Hello hello, Happy
New….well let’s be honest it’s a bit late for all that isn’t it? However I just
wanted to come back and wipe off the virtual dust and fill you in on my latest
fashion shenanigans.
As mentioned in
‘Design Your World’, I am back at fashion school this time round studying
design. After my first term I was incredibly surprised with myself, previous
attempts to pattern cutting and sewing were not always successful. This
occasion I learnt that design is not always about the outcome and more about
the process. I faced one of my (now former) fears of working on the
stand/translation: creating a pattern for a garment using the mannequin.
I remember watching
episodes of ‘Project Runway’ in awe at how they would whip up patterns in what
seemed like matters of minutes using the mannequins, my experience though has
taught me that first and foremost it’s not matters of minutes and secondly it
requires a great deal of patience.
The brief set was to
design a jacket for a live competition set by the Society of Dyers and
Colourists entitled ‘Making It Personal’, the key elements of meeting this
brief was:
-Colour,
- Unique and personal,
-Bulk manufacturing with minimum waste
-Sustainable.
At the introduction of making it personal I decided to do
this in two ways. Tailor the
personalisation to me the designer as well as to the consumer. As an avid art
lover, my work is deeply rooted in a lot of historical and cultural references,
so it seemed more than befitting to use my favourite painting as inspiration
for this project. Sandro
Botticelli’s renaissance Venus would be envisioned as a modern day women
walking the streets of Paris wearing her very own unique jacket designed and
made by moi.
 |
| My favourite painting and inspiration for this brief by Sandro Botticelli 'Birth Of Venus'. Image Source. |
My ideas were not so
easily formulated but it took to embracing fear by working on the half stand in
order to pave the way to what was a glorious full-scale design.
 |
| This is where I started, on the half scale, my ideas changed and developed as I went on to work on the full size mannequin. |
I’m happy and proud to
say that I struggled because I believe that creativity and it’s process in all
its forms should be honest. There is absolutely no point in creating anything
that is easily something you hate. Do what you love and love what you do. Not all have the ability to create human
life, but we do have the gracious marvel that the Gods have bestowed upon us to
create full stop. I am not yet in
completion but I thought I would share with you a part of my journey for this
piece. It is the first jacket I have ever attempted to make and it’s the
beginning of many more.
 |
| Toile of my design, still a work in progress. |
"For what the Gods have bestowed upon us mad creatives let us cherish" M.S
For more insight into
my creative word follow me on instagram, pinterest and twitter. Also check out my uni blog here fore a closer look at my
projects etc.
All toile images are property of M.Samasuwo.
