Making and Presenting in a Fashion show

In summer last year i had the experience with college, of designing and making my own collection of garments, and presenting them in a fashion show. This was a great experience, and although i have decided that making and designing clothes is not for me, i really enjoyed the whole creative process, and learnt a lot about garments and a a fashion show in the process.

My collection was inspired by our college trip to Lisbon. The bright, and often pink buildings really stood out to me, and inspired the choice of fabrics. The graffiti covering the city, was often more like works of art, and this was the basis of my inspiration for the print that i created.

  

The making of the garments was challenging, and i had to learn very quickly about how to customize and create new patterns, for the types of garments i wanted. Although i perhaps gave myself more of a challenge by choosing patterns i hadn't previously worked with(eg, the half and half jacket), i learnt that you shouldn't compromise, and that the extra work paid off.

I also learnt a lot of new techniques, such as physically printing my pattern onto the garments, and also how difficult this can be. Although the task of creating a whole collection form scratch was at first daunting, and at times challenging, i ended up really enjoying the process and the satisfaction of seeing all the parts come together.

As you can see i picked a very bold set of designs, that all had a clear link to one another. Although this is nothing, if not the opposite of my own style i really wanted to have fun with the collection, and focus more on my interest in wearable art. The collection stood out in the show which was exactly what i wanted. I defiantly didn't aim to create everyday wearable garments, but aimed for them to be more like costumes and just be aesthetically pleasing an fun.

The fashion show itself was the part i was really scared about at first. I was nervous about lots of people seeing my work, and having to create a routine, find models etc, However the process was really great. Having to help organise and choreograph a show gave me a lot of confidence and made me more excited to show off the my work.

In the end it all paid off, i got the grades i wanted for all my sketchbooks, moldboards and photography, and also learnt a lot about fashion and events in the process. I can already see how this experience has become relevant in my current uni course, and i hope that i get a lot more opportunities like this in the future.