Week Three- Prototypes and Snow Days

Not everything in life goes as planned, and this week was a great example of that. 

Mother nature was in charge, dumping a big ol' bomb of a winter storm on the entire midwest. Today was our fourth snow day in a row, and as exciting as snow days are, it is starting to put me behind. Almost all of my supplies are in my locker at school... which has been closed, but I have been making the most of what I have!   

While it has been a relaxing break, I am ready for the school to open back up so I can use my supplies and have real tables to work on again! I'll be playing a little bit of catch up for the next couple of days, but I have no doubts I'll be back where I need to be by the end of the weekend.

 

Snow-pocalypse 2019! and some crocheting

Greetings! I hope you are all staying safe out there with the snow-pocalypse that is wreaking havoc on Michigan and the surrounding states. I have taken the opportunity this week to work on more of my yarn pieces as those are the only supplies I have access to. Despite many shoveling attempts and one or two pedal-to-the-floor attempts I can not move my car even a foot at the moment. What a great opportunity to lock myself in my room to crochet until my fingers fall off.

            I’m hoping that next week brings higher temperatures and and better driving conditions because I’m ready to continue with prototypes and pattern work but until then here is a progress picture of my asymmetrical Gyda dress. Stay warm out there!

Tech Troubles and the Moodiest of Boards

It's week two and the problems are already piling up.

Due to the technical side of my collection, I've had to do a lot of additional research on top of designing and constructing my collection. While I have the basic skills when it comes to wiring and programming basic actions, the things I want to accomplish require far more advanced knowledge and a whole list of unknown jargon. Thankfully, my jewellery professor in my minor has quite a bit of knowledge on the subject and was more than willing to help me out. Still, I have a long way to go.

The first step was buckling down and reading up on a lot of the terminology used when working with electronics and most things technical. As it turned out, researching the technical side proved to pose a ton of challenge and problems when it came down to executing the garments. I kinda like the challenge though, it makes my brain buzz and the satisfaction when I come up with a solution that acctually works is pretty dope.

The biggest problem I'm running into it how to apply an element that tends to be bulky and obtrusive to a garment where uncomfortable and bulky things are usually a turn-off. Additionally, I have to find a way to make the shapes I want and make sure that they can all be properly powered.

I'll be using EL (Electroluminescent) lights for my collection. They provide a solid line of light, much like neon lights but without the glass and dangerous gasses. I ordered 15 feet of a blue EL wire and when I received it I popped in the batteries, hit the 'ON' switch and...

Nothing.

After a few choice words, I brought it to one of my professors hoping that it was just a personal user error. Thankfully, my professor and I discovered that the batteries I had put in had merely gone bad. Popped in a fresh pair and voila! It worked!

It's a long-standing tradition in the fashion program that every year the seniors put visuals for their collection up on the boards around the sewing lab. Since Freshman year we've been seeing seniors from every year putting their stuff up on the boards, so it was kind of exciting to see my stuff going up.

Thanks for reading and remember to keep checking back for new updates every week.

Salut!

Oh Snap Week Two!!!

It's week two and I have finalized my designs and mounted my mood board (still a working progress). As I'm pulling everything together I'm finding myself getting more and more excited for my final collection. You see, my design process tends to be all over the place and I'm bombarded with soo much uncertainty sometimes that I'm never really sure if I'm on the right track, even if I'm passionate about my topic or ideas. It's like I can see everything pay out in my mind and sometimes I can be very ambitious. Then when it comes down to executing my ideas, that is when I get nervous because it's like I want to do everything and it's hard sometimes when I have to pick which ideas that I need to let go of. And it's soo hard to let go sometimes.  GAHH!! But I pull myself back to reality, I get myself under control and move forward. Now as everything is coming into focus, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting clearer, oh so clear, and I'm so excited to get started and even more excited to be finished just so I can see everything come into fruition. So with that being said stick with me for the next couple of months and after as I continue of my journey! 💪💪

Week two - Officially Official

Welcome to week two of my capstone blog.
This week I made some final decisions on what my collection is going to fully consist of, researched, and made my official "Fashion Studies Capstone Classroom Board."
This past weekend, my "research" consisted of me doing one of my favorite activities- going to a concert. Not just any concert, of course, I finally had the opportunity to see Super Future preform! It was a pretty cool experience to watch him play his music live since I have been studying since October. His performance reconfirmed the aesthetic & direction I have decided to take with this project. It only made me more excited to be making this collection.

