De-Co/Re-Co Disaster

So it has been about a month that we all have been in uni. Let's start from the beginning....

On the second day we had a de-co/re-co project, which to be honest I thought i was prepared for until they told me to cut up my vintage dress from my 21st birthday....uhhh no! so well since I couldn't cut that up I was very limited. I brought fabrics in but they were completely opposite to my delicate, and detailed black dress. I brought in a harsh sliver lycra....yeaaaah....not much to work with.

 and then there was the inspiring object....

which don't get me wrong...was inspiring but, combined with everything else I had brought in and the lack creativity due to the absence of my morning coffee...I was spent!

Well I did some sketches and decided to accentuate the shoulders - which was inspired by the shape of the glass when I turned it upside down.

and then I started coming up with stuff like this...

 

 

So basically what happened was I started a new look and decided to make one single garment from the fabrics I had brought in...

Well let me tell you...I actually heard the words "Get rid of those wings, just get rid of them" said the visiting tutor (whose name was also Robin) referring to the strong shoulder line I had made on my cape...capette?? 

Anyways I was embarassed - I spent all this time on these stupid shoulder pad thingy's...but it looked ridiculous, my fabrics were all so different...nothing looked good.

So frantically at the last minute...I am trying to re-work this piece of clothing(?)...seriously though, not really sure what it is to this day.

I grabbed Suphattra and re-styled this whole thing. Wrapping it under and over her arms, behind her back, around her neck....And the result was this:

NOT my proudest moment, but it can only get better from here on in...right?

at the end of the day I just was so eager to start my first project. It was really hard to focus or give energy to anything else that I didn't think was directly related to it...

thoughts?

Nope, just glad that's over with.

So today was officially our first day back at uni, and we had an introduction with our new course leader...

I wrote down some notes from her presentation - she seems really passionate about our course, which I'm really excited about. I definitely think she will be very pro-active and involved with the students.

NOTES:

PROACTIVE + VISIONARY

Important skills to develop:

- multi-tasking 

- opinion making

- concept creation

- visualization

- problem solving

---> awareness of craft and technology are essential

**Field trip to Raffles Design Institute - Beijing!!!!** (possibly)

Creative Business Practice

• to apply an idea and see how it would be received by the market
• the realism of business
• the ambiguity of the job market
• no more 'job for life'

E-COMMERCE ---> The way forward

*Dissertation should link to FMP

Start thinking about my specialist identity!--->R2W?

Design isn't always about signature acts, but about collective & interactive gestures.

That is all, Goodbye.

'Surreal Things' @ The AGO

This entry is pretty delayed considering I went to this exhibition in August, however...here it is now.

So where do I start? 

key words:

AMAZING

Spontaneous

refreshing

Eye-opening

INSPIRING

Probably the best $36 I have spent in a loooong time...

The exhibition 'Surreal Things' was on at The Art Gallery of Onatrio, but was currated by Ghislaine.... from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. 

I have always been inspired by the Surrealist art movement, so it was only natural that I would be drawn to this exhibition. Although a long time follower of this movement, I discovered a completely different side to it; a side where Surrealism crosses over into the world of fashion, design, film and advertising. Some of the most renowned Surrealist artists ideas and imagery took on a new form within commercial commodities. This opened up another realm of possibilities for artists, such as Salvador Dali & Renee Magritte. 

Key Inspirations:

1) Dali's Jewellery collaborations ex. 'Ruby Lips' 1949 (As seen in above sketch...pardon the really rough sketch)

2) Dali's Fashion Illustrations that were published in Vogue

3) Elisa Schiaparelli's 'Skeleton' Evening dress 1938 

     

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I truly loved Dali's jewelry collaborations. Even though I have studied and been a follower of Dali's work for years I never knew that he dabbled in jewelry design.

