Fashion Design

Fashion Design Workshop 2014

Not long ago, we had a fashion workshop in school given by the co-founder of Love Bonito. We were introduced to the current trend in fashion and of course, tips to becoming fashionable, or rather, part of the trend. We were told that things like colour of the skin and the colour of the clothes that we wear have a close relationship and is inseparable. Each of us would have a range of colours that we look best in and of course, a range that we should avoid wearing. We learnt about the fundamentals of fashion, and we were told to look out for what materials to choose depending on the design and the practicality of the piece. We were given some time to come up with some designs and to just draw whatever that comes to mind.

 Design 1

Design 2

These two designs were what I came up with initially. The first design speaks with a more futuristic tones, with the use of geometrical shapes, I thought that it would make the design look more refined, and by choosing white for the piece, I wanted to achieve a sense of a pure and clean being. Hence, the colour and design is specially targeted at younger women, ranging from 18-25. The second design is a more mature one. By making the sleeves chiffon, I wanted to bring in a sense of freshness while keeping the look classic. A lot of women go after black as it has a slimming effect; hence, I wanted to make use of that effect and enhance it by adding it at the waist area and the area below the thighs. The belt is a detail that adds to the vibrancy of the piece.

Personally, when i think of street wear, it would be along the lines of brands like Hood By Air (HBA), Mastermind, Pyrex and Undefeated etc. These are the brands that I often wear and are more towards the hardcore hip hop street wear; hence, I thought: Hey! Since girls are wearing it, it can’t be look too guy-ish or too tough right? Hence, I thought that I should probably combine elements of urban wear and street wear and go softly on the combination so that they will fuse together and not clash. So below are my sketches and final designs. Sketch

Design 3

Design 4

Firstly, for Design 3,  I wanted it to be a slightly ‘bad girl’ style, so more elements of the hip hop street style were put in. The top is washed with grey and has far less details as compared to the bottom so that the overall look would not be too much or too heavy. For the top, triangular shaped cut-outs ware made in the shoulder region to give a modern feel (elements of urban) and as for the ends of the top, it is cut in the shape of an inverted skyline and also makes the top look more hipster. I would make the top out of cotton as I truly feel that comfortable clothes make a women most confident. For the bottom, I’ve created a ‘one-piece’ including the out layer and the inner layer. The outer layer is inspired from the boyfriend t-shirts that girls like to wrap around their waist and, which is also commonly seen in the street wear scene. However, I decided that plaid shirts are too boring, hence, I added irregular details or patterns to the outerwear which is made of thin cloth, making it the focus of the overall outfit. The inner wear, on the other hand, is to complement the top, with similar themes of modernization and made of faux leather. Other than the outerwear, the rest of the outfits are designed simply, including the plain black boots so that the attention can be placed on the outerwear. I feel that this piece is quite satisfying for me as it is firstly, comfortable, and secondly, a mixture of urban and street, hence, more suitable for a younger age range and even for hip hop/street jazz dancers!

Design 4 showcases a more quiet street style in comparison to Design 3 which has brighter colours. The overall focus/point of the outfit is the strips design that appears in the snapback, tights and shoes. This design is more punky and hence, a snapback is a good way to enhance this. The white blouse is worn under the plain grey pullover with the collar being seen. A yellow detail is added to the collar to match the studs in the shoes and to lift up the dull colours. The blouse is made of chiffon material for comfort and the pullover is also made of thin cloth so that it would not be too hot. The tights are made of faux leather so that it will look glossy and more high-class as compared to regular tights. The shoes are designed to be more exaggerated to balance out the simple designs of the top and bottom; hence, the studs and zip give an overall punky  look and the platforms add to the hip-hop look. The shoes also contain the details, which are the stripes, that are found throughout the outfit.

In conclusion, this workshop was fun and being able to experience how it is like to be a fashion designer was even more amazing. Hopefully, there will more chances in the future for designing projects!