PHOTOSHOOT

Sustainable Futures* - Exhibition

Being such a topical issue at present I would imagine there are a lot of similar exhibitions around at the moment, this at the Design Museum being fairly small it gave an example from each area of design.
Packaging:

Great exhibition at the Design Museum: Fashion

Trend Spotted, Sartorialist style.

During my visit to London whilst being a bit lost to be honest i was approached by two ladies, they began to tell me that they were setting up a trend site focusing on tribal fashion. They wanted to take a photo of me and what I was wearing to post on to it. I was quite flattered and agreed, i was wearing skinny jeans turned up, printed pumps, and orange, black and white tribal print silk top and a denim jacket, accessorized ... embarrassingly the top was from Tesco but luckily they didn't ask. We then went on to have quite a long convocation and i told them about my collection, they seemed really interested to feature it, we have exchanged contact information so fingers crossed something may happen with that.

Fabrics Sorted!

I had a successful shop in london, here are the results:

Design Museum - London

The Design Museum london was the perfect place to go and carry out some more research this week, not only did they have the Urban africa exhibition and the sustainable sources exhibition i also found these interesting finds that relate well to my project.

URBAN AFRICA EXHIBITION BY DAVID ADJAYE

Today I went went to London for two reason 1 to get fabric and the other to see this amazing exhibition, looking through my blog its clear to see i have a bit of an african thing going on at the moment. This exhibition by Photographer David Adaye shows his trip around Africa, he traveled all over, his aim to capture and show like in the different areas in Africa. Looking at the exhibition it was just like looking through someone's holiday photographs. They were set out in there areas so you could really see the difference in each area.

It was well worth the trip and I am now even more excited to be going to Africa.

The Sartorialis.

The book and the man everyone has been talking about, I finally got the book a few weeks and its so interesting just having a quick flick through. This is to a must have book for any fashionista and blog lover.

The story behind that 99pence top.

We now live in a world of fast fashion, where what you wear this week may be different from the next. This would not be possible without the aid and developments of new technologies and communication. This essay will investigate the power and responsibility of fast fashion. Is fast fashion throwaway fashion? I will also be looking into the consequences of the fast throw away fashion, consumer and the eco fashion brands and campaigns opposing what seems to be dominating the fashion industry in recent years.

This essay will explore the consumer’s responsibility within the industry in the choices they make and how they affect the rest of the world both ethically and environmentally. To do this I will gather a range of opinions related to this topic as well as contacting clothing designers/ brands to find out if they feel any responsibility for the damaging effects they may be creating within their business.

I set out to make people aware of what is going on behind the scenes of our ‘glamorous fashion industry’ focusing on budget retailers, as well as exploring them for myself, the reasons behind throw away fashion and what we as consumers can do to help what is going on behind closed doors with just our spending power. I do this in hope that others can be aware of these issues and may think more carefully about that 99 pence top that lasted until the first time it was washed.

Until the early 1960’s the world fashion scene was dominated by a long list of French designers such as Dior, Givenchy, Balmain and Bealenciaga. Affordable only to high-class society. Mass production of these garments was not an option not only because demand for the garments was not at the level we see today where mass production is needed, but the technology was not there to be put into action at the time. Finely honed crafts people specialising in pattern making, sewing and cutting in the production of garments were used in the manufacture of these garments.

In Europe and the USA from the 1960’s and especially in the last twenty years there have been dramatic changes in the structure of the fashion industry, this is due to the quick response fashion requires. This ranges from high fashion exclusives to the great number of named designers and brands on the international fashion scene. This provides the average consumer with a very wide choice of fresh and original designs, due to the huge amount of fashion designers and brands it is now even more important to make sure your label is creating the latest on trend designs and that they are sent out for manufacturing as soon as possible. To secure success the use of up-to-date technology is vital to get the designs out to the customer as soon as possible. Without the use of these technologies your designs would be dated by the time they reach the shop floor.

‘ Fast Fashion is like fast food its cheap, addictive and unsustainable’ – Ethical Fashion Form 2006

Improvements need to be made now.

Job Search.

