worky worky

pants... in progress

an idea?

in the office...

the usual 3:45 am set up at school.

last day... less than 24 hours. PRESSURE!!

My first attempt....

So, as I said in the previous note, having your heart, mind and soul in the game is essential. Heres why.

I recently graduated from the fashion design program at La Salle International College Vancouver. Extremely intense 2 year program (ask anyone who has gone there) that involves EVERYTHING, or at least it felt that way. I was taught drawing, sewing, drafting patterns, marketing, manageing, blogging, applying, fine art, communicating, conceptualizing personal style, and sooo much more from the worlds finest experienced instructors. They gave us everything they could and helped prepare us as best they could for our experiences in the real world.

However, saying that, I feel there is a major grey area left out that no one can teach you. For instance how to plan and follow thru your own show , from designing, fabric sourcing, constructing and your personal performance on show day!

It seemed feesible from the beginning, to debut my graduation collection of elegance and luxury via crisp flowing chiffons that were seamlessly draped onto the female form. I would hand cast gold jewels as detailing accesories and hand paint all the silks myself. Concept was set in stone, and I was on a mission. I started off really strong, full of fuel, planned perfectly, sourcing every detail, buying and painting fabrics, it was excellent. It was excellent and nothing could bring me off my cloud of excitement and anticipation to see the final outcome. And beleive me, my standards, like always, are set very high for myself. So perfection was the goal.

Night after night, of staying 24 hours a day at school, sewing and working and not sleeping was becoming more and more easy. Two weeks went by so quickly, and all that hard work was beginning to look sooo amazing. Although unfortunately, for me it stayed in the beginning stages. I cant say exactly what happened, because i worked my behind off - literally! It wasn't until about 12 hours before show time that i realized there was not a hope in hell that i would be ready in time, at my standards that i had set. - with the jewellery, head scarves and complete collection sewed properly.

So in the end i ended up failing myself, backstage, handsewing, no idea what outfits were on who, hair and makeup was disastrous and i was running behind by about 5 hours. um yah.

So in front of friends , and family and peers and professionals, I had let myself down. Blow to the ego? yes. Complete and total failure? not quite.

I have now learned lessons that no one could prepare me for, I have figured out things my own way and taught myself from mistakes. It may not be the most phenomenal showing or even really swell showing of what my talents are, but i have made a good step in preparing for the next show.

So i will now share with the rest of the world, the ins and outs of my life ( with my two besties) for two weeks pre- Vancouver Fashion Week. Quoting my original title. The most successful acheivements are those that fail......

The most succesfull acheivements are those that fail.

So I recently went to China. For a month as an assistant to a designer. Wonderful man, amazing designer, close friend, demanding human. (period) I mean demanding. When he needed something, he usually needed it right then and there. Fair enough... but sometimes not everything is automatically prepared for him in this world. So that is where i came into play. I did my best to make his life easier -not always a successfull venture for me :) However,  i did my time and tried to keep things running smoothly during the show. Oddly enough, when I did a great job, it just wasnt as satisfying as when i bombed a task for him.

When you do a great job and get thanked and told, "You are the best assistant, thank you , good job" Its simply the best accomplishment you have made. Then you gloat on yourself and how hard you work, then you are satisfied with the status quo, and then , BAM! - you forgot the camera on interview day. dum. ass. You will understand about 20 different reasons all at once of why this situ iion is so bad. I honestly can say this though, you will face challenges everyday and you can never be too prepared. Ever.

I learned firsthand exactly why having things neurotically prepared and micromanaged could have a extremely positive impact on the project as a hole. Schedules, 3 am email replying, hours of contemplation over lineups, indecisive styling details, and demanding attitude are essential components that have to be done with all of your heart and mind in the game.

the mag



A magazine for the tastefull retiree woman who represents a stong successfull posh life.

The ads represent the strenth and flexibility of a role in society... 

It was a fun project , however, if time perfmitted, there would ideally be editorial and a much more amusing bunch of headlines in nicer text. The pictures are main pages for stories within the magazines.

Writing practice next year ....

alot of work.

I have come across alot of work i do not have up here. All very relative to my design and taste. Thought I would post it !

Shoe made via illustrator with details done in photoshop







photoshop assignment. patterns, shading , grading.

small shirt. big process.

Dyeing attempt number 2.

Once upon a time, Nicole had an idea to handpaint the silk that she wanted to use in her collection. She went to the fabric supplier and spent her life savings. 5 meters of silk was all she could afford.

When she got it home, she decided to paint it a pretty purple, just like the plum rich shades that she had previously seen in the skies of English Bay, as the sun was setting. Her attempt began weak. Neglecting the importance of research and instructions she set out on a tedious task with her stubborn self trying to figure out how to get the results she had hoped for........

