Saturday, 25 April 2015

1970s

1970s are famous for bell bottoms trousers, the disco scene, economic struggle and cultural change.

This is what most people think of when you talk about 70s fashion, but this wasn't something everyone wore!
This is more the kind of thing you should be thinking of when someone mentions the 70s...
- You've got crochet shorts
- matching sets based on colour and pattern
- matching colour sets for men too! Also a lot of shades of brown
Brown is one colour I always think of when someone mentions the 1970s. Brown is obviously a very natural colour, and the 70s is the era that nature and natural looks became popular again. This was because the 60s had been largely about the space age, but then came the depression, the hippy movement, the want to live free and natural.

Americans celebrated the first Earth-Day in 1970.
Oil crisis in late 1970s
Environmentalism became mainstream
Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act, followed by the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

UK:
- Life on Mars started in 1973
- Miners' strikes
- Inflation up almost 30%
- Power cuts
- Bagpuss, the Clangers, curly wurlys, space hoppers, polos, angel delight, ready made cake mix, pot noodle, gogo boots
- IRA bombing
- Pacakge holidays abroad more popular
- casual sexism and astonishing racism on tv
- teenage boys who wore makeup like Marc Bolan and David Bowie risked getting beaten up
- as late as 1971, women were banned from going into Wimpy bars after 12am because women out on their own at that hour must be prostitutes
- Margaret Thatchar became Prime Minister in 1979
- Viv Westwood
- Diane von Furstenberg- jersey wrap dress
- Halston
- Liza Minelli
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Yves Saint Laurent
- Mary Quant
- Givenchy
- Guy Laroche
- Christian Dior
- Mick and Bianca Jagger
- 3 piece suits, inspired by Saturday Night Fever
- wrap dresses for women
- dance-fuelled style: leotards, spandex
- glam rock- david bowie, sequins, sheer blouses, metallic, glitter, hot pants, boas
- punk movement- started by viv westwood and malcolm mclaren, reaction to poor state of the economy, worn leather jackets, ripped jeans, torn t-shirts, PVC, safety pins, bold hair styles: mohicans and dyed bright colours
- platform shoes
- actress Farrah Fawcett

My parents grew up in the 1970s so I've heard so much about it, and seen plenty of photos! Some of the toys and musicians are things I know form my childhood as well, which have obviously survived from the 70s unit the 90s and into 2000

ABBA
http://www.history.com/topics/1970s
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17703483
http://www.mydaily.co.uk/2012/05/10/1970s-fashion-platform-shoes-bianca-jagger-vivienne-westwood/

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

T-Shirt Design: QR code

This is the QR code for my Facebook page!
Website coming soon!
I also have a twitter page for tshitz - www.twitter.com/tshitzclothing

Created the QR code using an internet page where you can type your internet address in and it will create a QR code for you. This is so helpful because I can make one for my website when I have set it up!! This image can go on posters, business cards, anywhere! My target audience will be able to easily connect with me and my webpages using this.

Sunday, 19 April 2015

FMP Proposal Draft

BTEC LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA IN ART & DESIGN

Student Name: Kimberley Moore
Subject Specialism: Tailoring
Working Title: Intrinsic Outsider
Theme: Exposure; with links to Biology, Insides, Feelings and Emotions

SECTION ONE: Your Final Major Project (guide 150 words)
- title: The title of my project is Intrinsic Outsider
- what will I work towards producing: I want to produce a couple of sketchbooks containing illustrations and designs in different mediums and experimental work including fabric and technique samples. my final piece would be a collection of small scale garments.
- what is the proposed end point: to have a collection of small scale garments displaying a variety of techniques and using a variety of materials. The garments will show the sewing and general construction of the piece, and be decorated in a way to show, metaphorically, someone opening themselves up to another person. For example, one garment might show aspects of decay and fragility to symbolise a broken hearted person who had previously opened themselves up to another, only to have it thrown back in their face. Another example would be to display a personality such as a girly girl, and use materials like lace and organza, with colours like pinks and purples.

SECTION TWO: Influences, Research, Sources and Ideas (guide 150 words)
- influences, starting points & contextual references: not sure what era I'm going to base my designs on yet, I could possibly make a garment to resemble each era? but this doesn't really fit with my theme so maybe not. An era I particularly like it the 50s so I might focus on this one, or possibly the 60s, but choosing a specific era might actually restrict which techniques I could use...? I will take influence from designers and their collections of work, specifically Viktor and Rolf as I love their work! Also Viv Westwood, Yinka, Alexander McQueen etc. Starting points will probably consist of moodboards and colour charts to get some general ideas.
- why are they relevant to my ideas: These designers have created many collections which I can take influence from, I will be able to see how to make sure my pieces look like they're from the same collection, not just like they'be all been shoved together.
- subject areas I intend to research: decay, biology intrinsic membranes, feelings & emotions, insides, relationships, colour, style, patterns, fabrics, catwalk collections, stitching techniques etc
- likely sources of info: I'll probably visit the V&A to check out the dresses and see if there's anything that shows techniques and how to construct a garment.

