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.
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.
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!
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.
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Paul Poiret, dinner dress 1922-23 red and navy silk block printed faille |
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 filĂ© embroidery, and black silk velvet |
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!
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