Here is an example of a technical flat drawing of a rib-necked T-shirt using Adobe Illustrator, with this drawing i used the grid lines, and snap to grid, to ensure that the t-shirt was entirely symmetrical.

These shoes are made for walking!!!

Very much like the shirt that i posted previously, using Adobe Illustrator and the Pen tool, i drew the different segments of the shoe, using the photograph as a guide and then positioned the them all together to re-create the original shoe/trainer.

With the first shoe you can see that i have attempted to completely replicate the shoe in the photograph , however with the second shoe i have played around with colours, prints and gradients to come up with my own design.

I then went on to try a different style of shoe.

Again experimenting with colours, patterns and gradients to come up with various options.

Hearts and Diamonds!!!!

Using the various marquee tools i have created the shapes below, for the club, heart and spade i used pathfinder to unite the various shapes giving the final and desired result. 

I have then experimented with different colours and patterns.

Shirt illustration

Using Adobe Illustrator i created an illustration of a shirt, using both the pen tool and brush to give the final effects.

Jamie provided us with the original image above, and using the Pen tool i drew round the broken sections of the shirt and the aranged the individual pieces together, then created the seams using the line segment tool, and then brush and pencil tools to create movement and shadow within the shirt, my final image can be seen below.

Colour Lovers

So a while ago when trying to come up with my colour palette and pattern i checked out this website called colourlovers.com, that we had been told about by one of our lecturers, its a really useful website for coming up with colour palettes, patterns and prints. You can create your own or browse other peoples designs and people and comment on them telling you what they think.

Anyway i thought i would have a bit of  a play, although this is now a bit old and out of date, i thought id share some of mine with you.  I much prefer my 2nd pattern but that's what practice is all about.. whats great about the website is that it gives you the RGB number from the colours you have used/created so when using Photoshop you can recreate the exact colour.

Pattern 1

Pattern 2

Unfortunately when i upload the JPEG's on to blogger it seems to flatten the colours making them appear less bright and more dull so you can't see the full effect.

Tokyo - Fashion capital of the world

As part of our PPRD unit we had to do a presentation in groups of four on our chosen fashion capital of the world, my group chose to do ours on Tokyo. We perhaps made the mistake of assigning each group member a particular aspect of the presentation, and then came together after we had done our research to create a PowerPoint, causing the presentation to run on and at times become dull and boring.

My focus within the presentation was to look at fashion schools within Tokyo.

Bunka Fashion School - Japan's most respected fashion design college

Esmod Japan - International fashion education in Japan

Joshibi University of Art and Design -Fashion course at Tokyo based university

Mode styling college - Fashion courses offered all over Japan

These are just a few examples of the popular fashion schools based in Tokyo, I looked at the various courses that were available at the different universities, their facilities and what opportunities were on offer, for instance some of the university's offered year placement in their sister school in Paris and New York.

Stop motion animation!!

I've been watching the program "Behind John Lewis", it has been quite interesting finding out about what happens behind the scenes, it also tied in nicely with my buying unit.

During the first episode they were getting ready for Christmas and coming up with their television advert, their first idea was inspired by this stop motion music video, unfortunately that idea didn't go to press but i liked the music video so much that i thought I'd share it with you all.

Although i finished my designs for my manifesto project a while ago now, i have been trying to re-create them on the computer using illustrator and Photoshop, in a bid to be able to actually incorporate my own print on to the designs, this something i am yet to master.

I have however been able to complete the first part of my challenge, using illustrator i have been able to draw my design onto photographs of Alice Dellal and an unknown ASOS model, i then exported the illustration into Photoshop, where i added colour, i am quite pleased with the results. Obviously there are improvements that could be made but for a first attempt i am pretty happy, 

The original image is from David and David

i much prefer this type of fashion illustration to free hand, as it gives you more of an idea as to what the garment would actually look like on.

My aim is to create a sort of look book to showcase my designs using a photo shoot from a magazine.

The Original image is from ASOS.com

A vision of beauty!!!

So i didn't want to write one massive post and bore you all, i always think its better to keep it short, sweet and to the point. 

