fashion is turning to the dark side this season with a new focus on fetish.

Straps, buckles, harnesses, and whips you name it. Anything that will restrain the body and make your mind wonder to the dark side is a must. This once taboo subject has now been brought to the fore front and celebrated by top designers.

Alexander McQueen took to leather harnesses and straps, along with sturdy buckles to create its full-on fetish collection. At Giles, it was the mixture of black leather and transparent fabrics. Louis Vuitton found inspiration from a fetish film called “The Night Porter”.

Wherever you find your inspiration for this risqué new trend, be sure to indulge your dark side and include some leather straps and buckles. While you’re at it through on some PVC as well.

Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

Forget about your soft-side this winter, it’s all about channelling your inner tomboy. It’s the Androgynous style, but don’t be thinking sharp tailoring and crisp shirts, no, it’s all about the slouch. Casual is key with tweed blazers and relaxed trousers. Mix textures and prints like a pro to achieve an effortless-cool look. Think tweed with check or houndstooth with tweed.

The key shoe is manly and comfortable. The very practical brogue. But instead of the classic browns and blacks think leopard print, metallic, snake skin and neon brights. The key to this trend is mixing prints with texture with relaxed, masculine tailoring which will ensure comfort and cool in one outfit!

Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

Clothes get a sprinkling of star dust this winter with the not-so-new Metallic trend. Metallic is no stranger to the catwalks. It adds texture and interest to collections and adds a touch of luxury with its endless sheen. This season we see metallic silver, gold, bronze and gun metal appear, with the odd purple as seen in Balmain.

For the most part metallic has been used in a way which has been seen before although Stella McCartney has modernised it with her use of its great effects in a gold graphic print and her quilted leather pieces. Gold jeans are also big, especially on the highstreet in silver, gold, bronze, purple, green and even leopard print!

Whatever way you wear it it’s sure to liven up any outfit on cold winter mornings.

Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

It looks like were going back to the past this Winter with the new millennium take on the Swinging Sixties. Hemlines are higher as the fashion world embraces the classic shift. Designers are taking inspiration from this youthful, minimalistic silhouette of the 1960’s. With this simpler shape, monochrome is being kept to a minimum and an infusion of bright colours and new colour saturated graphic prints are coming through.

60’s checks are looking big this season adorning mini shift dresses on the catwalks of Paul Costello and Prada. Metallic fabrics as well as wool and tweed are seen especially in the form of Burberry’s checked thick winter coats.

Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

If you’re not an animal lover you will be when you see these on trend delights. Animals are here once again, but not in the leopard/zebra print sort of way, it’s the Animal Motif all the way. Yes, instead of the pattern that’s ON the animal, it’s the animal itself that’s stealing the show. From black, sinister graphic-printed panthers at Givenchy, to running dears at Marc Jacobs. Topshop Unique have gone barking mad with they’re Dalmatian embroidered knits, as well as Frankie Morello who is having fun with sequins and bright colours on their animals.

Real life portraits are seen as well as a more animated approach. Miu Miu are embracing embellishment with they’re sparkling birds and Horses come galloping onto knitted dresses in Charles Anastase.

Make friends with the animal kingdom this winter and rock this trend!

Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

The quite English countryside gets a high fashion make-over this Winter with luxury knits and tweeds. Traditional fabrics once reserved for the country men are now tailored to perfection to flatter the female form, as seen at Mulberry.

Brown leather bags are seen as well as the sturdy shoe which has now been given a heel. Perfect for looking chic while on your winter walks. This trend is greatly influenced by the British hunting, shooting and fishing past times. It features warm and natural hues in browns and greens. Checks are a big part of this trend whether big, small or inbetween as seen at Burberry. 

The traditional, conservative English uniform has gained new confidence and a whole lot of attitude! 

Summer interests

Its summer and so im taking the opportunity to shop!....well...window shop. I'm loving charity shops. I go in mainly to look for unusual fabrics such as embellishment. I found this amazing indian belt on my last trip. its black velvet embellished with beads and crystals. you can tell its been warn. I love its shape. It goes down to a slight 'V' at the front. Its finding these things for a mere 2 euro that inspire me. things that have stories behind them. I'm also loving colour block, inspiration taken from Jill Sanders S/S 2011. Orange/pink and orange/purple are my colours of choice! I will be brightening up the streets of France soon!

New project!----Stripes

After Easter no time was wasted in getting stuck into a new project. This time it was all about the stripe. You were allowed to interpret your own idea of what stripes are and I had alot of fun with this. I chose parasites for my source as I find them interesting and are so organic in they're texture and shape that they provided an antidote from my structured ranking project where my source was victorian houses and the sky scrappers of New York.
I worked alot with latex in this project as I think it really worked in getting that slimy, jelly look of the parasites. I experimented with burning fabrics, particularly with the burning of latex covered fabrics.
I really enjoyed putting my mood board together and also my three other swatch boards. I am very happy with my finished body of work.

Moodboard

Final swatch

Fashion Illustration

During Easter we were asked to look at different types of fashion illustration and fabric rendering. For this I made a notebook which included illustrations which I liked and photographers that inspire me. Here are some photographs from the notebook.

Black and white photography of Helmut Newton

Easter Project 2011

We got a brief to do over Easter which was all about texture. We had to source primary research from the environment around us, do analytical drawings, pull shapes and create interesting swatches full of texture. I was most inspired by the natural elements around me as my source for my ranking project was so structured I really wanted to explore more organic sources. Here are photographs of my sketchbook for this project.

3 Week Ranking Project.

We were given five themes which were ; Tribal, Decay, Electric, Memories and Enclosure. We were asked to choose one after having researched all five themes.
Here are some photographs form my sketchbook of my research.

Tribal
I looked at street tribes such as punk rockers and then hippies. The leather interested me with the punk rockers and the suede and feathers of the hippies.

 Decay
I looked at the deacay of the human body. The aging process and wrinkles. I also looked at the decay of animal carcasses in the wild.

Electric
I looked at the subway. Having gone to New York with the college for the week of research I felt I should research something that related to the trip. Ialso looked at electronic devices such as CD's and records. I also researched musical instruments specifically the electric guitar.

Memories
I looked at scars on the human body. I also looked at tattoo's as a form of a personal memory, also I looked at the brain as a mechanism for storing memories.

Enclosure
I firstly looked at bondage and chains and restraint. Ithen moved onto houses. specifically victorian houses which are painted various bright colours and also sky scrappers of New York which The photographs i my sketchbook were taken myself.
I want to mix the angular, architectural features of the sky scrappers with the traditional, decorative features of the victorian houses.

My chosen shapes



                                                Digital print that I want to use. I printed it myself on my home printer on        the back of a cream leatherette.

Samples of fabrics and materials I might work with, such as ; lace, leatherette, string mesh, and wadding.