Jane Smith Millinery Workshop

In terms 1 and 2 we were lucky enough to have millinery workshops with the legendary Jane Smith who's career spans over 40 years in theatre and film (see here). She brought in several hat patterns from theatre and film productions she'd worked on for us to copy such as Sweeney Todd, Bright Star, Jane Eyre and many more! In the workshops I learnt how to make Victorian Bonnets and work with straw.

Making a straw hat

The shape of the hat is controlled
by pulling and pushing the straw as
it is sewn under the machine.

Use a blunt pair of scissors to push the straw under the
sewing machine.

I intend to make a straw boater hat at some point in the near future whilst I can remember how to do it!

Jaz in her Victorian Bonnet!

My first Victorian Bonnet was made to match my Bodice
that I made in Term 1 at LCF. It is a Jane Smith pattern
from the film 'Jane Eyre'

 Because the first bonnet I made was very dark and simple I decided to make another Jane Smith bonnet using lighter colours and design one I could be a little more decorative with.

I used dupion shot silk for the main fabric, gathered polyester chiffon for the lining and with satin ribbon trimmings and an antique lace edge - given to me by my Mum which was given to her my her Mum!

Selvedge Spring Fair

Today I was volunteering at the Selvedge Magazine Spring fair and it was so beautiful! I feel quite guilty having not known about the magazine until about a week ago but ended up leaving the fair with 5 back issues (for £10! What a bargain?!) as well as a 6 month subscription! I absolutely love it!

Selvedge Spring Fair 2013 - Chelsea Town Hall

Selvedge is a textile magazine with illustrated features on fine art, fashion, interiors ethnographic textiles, important collections, travel and shopping - ideal for anyone from the wide age range from arty students to retired men or women with a passion for textiles and art.

There was so many wonderful stalls there today but I'm just going to share with you my personal favourites. The fair is still open this evening (Friday 22nd March) 6-9pm and tomorrow (Saturday 23rd March) 10-4pm at Chelsea Old Town Hall with an admission fee of £7.50 but £5 if you purchase in advance from www.selvedge.org. 

Charlotte Macey

Sasha Kagan - Knitwear and Crochet

Noolibird

Priddy Goods - I love their fragrances
but they also sell pottery, beauty
products and have a clothing label.

Caroline Lingwood - Mixed media artist
Probably my favourite artist from the fair.

Mirijami - So cute!

Emma Mitchell

Becky Adams

Becky Adams

Breaking Down Workshop

This workshop was really fun as we were literally just trying to make ourselves look gory and playing with fake blood! (well, red dye). We were making bullet wounds and used puff binder to create a sort of scabby look to the wound. Latex paint can be used to make the wound look wet and 'fresh'. When designing the wounded costume you need to know how old the wound is and bare this in mind when thinking about colour etc.

Puff binder is a liquid foam that can be painted onto fabric and when heat is applied it expands to create 3D effects. To change its colour it can either be painted after it has expanded or dye can be mixed into the foam solution (be careful not to add too much dye or the foam will turn to liquid and will not expand when heat is applied).

Anastasiya

Lucy

Bullet Wound

Puff Binder

Fashion Museum - Bath

Last weekend I went to the Fashion Museum in Bath, formerly known as the Museum of Costume, which had a large collection of historic and contemporary fashion dating back to the 1500's!

In my opinion, the gallery is a nice size in the sense that there's enough there to feel you're not getting robbed for your money but there isn't too much there that you don't know where to look and end up feeling exhausted by the end of it.

It is divided in to a few parts which are separated by a section where all ages can try on Victorian costume including corsets, crinolines, dresses, bonnets and top hats and coats for men. I always find an interactive section really helps bring a gallery to life and keep the viewers interested, whatever age you are!

The gallery ends in a section of the Top Trends of up to date fashion of Spring/Summer 2013 - very impressive!


My only criticism would be that there isn't much on male fashion which suggests that the gallery in quite stereotypical in the sense that 'Fashion is for girls'. Boys wear clothes too!

