Completion!

I'm extremely proud to say that my skirt is (almost - bar hooks and eyes) FINISHED. And to be honest, I'm very happy with it. I do think that I kept in line with my word ('ethereal') and my theme ('The Cottingley Fairies). I think that I have indeed created the perfect dress for my clients - Frances and Elsie. In the true family spirit, they can share the skirt and wear it to the many glittering evening garden parties they'll attend in the roaring twenties - dancing like the little fairies down by the brook.

This morning was spent making the final pieces for my skirt - nearly there! 

Re-doing Fabric, Illustration and Mood Boards

Today I did a lot of work on my fabric, illustration and mood boards.I realize that I need to keep the boards more simplistic, and in keeping with my theme. The main board I have to work on is my illustration (which I'll also need to practice a lot of over the summer!

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Sorcha O' Raghallaigh

Irish fashion designer Sorcha O'Raghallaigh is such an inspiration. She too attended L.S.A.D. before completing a masters in London's Central Saint Martin's. Her avant garde collections are a perfect embodiment of the word 'ethereal' - they are other-worldly and mysterious. Sorcha has designed for such high prolific persons as Lady Gaga and has worked with Vogue, Dazed and Confused, Tank and many more. She was also selected by Selfridges in 2012 as part of their Bright Young Things project.

I like many aspects of her work that I've seen. Namely her beautiful use of texture and colour simultaneously.  I also love how her garments feel like they're from myths and legends. Also, I'm drawing great inspiration from her illustrations with are just as magic as the garments they tell us about.

Cherry Blossoms in the Streetlights. 

Pattern Cutting and Toiles

The last week or so has been devoted to learning how to cut the basic skirt pattern and applying the method to our individual skirt patterns. Initially I found it quite difficult, but of course with a bit of practice I was able to plan and construct the pattern for my toile. I made my toile out of skirt lining, which I thought was similar in weight to my actual fabric. After much trial and error, I was happy with my final toile. I didn't make the whole three parts to the skirt (as this would have been unnecessarily time demanding) but focused on the part of the skirt that would be around the waist, perfecting darts etc.

Today I begun, for the first time, working on the stand. I took my swatches and placed them strategically on the lower half of the mannequin. From doing this I formed a better understanding of how well the swatches worked. I also took pictures from multiple angles and pull the shapes from these images to apply to the croquis.