Jane Bowler

     Not only have I got the ability to research fashion designer Jane Bowler, I also had the amazing privilege to meet her in real life and even attend one of her workshops. Bowler is known for collecting recycled plastics from junk shops and creating them into something beautiful for someone to wear. She does this by dying, heat pressing, foiling or even studding the plastic to create spectacular garments. When I was doing the workshop with her, we all had to make our own body piece and I also had extra time to make a visor to accompany the garment. It was very exciting to work with a material which is not common on fashion wear garments, but Bowler has worked with high-ranked celebrities such as, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Azealia Banks and Will.i.am.

     I love how unique her work is and how she started off in a small business and managed to work herself up the chain, which has proved to have worked brilliantly for her. Moreover, when I met her she was very fun and bubbly and showed me all the skills I needed to create a similar piece to her collections. Despite this, she was very advising very strongly how accurate all the pieces must be, whether that being patterns on the garments or for accessories, otherwise it would had looked tacky or incomplete, hence why plastic is such a difficult material to work with. Below I have gathered some images from her new Autumn/Winter 2014 collection.

    The workshop really made me realise how something so simple and minimalistic can be turned into something completely different in such a creative flair. I think Bowler really relates to our theme of 'Structural Attachment in Mono' in many ways. For example, the structure of how she arranges her garment pieces, whether it's the small plastic pieces she cuts out or the way she places each part of them back together to fit on the model. Plus, it is attachment in the sense that plastic is used daily by practically everyone around the world in many different ways and in Bowler's case, she decides to collect recycled plastics (bags, shower curtains, sheets, rods etc) and juxtaposes them completely. I quite like the look of her new A/W 2014 collection in which she has gone down a more modern approach. However, it could also relate to the structure of the body with veins or cells within the body, which again relates to both words 'Structure' and 'Attachment' whether that being mono or not.

    Overall, Jane Bowler has inspired me towards my project and it is an incentive for me to try recreate something relating to her pieces, but not necessarily from plastic, although it would be interesting to work with different medias and materials to see the end results.

NYC Fashion Week 2014 ft Lisa Perry

   
    On Wednesday 3rd September designer, Lisa Perry got her moment of fame at the NYC Fashion Week 2014. Admittedly, I have not really put a lot of thought into researching her previous works, however I had heard of her once or twice. Nonetheless, glancing through both Vogue.com and Style.com, I came across her recent catwalk and instantly I felt a connection between her collection and the project we are currently doing, 'Structural Attachment in Mono'. Style.com quoted,
        "Lisa Perry, forever inspired by art, transformed her Upper East Side shop into a runway with a backdrop made to look like Vir Heroicus Sublimis, one of Barnett Newman's most recognisable colour-field paintings… Perry's silhouettes are almost guaranteed to be rooted in the mid century. This season was no different, with its trapeze dresses and exaggerated rounded shoulders. Vinyl, another 1960s throwback, was cut and sewn into a little jacket, but also used as insets on dresses and tops. "

     Her collection was truly fascinating, I loved the way it was so minimalist, simplistic and pure that it really enabled the collections garments to stand out in front of the 'Vir Heroicus Sublimis' backdrop, which is currently being featured at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and I had the privilege to go there during October last year and it was really remarkable! Moreover, her work really works well with the theme considering she has used a bit of mono herself, which goes together amazingly. In addition, I love the structure to her garments because it adds shape to the body, thus making it look more interesting and capturing to look at. On top of this, I really like how Perry has involved her personally favourite art pieces as a back drop e.g 'Vir Heroicus Sublimis'. Not only does this make the collection stand out in a unique twist, it also adds a connection between her and the viewers on a personal level because it is something they can both recognise and relate to.

   
    Needless to say, her work is beautifully minimalist. Also, I can see myself doing a couple swatches and twirls relating to her collection. However, I would have liked to have seen more textures within her collection, perhaps even more details with some of the garment pieces to look even more interesting. Despite this, Lisa Perry has caught my eye so far during Fashion Week and I'm sure there will be a lot more collections and garments for me to keep my eye out for!

Styling @ OSKA Blackheath (my part-time job)

    It is clear to say, after 2 and a half years of working at OSKA Blackheath, I have really come to grips with what it is like and what it takes to work in a clothing retail business. OSKA is a German company which has shops all over the World, however they tend to fall in the rank of a much higher priced market, thus we tend to get quite a few wealthy people coming in, which can either be delightful or an absolute nightmare! However, the customer is ALWAYS right.

    My main jobs are dressing up the mannequins either on the shop floor or for the window for people from outside to see, marketing, stock check and helping customers. Plus, I get to enhance my charisma and communications skills with not only customers, but other fellow business owners too. Today I got the opportunity to use some of the new Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, which helps to draw in customers and get them to see our new variety of clothing. The target market for the OSKA collection tends to be females around the age of 40+. Not to mention, the clothes are a bit more pricy than your average high street brand, typically for a pair of trousers, you have to be willing to pay around £160-250 for a single pair, hence my customer/styling skills have to be extremely high.

    Regardless of wanting to purely do designing, I think it is a great opportunity for me to experience and experiment with other sectors within the fashion industry because it will develop my overall skills in fashion production/knowledge and make me more aware of what looks good and what doesn't. Moreover, working in a franchise boutique shop also helps me to know what materials are quality for money, plus it enables me to tell how something will look on someone by just holding the garment on the hanger, which is what is needed to be a very good and productive seller.

