Deconstruct // Reconstruct Project

Today I slowly began to cut at the seams of the assortment of garments I had brought in. I was being quite precious with it to begin with, only snipping at small seams. I wasn’t too sure where or how to cut in order to make something interesting and I didn’t just want to do something random. So I left the altering for a moment and instead did some observational drawings of two garments that I had made.

I also decided that doing some designs and developing my ideas from the first garments I made on the mannequin would be a better idea instead of jumping straight into cutting the seams. With my designs at first I focused on the layering I had used on the mannequin and focused on one part of a garment to create layers with, leaving the rest looking simple—I created layers on sleeves, the lapel of jackets and coats, the waistband of trousers, the leg of the trouser.

I found that working with the tailored suit was a lot more interesting and easier. There were more details to work with, whereas with the knitwear I had there wasn’t any intricate knit pattern to work with, it was just a simple knit jumper. I tried to incorporate it with the tailor garments to create a contrast between two different materials. It worked well on one look but on the others it added unnecessary clutter to the garment and didn’t compliment well at all.

Deconstruct // Reconstruct Project

Before beginning the project I researched Deconstruction and I ended up finding out about the vast history and how much this technique is used, which I did not realise before. The process results in endless creations by designers. I particularly loved the works of Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake. I adore Miyake’s ‘Pleats Please’ collection, the way the fabric falls and compliments the body’s shape. It is an abstract way of creating garments, it is an art form, these designers created several different shapes and forms with fabrics. The technique emphasises the bodily form and through it designers have explored the relationship between the body and the garment as well as the concept of the body itself.

After getting briefed on the two week project I created collages using magazine cut-outs, using different parts of clothing and positioning them in different ways to create a ‘deconstructed’ garment. This exercise got me to visualise the composition of clothes differently, especially sleeves.

I focused more on the shape of the garment in my collages and this translated into the next step of the physical deconstruction of garments. I really enjoyed this step as it got me to recognise the structure of clothing more and how it is put together. I found that putting together the garments in alternative ways came very easily to me. I layered the fabrics and created pleat-like forms in order to manipulate the shape on the mannequin so it didn’t look like the original item.

I was really satisfied with my outcomes and couldn’t wait to cut into the seams of the garment, which would give me more freedom and fabric to work with. The fact that the project had no concept also allowed me more freedom to create.However some students found this quite difficult, the fact that there wasn’t a concept but I relished it. 

Industry Project

I joined this project half way through and this proved to be quite difficult at first, to integrate myself into a group and merge their ideas with mine.

The group were working for the designer Iris van Herpen, aiming to produce a collection and final garments for womenswear, Autumn/Winter 2015. I was given a brief overview of what the group had collectively achieved so far and all the plans that had been made to produce the rest of the work. I was explained that at the beginning of the project the group broke down the brand itself and discussed what the designer represented, meant to themselves individually and the designers branding techniques. They were then given quotes and from it decided which words were key and stood out to them. I didn’t actually get to see the quotes and so couldn’t totally form my own concept but had to work from what the group had already done. From the quote, the group had generated a mood board for the collection, from the idea of life, death and re-birth, and focused mainly on re-birth which then led onto ideas about butterflies and their life-cycle.

I did my own research of the brand and these were the key words that I found described the brand well: craftsmanship (her intricate designs are impressive and creative), innovative, modern, digital, beauty, regeneration, individuality. Van Herpen’s clothes aren’t made to be wearable, they are an art form, which links with the idea of nature and metamorphosis because nature is the greatest work of art.

The group decided that I would do the photoshoot for the brand. There wasn’t a garment to take pictures of. However, Van Herpen doesn’t have many campaigns so in the group we decided that I would give a flavour of what the collection would be from the samples made and create a campaign.
I created a concept board following everything I had learnt from researching the designer and from what the group had done so far. I looked at artist Ernesto Neto a contemporary visual artists who creates interactive installations and I looked into how I would capture this idea of rebirth.

In the photoshoot I wanted to create a human cocoon, make the model look as if she was inside a cocoon. I used several fabrics to give a natural feel to ‘the cocoon’ the model was in. I was successful in creating this effect. However, ideally I would have liked to have used materials that were more typical of the designer. (This was something that was pointed out during the presentation, which goes to show the knowledge other students have about fashion and designers and that they were engaged with the presentation.) Van Herpen doesn't use fabric and from my research I found out that this is because she feels limited by it and I too felt limited by the fabrics. If I had had more time I would have liked to collaborate with the designers to create a 3D-printed garment or a sample of a garment to have then photographed.

Presentation day was an interesting day to see other people’s work. Unfortunately, a bulk of the groups work was misplaced so some members of the group were unable to reveal the full potential that they had reached during the project.

Overall I think I integrated myself well into the project despite joining in at a peak time. I feel like the team could have communicated more in order to let each other become more clear of each other’s visions in that project.
 From this project I have realised that I would like to try out the design aspect of fashion more and hope to excel at this.