Recently I have been thinking about my career, I have previously blogged about my 5 year plan and my career aims with Tesco. However i have now started to explore other companies to try and broaden my contacts in the industry. I have signed up to a career website called 'Jobrapido' they send me emails every-time a job comes up that matches my interests. Although I am not currently looking for a job reading them shows me what employers are looking for and what jobs there are out there for the future.

Bellow are the details for my dream job, this prompted me to contact Fat Face inquiring about the possibilities of a work placement. I couldn't believe how quick they were to respond, after a few days of talks and e-mails they have offered me a 3 week placement in the garment tech department. I am so excited, cant wait!

Job Details

Garment Technologist Ref 1279 Region UK Location South Division Fat Base Specialisation Buying Job Description To implement the Technical / supplier strategy for area of responsibility, driving continual improvement in product and process. To manage the development and production of product ensuring that the quality meets our customers expectations, while maximising launch availability and margin. Requirements Knowledge of developing product for fit, quality and performance Experience of successfully implementing strategy Professional qualification in Fashion, Clothing or Textiles Thorough knowledge of garment construction , pattern cutting techniques and the fitting process Good knowledge of fabric testing standards and care labelling Some knowledge of garment wash techniques/ processes A good understanding of fashion retail processes A good understanding of the Fat Face competition and their product A good understanding of Garment production systems An understanding of ethical sourcing

Up Dated the CV.

Emily Jane Knight

3 Chichester Walk / Wimbourne, BH21 1SL

Mobile: 07756476784

Tel: 01202 842275

emz_lee@hotmail.com

Currently studying at Bournemouth Arts University College in the second year of a Fda degree in Fashion, during this course I have learnt pattern cutting skills, construction techniques, learnt how to develop designs to produce collections and along side this learnt how to use essential computer program’s used in the industry such as Lectra and illustrator. I have created a Blog www.emilyjane90.blogspot.com, this allows me to express feelings and information about issues in the fashion industry focusing largely on fashion ethics, keep updated and also reflect back upon.

Employment history and work Experience:

Tesco Clothing – Customer Assistant June 2007 – Current

Working on the clothing department at Tesco for almost three years it has given me a clear understanding of fashion retail once on the shop floor. From pre-sorting the delivery, visual merchandizing, marking down, ensuring the POS is up at the appropriate times and of course assisting those all-important customers working as part of a team and supporting each other is key. Here I have learnt many people skills working in a team of twenty and also in meeting and responding to customers. Gaining more responsibility in this role has enabled me to direct a team to ensure work is complete.

Kite Kids – Assistant Garment technologist (Work Experience) June 2009

Here I learnt some basic skills in garment technology, this mainly involved producing size specifications for many garments and comparing Kite Kids sizing to their competitors. I also produced a series of price benchmarking documents again comparing kite Kids to their competitors. To complete these tasks being organized was key due to the large amount of garments I had to measure. Communication was also vital.

On/Off: London Fashion Week September 2009 – front of house staff and backstage dresser.

Working at London fashion week was an amazing experience, being at the forefront of the fashion industry for the week was so inspiring, being at front of house having people skills was essential in meeting and greeting of the invited guests as was being organized was key to make sure the guests were in the right places at the right time. Being a backstage dresser was most defiantly an experience, keeping calm and a level head was most defiantly needed to cope with the stress and madness that happens backstage at a fashion show.

Oxfam Poole February 2007 - April 2008

Whilst studying for my A-levels I volunteered at my local Oxfam shop, being a keen supporter of Oxfam and everything it does I wanted to help them out and also experience second hand retail. Here I found out first hand about clothing recycling a topic I have huge interest in and also got to mix with like-minded people who were all there to help out and do some good.

Education:

Bournemouth Arts University college	September 2008- May 2011	Grade
Fashion Design & Technology – BA Degree	September 2010 – May 2011	To be completed
Fashion – Fda Degree	September 2008 – May 2010	To be completed

Poole High school	September 2002 – July 2008
A- Levels		Grade
Media	July 2008	C
Textiles	July 2008	C
AS levels
Art	July 2008	C
Photography	July 2008	B

GCSE		Grade
Art	July 2006	C
English	July 2006	C
History	July 2006	C
Math’s	July 2006	C
Religious Education	July 2006	D
Science x2	July 2006	CC
Textiles	July 2006	B

Alongside studying and working in my spare time being lucky enough to live so close to the beach and countryside I love being outside. Camping, cycling and swimming are my main outdoor interests.

