Connect: Mood Board

This is my favourite board mainly because of the many directions it can go. I started by looking at people connecting and how that can be represented through imagery. Jigsaws, entwining rope and chains all suggest connection. From this I made my 2 swatches. The strips are representative of hands interlocking and the jigsaw pieces represent the ways in which things can be linked. 

Smoke: Mood Board

For this board I wanted to keep to the idea of stifling smoke rather than deal with the idea of burning. I used images a vast amounts of smoke and created this swatch to represent that.

contrast: Mood board

I decided to look at a physical clash and represent this with obviously clashing, opposing colours Red and Blue. 

For this swatch I wanted to represent a punch in a slightly comic fashion as that's the feeling I got from these colours and images!

A Sense of Yourself

For this project I began by looking at the 5 senses. I then made mind maps of associated words for example Touch: Soft, Rough, Sharp.
From all these words I then chose 5 and then narrowed this down to 3 words.
I ended up with Contrast, Connect and Smoke.
I then thought of 2 actions associated with each word.
Contrast: Clashing
               Opposing
Connect: Linking
               Entwining
Smoke:   Stifling
              Swirling

My mood boards were then based around each of these words.

Knotting

Knotting in fabric is used for both functional and decorative purposes. It's functions allow material to be joined or secured. As a decoration it can creat interesting patterns depending on placement.

Layering

Layering in fashion terms simply means to layer multiple items of clothing to create a completely new style. It works best when different pattern, texture and colours are used for definition purposes. In terms of practicality, this trend is seen more often in Autumn and Winter collections.

Missoni 09

Mulitple layers are shown here transforming the garments entirely. Imagine these shorts without the trousers underneath and a totally different ensemble is seen. Layering becomes quite popular as it's a great way of  perhaps using summer clothes a little longer.

Boning

Boning is most commonly used in corsets today and in older dresses. it is designed to stop the fabric wrinkling because it is pulled so tight to the body. In the 16th and 17th century, boning was used to force the body to conform to the desired cone shape with the use of wood even being used. Nowadays it is considerably more relaxed but keeps the same idea.

Lolita Troubadour

I found this image on a website but as a modern day example of a use of boning we can see the vertical lines create the cone shape at the waste.

This particular corset is exhibited in the V&A museum of fashion in London. It is defined as "The shape of the 18th and 19th century fashion". The lines and therefor shape have been created using the boning technique

Darts

Darts are folds while are sewn into the fabric. They allow the garment to be more 3D and are essential in giving figure enhancing properties to garments. They are commonly used in womens blouses with two types being used:

Vertical Darts: These are sewn from the bottom to the bust to pull the garment in and towards the waste.
Bust Darts: These are triangular shaped folds which are sewn just under the bust so the material does not hang below.

French Dart at an angle.

                                                                 H Dart below the bust.

Arms Eye Darts: These are similar to buzz darts but are positioned lower down on the garment and are sewn at less of an angle

Centre Front Darts: These change the grain and shape of the centre front of the garment as a new seem must be cut in the middle. It allows the fabric around the torso to be pinched tighter to the body.

H Darts: H Darts are linear darts often used above and below the bust line to tighten the garment in places and allow for room in others. The same idea can be applied to other parts of the body.

French Darts: These too are bust darts which start from the side seem and angle up towards the bust. The dart goes against the grain of the fabric which is why extra care and reinforcement is needed to that it does not lose its shape.

Irregular Darts: Irregular darts can be placed in any part of the garment at many different angles to change it's shape.

Princess Seam: These are curved seems used in blouses and dresses which allow the garment to adhere to the body over the bust or hips. They usually start at the underarms and run as far as below the waste depending on the garment.

Armani 

Here, flowing material covers the princess seams but we can see how the jacket fits the body creating a more curved garment necessary in womens clothes.

Cording

Cording is a technique used to created raised ridges placed on the surface of a piece of fabric. These ridges are made by twining thin pieces of fabric around eachother to make something similar to a rope. It allows for a new texture as well as pattern to be formed. it is often used on seams to add strength and a more decorative finish.

http://www.coletterie.com/inspiration/vintage-details-a-corded-neckline

This particular example on the neckline has a very vintage feel. The designer is unknown but it is a prime example of cording being used in a decorative way.

Tucking

A tuck is a fold in a piece of material used to shorted a length of material or simply as decoration. When these tucks are very thin then are called pintucks.In the later part of the 19th century, tucks we're very popular in blouses, lingerie and men's suits.

Paul Smith SS 12

This tailored shirt by Paul Smith in his SS collection shows a perfect example of  a tuck on the cuff of the sleeve. The fabric is folded back on it's self for both the purpose of shortening it's length and for visual purposes as it adds to the tailored look making it look more finished. For this reason, tucks are often found along the hem of garments.