SECTION THREE: Techniques, Processes and Timescale (guide 150 words)
- techniques & processes I intend to use: use of a sewing machine, drapery, fitting a zip, fitting a garment, machine embroidery, hand stitching, applique, reverse applique, crochet, knitting, print, wet and needle felting, possibly rag rugging (I hated this when I tried the technique before!), batik, tie dye, bleaching, heat manipulating, THE LIST IS ENDLESS
- range of media and materials relevant to my project: fabrics, sketchbooks filled with tachnique samples, moodboards and design illustrations using collage, watercolour, pencil, acrylic, etc.
- how I'll use them to explore & develop my ideas: Try out a range of techniques and create samples which I'll evaluate. I can then look in depth at the relevant samples and their history, and develop my designs using this knowledge. I can use bizarre materials for my fashion illustration, using techniques gathered from other artists and adapting them to my style
- timescale; how I'll split up my time:

SECTION FOUR: Method of Evaluation (guide 50 words)
- how will I critically review & analyse my work to determine successfulness: through thorough evaluations at each stage of the process. I will also record myself speaking about my work, so I can analyse my own thoughts on my work in depth.
- how will I identify directions for development: I will find weaknesses through evaluation and will therefore be able to recognise where my work needs more development or where I haven't pushed an idea as far as it could have gone.
- how will I record critical response to my work & ideas: I will seek opinions from my classmates and tutors to ensure a truthful response to my work. I will record this using questionnaires / surveys and through spoken questions. I will also critique my own work through evaluation and video recordings.
- how will I assess the success of my FMP: I may leave a notebook for people to write what they thought about my work during the exhibition. At the end of the project I will look at my exhibition and truthfully evaluate whether I worked to the best of my ability. I will assess strengths and weaknesses which will help me with future projects.
- what will be my methods of evaluation: Surveys / questionnaires, written evaluations, video recordings of my thoughts and feelings about my work, spoken questions with peers.

APPENDIX
- bibliography
- timescale

T-Shirt Design: Making tags for my garments

I've lost the will to live this evening as I've been drawing and cutting out each "tshit" individually from black card...kill me now! The things I do for college :D really happy with them overall though, worth the effort. Just need some ribbon to attach them to the garments and I also need to write on the white card a few words about the brand and how to look after the t-shirt to keep the design intact.


vital info to include:
- wash at a low temp
- iron on reverse

"Thanks for purchasing a tshit!
We hope you love your tshit, here is how to take care of it...
- wash at low temps
- iron on reverse

enjoy!"

-or-

"Thanks for purchasing a tshit!

Don't forget to wash at low temps and iron on reverse to keep the design intact :)

Size ______                           £_____

Enjoy!"

T-Shirt Design: Facebook Page!!!

Hey! Visit my facebook page for all my designs and ways to purchase your very own tshit!
www.facebook.com/tshitz
Check it out :D

I've got over 50 likes already! It's so exciting!

T-shirt Design: First real print!

So on Wednesday I went into town to get my first design printed up! I got it printed on a white crop top from H&M which cost me £1.99. The print cost £8 for one side and an additional £5 for the other side, which would make the top cost £15 as an absolute minimum, without making any profit :/ So perhaps it's not the best idea to have the small "tshitz" printed on the back, and instead have it printed really small on the front in the bottom right corner, similar to the other t-shirt designs.

Concept sheet for Weird Hippy Shit illustrating a variety of garments my design could be printed on.

Really happy with how it turned out, the staff at the printing shop were really friendly and I can get a discount if I bulk order, which is really good! Now all I need to do is sell some...



I'm definitely going to keep this top for myself as it's the original print and cost a lot, meaning I wouldn't be able to sell it for a profit even if I wanted to. So this will be mine! I've been wearing it around the house and I've even worn it to a gig in Sheffield to try and drum up some interest! There are now two people who'd like to purchase a tshit! Result!

FMP ideas

SLIGHTLY FREAKING OUT A BIT ABOUT THIS!!!!!

So my FMP is going to start after the Easter break and it's fair to say I'm a little nervous about it. I'll be going to uni in September where the work will be full on, so this is my last project at college and not a practice for my foundation year! So my work really has to be of a distinction level standard, otherwise I'll be a bit disappointed :/ A merit would be okay, but I'm striving for higher than that. Anyway, on to my ideas for fmp!

I've started by typing "FMP in textiles" into google and it's not really brought much up apart from pinterest pages, which are just images of things people have connected to their FMP research. Might be a good idea for me to do that too actually... but otherwise there's nothing to really help me.

First off, I want to do something related to tailoring. I know that much! Obviously there's not a massive timescale so I can't go making a whopping great wedding dress or anything like that, maybe after uni...? So it's been suggested that I make a mini collection of garments, this will use less fabric and I'll be able to use a range of techniques. I want to have a sketchbook full of designs too, and one full of techniques and experiments.

