Fashion student blog: February update
Roxanne Pitteway explains how a trip to Tokyo inspired her collection.
February has been a really busy month!
I went to Tokyo for a week with the uni which was really good. The way everyone dresses out there is so different; no jeans or trainers and definitely no tracksuits.
Everyone dressed smart, and there were some really unusual clothes. In Harajuku, the girls and guys get dressed up in some really crazy outfits on the weekend and even the dogs were dressed up.
I got loads of inspiration from the trip and it's really helped my ideas for my collection.
There was no time to rest though, as soon as we arrived home it was back to the sewing room.
We do a photo shoot for the Northampton fashion book every year, which has a page of each of the final year student's work, and is given out at Graduate Fashion Week and the Northampton catwalk show.
I had to have one outfit finished for March 9 which was when our photo shoot was schedules.
This has meant getting into uni at 8.30am every day and staying late most nights, often until 8pm or 9pm. It's really tiring but it has to be done to get our collections finished.
For my photo, I wanted a really dark background as my collection is all black, with lighting on the shapes in the back of my jacket.
I also need to go shoe shopping soon to get some good shoes to go with my garments.
I'm making my first outfit out of leather. I have a black leather jacket, with big half circle shapes down the back. As it's such an unusual design it's been really hard to sew together but it's nearly finished now. I just have to make a lining and sew it in.
Because my garments are unconventional I didn't want to put traditional fastenings in, so I bought some screws ands bolts which fasten up the front. I just have to buy some metal paint to paint them black. I am also making leather trousers from a quilted leather I bought in Tokyo and a patent leather I found in Northampton.
As well as our collection of six outfits, I also have to submit a portfolio of visual work. This is drawings of my work, and boards which convey my colour scheme, fabrics and who my target customer is.
We also have to show that we can use CAD (computed aided design) in our work by using programmes like Photoshop to create visuals, which is not good for a technically challenged person like me but it's getting there.
CAD is often used in the fashion industry so it's important for me to practise.
Well I have to get back to my sewing, I still have to finish this outfit, then it's straight into the next one..
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Friday 25 May 2012
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