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Process Analysis Document

Lauren Elizabeth McGugan H00131593

Fashion Theory into Practise Aude Le Guennec E19FT BAF3

Make Poms Not Bombs

It started with Vogue. I made an important decision to focus on a single decade before researching as results can become so vast it is easy to lose track of a sense of fluidity in

research. The 1970s being the decade of the earth loving hippies; I thought it related

perfectly to the Upcycling brief. From the collated imagery, the warm and romantic atmosphere was

immediately apparent. The strong poses of geometric repeat prints, sepia based hues, and contrast bursts of colour

showed that the images were very much about the fashion and the women who wore them.

Delving past the groove scene and further into the era, exotic influences and

colour movements such as Pop Art became strong inspirations for their way of

portraying a culture or story rather than being purely decorative. For these reasons,it was decided they would be taken forward from the overall quirky composition of the 1970s into aspects of colour and

sihouette in my development.

As my initial and stereotypical understanding of ‘recycling’ or ‘reusing’ meant that the item had to be in some way environmentally friendly or made from an already used item, I first looked into

brands and designers that worked this practise to a current and relevant market today.

Companies such as Good One London or Orsola de Castro for From Somewhere take the term of

recycling in the most general and literal sense and do exactly that to a high standard that meet the

expectations of young people today. As a possible design route I was interested in

exploring, I found the way in which old garments were deconstructed and given a new lease of life fascinating and felt that there was something

extremely satisfactory about it. Whilst researching the route of deconstruction it was mere impossible to ignore the king of the trade; Martin Margiella. An icon of inspiration for me person-ally and during my Summer project, Margiella shows

a unique craft of making something unfinished and raw just as edgy and professional as a fully finished garment. I like his technique as it is unique and although not known as a designer who helps the environment, this technique could be taken forward in a route which could utilise its strengths in terms of reusing and reducing waste.

Moving on from recycling in the general sense, I looked into recycling ideas. One of my favourite fashion houses is Dolce & Gabbana, a duo well known to take pride in traditional influence and techniques. Motivated by their Italian

heritage, both very different from each other, the pair have shown how to successfully portray not only a culture but a lifestyle through their designs. From ancient tapestries to kitchen aprons worn by their mothers, Dolce & Gabbana prove that inspiration can be taken from anywhere. As someone who has never visited Italy, I feel as though I have when I look

at their work and it is that same passion, culture and creativity that I wanted to convey in my own work.

As well as fashion, I researched into historical techniques myself; natural dyeing being the one which sparked my interest.

The unpremeditated outcome and the way in which the colour can run and mix freely, pinpoints the connection of colour between the abstract shades of the dyeing style and the 1970s palette. Further investigation went into different practices of the

technique to achieve a multitude of results such as indigo dyeing and bleaching.

Continuing the thought process of bold and abstract colour, the work of Cubist artists sprung into the picture; Pablo Picasso in particular. Although strong interest arose from the geometrical shapes of the paintings, it was the vibrant diversity in primary colour and saturation that provoked enthusiasm to be taken forward and experimented with. On

the other hand, the shape placement and composition of many of Picasso’s work was thought provoking and lingered in my

mind.

A consolidation was reached of the main points of interest. Colour, pattern, geometrics and shape seemed to become key factors in what was processing my thought development of where the project could go. Dwelling on these points further I could see a sense of African

culture running through my research in terms of art and vibrant colour. The inspiration of Picasso progressed further into looking at African art as both have many common groundpoints through tribl artefacts. I liked

these consistencies as not only were they colourful and interesting to look at, they were abstract and thought

provoking through their use of composition and placement, an idea which I intended to take forward. The path of African culture was exciting to me as I had always been extremely interested by it as a language enthusiast and keen traveller. From the fashion and tribal cloths to the music, dancing, flavours and scenery; the information and opportunity was so vast I was eager to dip my toe in the

pool.

The first idea I had combining Africa and the 1970’s was a mix of vintage and pattern. I initially thought that collecting old, reused scarves from vintage shops in bright, flamboyant patterns would be a good way to

recycle and I could also make an interesting silhouette. The idea didn’t go very far however as I

felt that I was again thinking of ‘recycling’ too literally and I wanted to push my ideas further. I began researching further into old African

crafts and techniques, bringing me back to dyeing. Instead of simply sourcing natural or organically dyed fabrics, I felt it was important to try the process myself and collected ingredients to give me a balanced colour wheel. I

collected blueberries, turmeric, spinach and onions to test colours with. After going through the 3 step

process of creating the salt fixative, simmering the dyes and adding the fabric to the dye bath, the results proved that some worked much better than others. Blueberries and turmeric worked extremely

well, giving deep, vivid colours of purple and golden yellow. Spinach and onions were not as effective creating more subtle, muted shades of green and yellowish browns which did not work well with the

project direction.

