The Big Idea

After watching 'The True Cost' we went away and done all our own research. We created two posters, the first one showing our idea generation process. We wanted to base our Big Idea on Ethical fashion and workers right, so initially we focused our research on that. we collected different articles so we found the main issues and events, we then done primary research where we created a survey to find out what the consumer would like our Big Idea to be like and to give us inspiration on our target audience. It helped us see there views and opinion about issues in the fashion industry. It was really interesting as we asked 'Have you ever bought an item of clothing from an eco friendly company' and a higher percentage said never. This made us think that it would be a good idea to create a stylish yet eco- friendly clothing line. We also found out that only 7% considered environmental and ethical issues whist shopping, this really inspired us to create a very interesting 'big idea' so everyone would consider these issues.

Idea generation process poster:

The 2nd poster summarised our big idea, we wanted our big idea to raise awareness to students of ethical and environmental issues connected with the fashion industry. Our big idea is to have a fashion show displaying all our eco friendly clothes in collaboration with Topshop. It will also be put on in the student union so all our target audience of students will be able to come and get inspired. The twist is at the back of the stage there will be workers making clothes, so you can see exactly how your clothes are made and by who.

 The Big Idea poster: 

TOPSHOP X #BEHINDTHESEAMS

Here is an illustration i done to see more visually what the event would look like: 

Thank you for reading. 

Charl

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The True Cost

For our next project we first watched 'The True Cost' to get relevant information about the environmental and ethical issues affecting the fashion industry. This helped me gain insight into what is happening in the world.

ABOUT

''This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?''

''Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.''

http://truecostmovie.com/about/

This was a very moving film that helped me get secondary research for my next project 'The big idea'. There are around 40 million garment workers, where 97% work abroad, where a lot of them are some of the lowest paid workers in the world. There is two sides to a story and some people say that they choose to work and that theres a lot worse they could be doing; however after many incidents such as the Rana Plaza Disaster- (which killed more than 1000 people), it really proves that the industry needs to change, especially as its such a popular industry to work in. 1/6 people in the world today work in the global fashion industry. 

Aswell as human rights, environmental problems are also a massive impact on the world. Cotton produces the fibre that is responsible for most of the clothing worn by the world today, as its in so much demand the cotton plant is being reengineered to keep up with the industry. Textile waste is also causing a massive problem, its non bio degradable which means it just sits on land fields while releasing harmful gases into the air. With all these problems considered fashion today is the 2nd most polluting industry, just behind oil.

Many fashion designers are now trying to change this, such as Stella McCartney who is ''trying to do it in a way, less harmful to the planet''.

FACTS

• 20% of the global industrial water pollution comes from the treatment and dying of textiles.
• 20,000 deaths per year as a result of pesticide poisoning. 
• 350,000 tonnes of clothes go to the land fields each year, which take around 200 years to decompose. 
• 2nd most polluting industry- deaths are cause from air pollution.
• 750 million people around the world lack water, however loads is used to produce clothing.

After all the research i found out, we now need to produce a 'Big Idea' to help raise awareness of the environmental and ethical issues connected with the fashion industry. 

Thank you for reading

Charlotte

Serious slashes // final mood boards

For our final piece we had to compose 4 mood boards on trend forecast, media, retail and consumer based on our trend serious slashes. 

TREND FORECAST

For the first mood board we analyse our A/W forecast serious slashes and put all our research into a physical mood board. We went on Buisness of Fashion and WGSN and found all examples of our trend, aswell as history or the trend. We found lots of different examples of this trend for all different styles of clothes.

 

MEDIA 

For the second mood board we found secondary research about the trend and found the publics opinions on it. We found many articles negative and positive about the trend, there was a lot of negative comments on Kylie Jenners jeans with rips at the bum. For slashes in evening wear, we found many articles mentioning how this trend is very up and coming and suitable for all ages.

          RETAIL 

For the retail board we went into many shops and found how slashes have been adopted by retailers and brands. This helped us see what kind of shops sell our trend, evening wear with slashes was being sold in high end shops, such as House of Fraser and Selfridges. Knitwear with slashes was being sold in high street brands with a consumer of a older age, such as Marks and Spencer's and ripped jeans were being sold in shops such as Topshop and River island.

CONSUMER

For the consumer board we wanted to see how the consumers have adapted our trend slashes. We took street style photos of the public adopted our trend. we managed to find quite a few examples for all the categories such as evening wear, casual wear and denim. We also had a survey so we could see the opinion on the trend.