After seeing Super Future play, I was able to narrow my collection to the six looks I will be constructing.
Later in the week, I made some final changes to my mood board and added some neon lights as an outside boarder. Creating mood boards and the initial planning of a collection is probably my favorite thing about fashion design. (Let's just say... I mood board hard.) Once I finalized my mood board and the looks that I'll be constructing, I headed over to the school and made my board in the fashion lab.

Week One - The Beginning of the End

I cannot believe I have now begun the last semester of college and am beginning to make my capstone collection! My four years at Kendall have been building up to this semester.

The line I am going to be making is titled "Prismatic." It is a Spring / Summer line for both men and women and is a cross between urban streetwear and lux athleisure.

"Prismatic" combines both futuristic and streetwear elements. It is inspired by music created by local music producer, Nick Rowland; or better known as, Super Future. My collection is a representation of what I believe his music would look like if it were clothing.

                         

Music has been a pretty major part of my entire life, and what could be better than combining my two loves (fashion & music) into one thing!?

I began this collection by reaching out to Nick and asking him if he would be willing to collaborate with me. He was very excited for my ideas and    sent me more of his music as for inspiration. I listened to it on repeat   all day, every day, for a good long month and began to sketch and write    down any ideas that came to mind. I have now narrowed down the collection to eight looks, four men's and four women's. 

The minimum requirement for our collection is a total of three looks, but I am hoping to make six.

Last semester I created a jacket that will be the first piece to the first look of my collection. Next step - patterning for the rest of the ensemble!

I am so so so excited for this collaboration and for my ideas to come to life!

     

Week 2- Alreeeady!!?? 😯😧😬😳

Putting up my board today was exciting, and fun, with a little extra on the side. A poem about mood swings, and a quote. Just a step closer ...

Another thing I accomplished today after putting up my board, I finished a pattern for one of my ensembles. Above is only one piece of the pattern (sneak peek.) Muslin sample coming sooon!!😯

An Ode to Teen Vogue

Some terms become so familiar to you that you can forget not everyone knows what they are. Many times I try to explain my design process to someone and I can tell that I'm confusing them. Not because of how complex and intricate my design process is, but because I'm using terms that aren't used outside of the design field. One of the most common beginnings to the design process is a mood board.

Little did I know, I had been creating mood boards since late-elementary school. My best friend, Lindsey, and I would flip through the newest issue of Teen Vogue and cut out the images that spoke to us. As Nickelodeon played in the background, we compiled these inspirational images and glued them onto a single page of 8.5x11in computer paper. Seeing how different our finished collages were was fascinating to me, because we pulled images from the same exact magazine. However, you probably wouldn't know that just looking at them.

This is almost exactly what a mood board is. For a Fashion Designer, a mood board should include images that speak to the theme, emotion, and color palette of your new project. Mood Boards show the textures, colors, lines (organic vs inorganic, symmetrical vs asymmetrical), functionality, prints, emotions, fabrics, and silhouettes that you want to include in your collection. Sometimes an image can be included in a mood board for no supposable reason other than you want your collection to evoke the same feeling that this picture has evoked in you. There aren't any rules to a mood board! You can do whatever you want, and if it feels right then it is right.

Our program has a tradition of assigning each senior a board in the room, and that is their board to pin up pictures, fabric swatches, illustrations, and whatever they can find to evoke the theme of their collection. Notice my (maybe) excessive use of the word evoke? That really is what I feel a mood board is. It needs to speak to the heart of your designs. As a freshman, I stared at each senior's mood board and just dreamed of the day that I would be able to pin up my mood board. It feels really weird that it's my time to pin up a mood board, make a collection, and plan a fashion show. In my head it feels like I'll just be going to school in the fall like any other year.

Sneak Peak!

Welcome back! The second week of the semester has really hit me. I graduate in just a few months and in those few months I will have an entire collection to present. I’ve been hard at work with pencil to paper drafting up all my patterns. Lab traffic is starting to pick up and the recycling bin is starting to fill up.

I’m trying to savor this time in the lab as this is the last semester I’ll be working side by side with all the people who have been my teammates for the last few years. We’ve learned from each other’s strengths and weaknesses and each of my classmates have influenced the way I design. My collection is inspired by v

ikings and includes strong feminine silhouettes along side androgynous looks. Take a look at my illustrations below and don’t go too far. I’ll have another update for you next week.