Gore

A gore is a piece of material which is designed to add gradual body to a garment. They are usually triangular shaped panels sewn together to allow the piece to expand.

http://www.google.ie/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=431&tbm=isch&tbnid=dCWiFsM4Megl4M:&imgrefurl=http://wkdesigner.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/gored-skirt/&docid=A6xFa1C8m8mMsM&imgurl=http://wkdesigner.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/gore-skirt.jpg%253Fw%253D510&w=320&h=480&ei=8TOKT690zYqFB_WHvb0J&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=82&vpy=45&dur=3088&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=100&ty=224&sig=108302672573427264922&page=1&tbnh=110&tbnw=67&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:62

I took this example from the website above and unfortunately cannot find the designer. It is, however, a perfect example of a gore being used to expand a skirt and create shape.

With this idea in mind, other adaptations could be experimented with to create all kinds of silhouettes.

Godet

A godet is often used in skirts and dresses with a similar purpose to that of a gusset. It creates extra space at the bottom of garments so walking is possible!

Godets are the triangular pieces seen here.

Love Thakoon SS11

This short skirt contains many godets to create shape and volume as well as movement. While underlayers do help to keep the fabric in place, godets alone can create a fanned out effect.

Gusset

A gusset is a triangular shaped piece of fabric which is inserted into tight fitting clothing to create more room in the garment. It is often found in the underarms, shoulders, and in the crotch seam of tights.

Sleeve Gusset

Gathering

Gathering can often be found at the top of garments like skirts, shorts and trousers. It lets the material take an expanding shape which is why it is often found around the hips. A horizontal line is sewn with thread and then pulled and secured to hold the new shape. This once time consuming technique can be achieved by using a zigzag stitch on a sewing machine where both the top and under stitching threads are pulled.

Derek Lam 2009

Here is an example of a gathered skirt at the waste. Although emphasised by the belt, the skirt expands from the waste before falling, creating shape and volume

Pleating

Pleating involves folding a piece of material back on itself and making it stay in place. Naturally, many variations of this technique can be found.

Knife Pleats Most commonly found at the top of skirts. They create a flat line for gathering purposes rather than fanning the material out .They have a 3:1 ratio

Box Pleats. This type of pleat requires 2 top folds and 2 under folds to create the 'box'. It creates more volume in a garment and is used to create a triangular shape to a skirt.

Dior

Inverted Pleats. Inverted pleats contain two fold lines and one positioning line. The other folds face eachother and the inside folds face away.

Lanvin SS 11

Partial Pleats. These pleats can be recognised as a pleat that opens below the surface of the fabric and the underfold sections are let free. 

Projecting Pleats: Projecting pleats are folded material which stand out from the surface. They are mostly used to create pattern, volume and texture rather than to create shape.

Accordion Pleats. These even but tightly spaced, small scale pleats are designed to create expansion in a garment with movement. They work best on lengthier pieces so that that full effect can be seen.

Wrinkled Pleats: Wrinkle pleating is created by bunching up damp fabric and leaving to dry. Wrinkled pleats can take of many forms as the fabric can be allowed to dry around shaped objects. A cylindrical broomstick for example can be used to create a rounded pleat, or sometimes the material is wrapped around a rope and coiled to create other types of pleat.

Fraying

Fraying occurs at the edges of woven materials such as chiffon, cotton and hessian. It can often be a nuisance but, when used to advantage, it can create brilliant texture.

Karen Millen

This dress is created using frayed silk. It not only creates texture but shape and volume too. Fraying can me easily identified by a torn appearance, often used in ruffles on a skirt.

Ruched

A ruffle or pleat of lace, muslin, or other fine fabric used for trimming women's garments. Ruching can be distinguished by the appearance of a top layer of folded or layered fabric. 

Armani Prive

Megan Fox wore this dress which displays an example of ruched material on the torso. Separate material has been applied to create a texture and pattern.

Padding

Padding in garments is used to create volume and shape adding an extra dimension. It also serves as a practical form of insulation. Patterns can be top stitched into padding to create a design or layers can be created for a more geometric appearance. Shoulder pads use the same material and are common in many jackets for both men and women.

Nina Donis

For the A/W collecting, these designers took inspiration from thermal layers worn by people in Russia. However reminiscent of insulation materal, the use of pattern and shape still capture the eye. Padding can be distinguished by a bulky appearance which is often top stitched.

Asymmetry

Asymmetry in garments is simply when one side of the piece is not the same as the other for example in a one shoulder dress.

