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Artist statement

As part of my Re-generate project I decided to choose Audrey Hepburn as my fashion muse, as her classic 1950’s/60’s style reminds me of my Nana’s style which I draw great inspiration from. Throughout the project I created a 6 look collection inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s classic style, while also incorporating a modern twist.

I felt that I succeeded in keeping Audrey Hepburns classic style while also elevating it to a new, more modern level. I love Audrey Hepburn’s simple elegance which can be seen throughout much of her most famous looks. I kept this idea in mind when designing my 6 look collection.

I really focused on silhouette when creating my designs and I felt that the draping exercise that we did at the start really helped me with this. Going forward in other projects I will definitely carry this skill with me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this project and I feel that I learned a lot about how collections are actually created and I was given an insight into each particular step of the process.

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Final Display

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Sketchbook Video

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Sketchbook cover

I used canva to create this cover for my sketchbook. My goal was to encapsulate the entire idea of my collection in one singular image. I felt that this particular photo of Audrey Hepburn really captured the essence of my collection as it is made up of different shades of pink and green which I incorporated into my designs.

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Editing

Today, I began thinking about how I was going to display my final designs on the wall. I decided to go back and look at the digital mood boards and colour boards that I created and I realised that this colour green was the dominant color throughout both.

I thought it would be interesting to place my final designs against this green background in order to connect the pieces back to the original mood board. I am really happy with how it has turned out and I think the designs stand out more than they did against a white background.

I did the same with my coloured designs. This time I decided to experiment with a pink background also as pink was the second main colour within my designs. However, I still think that I prefer the way the green background compliments the designs. I think that changing the colour of the backgrounds to match my mood boards really ties the whole collection together.

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Textiles

Today, I moved away from the ruffles and fabric manipulation techniques and I decided to practice beading. I wanted to incorporate this technique into my fabric swatches as I have incorporated beaded gloves into one of my designs, inspired by the beaded neckline of one of Audrey Hepburns dresses.

I used the mesh fabric that I used in one of my previous ruffles swatches, as a base for the beaded flowers. Although the beaded flowers were quite difficult to do initially once I got the hang of doing them I really enjoyed it. I preferred doing this technique rather than the ruffles as I enjoy creating really intricate and delicate pieces. I was only able to create a small fabric swatch as the process was quite time consuming.

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Textiles

I decided to experiment further with fabric manipulation techniques to create movement within the fabric. Rather than continuing with the ruffle technique I decided to try out a smocking technique. Above is the pattern that I followed to create the design. Smocking involves gathering fabric into pleats to create a decorative texture, which I thought would capture the essence and the movement of fabric which I would like to convey throughout my collection.

I am really happy with how this technique has turned out and I think it mimics the texture that I included in my sketches.

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Textiles

Today, I decided to continue creating different types of ruffles to mimic the movement that I included in my sketches.

I decided to go back to the start to one of the first type of ruffles that I created as I felt that this would be the best type of ruffle to layer to create a layered skirt effect. I am really happy with how this technique has turned out and I think that it resembles the ruffled sleeves that I incorporated into my designs.

I also really like the bright green colour of the fabric as green is one of the main colours that I have included within my final collection.

I decided to attach the ruffle to the end of this pink flower patterned fabric that I found to make a sleeve similar to the ruffled sleeve that I incorporated into my designs.

I am really happy with how this has tuned out especially how well the pink and green work together.

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Textiles

Today I continued experimenting with different techniques to create ruffles. Rather than sewing a straight stitch down the centre of the fabrics I decided to experiment using a zigzag pattern along the fabric. I really liked the outcome of this type of ruffle as it created an almost scalloped effect.

Then I decided to roll the ruffle up to create a ruffled flower shape as I thought that the curved edges resembled a flower petal. I am happy with the overall outcome and I think it would be interesting to dip the flowers into some sort of dye to match the colour scheme that I am concentrating on throughout my collection.

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Textiles

Today, I began working on textiles for my collection. I decided that I wanted to concentrate on making different types of ruffles as I have incorporated ruffles on the sleeves and necklines of some of my designs.

Giordana thought me a few basic techniques to create a series of different ruffles. This technique above involved pleating the fabric and sewing a straight stitch down the centre of the fabric. At first I found it difficult to do but I got the hang of it quite quickly. I decided to create a few of them which I then attached onto a swatch of fabric. I am really happy with how the swatch has turned out. Although the colours don’t exactly match my colour scheme I still think that they are interesting.

Later on in the day I decided to use a different technique to create a ruffled effect. This technique involved sewing a straight stitch down one side of the fabric without backstitching so that the thread could be pulled to create this gathered effect. I really like the mesh quality of the material and I think that it is quite interesting when it is layered. I decided to create abstract flower like designs by layering the ruffles as I was inspired by the flowery background of the picture of Audrey Hepburn in the pink dress which I used in my colour board.