Resist was another form of dyeing I liked as it gave off a dynamic look, however with little knowledge it would be rather difficult to achieve the patterns I liked. I decided to look into ways of mastering an arrangement of colour and pattern which proved a

success with tie dying. I tried making samples with a small palette of red, blue and yellow on cotton. The effects worked really nicely and I knew I could push myself past the simple tying stages to make more

abstract and alluring images.

Progression moved to looking at 3D fabric manipulation ideas such as beadwork, tapestry and quilting. I came across the ideas of pom poms when looking at African

tribes, which seemed to be worn during cultural dances. I felt excited to take a simple method and do something

clever with it.

The development stage started with finding a common ground between the two factors of the 1970s and African style in terms of shape and silhouette. Draping was continuously imminent and

the idea of it paired with the fluidity of the tie dyeing technique seemed to work well. Taking insight from designers with an ethnic touch in their work such as Emilio Pucci, Stella Jean and Matthew Williamson and from looking at traditional

African fabrics formed into garments, I began experimenting with drape though loose fabric and fabric manipulations of pleats and knots. The first line up

consisted of these aspects as well as small hints of pom techniques and although the designs were nice, on further

consideration I felt that the silhouettes were a bit flat and that there wasn’t enough thought in composition or shape.

My feedback pinpointed the hints of 1970s YSL in my work with a suggestion on his smoking suit era. It was decided that the most important detail from the first line up to take forward was the pompoms, which were not utilised to their potential. This meant that tie dying was ultimately ruled out of the design equation

as the eclectic colours and texture of both combined was considered to be too much and would perhaps not be seen as

wearable, going against the original brief. Focus returned to my original source of inspiration of 1970s vogue, this time

targeting Yves Saint Laurents sexy feminine suits, Studio 54 and maintaining a style muse of Bianca Jagger. I incorporated all the ingredients for my collection and created a new line up of modern tailored suits with 3D manipulation and 1970s details

that would be considered cool and edgy to today’s market. These were pinned against draped silhouettes to add a pinch of sex appeal to the overall look. Instead of simply placing pompoms on the garments, I figured that being clever with the placement would give a more abstract appeal that I had sought after from my Picasso inspiration whilst at the same time creating the intense African patterns I had tried to achieve through dying

processes.

I chose to make the outfit which consisted of a tailored jacket, culottes and a bodysuit as it seemed the most challenging and was also the most aesthetically pleasing, starting my toiling process

on the tailored jacket as I knew it would be the most time consuming. When trying to create my oversized collar via the

grown on method I ran into some trouble with the fit and stretch of the pattern. I realised that to achieve the exaggerated detail in an effective and professional manner I would have to slash into

it. In doing this the collar fitted effortlessly giving the neckline a sleek finish. I decided to crop the overall jacket to create the illusion of elongating the arm where the poms would sit, offering a focal point. The decision was then made to

lower the break point to the hem of the jacket to give the open and flowing silhouette that was a pinpoint of the era.

Originally, the culottes were full length trousers with in seam pockets. After designing the structured top of the suit it was concluded that the bottom would be more appealing as a

contrast; loose and streaming. Details were removed to maintain focus on the silhouette and a shorter hem was deemed more modern. The bodysuit was to be backless and draped at the front and merely hanging off the body, adding a sultry twist

whilst contradicting the restricted manner of a suit.

A triple crepe was chosen for the overall suit fabric, offering a sense of luxury. The fabric would be a turquoise blue; vivid and eye-catching however ultra-modern and elegant for the high end target market I was aiming for. I decided to create a small, intense colour palette derived from the basic primary shades to ensure a harmonious contrast. Feeling that many of the fabrics offered in yellow were less opulent than I was looking for, I opted for a golden shade which would be

featured in my woollen poms and the lining of the suit. Another prominent colour I discovered through my vogue

archives was pink. Normally not a lover of the colour, these images were bright and put across a fun and energetic

atmosphere; something which attracted my attention and that I wanted to make prominent in my collection. I ultimately picked

a fuchsia shade to intensify the contrast against the turquoise crepe. A spandex jersey blend was used for the

bodysuit as a deluxe option to jersey whilst also offering a more pleasing feel.

The making of the garments went smoothly due to strenuous toile practice with the only problems arising in the jacket. Initially intent on covering the whole arm piece in poms I soon realised that this was not plausible due to comfort, practicality and weight. A decision was made to make a centre sleeve detail running from shoulder to hem which I actually preferred in the end due to the focal element it added. As the plan was to create zig zag

Aztec pattern out of the poms, I reverted to making alternative chevrons down the arm, becoming more aesthetically pleasing due to the switch of warm,

harmonious colours in the gold and fuchsia. Although the arms were still heavy, the addition of shoulder pads

distributed the weight more evenly. Albeit the many manual hours making pom poms were exhausting, in the end I had a product I was extremely satisfied with and felt content

in knowing that I had pushed myself in terms of theory and manufacture.

Considering the thorough thought process and culmination of research I undertook to result in my final design line up, I feel that I contextualised and developed these influences well and in doing so followed a new method of understanding of the design practice which I can use in the future to further my perception,construction and work standard.

Bibliography

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