Chris Moore - Catwalking.

I went to Northumbria University last week (November 23rd) to see the photography exhibition by Chris Moore.
This was the brochure that went with the exhibition:

"Chris Moore is, quite simply, the top catwalk photographer in the world. For almost half a century he has captured he quirks, the beauty, the elegance, the creativity and the insanity of the fashion industry. He has seen it all: From the rarified ateliers of sixties Paris Couture to the breathtaking spectaculars at Alexander McQueen. During his illustrious career, Chris Moore's lens has been poised to capture every significant fashion moment. His pictures appear everywhere, from American Vogue to The Sunday Times. Not bad for a Butcher's son from Byker.

Born 1934, Chris Moore started out in the early fifties at Vogue's in-house studion in London's Shoe Lane working as an assistant to photograph royalty: Cecil Beaton, henry Clarke, and Clifford Coffin. A decade later he was doing then what he still, at seventy six years old, does now: Travelling to London, Paris, New York and Milan, taking iconic international catwalk images. Today he reckons he has produced, in total, over a million. From this phenomenal photographic catalogue, Chris Moore has made a selection of seventy-eight. School of Design, Northumbria University is priviledged to present them."

My initial reaction to this exhibition was how beautifully he had managed to capture the atmosphere of a catwalk show. He has somehow incorporated that feeling of excitement and energy in most of his photographs with such clarity and beauty that it is extremely impressive.
I was firstly captivated by an image of Erin O'Connor modelling for Alexander McQueen. She is statuesque, dressed in a long white lace gown which flares into a fish tale at her ankles. She appears to be almost frozen in time, the shot taken in profile emphasizes the shape of the dress and Erin's strong features. This one made me stop for a while.

In contrast to such a snowy white image was a photo taken from a Jean Paul Gaultier collection:

The model has almost become a part of the outfit - it is hard to clarify where she fits into the garment and it is because of this that the photograph is so striking. The only real human element to it is her eyes and they stare straight out of the photograph which makes you automatically stare back. The model also seems to lack expression and this makes her appear even less human and more a part of the whole idea.

These photographs made me feel that I could have been there participating in a catwalk show. I felt quite jealous thatChris has lived through so many different eras - all of which have had revolutions in fashion which he has managed to capture over the years. I wish I had seen the Alexander McQueen shows before he sadly died. I loved the image from this show which was inspired by circuit boards. Chris said that he managed to capture this as the flash from another photographer's camera hit the model so this is why it appears to glow so brightly. It's all about being in the right place at the right time!!

The photographs from the eighties were excellent as they were mainly presented in black and white and this meant that the shadows and silhouettes really played an important part. It also enhanced the exaggerated silhouettes of the clothes in the eighties and captured the power dressing style of that era perfectly.

Chris Moore.

Every shot was professional and yet retained an element of interest and excitement that captured the atmosphere of the catwalk. It was great to see some iconic models wearing outfits by some of the greatest fashion designers and it really demonstrated that Chris had been at the pinnacle of fashion photography for a long time. He is obviously extremely well respected in the fashion industry and he has a skill that has to be admired, I felt priviledged to witness some of his photographs first hand. Very priviledged.

Making my dress.

Hello,
It feels like ages since I have been on here. Yesterday was a mixed bag as I handed in my assignment (the research part) which I wasn't altogether happy with, but it's kind of out of my hands at the moment. I just know that I can do a lot better.
However we were told that our fabric would not arrive until next week and so we had to concentrate on our personal statements for university, our blogs or finding our work placements e.t.c. I think we were all disappointed because most of us have finished our toiles and were expecting to start our final project. But...the lovely sewing assistant Lynn came to me with some fabric and said "Oh I found some marine green fabric for you". This was precisely the fabric that I had ordered and luckily there was just enough to cut out my main pattern and the facing. I had also found some lining in the cupboard which complemented the "marine green" perfectly. So yesterday I cut out all my pattern pieces and attached some interlining to the bodice using the steam press and the fusing machine (novel!). I then sewed up my bodice and skirt ( i have not sewn these together as my organza has not arrived yet and this will need to be sewn into the seams of the bodice and skirt.
Today I sewed up my lining and the bodice did not match the skirt so I had to go back to my pattern and that's where I found that I hadn't taken the darts out of the back bodice so I had to go back and make yet another piece. My day was spent unpicking and resewing, but I didn't mind because by the end of the day I had a garment that fitted together beautifully> Ahhhhhh.
I then got to work on my detachable bodice which is going to be corded in black duchess satin. I am using silver cording as I want the cording to be exposed at the top and this will correspond with the silvery grey organza that I have chosen. I ended up going to Durham Market where I found some thicker cording for 90p per metre. I bought 4 metres so I hope that's enough.
Anyway I hope to be getting some pictures on here very soon when I figure out how to work my blackberry a bit more.
Have a beautiful weekend people - I will be at work in Monsoon all weekend so please think of me.....

Inspiration through pain or pane whatever.

