Today I handed in my final piece. I’m very happy with what I created and I’m looking forward to the next project.
This page was taken from my portfolio and refers to the making of my dress.
MOODBOARD
These two pages were taken from my portfolio and show some of the images that inspired my designs throughout the project and the ideas that lead me to my final piece.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
Today I took a trip, with my constellation group, to the National Museum in Cardiff.
FINAL PIECE
I captured these photographs of my completed dress with architecture in the background to reiterate my theme. Therefore, someone who may not know what my brief is could look at these images and have a good guess. I hope that my photographs intrigue the viewer and urge them to notice what inspired my design; particularly in the shapes and patterns. I believe this thinking process makes these photos even more exciting to look at.
TOILE
Now that I have finalised my design I’m able to start making my dress. But first I must make it out of calico to work out the shape and to ensure I don’t make any mistakes on the real fabric.
CIMENT PLEATING
Today, Matthew Weinert the managing director of Ciment Pleating came in to speak to us. Ciment pleating opened in 1925, making it the oldest pleating firm in the UK. The business may only consist of a small team but what they have accomplished is amazing! They are Number 1 in the country and export their services to Europe and the rest of the world; they have even done commissions for Queen Elizabeth, Lady Gaga, and a well-known television series called Game of Thrones.
Matthew brought in a variety of pleat samples on a range of a different fabrics and a couple of their unique cardboard molds. I never knew so many pleats existed! Using one of these molds he demonstrated the process of how they create the pleats but on a smaller scale:
- The fabric is sandwiched between two pieces of identical mold which is then folded and rolled up tight
- For the fabric to set into the desired shape it needs to be heated. This would usually be put into a steam cabinet but for this demonstration Matthew used an iron
- Once it had cooled down it was removed from the mold and we got to see the pleated fabric
Now I know the process I’d really like to try and create my own mold to achieve pleats like the ones I saw today.
EXPERIMENTATION
To get some further inspiration for my designs I started to experiment with felt. I wanted to find out how it works and moves as I haven’t worked with this material before and I plan to create my dress out of it. I used a small mannequin for this as I didn’t want to waste too much fabric. I tried recreating some sketches to see how they looked in 3D rather than flat on the page and I found this a lot more helpful than I thought I would.
MY FASHION JOURNEY
Past
Before I started studying Fashion Design at Cardiff Met I had no idea what to expect. However, this week I have learnt a lot about the course and the next three years to come. I have been introduced to industrial sewing machines and I was amazed by the speeds they can reach. I was given the brief of circles and knew I had the freedom to be as creative as possible without having to worry about how it would look/function off the mannequin. This meant I was able to be much more imaginative than I previously thought.
Present
So far, I have loved the fast-paced environment and that there is never a dull moment. It’s only the first week and I have already created something to be proud of!
Future
My perceptions of Fashion Design have completely changed since the start of this week, I now have a better understanding of how everything works. I hope that with some practice on the industrial machines I’ll be able to use them accurately at top speeds. And I’m looking forward to learning lots more new skills! I am excited for the future and what lies ahead; particularly getting inspiration for my designs so I can begin creating. Therefore, as a next step I’d like to do some further research into my current brief so I can be better prepared for the weeks ahead.
FIRST WEEK
My first week at university is over and I am amazed at what I’ve learnt and accomplished in such a short period of time. After settling in and meeting lots of new people on my course we were set a brief; I received the shape ‘circle’. Without having time to over think it I got straight to work on a mannequin. I created a very bold silhouette by using two identical circles as sleeves, I also made a skirt with circles of varying sizes to accompany the bodice. This week I also had my first ever attempt on the industrial machines. I was surprised by the speeds they can reach but I felt very in control whilst sewing. I was even confident enough to use the machines to piece together my garment. By the end of the week my final piece was displayed for everyone to see. Overall, I’m proud of what I have created as to begin with I was completely lost, and I wasn’t sure on how to approach the brief without doing any designs first. But in the end, I much preferred this method as I got to mess around with the shapes and realise the things that don’t look good and the things that do; coming up with a design.
MEGAN PRESTON 