Womenswear Design Development - Refined Freedom.

Hello guys!

So as promised I'm writing a new post about my Made to Measure project (check the first post here).

I'm going to post my main boards and a few portfolio pages I made, with drawing made both by hand and on Adobe Illustrator (or mixed medias).

Enjoy and let me know what you think!!

| Inspiration Board |

| Fabric Board |

| Inspiration page | Sketchbook |

| Illustration |

| Brainstorming | Design development |

Please don't forget to let me know what you think with a comment on the section below!! And if you haven't checked out my other posts on the same 'topic' you can take a look by clicking here!

x, Val.

Final Menswear Lineup - Refined Freedom.

Hey guys!

So I just came back from Paris last Sunday…it was amazing!! I have so much to tell you and most of all - as it always works better for me - show you through pictures I've taken during my journey. The trip to Paris lasted just three days and two nights, but it was magical and I'll write a whole post about because it definitely deserves its own space in this blog. In the meantime, take a look at my final Menswear Collection for the Tailoring Project I'e talked so much about here.

I'm posting the tailoring project material slowly because it was quite a long one and we had many different assessment components so to show you guys better and explain everything properly I'm just posting bits of everything :)

I made this lineup drawing the figures and clothes by hand, then scanned it in my computer and, after scanning all the fabrics I wanted to use, I added them to the lineup and made a few adjustments on Illustrator.

Hope you'll enjoy and let me know what you think about it - or if you have any question in particular!

Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me your opinion about this :)

x, Val.

Design development for tailoring - Refined Freedom.

Hey guys!

So as promised in my last post, I'm going to show you some of my design development pages for the tailoring project. I'm gonna start with showing you two pages for my Menswear collection development, and two pages for my Womenswear collection development. I really hope you'll like them! Let me know what you guys think about them with a comment! And don't forget to check out my previous post to see the final result of my Made to Measure project!

x, Val.

Tailoring Project - Refined Freedom.

Hi everyone!
I really need to apologize cause I haven't been updating my blog in a very long time :(
Let's just say that my life got really busy all of a sudden and I wasn't expecting it! Second year of uni turned out to be more challenging than I thought: I've had two main project, Made to Measure and Thinking it Cutting it, and a minor two days 'challenge' Ready Steady Cut; in the meantime I've had a part-time internship with the japanese designer Satoshi Date (you can check his website here) from early October to the end of November, and I just finished my full-time internship with the British fashion designer Ada Zanditon (check her out here).
Finally I'm having some spare time to pay my full attention to this blog, and I wanted to show you guys some of the things I've done/made in uni during the past months :)

In this post I'm gonna show you guys the coat I've made for my tailoring project, Made to Measure. We had to start during the summer with a very detailed research of tailoring (if interested in knowing more check out my post about a tailored jacket autopsy). We then continued the research after being properly briefed and had to design a full 16 outfit collection for both Menswear and Womenswear. The project lasted 9 weeks and the main goal was to create contemporary tailoring designs, while learning and perfecting the techniques related to the craft of tailoring, creating a jacket/coat from scratch.

So after this looooooong introduction, here is the result!

 Image by Paul Astley published on http://fashiondesignrochester.com/made-to-measure/

 Image by Paul Astley published on http://fashiondesignrochester.com/made-to-measure/

So my collection - and final coat - were based on Scandinavian Design and the idea of the link between men and nature - key element of the scandinavian minimalist design. Apart from using some traditional tailoring techniques, I've used the felting technique - which you can notice on the shoulder area, front and back, using some white wool fivers to represent the snow.

So, what do you guys think of my final coat?? 

Let me know with a comment in the section below! :)

x, Val.

From Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s

Hey guys!
I have to apologize for my absence but lots of things have happened since I moved back to uni and the course with its new projects is actually driving me crazy (but I love it so I am happy anyways! - such a workaholic!). Anyways I promised a post about the exhibition at the V&A's in London about the street styles and fashions of the 80s and here it is people! :)
Alright so first of all the exhibition is located on the first "level" of the museum, and it is the purple area highlighted in the map below.

There are plenty of interesting and amazingly executed garments to look at; being an 80s fashion exhibition, "Club to Catwalk" showcases over the top and exciting looks by the most experimental designers of the (crazy and amazing) decade, including Vivienne Westwood, Betty Jackson and John Galliano.

The exhibition is like a dreamy walk down memory lane, and everyone, even people born in the 90s, feels familiar to this decade - blame it on the music (which plays all over the rooms at the exhibition, bringing an explosion of vitality), the movies or the influences which the fashion of this decade has had on the following eras.
It all starts with the emerging theatricality in London fashion, so highly influenced by the birth and popularity of its clubs (i.e. Heaven, Taboo), going on to the vibrant imagination and creativity of a whole new generation of designers.

This outfit above reminds me very closely of the movie Metropolis (check it out here), where the female protagonist is turned into an evil robot by a crazy scientist.

Along the path inside the exhibition, there were some TV screens showing fashion shows (all original footage from the 1980s); I have to admit I've never seen 80s runway shows before and this was definitely a pleasant and interesting new thing! Forget about super skinny and all-look-alike models, forget about plain music and... think about loud club music, fancy (and happy) models dancing down the runway, crazy choreographies with models playing instruments and singing: imagine how cool would that be - and how cool it was!

If you're really interested in this exhibition or in the 80s in general and want to know more check out this video here , by CraneTVVideoMagazine.

So do you like the 1980s as a decade or do you think it was a bit too over the top? And if you've visited the exhibition, what is your opinion about it??

x, Val.

Goodbye Tailored Jacket: an autopsy.

I know it sounds really weird and kinda creepy too, but this post is not about what you might expect. For the summer I've been given a "Made-to-Measure" project about tailoring. In the long list of things to do for research there was the deconstruction of a tailored jacket in order to see the multitude of hidden techniques and details in a garment. We also had to take lots of photographs to document our autopsy and record the process through detailed notes in our sketchbook.

I wasn't that excited at first - the idea of tearing into pieces a tailored jacket wasn't high on my list of favourites - but I need to admit I've changed my mind as soon as I started the process. It is time consuming, but like all things we have a passion for, it got me completely. I found myself cutting through paddings, linings and pockets, literally craving for more details and interesting ideas.
I ended up with sleeves looking like fabric patterns of a tailored jacket, padding and interfacings barely recognisable and a more than ever vivid interest in the art of tailoring.

I thought you might be interested in how a jacket is on the inside, under the lining that covers all the magic happening underneath; so here is a short visual reportage of my "findings".

So this is how the jacket was before the process...

Inside pocket and lining visible here.

This jacket had just one central vent. You can also find jackets with two vents or with no vents at all. The positioning of a vent on a jacket helps the tailor to give the perfect fit to the jacket and to allow freedom of movements.

Front darts visible in this picture.

Lapel seen from the "other" side: it's made of felted fabric, which helps the collar to hold its shape and have more structure.

What's on the shoulder, underneath the lining.

Shoulder pads.

The sleeve is made up of two separated patterns.

Flap pocket.

Bodice patterns (Front).

Front dart on main bodice shown from the inside. The darts help create the curves that allow the garments to fit on our bodies.

Have you ever wondered "what's inside" a tailored jacket or - more generally - your garments?? I think it's really fascinating to know how a garment is constructed.

x, Val.