Lanvin

In 2009, a popular year for the trend, Lanvin displayed many examples of asymmetry in the collection. This one shoulder dress immediately says asymmetry as it is the main feature.

Hussein Chalayan

This designer is best known for large scale, high volume garments but this piece displays a less conventional use of asymmetry. Any garment which is not completely symmetrical from all angles is considered otherwise.

Recycling

Recycling is a massive part of everyday life and is becoming increasingly more practiced. Sustainability conscious people in the fashion industry have noted this need for using recyclable material and are starting to create amazing pieces using all kinds of 'waste', from plastic to fabric with Suzanne Lee creating "Biocouture" and actually growing her own clothes.

Suzanne Lee

She has teamed up with scientists to use microbial-cellulose to actively grow the garments. Although somewhat impractical when the drawback is a lack of sustenance, the breakthrough idea is one that leaves so much room for more ideas.

Gary Harvey

Gary Harvey creates many garments from recycled materials including this line up at New York Fashion Week. He used a wide range of materials considered to be rubbish such as old newspapers and even 'bags for life'

Newspaper Dress

Bias Cut

A bias cut means the fabric is cut diagonally across the grain rather than straight down. It allows a garment to hug the body and is common in many occasion dresses. 

Altuzarra

For New York Fashion Week in Autumn 2011, Altuzarra showed many examples of the use of a bias cut. Garments clung elegantly to the middle of the body allowing it to fall freely at the bottom. It can be very successful when used with Satin.

Bias Cuts are commonly seen in many wedding dresses and Vera Wang is one designer largely recognised for her designs. 

Although an obvious choice, these images show exactly where a bias cut is used and how best to recognise it in a garment.

Draping

To drape clothing is to let the material hang loose and free falling with natural folds. Think tunics and Grecian dresses.

Diane Kruger wears Valentino, a draping Grecian gown which shows fully the use of the technique.

Balenciaga

This is a more modern take on draping with the use of satin-like fabrics to highlight the folds created. Draping material often hangs from one place as see in the centre of each of the bottoms of these pieces. It defines the sections of material used.

Deconstructing

Deconstructing in fashion terms describes garments which have been left unfinished, tearing, falling apart but in a deliberate way. Alison Gill says it is "the literal dismantling of clothes to destroy fashion" to give a feeling of dishevelled grunge.Rather than finishing the garment, seems are left visible, patches are sewed and contrasting materials are paired together.

Marc Jacobs

Pieces of material look hand sewn together, last minute. Marc Jacobs is usually known for tailored pieces.

 It ignores certain fashion ideals creating a whole new aesthetic.

Stolen Girlfriends Club

This small label was set up by 3 men from New Zealand. They sell their garments in high end boutiques and I think their style embodies deconstruction in a simple form.

Tailoring

Tailoring by definition alone is the making or fitting of a garment. When used to describe a style of garment it refers to a structured appearance, linear qualities and defined shapes and edges. An immediate example of a tailored garment is a suit.

Stella McCartney often displays collections where tailoring is widely used. This look from 2006 is one example.

Blazers and chinos are modern, high street examples of a tailored look.

Easter Research Project

In order to understand fashion terminology and have the ability to recognise them in a garment, we have been assigned a research project to complete over Easter. I will be looking at the following terms:

Tailoring
Deconstructing
Draping
Bias Cut
Recycling
Asymmetry
Padding
Ruched
Fraying
Pleating; Knife pleat, Box pleat, Inverted pleat, Partial pleat, Projecting pleat, Accordion pleat, Wrinkled pleat
Gathering
Gusset
Godet
Gore
Tucking
Cording
Darts; Standard 4 darts, Arms eye darts, Centre front darts, H Darts, French darts, Irregular darts, Princess Seam
Boning
Layering
Knotting

Final 8 Colour Boards

I chose my favourite swatches and kept a linear theme throughout to bring the pattens together.

The first swatch is an obvious starting point. I layered samples of cotton, organza, lining material and calico and, with a knife, cut and ripped pieces to immitate peeling paint.

This is my favourite swatch because of the clean linear appearance. It's interesting that such a uniformed pattern can come from something as unpredictable as paint formations. I used Calico and placed a layer of organza over it. Using an embroidery needle and Egyptian Cotton wool, I stitched each line.

These two swatches come from the same mark making. I used irregular weaving to give an unorganised, unpredictable quality to the pattern. For the second swatch I cut out the grid pattern from leatherette and placed organza which I burnt over it in keeping with the idea of seeing past a surface layer.

Final Colour Story

Mood Board

For my final mood board I chose an image of peeling paint as my background and brought in elements of my linear patterns while staying true to my chosen colours.