I bought the book 'Fashion Museum - Treasures' which has detailed photographs of garments in the exhibition - a good alternative if you can't get to Bath. A used copy can be bought for as little as 46p (plus postage) on Amazon at the moment!

Animal Farm

Term 2 at London College of Fashion was split into two units. 'Introduction to Cultural and Historical Studies' involved writing a 2000 word essay on fashion and identity.
'Modifying the Form' included making 18th Century Panniers, Body Padding using wadding and a Late Victorian Corset to fit ourselves. This led to designing for 4 characters from the play 'Animal Farm' (written by George Orwell and adapted by Peter Hall) whilst using what we had learnt in our construction workshops as inspiration on how to modify the form which I think really improved my designs as I could really understand how they would be made.

Benjamin the old Donkey - Act 1

Mollie the pretty white Mare - Act 1

Hen - Act 2

Hen - Act 1

Dancing around Duchamp

Nude descending a staircase (1912)
One of my favourite pieces from the
exhibition

I recently went to see the The Bride and the Bachelors: Duchamp with Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns exhibition at the Barbican and it definitely is up the top (along with with the Hollywood Costume exhibition at the V&A [2012/13]!) as one of my favourite exhibitions.

I was a little unsure as to what the exhibition would be about when I booked it. I just new that it combined art, music and dance which won me over and I wasn't disappointed!

Fountain (1917)

The exhibition showcases Duchamp's influence on Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns and includes Duchamp's most influential work including 'Bicycle Wheel' from 1913 and 'Fountain' from 1917. This is complimented by the paintings, sculpture, stage sets and musical notations from Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns and furthermore, live contemporary dance performances and a two self playing pianos of Cage's 'prepared piano' where the sound is altered by placing objects between the strings.

I really admired the way the exhibition linked performance, art and music together. And also the way it highlights how Duchamp questions 'What is art?' really makes you think. I love the idea that anything can be art and anyone can be an artist and use it as a way to express themselves.

All in all a fantastic exhibition and well worth the money. Plus if you're aged between 16-25 sign up to the Barbican's 'freeB' membership here and it's 2 for 1 on a Monday!


The Dancing around Duchamp season is on until June which includes other events as well as the exhibition.

Life Drawing

In my Foundation last year I learnt how important it is to draw as much as you can. I have been guilty of not drawing as much as I should this school year so far but I managed to go to a life drawing class. It took me a while to get used to drawing from life again - my first few drawings always look rubbish - but I was happy with my last two. I don't get on with feet, hands and heads!

Chalk on black paper

Chalk on black paper

Term 1 at LCF

Helloooo! I thought I would start a new blog seeing as I am going to a new University now.

Last year I studied the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at The Arts University College at Bournemouth because I had no idea what I wanted to do in the art and design world and I couldn't draw for toffee. I would really really recommend this course to anyone arty even if you already know what you want to do for a degree. I learnt so much in such a short space of time and I am so grateful to all the tutors who taught and helped me realise what the perfect (sorry to be cheesey) degree choice was for me.

I now study BA(hons) Costume for Performance at University of the Arts London: London College of Fashion and, lets be honest, it's fantastic.


Term 1 involved learning basic garment construction techniques and designing and making a Victorian Bodice and half scale petticoat.

Half Scale Petticoat 

One of my research pages that inspired my design

Final Victorian Bodice (size 12)

Final Victorian Bodice Design

I also had to write a 1500 word essay on object analysis which I really enjoyed as well as complete a design project based on Roald Dahl's book 'Kiss Kiss' - a collection of gruesome short stories, which was a really good book to start your first project on!

I chose to design for the story 'Georgy Porgy' - a macabre tale where George loves the look of but cannot bare to touch or be within close distance to women.
I designed for the character Miss Prattley - the sensual, curvaceous spinster who attempts to seduce George with coconut cake. George compares her to an octopus - fascinated by watching a creature that you couldn't bare to touch (page 140). So I used this as inspiration when designing a costume for dance, in the sense that the skirt would move in the same way as an octopus.