Pre-fashion show Madness

Follow-up on what's happening before the graduation fashion parade today.

Monday, I went to school 2 minutes before the appointed hour. Now, I would normally be in whatever places I need to be about 30 minutes (sometimes an hour) before the time but last Monday, my phone arrived. It's not exactly my phone, it's more of a company phone but I'm using it so it's mine. hehehe. To be honest, I was excited before receiving the phone because V kept on praising it. But after I read some reviews, I wasn't that keen on it. Now, I'm not a techy-savvy person. The more user-friendly a device it, the more I appreciate it. When it comes to camera phones, the crisper the image, the better I like it. And that's what I was worried about with the phone. I primarily wanted to use the phone for taking photos of my inspiration as well as taking photos during fashion shows. So after reading from the reviews about all the bells and whistles then reading that the camera wasn't as good as say the N95, I wanted to look at another phone, say, Sony Ericcson. Unfortunately, V already ordered it so I have to stick with this.

Anyway, I digress. So, the phone arrived and it was sleek. And I was starting to like it. So I tinkered with it, played with it a bit. Read the manual a bit then had to dash out to catch the tram. I wasn't late just nearly on time which was uncharacteristic. R who was usually on time if not late was earlier than I was for the 2nd time since I've known her. Teased her about that.

This is not the actual phone that I have. Mine has a Vodaphone tag at the bottom. But, there you have it. My new phone, the Nokie E71.

At first, things were a bit slow. There was only one model. One designer. And two dressers, R and I. The designer (3rd year graduating student) didn't wait for the dresser and started fitting Sally (or was it Sarah? I know it starts with S). Then other models arrived and other dressers arrived. Then it became a bit chaotic. Mel had to some quick changes with the clothes and dressers since some clothes of some designers didn't fit the model or the dresser for a particular model wasn't available that day. I had to dress up Kellie because the appointed dresser wasn't there then my model arrived, Anthea, who was really nice not that Kellie wasn't. So Melissa assigned Kellie to Yusran. Nearly made a boo-boo with the instruction I gave Yusran and he nearly got in trouble but it was fixed and everything was cool.

Juliet dressing Sarah (Sally?)

Anthea was so patient, so were all the other girls. There was swapping of clothes, swapping of designer's range. Some clothes were tricky to put on. I kinda felt sorry for them. They had to undress infront of all these people, girls and guys alike, sometimes just in their undies and wait while the dresser looks for clothes or while a decision was being made. It was a good thing it wasn't cold in the room. Everyone was just matter of fact about it. I finished fitting Anthea, she only had 5 outfits to put on, thank goodness, unlike the other girls who had to put on 7 or 8 outfits, some would even be quick changes.

Anthea who gamely posed for me. This is one of the dresses she'll be wearing during the parade. I forgot who the dress belongs to but will find out tonight to credit the designer.

I think this dress is Maja Mueller but I'm not sure. Will double check as well.

In a way, I like the buzz. I liked the activity. I liked helping out and feeling like I'm part of something. I didn't mind being one of Mel's go-to-girl because I was able to catch a glimpse of how to put on a fashion show. This was just a graduation show but there were a lot of things that needed to be done (kinda like staging a production or a theater show now that I think of it). Imagine how much more chaotic it would be at a professional level with hairstylists, shoe stylists, make-up artists, photographers, production people mingling, shouting, where mistakes mean money or lost account. Hmmm...sounds nice.

Done with 1st year

Yesterday, I finally finished all of my garment construction projects. I had to redo the sleeve with placket and collar since the ones I've made on my shirt was soooo bad. M said she couldn't pass the shirt as is. I had to come in for private tuition but since there were others who were doing it with me, the cost wasn't as bad. In addition, I learned a few tips and tricks from M. Wish she was there when we were doing the shirt but all that is in the past.

****

So, today, I went to school supposedly for fitting. I volunteered as a dresser for the school's graduation fashion parade on the 17th. The model I was supposed to fit wasn't scheduled to come in til Monday so I helped around instead. The clothes made by the 3rd years were really good. I wasn't able to take photos because I didn't bring a camera but I will on Monday. Sneak peak. hehehe

I'm really looking forward to the event, it will be held at the Crown Palladium this year. This will give me the experience and confidence (I hope) to be a dresser when I start working with PP.

Updates

Haven't uploaded in a loooong time. I was just too busy worrying about submitting projects on time (while reading manga online on the side) that I haven't even had the time to write about the projects we were doing in school. But, almost everything's done now. I still have to finish the tailored jacket and do my 5th scales but the most time-consuming and demanding project is done - the Fabric Enhancement Project we did for Fashion Design I.


According to the brief, we had to produce 10 - 15 swatches of fabric enhancement. S, gave us 3 options and we picked the most favourable one. Produce 10 swatches and 10 designs. We had 5 weeks to do it including 1 week of vacation but I was panicking all the time. I bought 3 books on beading, embroidery and fabric manipulation.


I didn't even bother tallying how much I spent since I kept buying fabrics, beads, and other materials. The most difficult part was starting. I have very basic knowledge of embroidery, I only know running stitch and back stitch, but I don't do them well. I've never beaded in my entire life. And I know nothing about fabric manipulation. I envied J who had a clear idea of what she wanted (she chose Comme des Garcon as her designer) and just went at it.