- he designed his first jewels w/ Italian aristocrat & jeweler FULCO di VEDURA 

- They predominantly explored classical & religious themes - many of which held personal significance for Dali

- 1949 Dali signed a contract w/ Argentinean Jeweler, CARLOS B. ALEMANY & the Finnish shipping magnate ERIC ERTMAN --> this collaboration resulted in some of Dali's most famous jewels

- The designs often adapted motifs derived from his paintings ex. 'Ruby Lips', this explored the imagery of the body

Other Dali Jewels to keep in mind:

'Honeycomb Heart' Brooch (1953-54)

'Starfish' Brooch (1950)

'Telephone' Ear clips (1949)

Other Designs to keep in mind:

Charles James' Evening Dress w/ print by Jean Cocteau, printed silk (1938-1939)

**I think this exhibition would be a great starting point for a possible Live Brief for my first project...**

Visual Directions - Podcast Notes

Podcast 12 - Yvonne Mills, Course Director FdA beauty Therapy & Health Studies

- honesty

- bring ideas, faults and inspirations to life

- use reflective writing as a tool for improvement

- write thoughts and feelings down right away --> helps bring ideas out

- go back a few days later and review --> look at the good and the bad

- industry is looking for reflective individuals

Podcast 13 - Sue Thomson, Course Director FdA Fashion Tech.

- engage as soon as the course begins

- re-organize the info. that has been received, and make it into something that is understandable to yourself

- being reflective improves problem solving abilities -> beneficial for the workplace/ and careers

- everything in a sketchbook or journal should have a purpose

- reflective writing moves you to a higher level of understanding

- carry a small notepad and pen with you everywhere --> it allows for you to be able to spontaneously put down your thoughts or random ideas

Podcast 14 - heather Pickard, Director of Programmes BA(hons) Fashion Management

- step back from the demands of the curriculum and look at your own personal skills and think about how they can be applied in the future (workplace)

- know your strengths and weaknesses, SWOT Analysis is a good starting point

- Dissertation --> reflect on the whole process from beginning to end (on-going)

- RW is a continuous process --> MUST HAVE THOUGHT & CONTEXT to it

Podcast 15 - Darren Raven, Senior Lecturer FdA Design for Graphic Comm.

- Keep a NOTEBOOK & PHOTOBOOK --> very helpful to review and reflect on for future reference.

- good opportunity to vent with any frustrations or struggles  --> try to look for and acknowledge common patterns and issues that arise ***

- document in  way that suits you

- 5W's & HOW --> enables deeper insight

- you can use symbols, images etc...

- enables you to capture a single experience

Podcast 16 - Catherine Smith, Senior Lecturer School of Graphic Design

-talk about your work --> influences, what you made & the process of making it

**ALL ABOUT ME AS A FASHION DESIGNER**

- be able to separate other personal feeling that are unrelated to the current project

- RW can be subjective, does not need a beginning,middle and end

- Look at a piece of paper for writing, as another person

- explain processes, justify what you've made

- don't write for anyone else

- experiment with different ways of writing (informality is great!!)

- make it visually interesting...

**** Podcast 17 **** - Alison James, Head of Teaching & Learning @ LCF (This podcast I found to be the most helpful. Alison James, is very knowledgeable, and I found that all the tips she was sharing was very relevant and her delivery of the information was very inspiring as well) 

- it is more about who you are while creating or doing a project rather than what the project actually is

- RW is about encapsulating change and the factors involved in that change

- "What have a I got out of a certain experience?"

- "This is what I've done, how has it affected me?, Where am I going?"

- RW is the process of sense making

- Everyone has a different journey, this can include free-writing, images, films, sounds, music...etc...

- DOUBLE ENTRY REFLECTIVE JOURNAL --> one side is the INITIAL ENTRY and then the other side is the REFLECTION ENTRY (about the process, at a later date)

- Drawing can be another reflective process --> can be more truthful

Podcast 18 - Lucy Parfitt, Student FdA Beauty & Health

(Approaches to RW)

- write down key words or feelings from an experience

**reflection teaches you how you learn, what methods are the most effective for you personally**

- have strategies and plans to work through different teaching methods

- LISTS --> make a story around the list of words, helps break the information down

Podcast 19 - Jennifer Streeting, Student FdA Beauty & Health

- analyze your processes, find the strengths & weaknesses

- "what is the point?"(...I can relate)

- RW can be a stress release from all the pressure

- keep notes constantly

- be aware of how certain situations affect you

- RW is useful to go back and see your actual progression --> can be really positive and motivating

Podcast 20 - Jane McIver, Student BA(hons) Fashion Management

(didn't get much out of this particular podcast...quite boring and repetitive, nothing profound was said)

- emotional release

- allows you to review your progression

- a way of evaluating your work

- HONESTY...again