September Update

Hello everyone,
So, it's still been quiet on the blog lately, sorry about that. There is still SO MUCH happening right now! I am currently working on external exams and balancing it with show work. Some of it I still can't talk about, but I should be able to soon. So exciting!

Last month I was in the Oxford Wearable Arts event. I wore the Geometric Reflection garment one last time and it was a lot of fun. There was such a variety of designs and a lot of work that went into the show.

Here is just a quick snap of part of the show:

There are three fashion events coming up later this month and in early October. Tomorrow something very exciting is happening so I hope to keep you posted on this!

I have set up a new twitter, it is partially linked with my Stardoll account there but I am currently posting work in progress shots of the garments to be featured in Canterbury Fashion Week. I am about halfway done with the collection so there is still a lot more to come! Click here to have a look.

I have also updated the Facebook page! The banner for this blog is also being worked on so that should be up soon.

Thank you so much to everyone for your patience and support. The year isn't even over yet and still it has well surpassed my initial beliefs of what can be acheived. Love you all ♥

Making of Garment: Geometric Reflection

Hello everyone,
Here is a quick video showing what went into making the latest garment.
I was on a tight schedule to make it (less than three weeks) so it was pretty intense!
My apologies for the workspace background, it's not the prettiest setting.
The video is below:

 
The paper mache took a day to dry per layer. It was VERY strong in the end however and stood up well to the weight of the mirrors. The dress itself weighs about 10kg and I had to wear it for at least an hour at a time. Let's just say that it is as comfortable to wear as it looks (a cardboard corset!) But there was foam padded inside which made it easier. This garment was never intended for comfort but rather a visual avant garde focus.

The light battery packs are hidden under the skirt and are glued into place. They need to be turned on before wearing the dress as the model is laced into the construction. It's pretty easy to put on and take off but an assistant is needed to tie up the laces.

I learnt a LOT making this. BE PREPARED FOR THE UNEXPECTED! I ordered about 500 mirrors thinking that was plenty - big mistake! I had to order more and they arrived the day before the submission date for the show! That's why you see me working late in my pyjamas in the video :)

Using electronics in fashion is such a cool thing also. If you are a creative person I highly recommend getting some electroluminescent wire. Mine cost about $10(NZD) each and they can be used for pretty much anything. With a few of the leftover wires I attended a concert and they work really well as arm wraps/bracelets. This garment used about 3 wires to outline the structure, each wire is about 3m long.

So yeah! It was a fun experience to work on the garment along with the fashion week events. It felt good to recycle a lot of old papers and card lying around the home and make it into something new.
Let me know what you think! ♥

Video - Stardoll-ify my Design: Geometric Reflection

Here is the video of how the Stardoll version was made.
Enjoy! ♥

Stardoll Version: Geometric Reflection

Hello everyone ♥
The graphic of the geometric dress is now completed!
It's been a long time coming sorry, i'm in the middle of organising for events so the graphic schedule has been put on hold. But, there are some awesome projects coming up soon so keep on the lookout! :)

Here is the final graphic, and look! It's animated! :D

The light up areas was where the Electroluminscent Wire was placed on the real garment. If any dollies would like a tutorial on animating simple graphics then let me know - this was done in Photoshop and converted into a gif file.

And here is the cover image. :)

Right now I can't say much about current fashion projects, but I am redesigning TheMetallicWing's logo and sorting out The Stardoll Graphic Corner. I am having issues with TSGC so I may have to do all my posts on this blog until it is fixed! Sorry for any confusion.

On Sunday the speed video of making this graphic will be up and over the next week I will post how the Geometric Dress was made in real life!

Love you all ♥

Geometric Reflection

Hello everyone,
It has been a busy few months! Sorry, it's been difficult to balance my work with my online profiles so it's been pretty quiet here.

I recently took part in Canterbury Fashion Week. It was a great experience to work with designers and see the workings backstage. There was an emerging designers section for the event which focused on the concept of 'Illuminating Fashion' which is what I participated in.

The criteria mainly focused on combining lighting with fashion. I decided to experiment with avant-garde and create a dress which was very geometrical and structured. I struggle to remember how many hours it took to make but we has about three weeks to submit it. Let's just say that I was up till 2am the night before the submission date -- the schedule was pretty tight! But worth it in the end.

The dress was made from nearly all recycled materials. Card and paper mache was used for the base, then coated in black paint. The lighting was wired in and then each mirror was glued in by hand. I think I used 800-900 mirrors by the time it was done. I don't want to do that again for a long time. 

It was a little different for this show because I was modelling myself. It was pretty interesting to manage this because to fit the garment requires two people. Luckily with some assistance it went very well and it was a great experience being to walk down the catwalk.

I hope to post more info and how it was made very soon, in the meantime, here is some of the images of the garment from the fashion show.