Traveling has become a recent interest of mine, gaining huge inspiration from different cultures. Just a few weeks ago I traveled to Germany to study at a Berlin University, this was a great experience and really opened my mind to new ways and approaches of learning.

Africa Fashion week 2010 - highlights

Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring Summer 2010

Fat Face - Recycled bag, what a fab idea to make use of unsalable stock!

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

For the last few mouths I have been collecting unwanted denim from friends and family to use in my collection, I am so pleased with what I have managed to get my hand hands on.

Fat Face Summer 2010- Love it!!

Check out the new Fat Face wrist band " Rent The House Sell The Car Keep Your Jeans" now you can even wear Fat Face in the shower!

Fat Face is perhaps one of my favorite brands, recently Fat Face have opened a store just up the road from me in Wimbourne my wardrobe is increasingly getting FAT FACED out!

ASOS AFRICA

It seems as though everyone has gone African mad, Asos has launched its 'asos AFRICA' collection, this is made from sustainable sources and has key ethical values. It is beautiful.
"On our continuing quest to find new inspiration, we recently spent time in Africa working with artisans and smaller producer groups. The vibrancy of the continent inspired us to create the ASOS Africa collection with the aim of supporting trade in Africa. The ASOS Africa collection will be housed within the Green Room, a new marketplace on ASOS.com which brings together and highlights brands that promote people and the planet."

Design Devlopment

So I have talk a lot about Kaledo in the last few posts, this is what i have been up to. I have created Color pallets from some of my most inspiring images using both color blocks on Kaledo and also my own fabrics that i have scanned in. After a lot of playing around with different fabrics and color I have chosen these fabrics for my collection. Kaledo has enabled me to develop my designs and to give me a clear view as to what may collection will look like when complete.

Company High-Street Edit

My new fav magazine, whilst flicking through the magazines I came across it. The layout is unlike any other magazine, it is more similar to a look book, each page has a different theme and background and it isn't printed on that horrible glossy paper that are hard to turn the page.

I was so excited about this find i took it out with me that night to show like minded friends..... I think they all now own a copy.

Kaledo why do you keep crashing on me?

Following my last blog about Kaledo I couldn't say a bad word about it, whilst i still enjoy using it now I have really got into it we have occurred a problem..... it keeps crashing and i am losing my work. Not knowing the ins and outs of computers at all I think the basic reason is that it is getting over loaded. This is the first time anyone has started scanning in fabrics to use on their designs so I guess I am the Guinea pig here.

With the help from IT and Uni it came down to phoning Lectra, whom have an amazing help line, they can take control of you computer their end and do all the checks etc that they have to do. This saves a huge amount of time for both parties. At first we thought we had cracked it, so simple but it is something we didn't think off, the resolution of the scanned fabrics was to high causing the program to crash. This was great as i could now change it and get on ......it crashed again. Roger at Lectra then thought it may be a problem with Microsoft , changes had to be made to the settings. Fingers crossed it is now all sorted.

Change your world and your warrdrobe

Last summer i read this book and i recommend everyone else to do the same. Written by Tamsin Blanchard and forword by Lily Cole it is a Vogue 'must-read'. As the name suggests it is all about ethical fashion and tells of small changes that you can make that could make a huge difference.

' For Girls who care about global warming, and the next seasons hot looks, Green is the New Black is a must-have accessory. From the truth about fast fashion to the best biodegradable shoes, from guilt-free spending sprees to the joys of swishing parties, this is the chicest, greenest survival manual around. If you want to change the world, and your wardrobe, don't go shopping without it'

My new LOVE!! Kaledo

I have perviously mentioned Kaledo on this blog, i am now a Kaledo addict!. Not usually being one for computers I really benefited from the one - one lesson on Kaledo and it has helped me so much. As I am using a series of different printed fabrics i was finding hard to visualise what it would look like and how the prints would look together.

Kaledo allows you to scan in any chosen fabric and place it and scale it onto your design. I really enjoy using this program and am now helping others with it.... this is something i never thought I would be able to do.