Tomorrow I would like to continue experimenting with different ruffle techniques.

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Mood boards

I decided to go back and refine my original mood board and colour board now that I have completed my final lineups as I felt that my original mood boards now don’t entirely capture the direction that I went with my collection.

I used an app called Canva to create each of the boards. I think that these boards really communicate what I have incorporated into my designs such as the colour and silhouettes.

I also came up with a name for my collection. I have titled it ‘I’M POSSIBLE’, which is based on the famous Audrey Hepburn quote ‘nothing is impossible the word itself says I’m possible’

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Week 3: Empathy and Ethics

Today, we used the research that we had completed for the survey that Aishling sent out to complete a technical pack for the garments that we chose.

I found this exercise really interesting as I learnt all about where the jacket I brought in was designed and manufactured. I found it difficult to find exact information on the garment as it was bought about 20 years ago so the current company policies have changed since then. However, I found out that currently, the German brand Gerry Weber has been GOTS( global organic textile standard ) certified meaning they use textiles ( atleast 70%) from organically produced natural fibres. Overall the company seems to be making great efforts to transform their practices to be more sustainable which is good.

I also thought it was really interesting to learn exactly what needs to be included in a technical pack for a factory such as the exact materials needed aswell as the right dimensions. We learned how to measure our garments so that the sizes can be sent to a factory to be manufactured.

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Colour Development Continued

Today, I continued experimenting with different colour combinations to help me finalise the colour way of my 6 look lineup. I decided that I liked the two colours, pink and green that I chose yesterday, however I wanted to swap around the colours and see how they would look on each separate design.

To do this, I began by completing one collection entirely in green, and one in pink to decide which outfit looked better in what colour. After doing this, I decided that I wanted the first few pieces of my collection to be mostly green with pink accents and as the collection continued I gradually added more pink until the final dress was entirely pink. I think this is the final lineup that I am happiest with at the moment.

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Colour Development

Today, we began to look at creating colour schemes based on the mood boards that we had previously created. I decided that I wanted to focus on a mainly green and pink colour palette as I feel that these two colours are really complementary of each other, and are the two main colours that I drew from the inspiration images above. The fabric I initially experimented with on the stand was also a green colour and I liked how different shades of green were created depending on what way the fabric was draped.

Before I began experimenting with the colour on the croquis, I finalised my 6 look line up and reduced the size of the croquis so that they all fit on the one sheet.

I began experimenting with different shades of pink and green however I felt that the colours were quite dull and not as bright and vibrant as I would have liked them because the original designs were shaded in. I felt that these dull colours were not reminiscent of Audrey Hepburns style, as much of her wardrobe which I took inspiration from contains really bright and vibrant colours.

However, once I flipped over the page I realised that the markers had bled through the page, and the resulting colours were a lot more vibrant and they fit the aesthetic I wanted to create more. I decided to trace the original designs over these swatches of colours that transferred through the page to make a separate set of designs which I liked more.

Tomorrow, I am going to continue experimenting with different colour ways until I find the one that suits my collection best.

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Front, back and sides development

Yesterday and today I concentrated on completing a front, back and sides for each one of the 6 designs that I have chosen as part of my final lineup. I really enjoyed the process of translating my original designs to complete pieces. I am really happy with how each design has turned out as I feel it fits the vibe of my muse.

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Week 2: Emapthy and Ethics

On Thursday we began by discussing our opinions and thought on the ‘True Cost’ documentary which we were asked to watch. I was really shocked after watching the documentary as I didn’t realise how much of a negative impact the fashion industry has on the environment and workers particularly in third world developing countries. I defiantly think this documentary has encouraged me to consider where my clothes are coming from and how there were made.

We began by taking part in an exercise where we listed all the stakeholders that are involved in the production of clothes under the categories of design, manufacture and production. I thought it was interesting to find out just how many people are involved in making one garment.

Later on in the day we chose a garment and tried to figure out the journey that this garment went to from production to consumption by looking at the labels. I found this exercise really useful as I learned what each symbol on a tag actually means.

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Lineup development

I felt that the croquis that I was using was quite generic and it didn’t exactly resemble Audrey Hepburn, so I decided to print images of her face and place them over the design. I really think that this helped me to further imagine how these looks would look on her and whether they fit the vibe of her style.

After I saw the outfits on the new croquis it helped me to generate new ideas and designs based on the ones I had already made. For example in the design above I extended the skirt in a previous design so that it is now floor length. I like how this design has developed as I think it resembles one of the many ball gowns that Hepburn wore.

One of my mood boards that I had previously made contained details such as beading and embroidery which I wanted to somehow incorporate into my designs. However I thought that the garments would be too busy with the addition of there details due to the intricate drapery. As a result I decided to look at the accessories that Audrey Hepburn wore to complete her outfits. I noticed that she wore a lot of gloves, so I decided to complete the look with a pair of beaded gloves which I think really compliments the whole look without taking away from the actual garment.