However it would be a crime to not tell you more about London Fashion week, even if it is 2 months late.The jobs we were given weren't the most senior of roles, more often than not it would be things such as handing out leaflets, directing people to the catwalk and holding umbrella's on the main entrance in order to promote OnOff, as tedious as these may sound, each and every person is vital to the running of the shows, ensuring that everything is ready on time and that it all runs smoothly, and to be honest i was just grateful to be able to be in that environment. 

Everyone was beautifully dressed although in true London style with their own personal touch.. tailored hareem pants, brogues and wedges were just some of the key items that adorned the many beautiful women. What i love about fashion week and London fashion week especially is the individuality and buzz that just surrounds the city for a week, there was one particular woman, i think she was a stylist, who wore the most outrageous outfits, but still managed to pull them off. One time she wore barbie heads on her shoulder pads!!!

[London, February 19. Image via Getty]

As well as getting the best opportunity to people watch i have ever had, working for OnOff gave me the most amazing experience of getting to see what happens on a catwalk show, i was lucky enough to get the opportunity to help set up the catwalk for J Maskarey, where as most of the shows had visuals just projected onto a white flat, J Maskarey's was a bit more elaborate, with rich draped fabric and Greek plinths. the collection was unlike any of the others throughout the week, with garments adorned with Swarovski crystals, there's no way to describe it other than a vision of glittering bejewelled beauty.

J Maskarey had produced a collection not only of ready- to- wear clothes but of bejewelled body art, her stunning creations combined leopard print with symbols and names,  Black was the dominant colour of choice, while the sparking jewels added a brightening playful edge to the collection. Statement shoulders was once again present on the catwalk,  hinting that shoulders are here to stay for another season.  The show was like something i have never experience before and that not even words can do justice, instead you are probably better off, watching the video below, as the chances of owning one of her creations are sparse.

J Maskrey Catwalk from On|Off TV on Vimeo.

Reminising about LFW

I have been so distracted with other parts of my work recently, i.e creating my print and designs..they are something i am still to post online...i am trying to create a sort of look book using Photoshop to showcase my final designs...more on that later.

For now i thought, that i should complete my blog about London Fashion Week...i was lucky enough to see 5 shows throughout the week... i found that if you placed yourself at the backstage door just before the show started then you were pretty much guaranteed to experience something beautiful, of which i defiantly did. The first show that i got to see was Ashley Isham's..I'm always going to remember it now, for many reasons. The main being that it was the first ever fashion show that i had ever got to experience, the clothes were incredible and also there was the occasional difficulty with the models walking in their shoes, not the least being the final dress..i think at one point one of the models ended up actually taking her shoes off and walking down the runway..although it was quite hard to see over the crowds of fashionistas.

Take a look at the video below

Ashley Isham Catwalk Show AW2010 from On|Off TV on Vimeo.

Marina, Marina!!

As well as being in love with the song, 

I'm completely inspired by Marina's 

costumes within the video,  

I really want a varsity jacket and cheerleader outfit now!!

It's hard to believe she comes from wales!!

Just to get it printed

I wasn't entirely happy with the look of my final print, i didn't feel the colours flowed properly, if you look at my previous post, the Orange and Purple, create a divide, making the individual tile more noticeable, to solve this problem i have changed the colours slightly. Its not a huge difference but i think it makes all the difference.

I have also changed the colour of the lines within the print to a darker shade of blue, not only do i feel that it brings out the rest of the colours on the print but also makes it easier on the eyes.

Listen while you work

A pretty little song that I'm listening to whilst doing some sketchbook work!!

Look him up Erik Hassle

xx

Finally cracked it!!

I have finally finished my tile, got it to tessellate and now actually added colour as well, after trying to add colour using illustrator i discovered that it was 100 times easier on Photoshop. I even used my colour palette that i had created, see my latest post on colour palettes to see which ones i used.

Let me know what you think.. i hope that i have completed my aim in creating a print that represents both Guatemalan culture and the 80's.

I have spoken to LCF (London College of Fashion) and have discovered that they have the facilities in their textile department to digitally print my final pattern on to fabric for a small fee... all i need to decide now is what fabric.

Unfortunately the colours don't appear so bright on here.

