FMP Week 1 Day 1

Research Week

The main task that I set for myself today was to gather visual imagery from the library. I set out to create a mood board to collect some initial concepts and images relevant to my title. I wanted to do this for initial inspiration and also for something to refer back to along the process of this project, in case I ever lose my way. My project title is very general therefore the directions I could take my investigations are quite extensive.

I chose black and white images. I felt that this worked well because the goal of this mood board was about initial concepts. Therefore, choosing colourful images I feel would take the attention away from my abstract intentions. Although, I do feel my previous work has lacked colour so I am planning to incorporate colour in to my future work.

However, I did not feel the layout was successful. I feel that I should have allowed myself a double page of my sketchbook so that each image was more isolated and thus effective.

I also feel I was too picky about which images I chose as it took me more time that I anticipated. I was happy with the amount of images I gathered but also feel I could have collected more.

In retrospect, I should have made notes of the books to include in my bibliography. However, I have learnt from this mistake and will now make a note of every reference I use in order to create a successful bibliography. 

I felt that I succeeded in collecting images that were dramatic. I unexpectedly also included drawings. The unobserved elements to drawings did not arise in my thinking so it was interesting when I included them in my mood board and it is something that I plan to investigate further in my project.

To conclude, I will continue to utilise visual references and inspiration but with a much more compendious approach. I shall leave space in between each image and will think about incorporating specific colours in to my research.

Next, I plan to gather some primary research by photographing 'the unobserved' in my day to day life. This is due the that fact that, although it is valid, I am aware that this initial research is secondary and I am excited to produce original data.

I am a theorist so I prefer a sequential approach to problems. I also like to understand the assumptions, principles and rationale upon which things are based. Therefore I am anxious to explore my options through my research in regards to the concepts and theories relevant to my title.

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT PROPOSAL

THE UNOBSERVED

During both the exploratory and pathway stage of this course I have found myself being consistently exposed to immense artistic expression through many different elements ranging from my research to viewing the work of my peers. This has enabled me to expand on my use of different media and processes. At the beginning of the course, I had little idea of what my creative style was, however, on reflection of my current work, it is clear that each sketchbook is more distinct in personality than the last. What’s more, the course has pushed me to improve my design techniques and sketches which I feel is imperative for my aspiration to succeed in  the fashion industry. In addition, I feel that I now have the crucial understanding of how to conduct effective research and how to utilise that research in order to produce innovative concepts. I am excited to develop and conclude this FMP as it will allow me to employ the knowledge and skills I have learnt from this course and apply them to an assignment which has no limits in terms of individualistic research and outcomes.

My FMP is going to be concentrating on the unobserved and disregarded. I intend to explore the physical aspects of this harsh concept as well as the intangible. I can predict that maybe some things that I decide to study, others will have discovered or noticed, thus allowing my research to become invalid. However, I feel this element of subjectivity makes my project even more personal. I plan to investigate the work of Rachel Whiteread; an artist who’s sculptures bring prominence to the concept of space that we aren’t always aware of. Whiteread concentrates on negative space using many different casting materials such as rubber, plaster and resin. I am already excited to bring to the foreground the spaces we cannot define in fashion design and am inspired to incorporate unique casting materials into my garments. I also intend to visit the Serpentine Gallery as it houses many unique and influential sculptures which more than possibly will be relevant to my research and will inspire my development. There is an exhibition of the work of Martino Gamper until mid-April which looks appropriate to my concept. 

The development of my work will consist of photographing the unrecognised and unperceived in scenes of day-to-day life as well as in abnormal circumstances. Furthermore, I plan to conduct sketches, detailed drawings and experiments in order to resolve my FMP. Moreover, I intend to combine this theme into my photoshoot. I am considering conducting a photoshoot which captures the unnoticed to a degree but also allows for a realistic realisation that there is still a degree of neglect. I also plan to create a short film focusing on the unseen and ignored. I realise that I will need to employ the use of technical machines such as a sewing machine, cameras etc. The forms of realisation I intend to take are the creation of a garment, a collection of final designs, a photo shoot and a photo film.

Culture

My concept boards for the culture week were successful as they were so vivid and really showed what my two chosen cultures were. My main challenge for this week was trying to combine the two themes into a collection. One was very colourful and the other was filled with black and grey. I did some stand work which helped in terms of representing the physical labour of the children in the Victorian work houses. The fabric samples I included also caused problems as some were plain neutral samples  and others where bright and vivid. Although they represented my two themes well they did not match in terms of a collection. 

Deconstruction Reconstruction

I enjoyed this week the most as it I found myself trying to produce innovative designs with the cut up garments. There was a lot of work to do but once I got into it, the tasks where quite easy. The illustrations enabled me to design quirky garments. I was happy with my designs although I didn't give self enough time to make my garment to the best of my ability. However, I felt my photoshoot was of a good quality so I was pleased with that.

Fashion Meets Product

This week was probably the most challenging week for me in terms of producing work. I feel that I learnt a lot from it though as I am now aware that when I am not sure what I am doing I become very unmotivated. However, I enjoyed the Paul Smith exhibition immensely as it was filled with fashion creations. I also researched Iris Van Herpen as her designs are very experimental which I found exciting. My final design was a neck piece which was influenced by the silhouettes I came across in my research. I was not happy with it as I thought it looked boring and the neck line was too small. Nevertheless, using the laser cutter for the first time was very useful.

Industry

This week was challenging as we had an additional task that was having to work as a group. I was very lucky with my group as we all got along and worked well together. Our strengths were balanced as we had promotion students with design students. Our company we were working for was Burberry. We began by dissecting the quote. We chose unique words to inspire our research such as dreams and terror. Secondly, we created a concept board and a mind map on an A1 sheet of all the ideas we had about what we were going to start working on. We mainly worked individually on the different tasks set. This week I focused on the designing aspect. We won a prize at end of the two weeks.  I was very happy with the outcome of this project as I produced many designs.

Christmas Holidays 2013