Handcrafts, stories & friends: fashion design

Showing posts with label fashion design. Show all posts

Sunday, August 11, 2013

VOGUE nostalgia

Sometimes I think my interest in fashion is a paradox, as I am not what you call a fashionista, not even close to it. I see fashion more from a sociological perspective, and I am interested to discover how women and their role in society have evolved in relation to fashion. But this is another story, and I just mentioned it to introduce one of the most thoughtful presents I have ever received, a book with a collection of fashion drawings from Vogue magazine, starting from 1920s to the 1980s. A beautiful book of "marvellously fresh and alive" drawings.

I am not going to pretend I know what the author is talking about. I am reading, watching, discovering and learning. What I understand is that the author, William Packer, is nostalgically looking back at the times where beauty and fashion were more intimately related to art, and is trying to revive the passion of fashion drawing (not fashion design!) in young artists today.

"Photography is not the answer, and anyway it has become very boring, repetitive and limited, especially in the fashion magazines. [...] Preparing the model, the make-up, the lights: it is all related to the theatre really, in a way that drawing never is. You can train yourself to observe and remember, to absorb and recreate, but the camera can only deal with what is in front of it, at the time. Whether from memory and experience or from the model, the artist works in his own time, simplifying and transforming what he sees and know into something of his own." (David Hockney in Preface)

I leave you with some snapshots from the book, it is a must have for any aspiring fashion designer, drawing artist, or just anyone who loves art and beauty.

Thank you Marie for an amazing present!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Inspired by... my sister

Today I will start a feature "Inspired by..." and the first post is dedicated to my beautiful sister, who inspired me to design this dress. We will also try to make the real thing, with the help of a tailor, so hopefully soon I will post a picture with the real model wearing the real dress. Wish us good luck :)

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Never stop dreaming

When we get to a certain age, we tend to feel shy about our deepest dreams... It would sound ridiculous for me to say now (at 33) that I want to be a ballerina. But that is what I used to say as a child, as many other girls I guess. I think the desire of being a ballerina is rather symbolic. Our intuition as little girls relate us to the values attached to it: grace, balance, harmony, beauty...

The decision of taking a fashion design course was not about me wanting to make clothes, sell them and make money. It was about dreaming and searching for my true self.

Never stop dreaming, and if you feel like there is something about you that you need to explore, do it. You never know where this will take you, but it will certainly be a better place.

My last piece of drawing (the pose was inspired by a painting).

Learning to draw human bodies is not only useful for fashion design.

I have't said too much about the place where my introduction to design / drawing happened.

It is the Dubai International Art Centre.

Check their website, they have lots of new courses coming.

Our dear teacher Dyali, she is great and I can only hope that all the teachers are as good as her.

PS I didn't mention something so far: there were ten of us starting the course, only four actually finished. I was the only one who attended all the classes, and I am probably the only one who started to blog about it :)

Friday, May 31, 2013

Practice makes a master (and brings out the magic)

Someone said something similar, and at the moment there are two new areas in my life where I am experiencing on my own skin how can practice make you better: my fashion design course and yoga.

With yoga I am trying to bond for the past five years, and only few months ago i managed to get into a practice routine that unveiled the magical touch yoga can bring in my life. The result, I feel like I can't live without it and from now on, I am sure nothing will stop me finding the time for yoga, no matter how busy I am. I have to add one little comment, practice is important, but a great teacher will inspire you to find the love for for practice.

As per my fashion design course, I don't feel I practice as much as I should, but I am always alert to absorb any knowledge that is coming my way. Although I used to say I am not that interested in creating gowns, I can understand why everyone is doing it and why girls love so much to dress up - it is like bringing a little bit of magic from the fairies land into our lives.

That's what I done today. I wanted to practice more the rendering of different fabrics: satin, lace, tulle.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Fifth week of fashion design course - Use your talents

So we finished the first half of the fashion design course and I must say I can see some progress, if I am not too critical with myself. Yesterday I was not the most inspired person in the world, but once I got there I managed to pull out something that I am quite proud of. We are getting into detailing and learning tips and tricks on how to make our designs look really good. The question that remains is: will we be able to find that inspiration, that source of creativity that will bring these skills to another level? As far as I am concerned, I take it step by step and enjoy the process. Where ever this thing will bring me, I already know I made a really good choice to follow this course.

I found this quote this morning while browsing, and it fits like a glove to what I feel now. I used to think that whatever I do, I have to be the best at it, otherwise it's not worth the effort - meanwhile I changed my mind. It is better to express your emotions throughout whatever creative endeavor, rather that let them die in you.

"Use the talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best" Henry Van Dyke

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The history of fashion in images - from ancient times to 2000s

I am getting closer to the moment I have to find my inspiration for my first collection (this Saturday I will start my 5th week of fashion design course) and I am nowhere close to find it. Is in this context that I started to study a little bit the history of fashion and before getting into details I really felt the need of having a compilation of images to easily illustrate the evolution of fashion. There are many resources on the internet and many interesting articles focusing on specific fashion eras, I just picked different images that are relevant for what I am looking for. I am aware that some of those images might be subject to copyright, so I am going to mention the source for every image.