From my initial sketches (based on the images I gathered from the film 1917 and my designer research) I came up with a silhouette I really liked; an oversized, all-in-one, unisex suit. I created the outfit out of calico to use as a base for my ideas, I took a few photographs of it on the stand with slight alterations (e.g. gathering the sleeves, trousers, and altering the length). However, I kept a running theme of the belt being worn to dramatically bring in the oversized clothing at the waist, creating the full, exaggerated silhouette I like. I took some photographs, which I then printed out, so that I could progress my ideas further. This quick process helped me come up with several ideas and allowed me to decipher the ideas that worked well and the ideas that didn’t.

Today we had an online talk by Bashir Aswat, who has taught fashion design to students at Salford university for 15 years! He has worked in London, Barcelona, and South Africa. He gave an interesting insight into his work at Salford University in Manchester. He expressed his view on how we should adapt and work within the restrictions of Covid. He said there is always restrictions, whether it’s a budget you must work within or something else, it’s a good learning process. He said don’t focus on the barriers, see it as opportunity, it’s what you make of it at the time. Turn a negative into a positive. He stressed the importance of looking at what is going on around you at the time and reacting to it. So many people make amazing collections but with no real relation to the issues in present time so it can have less of an impact. I think he was saying that we have this opportunity to express ourselves or something that means something to us. The best designers respond to the politics of the time, they are courageous and aim to resolve something, the collection should tell a story. He said that you’re not always going to get it right but you can try and as long as you do yourself proud. I found the talk really inspiring and learnt the importance of making an impact and creating something that is important to me.