So these are our final 4 mood boards showing everything about the trend 'serious slashes'. I really enjoyed this project and it was interesting having to go and find the trend your self in the shops and from people wearing it. 

charl 

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Serious slashes // primary research

So carrying on from my last blog post, it was now the stage at where we had to find our own research.   This proved to be quite difficult finding people wearing slashes considering it is winter, however somewhat relating to slashes are ripped jeans, these are a massive trend recently so we managed to find a variety of examples on the high street. Slashes are a very recent trend so perhaps they evolved from ripped jeans as they have been around for ages.

     

We first found lots of pairs of ripped jeans used for visual merchandising. The example to the left is how they could be styled for the winter and the image on the right is jeans styled for a night out; this proves that they are very versatile for different occasions. 

     

 I then went to find some street style of the public wearing slashes, above i took a photograph of someone wearing ripped jeans styled with a bomber for a more casual look.

     

For this next outfit the girl was wearing ripped jeans and a slash in her jumper, however the slash on her jumper was a bit different, they added a zip so you could choose if you want it undone or done up- this is a nice alternative to a normal slash. 

We also found many other example that we're going to include on our 4 posters! 

Thanks for reading

Charl

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Serious slashes // secondary research

For my first project at uni we got put into groups and got given a trend that we would have to research in order to create 4 mood boards. We had to compose the mood boards on trend forecast, media, retail and consumer.

Our trend was 'Serious Slashes'; I've never really heard of this trend however once i started looking into it i released how big it is getting. Slash means "cut with a wide, sweeping movement, typically using a knife or sword." This trend is very similar to slits and rips however slashes are more clean open cuts in a garment.

    

These are some examples of the trend being used. Above both Taylor Swift and Cara Delevingne are wearing slashes incorporated into a dress, this is promoting it to everyone who looks up to these celebs. 

Slashes in knitwear is usually put in for a more practical reason, the slashes at the side of the jumper make it more comfy with a loose fit. 

Overall i found a range of different examples where slashes have been used, including both evening wear and casual wear. For my next part of the project I'm going to find my own examples of primary research where I've seen slashes being sold in shops and wore by the public.

Keep an eye out for my next post on serious slashes

charl 

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Art and Design at College

Magazine i made for my FMP

So a few months ago i finished college, Ive spent the past 2 years studying Art and Design. Overall i have really enjoyed it and I am so glad i done it, even though it got very stressful. During the first few months in year 1 we had to do all different specialisms in Art, this included: Fashion and textiles, drawing, graphic design, contextual studies, photography, animation and 2d/3d fine art. At first all i wanted to do was textiles, however the more i had to be involved in the other specialisms, the more i enjoyed them. As we got into year 2 we could pick two parts to specialise in, i choose fashion and textiles and graphic design as this was when we had more control. As it got later in the year we started our final major project, for me this was the highlight of the course, we had complete control right from the start which included writing are own brief. For are FMP we were advised to only do one specialism however i wanted to do fashion/textiles, photography and graphics. I wanted to incorporate these all so i could create something linked to what i want to do in the future, i ended up making a variety of things including a magazine, a dress, skirt and fabric magazine. 

Dress i made

Overall i really loved my college course, i feel like i really made the most of it by linking whatever i did to fashion, which made me have a keen interest. For my course i received Distinction Distinction Distinction.

Top tips: 

Try and link different specialisms and projects to your interests i.e. i made a fashion magazine for graphics

DONE GET BEHIND - once you get behind and leave it till the week, it all piles up and you end up having sleepless nights. This also means you might not be able to get your work to the highest standard

Do want YOU want and don't follow what your friends are doing - you all have different interests so do what you have a passion for 

Do lots of planning and research and include it in sketchbooks 

When applying to uni make sure you do it well in advance do you have time to create a good portfolio

Thanks for reading

Charl 

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Must haves...

As its now approaching autumn its time to revamp your wardrobe, Ive found and selected a few items you NEED right now. So if you're on a budget and want to find some new staples of clothing you're in the right place.

Wearing a little tee under a slinky cami style top/dress is very on trend this year, it is perfect for college or casual days out paired with some tights and little black boots. 

This is a edgy sweatshirt dress with minimal rips which i love. i would personally style this with a pair of over the knee black boots with a red lipstick to achieve a bold look.

         

This pair of khaki trousers put with a pair of heels and black shirt would achieve the perfect smart look. However you could style them with this embroidered bomber jacket and a tight white top for a more casual look.

          

Even though its getting colder you can still wear your light colours... just wear them right! I think these mom jeans would look perfect with this faux suede pink biker jacket, the badges on the jeans make the jacket match really well for a girly look. If its cold, pair with a white knitted jumper under the jacket with some white trainers.

These are a few looks i would wear during the autumn. I like to mix up my style so I've included a range of trends so hopefully one of these looks would be right for you!

Charl 

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