First Peer Crit-Feedback

Feedback Included:

• What did it mean when women burned their bras?
• Look at sexuality in the press-Page 3
• Why is Britain so open to sexuality? Highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe.
• Superheroes-wonderwomen, catwomen.
• Cartoon characters
• Experiment with lingerie materials. Padding, underwire.
• Shoes, stocking, tights, suspenders.

I found some of the feedback useful. I like the idea of looking at sexuality in British society and how open we are and young people are subject to it daily. Where does this attitude come from? Why are we so open?

IN response, Im going to do some questionnaires and ask people how open hey are about sexuality and if they feel it is too publicized in British culture. 

Body Modification

Last Friday in John lesson he took us to the custard factory to view a couple of exhibitions. The images above are from the photography exhibition 'This England' by Richard Battye. The exhibition is a 'celebration of the individual' I was particularly interested by the body modification images which is an area that I'm looking at in my FMP. I see corsetry, tight-lacing and some fetishes as a form of body-modification. I thought that the photographs were beautiful!!

All Things Leather

Iv decided to use a lot of leather in my collection as its a material i have never worked with before. I see this final collection as chance to be really experimental and push it in a very individual direction. I have a strong interest in tailoring and have therefore decided to produce four tailored pieces. 

The androgyny project in my 2nd year of the ND, gave me a brief understanding of femininity and masculinity and loved the 80's power dressing and particularly YSL's smoking jacket. However, I want to push this further and ask the question as to 'if women wanted to wear suits to show their strong feminine attitude why did the strong tailoring hide their feminine anatomy?

Through my collection I want to convey the idea of women being strong individuals through tailoring that enhances and exaggerates the female body. 

Ideas for Crinolines

After a chat with Tracey, she told me to get in contact with the 3D teacher from Sutton design centre. I want to develop a metal or steel crinoline to be worn with a tailored jacket. 

Next step = start to develop wire or boned crinolines on the stand!

Crinolines

Progressive Brainstorm

Color Scheme

Here are some photographs of my colour scheme. Iv chosen to use blacks, grays and neutrals. There will be a lot of emphasis on fabric manipulation techniques:

• laser cutting
• Cut out
• Boiling leather
• Digital printing
• Sheering
• Pleating
• Manipulation

FMP-Project Proposal

Section One

 The working title for my Final Major project is ‘Innerwear as Outerwear’. The outcomes of this project will be a minimum of four outfits finished to a professional standard. I am going to extensively research the history of the corset and lingerie and the connotations these garment hold in society. I am also going to research what femininity and masculinity means in fashion and how and why underwear defines these characteristics. Along side this I will explore the role of women in society throughout history and how this has changed. I will also develop my textile work designing and developing a series of fabric manipulation and print pieces that will be inspired by this research. At least one of these fabrics will be used in my collection.

 

Section Two

 I will begin my project by thoroughly researching my chosen subject through primary and secondary sources.  My primary sources will include visiting the Victoria & Albert museum in London to look at their archive of corsetry, crinolines and lingerie. Whilst there I will also photograph and draw pieces from contemporary designers that show contextual reference to the subject I have chosen. These will include Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. I will also read books about the history of underwear and feminism that will help further my understanding of the subject that I have chosen to research. I will also research artists such as Orlan whose work is inspired by the idea of achieving ultimate beauty. 

 

Section Three

 As a lot of my research will be from historical references, I have decided I want to use materials that were used in the 18^th and 19^th century corsetry. These may include pierced metal, boiled leather, wood, linen, steel rods and silks. I want to use these materials in an experimental way, along side contemporary techniques such as laser cutting and digital printing to result in unconventional yet beautiful fabrics. I am also going to explore new intricate and innovative pattern cutting techniques to communicate my theories and ideas.

 

Section Four

 It is essential that I critically review my project at regular stages throughout so I can continue to develop. I will do this by peer and tutor assessments. From these I will be able to take feedback and respond to thoughts and ideas through my sketchbook. I will constantly annotate and evaluate my own work in my sketchbook and discuss the development and direction my project is taking. I will keep an online line diary in the form of a blog that will allow me to record and analyse my Final Major project. At the end of the project I will evaluate it as a hole and discuss the strengths and weaknesses and what changes I could of made to improve my FMP.