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Fas3003 References

Sparke (2020) Althea Mcnish Obituary. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/may/04/althea-mcnish-obituary

Liberty London (N.D.) A SPOTLIGHT ON… ALTHEA MCNISH. Available at: https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/features/craft/archive-althea-mcnish.html

John Hall (N.D) About Pattern. Available at: https://www.aboutpattern.com/

Noko (2020) Stylish, sustainable Stella. Available at: https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/1831729/stylish-sustainable-stella

Les Facons (2019) SHOP THE STELLA MCCARTNEY RESORT 2020 COLLECTION. Available at: https://lesfacons.com/2019/12/12/shop-the-stella-mccartney-resort-2020-collection/

Vouge (N.D) Versace SPRING 2000 READY-TO-WEAR. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2000-ready-to-wear/versace/slideshow/collection?redirectURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vogue.com%2Ffashion-shows%2Fspring-2000-ready-to-wear%2Fversace%2Fslideshow%2Fcollection#13

Lopez (2020) Jennifer Lopez on Why That Green Versace Dress Is So Important. Available at: https://www.glamour.com/story/jennifer-lopez-on-why-that-green-versace-dress-is-so-important

Cary (2020) Alexander McQueen’s Most Spectacular Nature-Inspired Collections. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/gallery/alexander-mcqueen-nature-collections

White (2020) Alexander McQueen celebrate their fascination with the rose. Available at: https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/evjyjm/alexander-mcqueen-celebrate-their-fascination-with-the-rose

Duncan (2018) Trinidad Pride. Available at: https://newsday.co.tt/2018/12/16/trinidad-pride/

Auckland Botanic Gardens (N.D) Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. Available at: https://www.aucklandbotanicgardens.co.nz/plants-for-auckland/plants/hibiscus-rosa-sinensis/

Zoo New England (N.D.) Scarlet Ibis. Available at: https://zoonewengland.org/stone-zoo/our-animals/birds/scarlet-ibis/

Maria Lim (2020) Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Eighth Day) – THE SACRED HEART HELPS US. Available at:

Huey (N.D) Tropical vegetation along the Gilpin Trail in the Tobago Forest Reserve, Trinidad. Available at: https://www.georgehhhuey.com/image/I0000l.rnce0YO8w

Tripelio (2023) 6 SIGNS YOU’VE SURVIVED A TRIP TO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. Available at: https://jessieonajourney.com/trinidad-and-tobago-survival-guide/

Harlequin (N.D) Wallpapers. Available at: https://harlequin.sandersondesigngroup.com/search/wallpaper?q=wallpaper&linksrc=nav

Designers Guild (N.D) Designer Wallpapers. Available at: https://www.designersguild.com/uk/wallpaper/l1115

Morby (2017) Iris van Herpen explores the contrasts between water and air for Aeriform couture collection. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/05/iris-van-herpen-explores-contrasts-between-water-air-aeriform-couture-collection-design-fashion/

Diderich (2017) Iris van Herpen Couture Fall 2017. Available at: https://wwd.com/runway/fall-couture-2017/paris/iris-van-herpen/review/

My Evaluation

Although there has been lots of problems along the way with my outcome I think have still achieved my brief of creating a tropical and exciting garment. I am proud of my prints, however If i had more time to complete this project I would spend more time on this as I don't like the overall look of them together. I wanted my prints to be clashing, and I think if I printed my designs at even bigger and smaller scales It would look better overall.

The main problem with the garment Is that printed leaves didn't turn out big enough. I did add seam allowance on my paper pattern but I cut too much off the fabric once I had printed it and forgetting to allow for seam allowance when I pinned my garment made it turn out different when I had expected. Luckily I had enough sublimation paper and fabric to print some more and use it as a panel so the white wouldn't show underneath, however I think it would have looked way better If the leaves laid over the right seam.

I also measured my leaf placement when I had pinned them wrong so once I had sewed the left seam they didn't lay as I expected them too. Unfortunately, the placement doesn't look great and the purple leaf doesn't sit correctly as it curves around the waist. If i could do this again I would have printed my front piece of fabric so I didn't have to add any panels, or I would have printed the front piece using two different designs so I could have less layers. I also would have added a dart on this top leaf or make it into a ruched design so It would sit nicer once on the mannequin.