Film & Culture 'INVICTUS'

Admittedly I have become obsessed with Africa, always having a interest in Nelson Mandela I couldn't wait to go and see Invictus. The Film gave a real sense of pride that Africa has to its people and highlighted those people that are responsible for making south Africa a place to be safe for all races and just how much strength belief has.

Acid wash!

This is one of my Toiles, i have tried to get an acid wash look here on the denim, so far I have experimented with two ways. Firstly i used natural un-dyed Denim tied string around and submerged it in a blue Denim dye. secondly I used blue Denim again tied string around it but put it in bleach, but only for a short while so it didn't start to root away at the fabric.

I found the second worked best for me and gave the look I wanted.

Destination : BERLIN

This was our first trip abroad at University and my first ever flight and it was so good!

One of the main reasons of going was to set up a link between our university and one in Berlin, this was an amazing experience to see how things were done their compared to here. whilst there we also visited an exhibition by the students at the University the quality of there work was incredible and i really enjoying viewing it.

During the visit we also got the chance to go site seeing and went on a guided tour, there was so much to take in due to the amount of history Berlin has it was all so interesting.

Being Fashion students of course we went shopping too

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Recommended books, they are great.

If I didn't have these book I don't know where i would be, they are a must have for any fashion students, it has everything you need to know, all the information is useful and you can really connect with it as they use examples of other students work.

Africa In Vogue!

Africa now seems to be everywhere and I love it!

Here are some of the best looks i have seen and taken from Vogue.

Duro olowu s/s 09

Duro Olowu is a fab designer creating ready to wear pieces, the x banker mixes these great prints and original shapes together making his designs very distinctive. He always uses black modals which is just perfectly complimenting to the rich vibrant colors that are so often seen in his designs.His style has given me so much inspiration for the final project and will feature heavily in my research.

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MOTHO

Okay so i have talked about the different ideas for my collection, lets get personal.

My collection is based upon recycling and the use of tribal prints my main influences have come from Africa. Over ten years ago I meet Motho, she had come to stay with her Aunt to study in England, she had moved here from Botswana, Africa. We soon became the best of friends just living a few doors away from each other. After a few years she went back to Botswana to see her Family, being only young I don't think we knew just how far away we both lived from each other.

Motho didn't come back to finish her studies and decided to stay in Africa, we lost contact and hadn't spoken in years. Doing all this research on Africa I couldn't stop thinking about her and i made up my mind i was going to try and get back in contact with here her. That week I was at work and her aunt who i hadn't seen in years came in shopping, I couldn't believe it she recognised me and told me how Motho was always asking after me. What a small world! Through that I am now back in contact with Motho, who is now an Accountant in Botswana.

If all goes to plan I am going to visit Motho in Botswana this December. This have given me so much inspiration for my collection and Motho has kindly sent me some fabrics to use.

Prints/ Fabrics

Fabrics are key in producing a collection that works, the texture, weight and drape are all things to consider. Color and prints is what my collection is all about and making the right choices on these will make or brake it. I have gathered many samples here and am now in the process of putting them together.

I love them all!!

1 day shirt project.

Today we had another lesson with Claire who is just FAB and such an inspiring and motivating person i love the lesson with her they are so creative and soooo beneficial. We were each in pairs given a second hand mens shirt to style/reinvent . Sticking to my brief i chose to add in some Denim to relate to my current professional project. I really enjoyed the task it was good to work in reverse and start with an original garment and altering it and adding bits on to change the original garment look. I also added the kimono style belt that links my collection together as well as experimenting with attaching the button whole strips which is one of my ideas for the Denim Jacket.

JUNKY

Junky Styling is a brand i have been interested in for a long while, loving the recycled look and the clever way they reinvent garments i decided to make a trip. It was great to see all the garments and to look and see how they were put together. It must have been my lucky day, one of the designers were in the store and only to happy to answer question and give information. It was so inspiring and well worth the visit.

LOVE JUNKY!

Oxford ST. (jan 10)

Visiting London is always great, I visited mainly to go to Junky Styling in brick lane and also to visit some fabric shops in Soho however a trip to London is not complete without looking around some shops on Oxford St and off coarse doing some research at the same time. I was delighted to see this in H&M's window, they currently have several items based around an African theme.