Wedding Dresses from Toilet Paper

  During this project I worked with Cheyenne and Vanessa to create beautiful and sophisticated wedding dress designs using toilet paper. The objective of this lesson was to practice design illusions, lines, and principles of design. In between lab time the class would study how to use lines to create illusions. We familiarized ourselves with the properties of the lines and how they alter a design. For example horizontal lines promote width, vertical lines promote a tall slender figure, and curved lines promote softness. We also had to challenge ourselves to achieve visual harmony to avoid making our dress look chaotic or misplaced.
  Our original vision for our design was a dress that from top to bottom had a sweetheart neckline that fell into a cinched in waist which transformed into a voluminous ball gown-esque skirt. My team and I began to pin our first pieces onto the dress form and began to tinker it to our liking. We achieved our goal of a cinched appearance by using diagonal lines pointing inwards creating an almost V like quality.  By the end of the first day, we pretty much had the entire top of the dress complete. My team and I were extremely proud of what what we accomplished at that point because the top was even better than we envisioned originally. Before we wrapped up to go home, multiple groups came together for a critique. We acknowledged the useful feedback and through of ways we can apply the creative criticism.
  When it was lab time the next day we decided that it was time to work on the bottom portion of the gown. Our original vision was to have a poofy ballgown like skirt so we began to scrunch and pin toiled paper to use as filler to drape over. When we were done pinning the filler we were pleasantly surprised to find that the scrunched toilet paper was a stunning feature on our design.n We concluded that the gown would be more harmonious and aesthetically pleasing without draping over the filler and leaving it heavily textured. The neat straight top with the textured bottom balance resulting in visual harmony. We finished our design with a simple choker addition that incorporated both straight lines and curved lines witch was the theme for our dress.
 This project has been helpful in teaching me the significance of line and how one can use them to create design illusions. I also learned that the principles of design are almost like guidelines and how to combine the visual elements to create harmony.

Why do you think color is so important in fashion?

 Color is important in fashion because color influences and persuades emotions and feelings. It engages the viewer in the visual experience inciting an inner sense of balance and order. This is because of color harmony. In visual arts harmony is pleasing to the eye. When there is an absence of harmony in a design, it will result in looking boring, misplaces, or chaotic. An extreme version of this would be a visual experience so boring that your viewer is not engages. This would be bad because you want your audience to be engaged and interested in your work.  The human brain rejects under stimulating information and stimuli. Extreme unity leads to under stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over stimulation. This leaves the designer with a visual task to create a design that embodies color harmony.

What are norms?

 Norms are a type of standard or something that is usual. It is important to have a set of norms in a group when it comes to organization and functionality. Groups with similar norms usually are more productive because they follow the same work ethics. Norms in a group can create structure which is essential for a collaborative group setting.

Sustainable fashion

  Sustainable fashion is the philosophy and goal to create a system that can be supported indefinably in terms of human impact on the environment. The term sustainable fashion first came to the public after it was coined by two businessmen named Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins. The two men at the time where great outdoors men and who began to see the impact of humans on the environment. Since the begging of the 2000's, the movement of sustainable fashion has broadened catching the attention of many designers on the way. Fashion has a giant impact on the environment. It pollutes up to 200 tons of water per ton of fabric. This fills water with toxic chemicals and  drains huge amounts of energy for hot water and steam. One designer who uses economically friendly practices are Stella McCartney. "I design clothes that are meant to last. I believe in creating pieces that are not going to get burnt, that are not going to landfills and that are not going to damage the environment. For every piece in every collection, I am always asking what have we done to make this garment more sustainable and what else can we do. It is a constant effort to improve…", she says. Her plans for this year is to reduce water by 25% and reduce energy by 30%. I hope many other designers and brands follow her business model and ethics.

Source: (www.pinterest.com)

Showstudio.com

 Showstudio.com is an award winning website and platform for fashion film. Established in November of 2000, showstudio has been redefining how we communicate fashion online. Founded by genius, Nick Knight, he pushed boundaries to change the way we present fashion is presented via the internet. Showstudio has pioneered fashion film and is now seen as the leading force behind the new and evolving artform. Showstudio and nick Knight had built a platform to encourage and house the digital art. Using the latest technology, showstudio broadcast catwalks internationally opening up eyes the the previously closed world of high fashion. Since its early stages, the platform has been collaborating with some of the most sought after artist and filmmakers. They also have been working with some of the most influential and striking figures in contemporary fashion today such as John Galliano, Gareth Pugh, Maison Margiela, Rick Owens, and Alexander McQueen. Showstudio has also opened its doors to nurture new designers and give them a way to express their work and creativity. Contantly changing, showstudio delivers fashion as it happens.

Maiko Takeda

 Originally from Tokyo, Maiko Takeda is a milliner and jewelry designer. In 2005, the designer decided to move to London to study.  She recently gained experience and work after graduating from the Royal College of Art in London. She progressed her experience and branched out to work with credible designers such as Stephen Jones and Phillip Tracey. Her work and inspiration usually stems from nature, you can easily identify this in her work. Her body adornments include elements of shadow, gravity, and movement. Her garments were recently displayed. These combined create an ethereal look to her work. Her goal as a designer is to keep working hard to keep making things that excite and fascinate her. This year I went to an art museum and saw her work in person. It was definitely an inspiring moment for me because I had been a fan of her work from before.

Source: (www.dezeen.com)

Gareth Pugh

 Gareth Pugh is a British designer and fashion house based in London, UK. The young designer had made a name for himself in fashion through his extravagant, structured, and often sinister looks. He had attended art school and graduated in 2000, where he continued school with Central Saint Martins; he graduated in 2003. He works saw the runway for the first time during London Fashion Week in February 2005. This was followed by his first independent runway show in 2006. Pugh has shattered the current status of the era of commercial fashion. In 2010, he opened his first standalone shop in Hong Kong. He describes the place to be a cross between a Comme des Garcons and Gucci boutique. His style quickly gained him attention from the mainstream. Beyonce was seen wearing a Gareth Pugh dress with matching Gareth Pugh shoes in her 2011 music video, "Run the World (Girls)." Lady Gaga is also repeatedly seen in his creations.

Source: (vogue.com)

New Year's Resolutions

 I haven't made any resolutions for the new year of 2017. I tend to make resolutions and conjure up plans to better myself all year round, not just the start of the new year. This is why I don't stress every new years to make any resolutions. Although I don't make new years resolutions in my personal life, sometimes I will make them for my academic life. This year, I would like to focus more on my technical skills in fashion. I want to work harder to discipline certain skills like sewing, and making garments. I can build upon my skills by becoming more detail oriented and working closer with my instructor. I would also like learn more about the people who have contributed great towards the fashion world. I would like to study this because I can become inspired and find individuals to look up to. I can accomplish this my watching documentary and reading fashion books.

Source: (www.steamgifts.com)

Where do you think designers find their inspiration? What inspires you?

 Every artist's creative process differs just like their inspirations do. Most artists draw inspiration directly from other artists within their craft. Many artists draw inspiration from aspects of everyday life. Lot's of artists can easily be inspired by life because life imitates art. For example, Alexander McQueen's work had a heavy theme of nature. Many of his garments were constructed from naturally occurring materials like wood and shells. Many artist can easily be inspired by life because life imitates art. Coco Chanel drew inspiration while growing up as an orphan in France. She took inspiration from masculine attire and from there changed the female silhouette in a stroke of genius. When it comes to fashion, I get inspired by the news and culture of today. I feel like fashion should be a response to the current status of culture today.

Source: (www.123inspiration.com)