A lot of these issues would have been avoided if i had constructed a full toile but unfortunately I didn't have time. Another issue includes the way the bottom leaf is positioned as I wanted it to fall flush with the side seam, but once it was includes in the seam the edge curves around instead of being pointed. Next time I would position it so that only a tiny amount of the fabric is included in the seam allowance at the end.

Unfortunately the first time I sewed my side seam I layered the leaves in the wrong order so I had to unpick that and sew it again.

If I did this again I would also reposition/ re made by two bust pieces, as I don't like the position I hand stitched them in but I had to sew the green panel slightly curved to cover the bottom of the blue panel. If the blue panel mimicked the shape of the green it would have been much easier to place and sew them.

Although I am not happy with my final result I have learnt a lot in this module that I will apply to my degree next year. When getting in later stages of designing garments I know more about practical elements like adding zips, what fabric I will use, etc. Despite my outcome not looking like it intended I have paid close attention to detail to finish edges off neatly so at least my project is finished well.

I think my sketchbook was useful to show my progress throughout this module especially with the mark making and my fashion illustration. If I had more time I would have liked to have more physical samples in my book to show my progress with sewing. My fashion illustrations have improved throughout this module, and although I still need lots of practice, it has allowed me to explore different ways of drawing and collaging. I also created my own technical drawings for my dress which challenged me as I had to create lots of rounded shapes.

Sewing process

Once I had cut out all my pieces I placed them back onto my mannequin to make sure are the pieces were big enough. I also added and adjusted some darts on the bust pieces. I changed the front piece to have a sweetheart neckline so it will be invisible. I trimmed some of the leaf pieces that were too long and edited this on the paper pattern. Once I was happy with this I cut all my lining pieces.

I started my sewing my darts on the back pieces. It took me a couple of tries as I had to make it so the right sides would show on the outsides.

Next I sewed darts in the green bust piece and lining and sewed those, I will finish the bottom with an invisible stitch, but next time I'll leave a hole in the middle instead so that it will be easier to hand sew. After this I lined all my leaf pieces and repinned them to my mannequin to see how they will be placed in the side seam. I decided to only have them attached at the left seam and add some press studs to attach them over the zip on the right side.

Unfortunately when I re pinned my leaves onto the mannequin the leaves were too small and didn't cover the zip. I realised this is because when I pinned It, I didn't include the seam allowance. The images above show when I had originally pinned it and once I had sewn it. I had to print some more fabric and create a panel on the right side to cover the front of the dress which is white and would now be seen.

I sewed my boning onto lining, and put a small piece of fabric on the edge of the boning so that it wouldn't poke through the fabric. I sewed my lining like normal by bagging the piece out but I left a bigger hole so I could pull through the boning. I then steamed the boning into place and did an invisible ladder stitch to finish the edge.

Once I had sewn all my darts and individual pieces i sewed the lining with the back fabric and the same with the front piece with the panels in place. I lined up the front, back and all the leaves and sewed my left seam and overlocked the seam open. Then I sewed my zip in the other side.

I hand stitched the leaves in place, and also the front top pieces. I cut the hem straight and overlocked it, turned it up and sewed the hem.

Textile Designs

I designed my first print based from collages I made from my primary research, I painted and drew them and scanned them in and combined them to make this simple one tile print.

For my next design I scanned in my procion print of a fern using an exposed screen. I changed the colour and edited it's position and used a half drop repeat. On my garment I want the scale of this print to be small.

I wanted a tie-dye / watercolour looking print so I used another procion print I made and scanned it in and manipulated it. However for the white lines in the pattern to be visible, I think the scale would need to be small but for this garment I wanted it bigger, so I will work to change this design or I might not use it on my final garment. I edited the colour to bring out the yellow to match the leaves but unfortunately the red changes colour so it doesn't match with the red roses.

