Megan Dixon: April 2016

Friday, 29 April 2016

After refining our sample choices together, I developed my own print samples further adding texture, mixing materials together, cutting into fabrics by hand and adding stitch details.
This was to play around with the materials, creating different design and trying to show prints working collaboratively together, revealing another fabric or print through another.
Experimenting with the material and prints I have been working with more three dimensional, adding in extra detail. Thinking about the print working on the body and what effect will happen to the material when theres movement, opening up to unveiling a different print, adding movement to the fabrics.

Been able to discuss ideas of garments and detailing on an outfit we found beneficial as a group, sharing ideas and design.
I found from designing that I enjoyed looking at the details of on a garment, looking at the colour placements of prints and fabrics, playing around with different concepts on photoshop and by hand colouring in and layering materials onto the drawing. I prefer to work onto an illustrated garment, such as a technical drawing compared to my own sketches that I feel could be improved and developed with time.

Looking at how Christopher Shannon has used fastenings and panelling throughout his collection for detail compared to function.
Bold colours combined with exaggerated fastening.
Looking at sections that release and open up adding different elements to each garment, reducing and adding to a garment to change its look.

Looking at the most recent collection from Fox Head of sportswear that is actually worn when racing in motocross.
Looking at the position of text and design on on garments. Influences from the materials they use, flexair jersey and airtex to use similar type of fabrics with in our own collection.
Taking inspiration from how paneling is used on the garments as well as areas that have extra padding for protection especially around the knees and elbows, developing these ideas into our own collection for motocross features.

As a group we laid out all our samples and displayed our initial design ideas.
The feedback we received was that our designs were looking muted and dark, even though we are going for a dirty look in our collection, the designs seemed dull and repetitive.
From this we decided to use vivid colour to brighten our designs up, using stronger colours to enhance our work for relevant for a Spring/Summer collection.

Each of us worked on a selected garment, choosing three different samples from our collection to exhaust ideas and placements. Incorporating each others work together and using a range of the materials so that when we put our looks together materials are not repeated and recurring too much, to create a good variety of ideas and designs.
Using more colour and detail within our illustrations to show clearly our ideas and representing textures clearly with different medias.

Using relevant clothing to relate to our collection. Generic garments such as jersey tops, shirts, bomber jackets, jumpers, t-shirts and shorts.
Layering these garments onto the mannequin to get an idea of what clothing we see our own designs working on.
From styling these pieces we are able to see how the garments hang on the body, illustrating these garments into our own designs and illustrations.
Putting some of our prints onto the mannequin to look at proportions of print to the body.

In the print room I have been experimenting with acid discharge dyeing, taking the colour out of dyed denim and mesh, after soaking these materials in yellow disperse dye.
This worked well to have prints where the fabric is covered in a colour rather than the print.

Using heat transfer paper to put one of our digital prints onto denim didn't work as well as we hoped. We wanted the colour to be more vibrant.
Instead we have outsourced the print to be digital printed onto some matt lycra so the colours are vibrant to keep in with our summer theme.

Refining our colour scheme, so we have a better idea of what colours we want to use and the proportions of each colour.
Using a base colour of greys in variety of shades. Including accent colours of red, yellow and blue.
Also an airtext, mesh and ribbed fabric have been selected as our base fabrics to be used throughout this collection.

Using dyes to stain my fabrics, especially denim with a dark brown to give them a mucky/dirty effect.
Also using a pipette to splat the dye onto the fabric for a more spontaneous design dispersing the dye to give the effect they have been worn while out on the bike.
Working on denims and mesh fabrics to create different textures and surface designs with my prints.
Layering up different prints and working on top on of dyed fabrics.
Also adding foil over the top of designs adding a silver metallic element to our prints.
Experimenting with the heat press, melting a synthetic fabric with a sheet of foil over the top creating a new material with an imprinted design.
Sticking to our chosen colour pallet, mixing all the colour together. Layering up colours, as well as including pearlised binder to give a shine to the colours, especially light and dark grey pigments.