Week 1

(Response to old project and working styles, holiday response project, earliest thoughts for direction of work to come. )

Week 1 and 2 thoughts: My greatest takeaway from the project I executed last semester is that I was too limited in my sustainability design approach. One of the mot extreme and all encompassing zero waste approaches I could've considered, the work was heavily contextually based in sustainability. However, I think that in attempting to achieve a difficult experimental outcome, (although arguably succeeding), the constraints of the work left it to feel rushed and forced; and therefore at a disconnect to my own personal design ethos.

My next work should allow me to feel more at comfort with the opportunity to take risks in a field that feels most comfortable and natural to me: making and craft. My most current concern is how to make a craft-contextualized collection that is significant in it's meaning of existence. I should not like to only create clothing just for the sake of creating clothing, and I feel that developing a better research and visual research basis may start to develop my early intentions and functions for my upcoming work. I should deeply love to develop further sustainability practices within my work, as more of a secondary contextual positioning, in a method that is deeply ingrained in the design and yet not too all encompassing and limiting. I should research and explore further sustainability methods.

CONTEXT - My recent work has been really interesting in terms of establishing and shifting where I place myself as a designer and creator. My sustainability studio work was so interesting in the context of zero waste development and waste management (using primary and secondary garments), for the reason that it wasn't something I’d ever seen done before by other designers. However, most of my interests also strongly align with my minor work, where I established a textile design context which I haven't explored before, as well as execution of other handcraft techniques. I also enjoyed working in more avante-garde experimental and feminine shapes, such as when creating the Alexander MQueen paper dress using a personalised print pattern. While I’m clear that couture isn’t something I want to explore (given that I don’t have the training nor experience and time, and I don’t consider that context to be correct given that the clothing is less frequently wearable and therefore unsustainable), I did really enjoy beginning to explore these exploded sculptural silhouettes and forms, and might like to recreate them at a smaller more casual scale to be slightly more wearable.

Finally, in terms of context I’ve definitely been interested in particular with flexibility in clothing and wearer connection, as well as sustainability and durability, transparency in sustainable design, and handcraft. Taking measures such as using natural based materials is also a given.

AIM

In my final year of study, I should like to achieve a very high level of success in design and design outcome; however I should first need to decide how I would judge or define success in design compared to what expectation. I want to create beautiful, intellectually challenging clothing that is inimitable in design and outstanding in technical outcome. I wish to position myself to be ready for further study at a postgraduate level, and beyond that most likely into a small batch personal label; or simile develop better consumer awareness of my product/designs.

Methods I used in my last year of study between classes that have felt significant to me an my upcoming graduate work included my photographic print process garments (silk vest, paper dress), various quilted pieces, various examples of scrap waste management, sustainable textiles, and other craft based techniques and forms such as lingerie and metalwork. I would aim to sit my upcoming work within a range of these most successful personal techniques. Finally, I should like to step out of my comfort zone a lot, and I think that bold visual and sculptural design choices in reference to my concept and sustainability stipulations may help to guide this.

An excerpt from Central Saint Martins Instagram page about the graduates in their most recent graduate design show. This begins to explain my own personal design feelings: as a designer, I wish to have some better design connection to my work by having the ability to create clothing which I may at some time be able to personally wear; and therefore may fit me as well as a model. This is a questionable aim given that I have intentions to develop clothing which needs to have excellent fit; such as corsetry and undergarments, so I must simply keep it in mind as the project develops.