Again, I made this pattern out of my procion prints. I edited some leaves that I painted so make black bold lines to mimic Mcnish's black sketchy lines she often has on hers. However I think this design ended up looking too dark compared to the others and the black stood out because the lines are quite think. I edited these to be a dark green, changed the opacity and hid some behind the palm leaves and I think it looks better. I also edited the green background to be lighter which I think works better with my other designs.

I added my prints into photoshop and used clipping masks to begin mapping out which section I want each print in.

Printing my fabric

The fabric I chose had to be synthetic so I could print my deisgns on using sublimation so I chose Polyester Crepe De Chine because the colours on the sample came across very bright and it is matt, and slightly drapey which is the look I wanted for the dress. I saved my photoshop files as 300 ppi and .TIFF so that I could put them into the Epson edge print program. I looked at the patterns and measured how big I wanted my motifs for each design. Then I put them into the computer program at 1500mm in length, which is the length of the machine, and figured out how long I wanted each piece. I used the step repeat option to do this so that there wasn't any gaps between the motifs. This is the final plan I created for the layout of my garment.

Once I printed my sublimation paper I cut it in pieces big enough to print over my fabric so that my pattern pieces would all fit. I had to consider the way my design was placed so that it would be the correct way on my fabric. Then I lined my fabric and the sublimation paper up on the heat press and let it work for 70 seconds each round. The fabric came out very bright which I am very happy with as I stated bright colours is important in my brief, as it is a nod to Mcnish's colourful work.

All I had to do now is cut my pattern pieces which I made sure were lined up with the grain line so they would be cut straight. I am happy with the way the fabric turned out but If I were to do It again i'd make sure there was a bigger variation in the size of the motifs as it would look fore effective.

Iris Van Herpen

I researched Iris van Herpen's whose designs are mostly inspired by nature. I looked into her Couture Fall 2017 collection, inspired by 'The different qualities of water and air' (Morby, 2017). She gained inspiration from artist Between Music, who work underwater and collaborate with deep sea divers to explore underwater sounds.

Van Herpen said, "Their work transcends and transforms the conventional and natural relationship between our bodies and the elements." , "It motivated me to dive into the contrasts between water and air, between outside and inside, between lightness and darkness." (Morby, 2017).

I love the interesting shapes used in this collection because it mimics the look of sound waves. She mostly uses shapes and sculptural techniques rather than relying on colour to have her work stand out. The second garment I have posted is very flowy and airy, and mimics the waves in water. I like how Van Herpen pays great attention to detail as her work is very professional and thought out, and having all the wire flowers crafted are very intricate and effective.

(Morby, 2017) (Diderich, 2017)

Design Development

I adapted my design I created on the stand by drawing over a photo of it using tracing paper, and redrawing it a few times, changing it slightly each time. This was my favourite design which I then remade onto the stand in paper. Once I was happy with how it looked I created a rough toile using calico. I used a dress standard dress block and cut around it using fashion paper then drew around that onto fabric. I pinned the dress to the mannequin and started cutting around my paper pieces in calico and added these onto the dress. This allowed me to see how my garment would roughly look in fabric and help me decide where pieces should be placed. I have also considered where the zip and shoulder fastening will sit. The top spike of my dress and the wing will be reinforced with boning or interfacing.

When my additional pieces are on the dress I adapted the dress block by shortening the length and removing a shoulder. I will start to create my pattern by removing the calico pieces and drawing around them in fashion paper and adding seam allowance to create my pattern pieces which will be sewn onto the standard dress pattern.

My next step is to develop my textile prints; I will consider which print will go where on the dress when I am designing them and what scale it should be. Once I have done that I can start to print on my fabric using sublimation and cut out my fabric using my templates.

Working on a stand

I decided to start using paper on a stand to get some new design ideas as well as make some of my favourite parts from the last designs to get an idea of how it will look.

I used the wing of the scarlet Ibis that I used on my original collages to inspire these looks. I kept the layering leaf skirt for some of them as that was my favourite part of my last design. The last design is a redesign on one of my past designs with the addition on the ibis wing and added panelling on the skirt. The back design was inspired by my last design however the leaf like strips of fabric will be bigger and cover some of the top section of fabric.