The first attempt = washed it improperly first, used old paint on unclean brush, really, could be many reasons for the massive blotch in the middle.

My thoughts here were " When something is not working right, break it to make it bettah" - Drop Dead Fred



so i desperately tried a cover up method that ended up looking rather comical.....





Then i continued down a never ending road of painting ..... Still yet to Google search instructions. I wanted it to be my OWN creation. oh nicole.

Finally I decide i like, so i cut.

And we lived happily ever after.

 

Die. fabric, die

Ok so i want to hand paint the silksfor a few pieces of my collection. I do not have the means or time to construct devices that i need. So being the creative, handy gal I am, I flipped the table and customized the kitchen...... check this out

and the product..... I have done a few samples, first time painting wet fabric... just testing the waters here...

going to research flowers now... apparently it isnt my forte'

accesorization

So my collection is featuring jewelled accesories, specifically simple gold hunks that are the weight for suspension in each garment they attend. They serve a purpose, they are a needed accesory.

Anyways, the original draft was solid gold, and of course, being custom peices, i would either have to make myself, or have them made. After realizing that this is an expensive endeavour when your not the goldminers daughter, i had to sacrifice. Also, time. time time time. i dont exactly have the extra hours in my day to cast metals in the kitchen! Sooo, i decided to take a different route. I made clay peices of all the jewels to begin with , and i was going to paint them gold, but could not find a gold application that would be smooth, shiny and yellow enough to look like a peice of gypsy jewel.

UGH! so at this point i had been a wee bit stressed. The concept has to be there or the whole collection is pointless.

Upon a recent trip to Victoria for a weekend of festivities, i found my good friend had taken up a new hobby. Glass blowing. Glass art. Brilliant! She melts glass and makes things. Sooo the gold peices will be made of glass. This is very much my esthetic, simple and clear, it is a heavy weight , but has an airy presence, I can either fill with gold flecks or a gold backing. Now, to find someone who can make this...

Size samples of peices needed made of glass. New-small and sterling on Granville Island..BEAUTIFUL gallery, very helpfull!!

concept board.

Gypsy Theivery

Glass

.



Gold

My idea is to take the gold and glass and merge the two, accesorizing different pieces of the collection. The two together make a pristine, rich understated point. I wanted the gold to represent the abundance of charming ornaments draping the mystic women but still keeping it withing my personal esthetic of clean and fresh using weighted material but aiming to keep a delicate sense to it.

sectional.

So here are three sides of a lady. Front, back and profile. I used a combination of illustrator and photoshop to create them after I hand sketched them and scanned them into my computer. They are still in rough draft form, and also when i convert them into jpegs through photoshop, then they lose alot of detail within them. I will have to research this.

Upland Gypsy girl. girl



structured but free flowing garments, meant to capture the pure essence of beauty through simplicity

 

Designed for the woman aged 30-40 years old who is committed to her posh lifestyle and career, earning an income of approximately $100 000.00 annually. Needing to keep her elite

social status and wanting the convenience of living close to work, she dwells just outside of the metropolitan city core in spacious house or luxurious pent suite. This urban woman lives

a socially glamorous lifestyle during all hours of the day with a job that keeps her in a public scene. With her spare time she keeps fit and healthy, stays up to date on fashions around

the world and is sincerely interested in art and literature. She needs to represent her strength as a professional woman, while keeping her youthful  innocence.

For me, the gypsy concept began with a scarf and the mystery of the secret life a gypsy can be perceived to lead. No one really knows what the gypsy does, what they have, who they

are or how they live. Free spirited beings who live their lives however they want.  Draped in jewels, selling potions and telling fortunes…..

                                                                              .....Your kinda like a Gypsy...

Gypsies.

Gypsy Queens.

Night Creature.

Makes her move when least expected.

Unpredictable.

Here one second , gone the next.

Free. Never captured.

It’s the essence of the Gypsy Queen………..

I admire them. Whatever or whoever "they" are.

The feeling...

Dark and mysterious

beautiful and free

sexy yet innocent.

The silhouette...

free flowing layered gowns,

skin baring between fabrics.

headwraps

How to get inspired?

I dont think I find inspirations very easily, for some reason I feel like i have to go searching for it. Process incorrect? The process is NEVER correct.

Anyways, here are some pictures i have collected in my search.

Color of these pants are key! I love the softneww of the pink, not too childish, but still feminine.

This one, I like the pattern, but just dont see myself wanting to use pattern in a collection. It feels too forced at the moment. I like the upper silhouette, but would want the waistline higher.

I am completely captivated by this jacket but completely unnattracted to the fit. The pattern is gorgeous, I love the statement that the use of the large floral print has created. Simple, bold. sooo feminine.