Moderation Week

Our first module at Fedisa has finally come to an end, and now moderation week is upon us. This is a task that lies greatly on the lecturers, as their marks are checked by external moderators, to see that we are getting the correct marks for our work.

So, it is one weekend off from work, and then we set up for moderation on Monday. All of our work goes into files, and we place them on our desks for the moderators.

Then, it is holiday!!! Well, not really, as our 9 storyboards for our final range are due when we get back to class. And they have to be outstanding. I am quite excited to start these boards, and I am even more excited to buy all of my fabric next week. It is going to be so much fun, but also such hard work, when we start these collections.

I plan on spending my holiday drawing, and channelling my muses, so that I can get the best results out of my work. Oh, and of course I will be doing this with a warm blanket and loads of tea! Winter is definitely on its way, and there is a serious chill in the air. 

Well off I go to pack all of my work into files, and clean my sewing machine that has more lint in it than an entire coat.

Below are some pictures of my work that is going in for moderation:

Emailer and Display Unit Design

Illustrations

Page from 70 Technical Drawings

Until we meet again

xxx

Sneak Preview

Well the holidays are almost upon us, with much joy from me as I have been sick for a couple of days now. Not great when there are so many deadlines to meet. However, I am pretty excited about my collection, and I really want to work hard towards it.

For now, I will just give a sneak preview of my colour choices and styles that I am going for.
The colours are creams, greys, and dusty pinks. I haven't really ever used these colours, so it's a nice challenge for me.

The fabrics consist of upholstery fabric, chiffons and georgettes, as well as cotton. I am utterly thrilled with my fabric choices, as they work so well together.



Until we meet again

xxx

Drapery of Love

It was art week this week, which means non stop working every day... and every night. With our final ranges so close, we have been working 24/7 on our designs, and fabric choices.

We had a brief for small scale drapery, and we were instructed to work in pairs. This was after a very confusing and difficult CAD assignment in the morning, so I think Nicole Furter and I did quite a good job!

The aim was to choose an emotion that we could base our drapery on, and we chose "love". We did not do the typical red, but took a more vintage approach to it.

Here are some photo's of our drapery which had a lot of lace detail, and a full skirt. Photos taken at Fedisa:

Beautiful Swan...

While many people might think that it is easy to design a collection, I guarantee it is not! First there is a concept, then designing and fabric choice. After a few weeks of drawing, I began to lose the plot a bit, and decided to take an evening off to watch the much anticipated Black Swan.

Well, what an incredible movie. This one was something you either loved or hated. I loved it, and I think Darren Aronofsky chose the perfect setting, and the perfect actors. Natalie Portman was magnificent, and once the movie was finished, I actually felt quite shaken.

It revolves around a young ballet dancer who has a serious need for perfection. She is cast as the swan in Swan Lake, but is only good at being the white swan. After meeting a new student (Mila Kunis), the dancer unravels as she forces herself to be as evil as the black swan.

Only after I watched the movie, did I realise how well it tied in with my graduate collection. It combines all of the elements of what I am designing, which completely inspired me to get back to the drawing board.

All of this inspiration has finally come together with the 70 technical drawings that are due tomorrow :)
And the lack of sleep was well worth it.

Here are scenes from the movie that inspired me:

 The make up was fantastic.

Transition into the Black Swan.

Until we meet again
xxx

Design Indaba 2011

Well, after some serious sleep deprivation, it was off to the Design Indaba in Cape Town.

While I think that it is amazing that Cape Town can show its talent, I also believe that I have possibly seen the same things for the past four years.

It is a great opportunity for thousands of people to see your creations, and there is a huge possibility that you might get a larger client base. Therefore, it is a great marketing strategy to have a stall at the Indaba. Personally, Im not sure if I would want to show my garments at the Indaba, but then again, any publicity is good!

There were tons of ceramics, and plenty of couches (So many, that I was tempted to take a nap in one of them). There was a significant lack of clothing though, which I found strange, as there is so much emerging talent in this country.

With my camera in hand, I managed to sneak some photo's, even though they are never impressed that we take photographs. I personally don't understand this, as it is publicity.  And, don't stress people, I am not an interior designer, so I won't try and copy your designs :)

My favourite stall was the van der Merwe Miszewski Architects. They had plenty of scaled down house designs, and it transported me into a world of, "I WANT ONE OF THESE HOUSES"... Only to be brought back down to earth as I tripped over some contraption on the floor.

So with a very bruised foot, and some nice photographs, I decided it was time to go home and work on my own designs.

Until we meet again,
xxx

FEDISA at the Met

FEDISA students flocked to the J&B Met this January, with a large portion of them being spotted for the "Most Elegant Couple" competition.

My dear friends, Nicole and Gareth Haze, were kind enough to wear my creations. They were soon invited to take part in the competition. Even though they only made it to the semi-finals, it was great exposure for myself and FEDISA.

Carla Gordon, a fellow graduate student, won the competition, as well as some fabulous prizes. Congratulations, your creations were fantastic!

Here are some photographs of my creations from the J&B Met, courtesy of Nicole Haze:



Check out this video of Nicole Haze at the J&B Met on WinkBall:
http://www.winkball.com/walls/73IOY-7dzp_6/j-b-met-2011

Until we meet again.
xxx

Larger Than Life

While many students were lazing around during their summer holidays, us third years were busy preparing for the J&B Met. We were briefed, and sent off to design garments for the "Most Elegant Couple", and that is exactly what we did.  And it was a sight to behold.

On Saturday, the 22nd of January 2011, we set off to Cavendish Square for the judging. None of us ever thought it would be this intense! The winner was given a fast forward to the finals of the competition, and Robin - Lee Johnston just pulled it off immaculately.

Here are pictures of my vintage inspired corset dress:

I can't resist showing you Nicole Haze's design as well. A floaty, yet inspiring creation:

The next week, my wonderful friends Nicole and Gareth Haze wore my creations to the J & B  Met, and they were chosen as semi-finalists for the "Most Elegant Couple"!

But more on that next time...