My Final Brief

Harley Johnson – Project Brief

Fashion & Textiles Foundation

Fashion Design

Project Title:

‘Everything I did, I saw it through a tropical eye.’ - Althea Mcnish

Aim of the project

I am going to create a small textile range and a garment which will incorporate these designs based around a ‘tropical’ theme, inspired by the life and work of textile designer Althea Mcnish.

Brief statement

After exploring Althea Mcnish’s textile work and researching her life living in the nature-rich Caribbean Island of Trinidad to later moving to London, it has inspired me to look through her ‘tropical eye’ and create a garment inspired by exotic nature, featuring colourful and exciting textiles, not only capturing McNish's style, but flare of my own. I have been drawn to McNish because of the way she brightened British homes with her textiles during the 50s and brought back some much needed life within these families everyday lives. Being a fashion student and seeing her creative textile designs made me wonder how my own designs based on similar inspiration that Mcnish had could be combined on a garment in a way that will convey an uplifting, tropical feeling, much like her designs do. So, In this project I will create my own textile designs based on primary imagery I will photograph, and I will used this project as a way to develop my own textile design skills. Combining this with my fashion designs based on shapes seen in nature, my outcome will show my personal design style through the well-planned and original style of garment construction and having my own prints and personal style of mark making featured throughout the garment.

Objectives

Write a reflective blog detailing my process and research with visual and written evidence along annotations and opinions

Complete a sketchbook visualising my inspirations, research, samples and overall progress throughout

Complete my own primary research my photographing tropical plants and flowers

Experiment with mark making and improve my CAD skills by designing textile outcomes

Develop fashion designs based on shapes present in my primary and secondary research

Create an overall garment that is of high standard and includes bright colours, with tropical imagery and shapes

Textile Design Research - Designers Guild

I researched designers guild for inspiration, a company formed in 1970 by Trisha Guild and the company is now run with her brother, and they design and wholesale furnishing fabrics, wallcoverings, etc.

I picked out my favourite designs, I like them because they are all quite busy and more colourful than the Harlquinn textiles I researched. These mostly have more interesting backgrounds that still allow the design to stand out so I will experiment with that when I start to design my own textiles on photoshop. Although these designs have more colours, it is all mostly green which I want to avoid so I'm going to vary the colours on my own designs. In the first design I like how it has a print of a leaf which looks like it hasn't transferred fully, which is what happened to some of the prints I created, However it creates a really nice look on the design so I might try and incorporate this into my designs too.

(Designers Guild, N.D.)

Textile Design Research - Harlequinn

I researched the brand Harlequinn, who make textile designs for wallpaper and fabrics, for some inspiration. I mostly like the ones that take the basic outline of plants and turn it into a more simplified image or block of colour. Some have a watercolour effect which I really like, which look like my procion dye prints so I can use those to create a similar outcome. Some designs are very full however some are more basic and I'd like to explore a combination of both for this project. It's made me think about the different colours I am going to use, as I want to try and avoid using green too much because I feel that's what I am going to be drawn too, however I want the colour of my garment and designs to be bright and 'tropical' to ensure it fits my brief.

(Harlequin Sanderson Design Group, N.D.)

Initial Fashion Designs

Initially I collected some primary research of plants and and animals from Trinidad (Mcnish's hometown) and a shape from one of her designs, and used them to collage on a form to experiment with different shapes I could include on my garment. One of my first ideas was a hip piece that has fabric flowing down so I added that onto the leaf shape. And the placement of the Kong rose coleus leaves and the Scarlet Ibis wing got me thinking about adding a collar or a large shoulder piece.

I carried on with my hip piece concept where fabric is sewn of a piece of wire or boning and curved around to mimic a petal, and I would have three hanging from the side. I was inspired by the Bird of paradise flower that I photographed at the botanical gardens, and thought the spikey shapes could look like the way the fabric could fall from the side piece. I made it into a bodysuit with mesh added st the sides to make it into a dress, with leaves overlapping to cover the bust but I didn't like much from this design. Instead I designed the hip piece similarly, but made it larger and added more fabric that would be flowy. I used the leaf as a collar idea and changes it to a different leaf so the collar has a scalloped edge. Throughout my whole design process I have pictured an aysmmetrical dress, so i made a leaf section that would cover one arm on the opposite side. This leaf has holes in so I thought those holes could be filled with sequins or beading. Again I didn't like much from this design and scrapped that type of hip piece.

