Styling Ideas

I have been collecting various styling ideas for the photo shoot of my dress. I have been considering different possibilities for the look of the shoot. My initial thoughts was to have the make completely over the top, pulling out the bright colours from the dress and using them on the models face. The images bellow show these ideas.

I think these looks are beautiful. They are over the top and dramatic, which relates perfectly to my collection. However I then considered whether or not this dramatic look would be the best idea; the dress is over the top and dramatic, so would I want the make up like this to? I then considered my initial starting influences for this collection, and thought about my initial muse; Mary Antoinette, and how porcelain her look is. The make-up is far softer and doll like, something that i felt would work particularly well with my dress.

Soft make-up, porcelain skin, with statement eyes

The image bellow is my favourite look out of all of these. I particularly love the dramatic eyes contrasted against the paleness of her face.

My Photoshoot

These are the images photographer David Lam took. I love the close up photo where you can see the jewellery and beading in great detail. The necklace looks as if it is growing out of the dress and the print is brought to life. The make up done by Mac is absolutely beautiful. The statement eyes are very power full and captivating. The dramatic make-up for the eyes reflect the powerful colours of the dress.

This full length shot really highlights the dress as an overall statement piece.

Miu Miu

Spring/Summer 2010

I am absolutely fascinated and completely in love with Miu Miu's S/S 2010 collection. This is a collection that I can really relate to because it is about print and embellishment. Its a youth full collection, with captivating embellished techniques which include crystals embroidered on sheer nude mesh insets.

This collection has inspired some of my embellished samples, and inspired me to be more experimental with beading and sequining. I have learnt not to be afraid to mix beads and sequins, and have areas of over the top embellishment contrasted with areas of minimal beading.

Sampling with beading, experimenting different techniques.

I recieved my prints back from the digital printers and was really pleased with how they came out. The colours are perfect and I love how the pastel shades contrast with the brigher tones. I found the best way of looking at the collection was to hang each design up on the wall one by one. This enabled me to identify the collection as a whole.

My prints have evolved and become far more striking. I have designed a collection of 17 shift dresses which I will then use to select 12 from and send them to the digital printers. The collection is called Goddess.

A marriage between the old and new, the modern goddess. Draped in pearls and ornate jewels this collection explores the relationship between clothing and jewellery. The tromp l’oeil prints combine elements of vintage jewellery contrasted with shiny new pieces. Up cycling old jewellery in an innovative way to make it look glamorous and beautiful, giving it a new life.

The collection initially developed from the creation of beautiful over the top neckpieces which have been formed through a series of vintage brooches, chains and pearls. The print is juxtaposed with intricate embellishment; pearls, jewels and beading are used to bring this digital collection to life.

The digital collection is energetic through colour; pastels sorbet tones are contrasted with injections of fuchsia, lime green and cyan. Delicate beading is used to embellish the surface and intensify the colours of the print. The surface of the jewellery has been affected to compliment the print through the use of painted techniques.

I printed out my print ideas and placed them on a mannequin to gain some kind of visual idea of how they would look on the figure. This allowed me to identify that some of the placements needed moving.

Using printed fabric samples, I have draped pearls over the top to bring the print to life.

I have worked back into this digital print, lifting the colour with sequins and heavy beading. Using a mixture of beads and sequins enchances the fabric with different surface textures.

Alberta Ferretti

Ferretti's fall 2010 collection is simply gorgeous. The designs are sophisticated and elegant, and the colour story is perfect for fall. It consists of a wintery palette of white, nude, greys and teal.

I love this dress because I like the way she has blended jewellery and clothing. The necklace has become part of the dress rather than sitting on top of it.

I like the way this dress falls at the bottom, the silk trimming highlights this. This dress looks very soft and light and this has been achieved by using a lightweight fabric combined with the nude colour.

I love the shape of this outfit, the lines from the bust give shape and definition to the body. I also like the double layer asymmetric technique with the detailed trim.

I particularly like the shoulder detail to this dress. The shape looks simple, yet the detail when looking closer is extremely delicate.

www.style.com

Mary Kantrantzou

Mary Kantrantzou is a designer who has inspired me ever since she first debuted in 2009. I always look forward to her collections and her newest one has not failed to amaze me. I love the way Kantrantzou uses her prints to portray contours of the female body. I also really like how she combines her outfit with jewellery in every collection, something which I can particularly identify with.

Mary Kantrantzou's fall 10 colllection is a burst of energetic prints that have a geometic nature. The way Kantrantzou places the print is key to the success of her collection. I will have to consider the placement of my prints in order to make them successful.


