Whirlwind

That's the best way to describe what's been happening in class. Barbara took over Sharon the past 3 weeks to teach us about the history of fashion. It wasn't as boring as I've expected. Barbara was like energy in motion and speech. She could talk about multiple topics in one sitting. She even brought us to the NGV and the Ian Potter Gallery and taught us to observe the fashion of the past and how they've been reinterpreted today. It was tiring but it was enlightening. Must attend other exhibits in the future. It was also fun that Barbara handled the subject because she lived through the important years and had an opinion of a lot of things. Her experiences as a buyer, retailer and lampshade designer in various times were also glimpses into what we would be facing in the future.

In patternmaking, it was draining. It's where precision is required although I had to fudge some centimeters here and there in my first pattern because I didn't get the cutting right. I liked the garment construction class better because we were just buzzing away in the industrial machines. It was fun seeing what you're creating. Hopefully, we'll soon be able to use the patterns we made in the patternmaking class in our garment construction class. I can't wait to sew my very first garment.

Learned to sew stitches on an Industrial Sewing Machine

Had my first class on garment construction yesterday. I thought it would be the patternmaking class. It was a good thing, I brought the little items with me in my tin can. I didn't want to spend on a big sewing box so I made use of what was available. Then I saw the sewing box my classmates have and mentally slapped my hand on my forehead. Everything would fit in there! Even those long dangerous looking tailor sheers.

So, we have Maida for our teacher. After some intro, we each selected a machine (an industrial sewing machine) and had to learn how to wind a bobbin, thread the machine and check the tension of the thread. At first, I got a bad machine, it wasn't winding the bobbin so I had to select another machine. The one that caught my eye was the automatic ones since there were no non-automatic ones available.

It was fun after I got the hang of it. You just need to tap the foot pedal lightly. The first time I pressed it without thinking and my needle broke. Good thing I was wearing my glasses or the splinter would've have hit my eye.

I managed to finish the 4 lessons that day. I surprised myself and my teacher. She asked if I had done any sewing and I said, nope. Yippee for me.

Zac Posen for Target Australia

I've only read about Zac Posen in Fashion commentaries but never really paid attention to his creations. Things I know about him: 1)showbiz people wear his clothes, 2) P. diddy is his financier (if I remember it correctly and 3) he is one of celebrated young designers today.

When the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival came to town, I didn't really want to attend the fashion shows, especially when I saw the schedule. Most of the fashion shows were scheduled at night. I wasn't in the mood to travel to nearby suburbs just to watch the fashion shows. I convinced myself to just buy the fashion magazines (Collezioni for one) and focus on the photos there. Then, towards the end of the festival, the info about there having a fashion festival in town suddenly filtered into V's consciousness and he egged me to go. So, I checked the schedule again and found a fashion show that fit into both our schedule - Target's Target Rocks Red Market at Central Pier at the Docklands. It was on a Sunday, the last day of the festival and it was at 2.30PM (local designers) and 4.30PM (International designer).

We got the 4.30PM show. And when I saw the clothes, I think that was the only time, I got frustrated with the lighting. I wanted to see the damn clothes in all their glory. And record them, too, for posterity. Hehehe. But with just my digital cam, I couldn't capture the clothes. But what I saw really made me an admirer of Zac Posen.

Here are some of his designs. I took them from the Zac Posen Brochure.

First Day - Fashion Design Class

Can't help but rave about my lecturer, Sharon Leong. She knows her stuff. Not only has she worked with and for big name fashion houses (she started as Junior Design Assistant - what she calls the tea girl - before being headhunted for United Colors of Benetton). She does works for Valentino and other European brands, mostly garment manipulation. The beading is done in India, though, because she finds it expensive to have them done in Australia.

She likes to talk but not the kind that rambles and gets you irritated. Her anecdotes are funny and in some instances, insightful. She's strict in deadlines and prepared the syllabus in such a way that the student really has to do a lot but in the end will learn a lot.

The sad thing is, she won't be our lecturer for the entire year. From what I gathered, she's doing something major in her business so other lecturers will take her place. Also, she'll be giving birth and will be having 3 months maternity leave. Regardless, what little time we have with her, I'm sure, will be entertaining and informative.

The class is multicultural. We have a Japanese guy, a Swedish girl, a girl from England, a girl from Colombia, a Thai girl, a Filipina (me), and Aussies. I wonder how we'll interact since groupings have already been formed. I did manage to converse with Sara (from country Victoria) and Viviana (from Colombia).