But I need a theme and some depth to my work! ugh I don't know what to doooooo D:

okay okay lets start by researching fashion collections and themes
I've tried to make my work really deep before but it's hard to do because I tried to not be literal, but I ended up with a dreary garment which I didn't like in the end. So I don't want to fall into that trap again, but my work does need contextual depth...oh god I'm so confused!

looked on these websites and found some ideas for what my theme could be based on:
http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show-themes
http://officeneeds.sulekha.com/top-10-highly-creative-fashion-show-themes_599962_blog
My theme could be on a colour, a fabric, a style, an era, a certain item of clothing, a season, a body shape, an animal, a place, a book, a film, any sort of object or thing! The possibilities are literally endless.

I know in the future I want to own my own boutique making bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses etc so I'm like what do I do because I cant make mini wedding dresses!

Okay so I've been on pinterest and google and I've got a few ideas (after having a little breakdown!)
- white: a theme based on white so my garments can resemble / be the starting point for wedding dresses, but be simple. That way I could look at different materials and the way they react with different techniques, such as cotton contrasted to satin, which works better as a draping fabric? White is also pure and delicate, so maybe I could change that perception of the colour or work to / with it.

- decay: would be really cool to try and breakdown fabrics, maybe by burning or tearing? I'd like to make decay look beautiful, "A Beautiful Decay"

- something to do with beauty is pain? corsetry, high heels? distortion of the body

I'd quite like something that uses play on words as a title, like something contradictory.
- "uncovering the naked"
- "visually opaque"
- "Ugly beauty"
- "Plain Fancy"
- "Mindless Dreams"
- "Thoughtless Dreams"
- "Sleepless Dreams"

my boyfriend just gave me the BEST idea!!!! (He studies science so he's smart...haha) I said I wanted a title that contradicts itself because I don't want to have a boring title for my project. He suggested the title "Intrinsic Outsider". In biology, an intrinsic protein crosses a membrane, meaning it's an outsider that has crossed the barrier. The outsider is within. SO my work could be the inside of garments on the outside, which would show the techniques I have used and the way I have done things, therefore I can see where I've made mistakes and what would need to be changed.
Basically I'm going to treat each garment as if it's a person and how they could open themselves up to another person, showing how they expose themselves. I could link this to different feelings and emotions, like how you would look if you had exposed yourself to someone who had broken your heart? This could include decayed fabric (linked to my earlier idea!) and the fabric could be loosely held together, broken, breaking, thin fabrics.
YES I'M HAPPY WITH THIS IDEA YAY!

Soooooo

Theme: Exposure- emotions, feelings, insides, biology
Title: "Intrinsic Outsider"

Friday, 17 April 2015

T-Shirt Design: printing!

So we printed our designs at college, which proved harder than I thought. It was quite stressful trying to cut out the curves as I didn't want to mess up, but I really liked the final outcomes! Here are a few pictures of my first attempt at printing.

Really like this! Going to replicate it in some other colours on other tops

Really like this as well, I think it's the faded out colour around the stencil that I like best
I don't like this as much as the outline version, maybe it's the colour that puts me off though? I don't dislike it though, just not as good
I didn't finish this as it was still wet when we finished our session, but I don't really like it anyway, I think there's too much colour so nothing really stands out :/
This is my glitter shit! I printed it in pink and then poured glitter on it and pressed the glitter down to compact it so it would stick. Obviously this wouldn't be able to be washed as the glitter would come off, so it would have to be purely a display piece.

T-shirt Design: Design ranges concept sheets

Really happy with these, they're simple and not too crowded, and I like how bold they are, each part stands out.










T-shirt Design: Concept sheets for t-shirts and hoodies

Initial concept sheet with just the brand names on, with both the rounded corners and the square corners. Started off with these in black and white and then branched out into simple colours and a choice of horizontal or vertical text. I decided I prefer the rounded corners, so my coloured designs have only the rounded corners design.


I like the colours on the black t-shirts as I think it stands out more, but if I were to print the the text myself onto black t-shirts then it wouldn't show up, therefore I would have to get these professionally printed. In fact, I prefer the coloured text on the black t-shirts much better than the white text on the coloured t-shirts, but obviously this would be down to customer preference.



Some simple layouts on white hoodies, I think I'd prefer the text to be along the sleeve or across the back


Concept sheet for hoodie designs, only with the brand name


Concept sheets showing 10 best designs on black and white t-shirts. Quite basic designs but only printed on one side, which would make it cheaper to get professionally printed. Also, with a lot of time and effort I could print these myself on white t-shirts, but they wouldn't be as good as if they were printed professionally. However printing them myself would give them a more individual touch.


T-Shirt Design: Coloured designs

I coloured up my 9 strongest designs and even added one more to suit the current news headlines...
welcome POLITICAL SHIT!

Richard the Turd

Weird Hippy Shit

Piece of Shit

No Shit

Lord Shite

Jack Shit

Holy Shit

Deep Shit

Bullshit