Thank you Forever Young Photography for the images! <3

Lace Cape: Stardoll Version

Hello Everyone ♥
For you lovely Dolls, this is the Stardoll version of the Lace Cape.
I tried to make it a posed item also, so it works with the traditional Stardoll Pose :)

Below is a recording of the creation of the graphic but sadly the first 25 minutes (of real-time recording) of it became corrupted :c

So, I did my best to salvage what's left, speed it up and put it into the video below:

Sorry about the missing parts, I really should update my recorder.

♥

So, what do you think? :)

While I am currently working on another garment, once it is released there probably won't be another one until April... or even August! I'm sorry, it's mainly because the projects I am planning on doing are working under secrecy (following education conduct, event rules etc.). So while I will be working very hard, I can't show any actual garments for a while.

It's senior year for me at school, and probably the last year the hiatus will be a problem. The year will be full of opportunities and changes, of which I hope will open up possibilities for more designing in the future.

But, there will still be plenty of content for the blogs, there are fashion tutorials being made and I have been working on uploading extra content such as photoshoot outtakes and vlogs. So, even though there will be no garments for a while, there should be fashion sketches and things which still relate and should be just as interesting c:

Please let me know what you would like to see from me throughout the year either in the comments or on my Stardoll Page. Your opinion helps and I really appreciate it!

Lace Cape: Design and Construction Notes

Hello Everyone ♥
Today I will briefly talk about the processes that went in behind making the Lace Cape. This is defiently not one of my bigger projects so there is less to talk about the inspiration and the work that went into the final product but I hope that this is still interesting and helps provide a perspective to what anyone can do to practice techniques and get better at designing/sewing. :)

As this was more of a personal project, I did not do as much design development as I would normally do before having a finalized design. But for any design one wants to make, the best thing to do is to write down your ideas. Even if you are completely sure of what you want to do, things can change once it is put onto paper, and it is mostly for the better. Plus, forgetting your idea is the worst thing you can do, and if you don't write it down that will happen. Sadly I know it from experience.

Here are my brief notes and ideas written down before the design was finalized. It is very rough as all design development should be, because it is about expressing your ideas instead of having to worry about the overall presentation.

It's probably a bit hard to read, but my main idea was to make a cape that linked to my Spring Cardigan garment with the materials used but to have a more bold shape (silhouette) to it.

Relating to what I said before about writing down your ideas; I originally intended to have a geometric design on the back, but when looking at it in a sketch, I realized that this design would clash with the flow of the circular cut of the cape. Instead, I chose on vertical panelling, which is when you put different types fabric next to each other, like stripes.

Below is the final design. Just a quick watercolour and pen sketch to help get a better idea on what I am going to make.

When the time came to make the garment, I did not make or use a pattern! This pretty much means that this is a one-of-a-kind piece which I cannot make just like the original. It also means that I working practically blind, so i'm making it up as I go along! If you're new to sewing or want to have something perfectly made, I do not recommend doing this. I already know the techniques that were needed to make the cape so I was confident in how it would turn out. I only work without patterns when i'm doing small projects so it isn't the norm for me.

I started with cutting a 1/4 of a circle for the back of the cape, measuring out from the neckline. With the leftovers (as this was a scrap of material from an earlier project - recycling, yay!), I cut two scalene triangles which match the sides of the circle. The front was intended to be longer than the front but should match up together at the seam. The lace overlay was cut to watch the triangles and then stitched (basted) together.

The lining was also cut at the same time in a white satin.

'Baste' Definition: Temporarily joining fabric together by sewing. It is used to hold the fabric in place.

A panel of lace was cut to fit the back and then basted to place. On top of the stitching and the, reflective tape was pinned and stitched on top.

(Do you like my pin cushion buy the way? Cupcakes~)

This is when I attached the circle to the funny-looking triangles and did the same to the lining. This brings both the front and the back together so the armholes can be fitted. The armholes are halfway down the seam so I just left a gap in both the lining and outer piece and attached the spaces together. It sounds a little weird, but hear me out, it worked just fine xD

Then sequins were attached on the shoulders and back cape in-between the lining (so it cannot be seen). Afterwards the welt pockets were pinned and sewn into place.

To match the white satin of the pockets, I used white trimming for the neckband. On top of it the button and fastener was sewn on. Then the lining was sewn into the top layer of fabric and voilà! It is done~

You can also see the reflective tape in action. So shiny~ :)

So, I hope that this shows what went into making this garment. It's pretty casual in construction and there is more that can be done to make the piece work better to intentions, but doing smaller projects really helps to practice sewing and desgning. There is also a feeling of fulfillment when your own original design can actually be touched and worn in real life. Don't sit there wondering how your design will look, just make it. Even if you don't know how, just experiment! It's the only way ♥