Ok so I need to update this because Im losing track of stuff at the moment and this is where all my thoughts come back together.
It's funny how I chose to go and see the glass delusion exhibition in Sunderland because it was all about mental instability and how glass can represent the fragility of the mind and of life and I think that really got to me. At the minute I feel a bit like a shattered pane of glass - a bit disparate and a bit transparent, and maybe a bit sharp around the edges. Raw and bitter and equally damaged.
I need to get some of this into my design. I can't wait to get my fabric and get started. I feel that this is going to be an exciting development which will have involved some tears and tantrums and a lot of hard work.
Soon I will have images of my toile on here and I will also put on sections about how I have developed my design ideas and the embellishments that I am going to create.
Oh and I just found out that my ex sold all my sewing equipment so I am equipmentless. Roll on the student loan in December that's all I can say!!

success.

Ok so I have spent all morning on these and now I am starving. Here they are - my new girls:

Ok so they look a bit like aliens but I think it's a definite improvement.

I have added some fashion illustrations to a page too. They are beautiful.

The addiction returns!

Ok so I'm back on illustrator again. I have scrapped the idea of doing my own figures so Im just going to scan in some templates and work over the top of them to make them into characters. These are the shapes that I am going to use. We have to draw twenty designs and our pages need to be laid out as if these models have just come down the catwalk. Also all the designs must compliment each other. Here goes....

Images are all from "NEW FASHION FIGURE TEMPLATES" by Patrick John Ireland. Thanks Patrick very useful.

Today I tried to figure out Illustrator again. When I was in Australia I hated the CAD lesson because I was basically the oldest in the class (as usual) and everyone else seemed to be really on top of their computer literacy, whereas I would just touch a key and the whole think would freeze on me. Anyway in the end ( after asking lots of questions) I fell in love with it completely. I was a bit of an addict really so it was probably good to have a break but now I have forgotten what all the short cut keys are and I feel really unsure of myself again.
Hence forcing myself to go on the computers and try to do some art work.So here it is - I am trying to design a model for my clothes and I want her to be really distinctive. I really want a style of my own but it doesn't seem to have arrived yet - can I have it for xmas please?

Ok this drawing is not my best. The girl in the middle looks a bit intoxicated and the other one on the right has horses legs and bad shading on her face but hey it's a start. I spent ages on the shading on the top lip as well! Oh well...
Oh and I can't upload my illustrator version so i guess that will be a print out and scan job.  Coming soon people, coming soon....

hello world!

Hello world!!

This is my first official blog, I hope that somebody actually reads it!
So, it is Sunday night and after tearing myself away from facebook I am now focussing on college work. I am a second year student at Newcastle college. I'm also 28. I got there a bit later on in life I know, but hey at least I got there eventually.
So if you're interested this is what I have been up to at college. We have been lucky enough to work with the designer Anh Mao, who owns a boutique based in South Gosforth, Newcastle. She designs and makes beautiful evening, prom and wedding dresses and is currently working on the Miss England 2010 wardrobe. Think of gorgeous natural fabrics such as silk, hand beaded and embroidered in a variety of styles, sweeping the floor lengths and cute little prom dresses with puff ball skirts. That doesn't really do her garments justice but take a look at maocouture.co.uk to see what I mean. She also writes for two magazines, runs her own store and designs and makes the garments. I don't know how she manages to squeeze all this into her life, but she says she thrives on it which is a good job really as that amount of work would get to most people after a while.
However this is what I am learning. Your life has to become about fashion from the minute you wake up until you go to sleep. Sometimes it even filters into dreams. I believe it is a lifestyle choice because the dedication that you must demonstrate to get anywhere in this business means spending your life absorbed in fashion books, fashion shows, art galleries, networking...it is an endless list. But it is a challenge towards which I am incredibly focussed.


Paul Poiret, dinner dress 1922-23

red and navy silk block printed faille

 Anyway,I went off on a tangent there but back to Anh. She has asked us to design and make a prom or evening dress that can be sold in her store for an age range of around 18-24 year olds. The theme for the design can be anything. It can be any colour but it must sit well within Anh's store.
My initial inspiration was the Wizard of Oz, but the more I researched it the more I realised that this had been done before.

Paul Poiret (French, 1879–1944)
Opera Coat, 1912
Yellow satin, pale blue silk overlaid with gold filé embroidery, and black silk velvet

I had to go somewhere else for some inspiration so I looked at the designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh as I love his work and really appreciate the graphic designs that he created from organic forms. However, it was his stained glass work that really caught my eye and I started day dreaming about panels in a dress that represented stained glass. I started looking into other stained glass work and also but researched the Art Deco period, looking at designs from that era from Erte and Paul Poiret.
Then I visited the glass centre in Sunderland. It's a great little place and you can do workshops there as well where you can blow your own glass vase or something resembling a vase.
I am going to put some pics up on here on a separate page that I took at the glass centre. They're not bad pics for a failed photography student!