Refining Ideas

Based on last weeks feedback I created two extended and modified mood boards, which reflect colour schemes and concepts for post production. I have chosen the colours green, orange and yellow because of the bold tones, and they're representativeness of nature and traditional African body adornment. I have chosen samples of knit rather than finished garments to emphasise the theme of diversity. I have demonstrated how the samples can adorn the body in a variety of different ways. Mostly the samples include ruffled and obscure textures, contesting and working alongside the clean and concise concept for the photo shoot. In the mood boards there are examples of how I could style the samples experimenting with movement and angles. Below are three small mood boards I created which demonstrate the atmosphere I'd like to create. To me these images depict free spiritedness, diversity, celebration, non traditional ideas and confidence. In the past I have produced fairly straight forward images, with little exaggeration or manipulations to garments. For this project I intend to experiment, creating unconventional accessories and garments.

Exhibition Visit - Chanel to Westwood

I recently visited the exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles museum “Chanel to Westwood.” It is an exploration of the knitwear clacked up by some of the biggest names in fashion.” The space demonstrates how shapes, styles  and pattern in knitwear changed over the decades, from Coco Chanel’s neat twin sets – which introduced jersey to the world of couture – to the vibrant, multicoloured knits that came out of the ‘make do and mend’ movement in the ’40s. Whether machine-produced for the general market or hand-knitted during wartime rationing, the garments on display give a sense of the emotional investment that went into their creation. That is something almost unique to knitwear, in my opinion.

Dennis Nothdruft, the museum’s curator, believes the “basic functionality of knitwear” loses out against the glamour of couture. But with knitwear, especially if knitted yourself, every step and stitch in construction is known, seen and touched – the very same characteristics of haute couture, which makes it even harder to understand why knitwear suffers by comparison.

Before visiting this exhibition my understanding and passion for knitting was present. My mum had previously studied knitwear design at central saint martins and had produced some amazing samples. Over the years as she saw me follow a similar pathway as her, we began to look at them together and she taught me some basic skills. I decided that my project could become a lot more personal due to this aspect, and could be explored in detail.

Although everything on display was amazing in its own right, something that really grabbed my attention for a potential narrative idea was the traditional knits. In comparison to the other garments they aren't instantly amazing, but they represent cultural identity and tradition. The Fair Isle is a traditional knitting technique used to create patterns with multiple colours. It is named after Fair Isle, a tiny island in the north of Scotland, that forms part of the Shetland islands. Fair Isle knitting gained a considerable popularity when the Prince of Wales (later to become Edward VIII) wore Fair Isle tank tops in public in 1921. Traditional Fair Isle patterns have a limited palette of five or so colours, use only two colours per row, are worked in the round, and limit the length of a run of any particular colour.

Exploring themes

My initial idea was focused on knitwear. I don't know a lot about knitwear but I am interested in the making of it. I like the way it can be placed on the body in unconventional ways and still look amazing. To place knit on the body in this way would be an aspect of diversity I could explore. I would use knit different ways in which they are normally used or accepted and display them in a non-traditional way.

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Group critique notes

This idea is more suited to my style

Reflects diversity through clothing rather than using "obvious" model choices for topic 

Experiment with location and studio photography

Experiment with movement

Visit the V&A

I took these comments into consideration and decided to pursue this idea.

Another idea I came up with was to explore the idea of astrology in the news. Recently NASA have made huge breakthroughs is scientific history, which is an area that interests me. I started to look into space like photo shoots, involving a lot of pre production e.g. hair and makeup. I am confident in computer based production and would be happy to collaborate with hair and makeup artists to achieve this concept.

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Group critique notes

This idea is interesting, but it doesn't suit my style of work

Looks fun to produce, but may not reflect idea of diversity 

Experiment with idea first

Try out makeup & hair

Although I was passionate to work with an idea that I hadn't tried out before, the comments my group made were valid and  decided to abandon this idea.

Term 2 - Researching Mastheads

For this unit we must develop the ability to tell stories through visual means. This unit explores the power of storytelling within fashion communication, specifically for editorial fashion images. Our brief is to create a narrative fashion editorial that addresses issues of diversity. Fashion images are often criticised for their dependence on rigid beauty ideals that exclude groups of people based on issues including but not limited to age, race, and body type. This brief is being run in conjunction with the All Walks Beyond the Catwalk Diversity NOW! 2015 campaign supported by i-D online.

Narrative: a representation of a particular situation or process in such a way as to reflect or conform to an overarching set of aims or values: 

Diversity: 

The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance, respect and understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. 

I have started off this unit by exploring different Mastheads online. I received the latest issue of Tank magazine for Christmas, I have never actually had my own copy of this magazine until now and I really enjoyed the contemporary approach to fashion. Included in the magazine is a variety of coexisting cultural themes, such as art, architecture, fashion, current affairs, and music. The magazine has acquired an "idiosyncratic, distinct voice through design, critical approach to writing and eclectic style". Acquiring this magazine encouraged me to do some of my own research into it, and through this process I was connected to multiple different magazines that I had not come across before, such as - "10" , "Purple Fashion" and "Soon international". Although magazines such as VOGUE and ELLE have immense credibility in the fashion-sphere, I feel that my style does not collate. As you can see through my mood board, I have chosen magazines that celebrate emerging talent, culture and youth with a bit more "edge". 

After researching mastheads I decided to really get a feel for some of the magazines I had initially looked into. With assistance from the internet I started collecting editorial style imagery from each magazine. This process helped me to identify which style Id like to adopt for my own editorial style shoot, and which mastheads didn't really coincide with the style I was looking for. I have managed to narrow down my options to a handful e.g. Dazed&Confused, I.D, Garage, 10, Love, Tank and Another magazine. To narrow my options down further I intend to view these in person and purchase either recent copies or past copies on eBay.