Her prints are strong and dramatic, the colours are alive and energetic. She combines digital print with areas of embelishment and fabric details such as frills and ruffles. She does this with much softer fabrics such as chiffon, this contrasts with the hard print and softens the whole collection. This also gives the outfit a 3dimensional aspect rather than just being a print. I love this inovative idea of making the print come to life.

The closer details of this collection are really beautiful, in particular how Katrantzou uses the shapes of her digital prints to determine the shape of the garment.

Mary Katrantzou for Topshop

Mary Katrantzou has just done a line for Topshop. And its certainly not for the faint hearted. She has taken her catwalk designs and transformed them into wearable commercial pieces. Her sculptural trompe l'oeil dresses featuring blown-up images of perfume bottles and jewels are now available for everyone to wear at an afordable price.

Holly Fulton

I really love Holly Fulton's new a/w10 collection that was shown this week at London fashion week . The garment shapes are simple, yet she uses this a blank canvas to inject colour and demonstrate fascinatingly bold prints. The geometric patterns shows her inspiration from architecture and buildings.

The simple shift shape of the dress allows the print to be shown in the best possible way. This is something that I must consider with my own prints, and establish which shape shows my prints the best way. My prints are fairly complex and busy therefore it seems most appropriate to design more simple garment shapes so that the print does not get lost in the design.

Fulton embroiders over her prints which is something that i will be doing in my final collection. I think this gives the garments an extra special edge to it.

I love the colours in this dress and how Fulton has highlighted the key parts of the print with embellishment.

I really like the colour palette of the collection, the pastel theme has been carried on from the spring summer 10 trend, and been combined with black and white to make the whole look much bolder and sharper, perfect for Autumn winter.

My final collection

I feel my final collection has progressed a lot in the last few weeks. I have been analysing all the research that I have collected and began experimenting with all the vintage jewellery I have been collecting over the last year. This has allowed me to begin developing samples and has led to print ideas.

Sketch book pages, showing the developmental stage of the project in relation to the colour story and drawings to be developed.

My collection can be defined as an extension of myself, it demonstrates my complete addiction and love for jewellery. I feel that with intricate embroidery and beading I can enhance the beauty of the jeweled prints and make the collection very special .

After creating initial print ideas it gave me the opportunity to identify the strengths and weaknesses within each. I have been able to work on this and develop many more print ideas. I then began experimenting with the print on the mannequin to show what the print might look like on the female body.

PURE LONDON

I recently went to Pure London, which is the UK's leading fashion trade event for contemporary and directional womenswear, young fashion for men and women, accessories and footwear.

This is a place where buyers come to choose from the collections for their stores. Visiting this event gave me the opportunity to look around and talk to designers and get an insight into how it all works.

At Pure, I discovered lots of companies that I haven't heard about before which was really beneficial because it opened the door to lots of opportunities. I was able to speak to some designers and also collect business cards to use for possible work experience or placements.

Some of my favourite stands at Pure where Ruby rocks, Gia London, Aftershock London and Glamourous.

I liked these stands because I could relate with what they design and make. They produce feminine printed dresses with embellishment and beading throughout.

Overall I found Pure a very worthwhile and inspirational day, and will look forward to going again next year.

PARIS

Feb 10

We took our collections to Paris, to exhibit at Indigo in Premier Vision. This was a great opportunity to understand how the industry works and also research for my final collection.
I visited the trimming section which was completely overwhelming but inspirational all the same.

The range of different beads, trimmings and embroidered pieces was amazing. It gave me a real vision into what I could achieve with my own collection. I also spent a lot of the time on a vintage stand, looking through boxes of sequined pieces, buttons and fastenings. I bought to pieces that I fell in love with, and will be looking to use them in my collection.

I also visited Versailles which was great because I have looked at Mary Antoinette for this collection therefore it was a great opportunity to look around where she once lived. Versailles was truly the most amazing and breathtaking building I have ever been in. Every aspect of the building was considered, from the floor right up to the ceiling.

The interior is completely over the top and dramatic but I love it. The whole place is saturated with Gold edging and borders. The ceilings in particular amazed me the most, the detail in the paintings is impeccable, and it makes me imagine how long it would have taken to paint.

I also visited several fabric stores by the Sacre-Coeur. Here I found some gorgeous embroidered lace that I will use in my collection.
I left Paris feeling very inspired and ready to get going with the collection.