   Furthermore, working at this shop for such a long time has helped me to develop all new skills which not many people get the chance to and to meet the head of the company from Germany was a great opportunity and experience for me, which showed me how to make connections and friendships with people all over the country and even in Europe!

Mood Board

      Today in class, we were all assigned an individual task to create our own A1 sized mood board to relate to either words, 'Structure' or 'Attachment'. I chose to focus on 'Structure' and found this task rather exciting because it began with our own photos/texts which we brought from home. Once we collected these images, we found multiple ways of scanning and photocopying them by using different medias and colours to exhaust the image until we were happy with the results. Moreover, when we had a rough idea of the layout, we were then given a group task to go around the room and change someone else's mood board in our own creative twist so that we can get different perspectives of unique, creative and individual layouts.

     Doing this task, I really understood how challenging an arrangement can be, because everyone has their own likes and dislikes and it was clear to me what I wanted to avoid and what I wanted myself to achieve by developing the images and experimenting multiple times. Despite the theme involving mono, I wanted to still use a range of colours so that I could get a more secure idea of what I want to use towards the end of my project, however I think it made the board look more interesting and appealing, especially when some of the images had a crinkled texture to them to add more definition and shape. If I could change anything, I would have liked to have used a broader range of images, plus experiment even further using the photocopier. Nonetheless, I was still pleased with what I accomplished today and it is a great start for me to enhance my mood board skills further.

Seasons ft. National Geographic September 2014

     I am a keen fan when it comes to the monthly National Geographic subscription. I have always been fascinated with all the new discoveries and photographs which have been taken from different places all over the World, especially when I may never had seen or even had been able to physically see them in my existence. Thus, I find it truly remarkable to catch a glimpse of other natural forms, animals and cultures.

    These images I found were within the new National Geographic September 2014 edition. The topic they have put these photographs under is 'VISONS'. It shows 3 images over the course of a year in Tricity Landscape Park in Poland. The photographer, Kacper Kowalski had to go through a great deal to capture these images by flying on a powered paraglider over the tiny lake. Nevertheless, these images are breathtaking and it shows us now in the 21st Century, that the World is still utterly beautiful and we must do whatever we can to preserve it, without damaging the environment around us.

     These photographs instantly relate to structure due to the vast landscape and the abundant materials it contains i.e wood for paper, furnishings, botanic medicines, stationary, food, weapons and more. On the other hand, it relates to attachment, in which we need trees to survive in the World and without them, there would be no life on Earth itself.

V&A Museum & Saatchi Gallery Review.

V&A Museum: Disobedient Objects Exhibition

    The V&A exhibition, 'Disobedient Objects' portrayed a sense of both structure and attachment. I loved the way the room strongly expressed the mixed emotions of political activism through objects and  new design concepts and ingenuity, inspired by movements of social change; all objects loaned by activists, feminists, conservators and more.

Saatchi Gallery

     The Saatchi Gallery was truly remarkable today, the whole gallery seemed to represent a trend of culture, immigration, history and relationships. Aboudia was my favourite artist of the day, I loved his influence from the civil war on the Ivory Coast, reflecting the emotions he felt through sound and experience. 

Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition @ Somerset House

     Over the summer holidays, I decided to go to a range of museums and exhibitions to increase my inspiration and creativity. The exhibition that stood out the most to me was the 'Return of the Rudeboy'; which was held at the Somerset House. The exhibition itself was carried out by the outstanding and original prolific photographer, Dean Chalkley alongside creative director, Harris Elliott. The exhibition had a sense of morality and sentimental meaning to it due to the creation of the original Jamaican rude boy in the late 1950's all the way up to present, with their strong influence in a new mixed cultural society, fashion and music.

             'Rudeboys' sartorial influence – sharp suits, pork-pie hats, shiny shoes – was felt in both the early mod and, more problematically, skinhead movements of the early and late 60s, as imported ska and bluebeat singles from Jamaica ignited the hipper dance floors of London and beyond.'  
                                                                               
                                                           The Guardian-The Observer: Rude boys: Shanty Town to Savile Row

    The exhibition was spread out in various rooms, which all contained installations such as, suitcases, comb sets, trimmers and more. Not to mention the relatively large portraits and even an active barbers shop within one of the rooms. I think this exhibition relates well to the theme of 'Structure and Attachment in Mono' due to the setback to the 20th Century's fashion and heritage. This includes a range of topics from history, fashion, society, culture, urbanisation, attitude, life and perhaps even dialect. However, with this exhibition, they have gathered individuals (majority of them from London) who still have the 'Rudeboy' attitude and flair in the new and modern 21st Century generation. Thus, Chalkley and Elliott both wanted to highly present these key individuals to thousands of people around the world for their unique and sophisticated heritage.

    The things I liked most about this exhibition was the drive and passion for this rich culture, which inspires me to pursue something to do with my own American and English heritage. Moreover, I liked all the little personal touches, such as the combs and scissors, which were personal necessities for all the rude boys in this era. Therefore, this works well with both structure and attachment in the sense that rude boys had been vastly growing in numbers since the late 1950's and they all have their own personal attachments, which makes them who they are today.