Eco Warrior Princess

Okay i know its a bit of a cheat to just post a load of photographs from an editorial, however i just had to, when you look at the pictures you'll understand. Besides i do think it ties in well with my recent project.. well almost anyway.

The shoot was for I-D magazine and is another beautiful collaboration between photographer Richard Bush and stylist Sarah Richardson, the model is the ever beautiful Isabeli Fontana, i can't say I've really come across her before but after this editorial i am defiantly a fan.

The shoot includes beautiful prints and designs from the late Alexander Mcqueen, Lanvin and Sass and Bide to name a few.

It makes me want to behave like a child and run around in a jungle... perhaps one day I'll be working on a shoot as beautiful as this... well i can always dream.

A new found love

So i posted a few weeks ago about a fashion editor that i had a new found love for, I had seen her pop up on the Sartorialist but didn't know who she was or really what she did...well i am very pleased to say that after much searching on my behalf i have found out who she is!!

Her name is Christine Centenera and she is a Fashion editor, for Harpers Bazaar Australia.

This lead me to fall even more in love with

 her as well as be over come with a slight jealousy... not only is she gorgeous, have an amazing sense in style and the wardrobe to fuel it, but now i discover she has my dream job, oh how i aspire to be her!!!

Unfortunately i couldn't find much about her apart from she is apparently a self -confessed confessed sucker for anything with studs, metal detailing and patent leather...a girl after my own heart. I love her ability to make an outfit - even a pretty, summer dress slightly rock and roll. not to mention her YSL Tribute ankle boots that i have spotted her wearing on more than one occasion. I thought i would treat you to a few pictures of her.. some times i worry whether my love and respect for her is bordering on obsession

I like her use of double denim in the above picture, i feel the caramel-hued leather jacket was a nice touch and don't get me started on the trench coat - shouts power women.. very film noir!! 

Finally!!!

I posted about a week ago about my tile that i was creating so that i could come up with a print, to get didgi printed onto fabric to use to make my garment. I was having real trouble getting it to tessalate properly...well with the amazing book that i mentioned in my post yesterday i have finally cracked it. 

Below is the finished tile..all that needs doing now is colour adding..using my now complete colour palette...happy days!!!

More Colour Palettes

Following on from my post from yesterday, i felt that the colour palette wasn't bright enough and didn't truly reflect either Guatamela or the 80's as well as being right for a spring/summer line. There for i have created another one, that i am much happier with.

For this Palette i have used the same methods as the previous one, first using illustrator and then exporting the file into Photoshop where i again experimented with filters, scale and opacity.

Above is the original photograph that i began with, it is of the traditional Guatemalan kite festival.

In order to create the above image i added the blending tools Difference and Lighten to the different layers and then changed the opacity of one of the layers a bit more.

Colour Palette

I have recently purchased this amazing book to help me with my print for my latest project it its called "Digital Textile Design" by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac. It is defiantly worth the £22.50.

I am very close to finally completing my print and getting it to tessellate properly, i just then need to add colour so i have been playing with creating colour palettes on illustrator, I'm going to keep going at them until I'm completely happy but for now here's one i just made.

I used the image below that i found on google whilst doing research, it is a photograph of some young girls in traditional Guatemalan dress, not only did i love the embroidery and patterns but most of all the colours of their garments.

Using the Mosaic tool i then created a colour palette  as you can see below, I then took my colour palette one step further and created a set of cubes, to show the palette in a more abstract and a different way, afterwards i exported the file into Photoshop where i played around with filters and effects, creating some abstract patterns.

The above effect has been created by duplicating layers and the experimenting with scale and opacity.
The above effect has been created using the Wave tool.

Illustrator i'll illustrate you!!!

OK i have spent the past few days, labouring over illustrator in attempt to come up with a tile that i can use to tessellate and make a print with. My intention is to then get this print digi printed into fabric so that i can use it for my final garment.

My inspiration has been Guatemala and the 80's as mentioned in my previous post, I'm almost happy with it, but need some feedback so please take a look...i haven't added colour yet, but once i have ill show you the final result.

