My collection altogether

After a rollercoaster of a year and through many stressful periods, I can happily say that I am really proud of myself for what I have achieved. I have always doubted myself that whatever I produce would never be good enough, but I have worked hard and put a lot of time, effort and money into this project and I couldn't be more pleased. The final fashion show went really well too. I was pleased with how I manged the running order and the music at the last minute due to a few hiccups, but nevertheless it was a brilliant show and I couldn't pick a group or tutor better than the ones I have!

Thank you :) 

Top and Skirt

For my skirt I decided to make it a simple pencil skirt that would be fitted. I didn't want to over complicate structures and detail as my print was the main focus of my collection. 

I wanted to add more of my concept of architecture to my collection, and I really enjoyed looking into reflection, so I decided to use clear PVC. It gives a reflective shine and is see through which was the perfect representation to glass. 

I didn't make a toile for both my skirt and trousers. My skirt simply because I had made one last year and the shape of it is was really simple, there was nothing I felt i needed to practice on. With my top, I decided on the shape and details the day before the show, so I had to make something up quickly and therefore didn't need a toile.

My top was created in one day and I felt it was fairly obvious that it was rushed more than the others as I couldn't finish the top properly using a binder so had to improvise by sewing it myself. I decided to use a blouse block, remove the darts and shorten it to create a crop top. I managed to make a quick toile that unfortunately ripped so that I could fit it to my models measurements. I then cut the shoulders from the pattern to create a separate piece that would be made from the leather to attach to the printed fabric.

I was really pleased with how well this top turned out considering how rushed it was, and it looked really good on the model. Next time I would plan my time differently and make sure I had adjusted patterns professionally and to a good standard, plus use the correct finishing. 

Trousers

My trousers are more print focused! I kept the shape simple (drainpipe).. which you find on buildings! I added detail by attaching 6 zips; one on each ankle, fly zip, and three pockets. 

Before creating my actual trousers, a toile was supposed to be down, however I didn't leave myself enough time, after not planning my time carefully and just had to go for it and make them. I managed to do a pocket toile though.

Zipper Pocket

Fly Zip

Pocket bag on reverse of trouser leg

It was very stressful making the trousers, the parts that turned out the best was doing the pockets, I was very pleased with these, however doing the fly zip was not my strength! I kept forgetting how to do each part, even though I had asked my tutor several times and written it down! My trousers were made from cotton canvas also, which meant that it frayed a lot even though I overlocked it, so some parts have come apart. 

When it came to finishing my trousers, I had to attach a wasitband. I didn't get chance to ask my tutor how to make one so I was recommend some tutorials on youtube.

How To Sew A Classic Waistband

CRAFTOVISION

So following these tutorials I added my waistband, however it frayed so much that some of it became unattached, so I re-sewed the waistband and overlocked the edge to prevent it from fraying. 

Another problem/ unlucky situation was that the button hole machine was not working, so before the show the trousers did not have a completed fastening, so they were supposed to be pinned together, however my model was so rushed getting dressed that it was left undone, but luckily it wasn't very noticeable. 

Here are my trousers:

Coat

My collection is based on architecture. So my research began with looking at different types of buildings, their structures and surfaces. I went on to looking at tiles and glass. However for my coat I wanted to give it some structure, but didn't want it to be the typical boxy/square structure, instead I wanted it to be curved. So I decided to start designing a coat that had curves and so that most of the seams that created the shapes were curved, even the sleeves are curved.

I started looking into fabrics to use for my coat, and I came across two that I really liked. One was grey alcantara and the other was purple wool coating. The pricing for the alcantara was extortionate so I decided to go with the purple. I ordered a sample and was really happy with it so went ahead and bought! CRISIS. The fabric had sold out and there was only one meter left on the roll. I panicked as I thought that this wouldn't be enough, but my tutor prompted me to buy it anyway. So I did, and within 2 days it had arrived. I was so excited to open it and when I did i loved it. The more and more that I looked at it the more I knew that something wasn't right. So I pulled out my sample to compare it and they were completely different!

The smaller rectangle is the sample and the background is the one I received. I selected the exact same fabric as the sample when I ordered it, with the same reference numbers, but they were completely different colours. I contacted the woman stating this but unfortunately didn't ever receive a reply. In the end it turned out for the best as my leather matched the fabric I received much better than the sample that I was given, so I was happy. 

To experiment with the different shapes I created a coat toile. To start with I created the coat with the curved body seams and then a simple sleeve attached at the shoulder.

This shoulder seam didn't really work well with the coat as it came up really tight and no matter how matched the measurements were it didn't fit properly. So I decided to drop the shoulder to allow more room and to give a curved shoulder line which you can see in the image above.

The images above now show where I have dropped the shoulder seam that meets the sleeve, and the shoulder seam now lines up with panel, which I am very pleased with! 

 This then lead me to creating a coat where the seams represented the womanly figure (hourglass), however it looks more pear shaped as it goes from a small to large curve. My coat now looks like a bubble! 

The curved seams have given it shape and added more volume to the coat, rather than just having a straight down coat. I wanted to create a coat that was different to ones that people would normally wear and just have fun with it.

Collar construction

During my design process, where I began to think of ways to create a collar for my coat, I used tailors tape to add shape to material and look at different collar shapes. 

I played around with a few recognizable collar shapes and discussed which ones would look best with the coat shape. After playing around with the shapes I then applied them to my designs to see which one best suited, and i decided that no collar would be best. So my final coat doesn't have a collar, instead the back neck has been raised as well as the front neck, which is finished off nicely, rounded but square. I also decided that I didn't want my coat to have a fastening, just a casual chuck on coat as I think these look really fashionable and better finished. 

Evaluation

This blog is going to be evaluating my collection that I have just finished. I will be going over the different processes I used for constructing my clothing, the problems I came across and the good points. Overall I am really proud of my collection as I have worked hard to produce it, and it has been worth it.