I started to look back at my imagery for inspiration for shapes, so I used Bird of Paradise again as a shoulder piece and used a fern to make it into another asymmetrical dress. I really like the top part of this design and how its sectioned with different straps and cut outs and it would work to help hold the shoulder piece up. The second version of this design I tried to think of a way to incorporate the shapes into the actual design so with the shoulder piece the first spike is held up at the front while the rest of it would be positioned at the back. I made the dress longer to add in the fern but I don't like how it looks. My other reason for disliking this design is that I wanted more panelling so that my different textiles can clash together, and although it would work for the top portion, the bottom is too plain.

For these designs I kept the spiky shoulder piece, but went back to my original collaging to add in a leave as a hip piece, this time to extend the hip on one side. I reused the fern bottom portion and quickly decided i wanted to change it. There is also an addition on a sleeve to these designs which have a flowing cuff with pieces placed together to look like petals. For the next design I tried to add more sections to the dress and added pleating to the bottom but I dislike the way I've sectioned off the dress. For The last design I dropped the cutouts on the pleats and tried to section the dress based from Fern leaves that would layer over each other, but I still didn't like the over all look of this dress because | felt like it was too busy and did't achieve the look that I was happy with.

For my these designs I kept the sleeve with the same cuff, but dropped the shoulder and the hip piece because the layering of fabrics and the asymmetrical sleeve is what I want to stand out, and I think they would have been a distraction. I've designed a dress with different layered 'leaves' that will be split into 2 and have a different fabric each side. The leaf with holes in i've added to cover the bust, and the holes will be replaced with reverse applique. I like this design because it achieves my aims that I wanted to achieve for this garment; to show my textile designs which will be bright and interesting, and I want them next to each other and perhaps clashing to give a overwhelming sense of colour and tropical life. The top will be simpler, but the sleeve is still elegant and it lets the bottom half stand out. For the back I want the top 'leaf'to wrap around the back to have sections included on it too, and a strappy back which will be made of small strips of fabric placed to look like a fern. I like the shapes on this design as you can tell it's been inspired by leaves and plants but it has more depth than just having leaves stuck to a dress.

However, looking back at my previous designs I thought about combining different elements of those with this one as I am unsure about the top of the design because it's a bit plain and It might look better without a sleeve.

Sketchbook Progression

I started with collaging my primary research and early mark making. Then I started to add in my primary images and the mark making I had done based on that. I showed my version of Mcnish's designs next to her own to show my inspiration.

Once I was able to get in the print work shop I scanned in my prints and arranged them in the sketchbook with the scanned in images of the real ferns and leaves I used in the print work shop to create my screen. I haven't included my actual samples into my sketchbook yet in case I want to use them in the future for example embroider onto or use against a form to see how this design might look on the dress. I also did a collage with the images I drew of flowers and leaves on tracing paper and used in the workshop with their inspiration images.

During my sketchbook I have included my fashion designs along with the mark making and images I used to inspire that design. Others start with collage that I tried out to experiment with different shapes.

Initial Mark Making

I made my first mark making based off Mcnish's textiles, an attempt to recreate them as a way to practice with using oil pastels and markers. I like her very thin black sketchy outlines in her work so I took inspiration from that and combined that with small illustrations of plants from the rainforests of Trinidad and Tobago.

I researched plants and animals associated with Trindad, so I painted the national flower of Trinidad (Chaconia) and the drew national animal, Scarlet Ibis, with oil pastels.

The Chinese hibiscus and The Heart of Jesus plant are also commonly seen in Trinidad.

(Duncan, 2018) (Auckland Botanic Gardens , N.D.) (Zoo New England, N.D.) (Maria Lim, 2020)

These are the images I used of some rainforests in Trinidad and Tobago as my inspiration. I used these to mark make based from the ferns and leaves mostly.