I chose Oscar de la Renta for his sophisticated and very feminine evening dresses not to mention his luxurious ruffles. I couldn't replicate what he does but I tried to combine 2 to 3 kinds of fabric enhancement techniques.


In the end, with the help and guidance of S, I managed to come up with 10 simple swatches and 10 passable designs. I was and still am quite happy with my work but I do agree with S that my drawings still need a bit of work. They suck (pardon the word).


Anyway, here are some of the swatches. I wasn't able to photograph my favourite swatch.

This is a North American style of smocking. I got the instructions from the book "The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff"

Sanwiched cording with beads

Sequins and beads with a fabric flower. My first attempt at beading.

One of my favourite drawings. Not as bad as the others. hehehe

D'Italia, Spotlight - Malvern

I was feeling panicky the past two days since I still haven't completed my fabrics for the Children's wear project (question: what's the correct way of writing this, is it Childrenswear (like menswear and womenswear) or do you need to put an apostrophe to show a possessive nature?). V and I were supposed to go but he had to work on a project of his own so I had to go alone.

Saturday morning. EventhoughI wasn't going to Glen Huntly (meaning taking the packed train to Richmond station courtesy of the Footy finals. Don't ask who's playing. I only know one is called Hawks, maybe the other is Geelong.), I knew the tram would probably be full. It wasn't exactly, but it was a bit crowded since the tram was late.

Transferred trams and found myself in the suburb of Malvern (had a bit of scare on the way when the tram stopped right on the train tracks while going uphill. Was looking the other way for any oncoming train and didn't find any only for me to look to my left and find the train bound for city, some metres away.) Found Spotlight. Wow! Had I known that Spotlight had a lot of cotton and silk fabrics, I would've visited the place more often instead of going all the way to Darn Cheap Fabrics. Not that there's anything wrong with Darn Cheap. The staff are lovely and I can buy 10cm of fabrics instead of 20cm at Spotlight, it's just that Darn Cheap is so far away.

Unfortunately, I overhead that Spotlight was going to transfer as well. They'll be going to Carnegie. Drat! So, I found solid coloured cotton / cotton blend fabrics and wanted to buy more but I saw that service was a bit slow. They had 4 girl working but it was a busy morning and some customers were a bit irritated that they had to take a number just to pay for a small purchase. Bought some emroidery thread, couldn't find the needles, and some fake feathers.

Then I started looking for D'Italia. They stock European fabrics and fabulous french lace. I was a bit apprehensive since it looked like a place that wouldn't really welcome a browser but the shop ladies were nice and allowed me to buy 10 cms of 2 french lace and a silk fabric ( I ended up buying 15 cm of the laces since the patterns would be cut and 30 cm of the silk since the pattern would've been cut as well). Another nice thing is that they give 30% discount to students. Still a bit expensive for those who are on a budget but for those to-die for fabrics, it's worth it.

Finished my shopping and had a bit of a look see at some of the boutiques. Malvern's shopping precint is buzzing with activities. Lots of cafes and restaurants as well as small shops. It doesn't have the relaxed atmosphere of home but it's a nice place to visit.

Cowl Neck

Did variations of the cowl neck today at patternmaking class. But first we did grading of the bodice. It was different from what R taught us, A commented we had this shocked look on our faces. We still did the grid but this time, it wasn't an increment of 1.25 each side of the grain line but in 3mm, 6mm, and 1.25 cm. I found it easier to follow than R's method though. It was much more accurate if done right. I just had to learn how to blend the lines properly.

A mentioned that patternmakers actually earn a decent amount of money. Some charge per piece of work. Some charge by the hour. She said that the going rate could go to AUD80 per hour or AUD5-AUD15 per piece. Not too bad, I thought. It was also interesting to learn that that there are still companies, small and large, that still prefer a person to do the patternmaking rather than having it done on software. I had always thought that it would be easier, faster and cheaper to have things done by computer. Apparently, I was wrong.

With the cowl neck, A showed us how a fabric cut on the bias would look when draped on a fabric. I kind of thought that draping then creating the pattern would be better rather than learning the flat patternmaking first then doing the draping then redoing the pattern. But A said that students have to learn the flats first to understand the principles behind the alterations and what-nots. In addition, we were doing it based on industry practices and industry requires mass production and not couture. And to do that, you need a pattern to work on since you can't go to all your potential clients and measure them. (Interesting side note, Australia still does not have one sizing standard. Companies here pretty much make their own sizing which explains why I'm' a size 6 in one shop and a size 8 in another shop or even a size 10 in another). However, we will be doing couture next year so depending on who the teacher is (I prefer S's husband, T), we would be doing a lot of draping and making our own patterns as well.

Can't wait.

Ready To Wear Project

Done.

Had a so-so presentation 2 weeks ago. Not at all happy with myself nor the work I've put in. Still bashing my head over it.

This was my final Design Board.


Did everything by hand then just put them together using Photoshop.

***hmmm...my photo is not uploading. Tried Opera. Won't upload. Using explorer. Not working. This is not nice. Used Mozilla. Uploaded. Mozilla Rocks!

Back from Vacay

Had a relaxing holiday up north. Saw a lot of crocs.

Now, I'm redoing some of my designs. Not really happy with what I initially did.

Saw a Probe TV video on clothes made of recyclable materials at crichi.com's website. Really neat. Would never have thought of it. I'd share the video if I knew how but I don't so just go crichi.com. Enjoy!