Toile review- Jacket project

This was the first time in our Jacket project groups where we presented ourselves as a brand along with our designs, honestly this did not go a well as we had all hoped, with a sudden change of our target market the work we had done did not reflect this was of no one fault but our own and it was up to us to turn the situation around. However this was a huge learning curve for me as it made us pull together as a group even more so to work on the issues highlighted.

I also had to make quite a few changes in the design of the Jacket, this meant working very hard on changing the shape of the jacket whilst still keeping some of the design features.

Peclers Paris A/W 10-11

Today we had our annual visit from trend forecasters Peclers Paris. This focussed on the trends for A/W 2010/11. Peclers is used by many in the design industry and publish 2 magazines/ looks books annually that are filled with both imagery and texture.

The presentation consisted of four 'stories'

* Transmission

* Wild

* Dream

* Dimension

As you can by the names tell by the names the 'stories' take you through a series of different looks, textures and prints that are predicted to be popular in the season.

For many companies this is essential to be successful in the up and coming seasons to compete with their rivals.

Garment Tech.

Last year I found my interest lies in the role of a Garment Technician , this was through some lesson given last year, this year the lessons are much more in depth and I am really enjoying learning new techniques and skills being taught by Jo. In this lessons we have focused a lot on fit reports. This has made me look in a lot more detail at garments than i had done perviously .

This has also helped we in my design and construction work as I now look in more detail at the fit and have learnt how to produce fit reports that are similar to those used in the industry.

Kaledo

Kaledo is a new design program by Lectra that we have recently got in the studio. Over the past few weeks we have a series of short lessons on the basics of the program. Admittedly not being a massive fan of design programs preferring to do it by hand, I found this seems a fairly easy program to use and i can really see the advantages it could have especially with flat drawings. I am also interested in finding out what else it can do!!

Where does the future lead?

When preparing a presentation on where I am now, how I got there and where it could take me i first asked myself these questions.

What have I become good at? How have I become good at it?

I feel over the last year I have become good at being organized, always being quite an organized person it is now more important them ever. With an increasing amount of uni work, also managing a part time job managing time is so important.

My computer skills have also improved two years ago id do anything to avoid a computer, now i quite enjoy it. I believe this due to the constant practice on design programmes I have really seen the advantage of using a computer to do flat drawings, creating patterns and also creating design boards.

What do I feel good about?

At the moment I feel really good about where I want to go, being introduced to the role of a garment tech has really inspired me and given me something to aim for as this is a carrier i would like to do. Looking on job websites there a quite a few jobs going for this role, so i feel this is a realistic aim.

what learning experience had gone wrong and why?

5 people I believe are successful/inspiring?

Viviene Westwood

Tamsin Blanchard

Noki

Gok Won

Nelson Mandela

These people are really inspirational, they truly believe in what they stand for and encourage others to express them self to.

They do this by openly talking about and campaigning about such issues, I believe there determination is with drives them along with there opinions.

Geting back to grips with construction.

Admittedly over the summer break i didn't spend to much time over my sewing machine. Working 12-hours shifts at Tesco I found myself with very limited free time, however working so many hours this benefited me both financially but also with new skills, I found myself with more leadership responsibility and also with the responsibility of presenting the shop floor and doing a lot more visual merchandising then i would usually do. Also with the employment of new staff to help us with the busy few weeks it was a chance to meet new people, make new friends and train them up to me confident and comfortable in their new job role.

So now it is time to get back into construction mode. This is something i don't find to easy and have to have several attempts to get it right, however it is something i enjoy and with determination i hope to improve. After all practice makes perfect!!!

Back 2 uni, group project introduced.

After the long summer break, today we were introduced the group jacket project. Working in a team with two designers and three promoters we are to work together in producing a brand along with a collection of jackets. It will be my first time working on a project with a group of people over a period of time, so I' am looking forward to the new skills i will learn throughout the process as well as getting to know my fellow team mates.