(Huey, N.D.) (Tripelio, 2023)

Designer Research

I conducted some research about designers who had been inspired by nature for some inspiration for my own project.

Stella Mccartney's Spring 2020 collection titled 'Force for Nature' featured a yellow dress that had taken inspiration from a golden trumpet tree. It's a very delicate and textural dress, and it can be clearly seen how the petals on the dress look like the leaves on the tree. I also love the silk mini dress with a horse design from this collection because I like the hand-drawn style of the pattern made with different mediums, and I can take inspiration from this because I want my own textiles to have this hand-drawn, sketchy feel but being inspired by my primary images of leaves and flowers. The way this collection has been presented is great, as the garment can be seen clearly and the inspiration/ backdrop for it has been placed in the background which is visually great to see the inspiration and the garment side by side.

(Noko, 2020)

(Les Facons, 2019)

I love Versaces Spring 2000 collection simply due to the exciting and colourful prints which is something similar that I would like to create. The colours are really vibrant and the leaves on the pattern is also what I am taking inspiration from. It has given me an idea of how I would like to create my own textile design however has previously mentioned I want to include my own mark making inspired from my primary images that could be mixed in with the real scanned in images of the leaves that have been colour enhanced in Photoshop. The bottom shows an updated version of the dress that Jennifer Lopez wore 20 years after the original collection launch in 2020.

(Vouge, N.D.)

(Lopez, 2020)

Alexander McQueen's spring/summer 2007 collection titled 'Sarabande' was a theatrical collection that finished with the famous dress with fresh flowers that fell as the model walked. Mcqueen quoted in Harper's Bazaar, "Remember Sam Taylor-Wood’s dying fruit? Things rot…I used flowers because they die. My mood was darkly romantic at the time.” (Cary, 2020) It was amazing to see this dress in person with some of the real flowers preserved on it. It's easy to see how Mcqueen's fascination with nature inspired this dress, as the fragility and beauty of the flowers is captured by having real flowers cover almost the whole dress. Although my garment isn't going to be covered in flowers, It has made me think about how I can capture the beauty of nature through a print on a dress or the way the dress is structured instead.

(White, 2019)

(Cary, 2020)

Primary Research and Mark Making - Botanical Gardens

I visited the Botanical Gardens in Edgaston for inspiration for my project. The garden has lots of tropical plants and flowers which I photographed and then used them to inspire my designs by looking at their shapes and I used them to create some mark making and prints which I'll collage into my textile designs. This is similar inspiration from Althea Mcnish however she used lots of British nature however all the tropical plants I saw aren't native to Britain. This is where I have taken my own spin by basing it off just tropical plants similar to what Mcnish would have been used to seeing at her home town in the port of Trinidad. This is my main imagery I will use to inspire my project as well as some real Fresia leaves and some secondary images of the rainforests in Trinidad and Tobago. I have also taken inspiration from Mcnish designs, looking at the way she uses colour and sketchy line patterns.

From this imagery I developed some mark making to create some patterns that will eventually form my textile design. I created some more detailed, and some more sketchy and abstract, which is the style I prefer and feel is closer to Mcnish's style. Some mark making I made based off collages I put together using these primary images.

Print Workshop

In the print workshop, I learnt a couple of new methods in order to generate some samples to use on my textiles I'll be designing. I started by drawing some designs inspired by my primary imagery on tracing paper in black pen, which would then be used to create a barrier between a covered screen so that I could screen sprint and have my designs shown through. The screen was coated, and then placed in a machine with my imagery and some real leaves underneath, and then it was exposed to ultra violet light so that it can set. Once it was done, I used various colours of binder mixed with dye to print with.

I also learnt to print with procion dye, where I used a brush to free hand draw a design on a screen. Once it's dry, I used a squeegee and a gel mixture to set the procion dye onto a natural fabric. I ended up using my coated screen from earlier and the procion dye to create bright prints that look like they have been painted with water colour.

I have scanned all prints in and I will open them in photoshop and use my mark making and scans of leaves to create some textile designs.

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