African Headpiece

Accessories day.

For todays lesson with Claire one of our visiting tutors, were were asked to bring in item's collected for charity/second hand stores. It was amazing what everyone made i which I had photographed them all. To create my African headpiece i used a small box some popery, strips of wood from place mates and two napkins to secure it onto the head. I was really pleased with the outcome and is something I' am thinking about doing in the styling of my final collections.

Beautifully modeled by Steph.

Africa - Recycled

We have so much to learn from others. What has inspired me for this project and given me the drive is looking at different cultures and the way in which they recycle. Africa is one that really got me thinking societies there re-use and re-use objects until there is no use left.

I am looking to use fabric in much the same way by using the materials from unwanted garments in the creation of new ones and also looking at worn denim as this is a fabric that ages well.

What out there?....lets talk careers.

Working for the last three years on the clothing department at Tesco I am keen on developing my career here, i have been offered the opportunity to go on the management scheme this is something i had considered very carefully and although its a great opportunity I think my main interests lie within the manufacturing of garments. With the help of senior members at Tesco the best route for me to take is to go onto the graduate scheme that Tesco run. This sounds really appealing to me and is just what i want to do. This now gives me something to work towards and with the support from my managment it looks really hopeful.

Tesco graduate training scheme:

Product Technology - Fashion

Our fashion range is a great example of Tesco taking a new idea and really making it work.

These days, Tesco fashion has something for everyone, with prices to suit every pocket. The real success has been our brands, led by Florence + Fred and Cherokee – amongst the fastest growing fashion brands in the UK.

Garment Technologists play a hugely important role in setting the quality and fit of our ranges. Your unrivalled passion for the latest trends will ensure that you produce the best shape, style and colour for our customers for the best possible price. Not only will you get involved in new product development and will take on the responsibility for researching and implementing the latest trends. As a Graduate Trainee Garment Technologist you will also be responsible for the safety and legality of our garments, trims and accessories. All of this in addition to ensuring our supplier base conforms to our ethical codes. This is a huge and varied role where you will control the specification of an entire range of products, from our luxurious cashmere range to the latest catwalk-inspired dress.

This will be the main feature of my Five year plan, to get onto the graduate scheme a BA Degree is required. I hope to stay at the Arts University College Bournemouth to complete my degree to BA level. On completion on this I will then relocate to Heartfordshire to join the Tesco graduate scheme at head office. Here I will be a trainee Garment technologist, this will hopefully provide me with all the experience and skill I will need.I hope to stay here for three years then such for work with a more ethical response to fashion and its sourcing.

Denim - Chloe

For my collection this year i have chosen to work on the brief set by World Skills, this is to reinvent the Denim Jacket based on 2010-11 trends. Looking at Chloe's collection has given me a lot of inspiration, I really like the double Denim look which has been seen on many catwalks, it works really well here in Chloe's designs, i like the oversized look and the rolled up sleeves. This season it is double denim mad!

I find denim is such an interesting and durable fabric you can do all most anything with it. I cant wait to get experimenting with it and see what damage i can do.

Tesco Charity Fashion Show!

Tesco supports one main charity every year, throughout that year as a store we hold many events to raise as much money as we can for the charity the Tesco kindly double the money we raise. We have a charity committee that organize these events, some mouths ago I was approached by members of the committee and they told me of there ideas of a possible Fashion show to raise money. I immediately volunteered myself to help out at this event, after a few meetings we had all come up with different ideas about the show. I shared my opinions on what i thought makes a great show, being the only person that has attends fashion shows my views were some what different to others. This led on to me having full responsibility and organizing of the show with the help of the other members of the committee.

A huge amount of time to organize the event from advertising, getting modals, styling outfits, this required many late nights but i was really looking forward to the result. So the day came we had sold 300 tickets and it was time to make it work! With only a few problems including modals not turning up etc the first show went well, this was casual wear we then had a break and then showed he Christmas/ Evening wear. This went ever better (many as there were no children involved). At the end of the show i was presented with a huge bunch of flowers from the committee along with chocolates and wine from my manager, I was so embarrassed but really felt all the hard work I had done was appreciated. The show was now over and the stress had gone i was so relieved and we had raised over £2000 and also had a huge increase in sales that week. After the show many of the guests came up to me and told me how much they had enjoyed the show, I was so happy and felt really proud of what i had achieved. Cant wait to do it again next year!

SUBLET - eco apparel

SUBLET - eco apparel is a brand set up by two designers based in New York, as the name suggests the brand has very Eco ethics in all the designs they produce. Sublet is a brand that really appeals to me not only due to its ethical values but also i find the style of there designs really appealing as its not the typical styles you would expect to see from an Eco brand.

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.