Take a look

below you can see what it looks like when it has been tessellated, it fit together quite well i feel, although this is obviously my first go at ever doing something like this so it can indeed be improved;

In an 80's mood!!

Here is a mood board for my latest project for my CDP unit.

My project is inspired by Guatemalan culture and women mixed in with the 80's

see below for my mood board..hope you like it.

On a similar subject Rhianna's new music video for 'Rude Boy' has sort of become a huge inspiration for my project i love everything about it , the colours, the prints, the clothes..not to mention I'm addicted to the song..if you haven't seen it yet, take a look below, its defiantly making me think summer is on its way.

Who is she??

I have seen this women on 'The Sartorialist' several times now, and I am in love with her style...I NEED to find out who she is...i think shes some editor or something for a fashion magazine, either way if anyone knows who she is please tell me as i love her street style.

Big love for her and her style!!!

LFW...OMG!!!

OK...so i know i haven't blogged for a while but i have just got back from London fashion week and i feel inspired inspired inspired..inspired to blog, inspired to design, inspired to shop and wow well just very much inspired. I stayed in Clapham..but unfortunately my accommodation didn't have Internet so here i am...ill blog away.

DAY 1

I was working front of house at ON/OFF over at Victoria house in Bloomsbury square..for all of those that don't know about On/Off, they are a non profit organisation of whom most their employees are volunteers like myself showcasing new and less established designers. I arrived in London on Wednesday night and went straight to bed, ready for my early start the next day (Thursday) we had been warned that we where going to be setting up the catwalk and exhibition space, so ensuring i looked fashionable wasn't so much of an issue - let the stressing start tomorrow. One quick stop at Pret to grab a coffee ..Soya Latte...of course and then off to Victoria house we were. Upon arrival, we were presented with our pink wristbands , which delightfully meant we had access all areas..a lot of lifting and moving, putting together 30 mannequins and a bit of painting later we were presented with our t-shirts, designed and illustrated by 'Richard Gray'..check him out he's done some amazing illustrations, some of his most famous being for 'Agent Provocateur' 

and then off back to clapham..not before a bit of team bonding in a bar over in Covent Garden..I had a feeling this was going to be a GOOD week!!!

No entry for Celebs.

'We used to have all the celebrities and people there, and I think that at that moment in time that’s what people loved. It generated so much press and at a certain point it was like, did anybody actually watch the show? All I ever saw in the press was who was there. So we sort of stopped that and just got back to showing a fashion show, and if people want to come, great.'

Robert Duffy, President of Marc Jacobs on Style.com

This quote is referring to the Marc Jacobs catwalk show during New York fashion week Feb 2010..where he banned all celebrities from watching his show, leaving the front row open for true fashionistas. I completely agree with him, the show does tend to become more about whose watching the show than whats in the show..although at times i do love a bit of celeb spotting.

I'd Die!!!

Okay, so I've always been a fan of Rachel Zoe...how can you not be, anyone that can transform Nicole Richie from a car crash disaster and Paris Hilton's lap dog to trend setter and star in her own right, has got to be a bit of a genius Recently however I've come to realise that Rachel Zoe is behind a lot more that i thought, originally i only associated her with celebrity styling and red carpets, but it has come to my attention that she's behind a lot more editorial work..check out her work with V magazine..as she would say "She shut it down".

I've also become obsessed with her program on Bravo 'The Rachel Zoe project' basically "I'd Die"!!!!!

Besides being WAAAAAY to skinny, i love her style, that BO-ho, vintage chic look she's got going on, while looking like she just threw it all one, she officially brought maxi dresses, large sunglasses, big bags and fur back to our attention. As well as owning my dream car the 1961 soft-top porsche speedster. I have a lot of love for this women.

Wanna Party??

I think every girl should own a pair...think how much time and paper you'd save on invites!!!

And at just £12 from ASOS.. it would be rude not to!!!

She's Back and she's working it!!!

Yes M.I.A. is back and she's working it for vogue!! I'm so glad to see her in the press once more, she has such a cool unique style, and in this photo she looks so 80's..I'm loving it!!

There are talks that her and Rusko are collaborating and working on a new album..could this be the start of something beautiful?