22/4/15- Design Development

Today I started by creating collaged design ideas using photocopies of the quilting and embroidery samples I created as well as imagery of rich interiors specifically from Karen Knorr's photography series. I did this as I feel like I haven't really combined the rich and poor properly yet so doing this helped me to see how I could combine both my duvet and rich interiors ideas. From the images I cut out shapes which I then combined on the page to create looks. Some were a balance of rich and poor and with others one was more dominant than the other. From this task what worked well was that it allowed me to create some bolder silhouettes which are more exciting than if I just drew straight from my imagery which means I have more ideas to now develop, especially ideas for jackets or coats using my duvet/quilting ideas and how I could then combine these with rich elements. The collages have also given me ideas for possible prints using the gold gilding from the pictures as well as some colour ideas as it is easier to visualise all the colours together on a person rather than when I have just extracted them from an image. However from these I see that I need to improve on designing for the bottom half of the body as all the collages mainly focus on the torso in creating coats or dresses so I need to explore how I can improve on designing skirts and trousers as this will make stronger designs if they are exciting on both the top and bottom.

(A few of my collaged designs, Authors own, 22/4/15)

After creating the collages I began to design from them taking the elements I liked and making them more wearable. I am finding this technique works well as it means the silhouettes I am drawing are more exciting and there are more elements to the looks as I have more to reference. I do need to make sure I think about colour when I draw designs as this is often something I overlook but is an essential part of the design development. I need to continue this process now, drawing both small details of designs as well as whole outfits, specifically thinking about layering which I think should be a key feature of my final designs so they incorporate the idea of the poor trying to keep warm as well as seaming etc as understanding the construction of the garments will make the collection stronger.

Today I feel like I am getting deeper into the project and these collages have given me a good point to continue with and develop from. I learnt about how I could combine the rich and poor elements thinking about having oversized duvet inspired areas contrasted with more tailored panel printed gilded details or sections. This could help me represent the imbalance of rich and poor which is evidently relevant in society today.

Whats next is I need to continue designing specifically thinking about trousers and skirts as this is something I really want to improve on. A way I could do this is printing out flats of a basic pair of trousers and drawing over them adding in details or colours or fabrics so I begin to have a better understanding of what I can do. I also think I need to decide on a colour scheme which I think I will use for my designs so I can begin to source fabrics and also have a better understanding of the feel I am going for in the collection.