LIVE PROJECT- WEEK 1 - Unit introduction / Collection Narrative / Designing

INTRODUCTION

This unit is about gaining experience of what it would be like to work out in the real world of the fashion industry. The two head designers of Bolongaro Trevor; Kait Bolongaro and Stuart Trevor, also the original head designers of AllSaints, are the two people that we will be working with for the next two months. 

We will be working in groups, depending on our different specialisms- I will be working in Womenswear and our aim is to create a collection of approximately 12 outfits with designs, pattern cutting, sampling and garment construction all carried out by the team as a joint effort with an added narrative that connects the collection. 

Kait Bolongaro visited the studios on Tuesday to tell us a bit about the brand and here is what I got from the talk;

ROUGH NOTES

- Rock 'n' Roll / Grunge / Punk

- More 'cleaner' approach than AllSaints

- Musical Influences

- Personality

- No seasons

- Inspiration: Ravens / Tower of London / Crown Jewels/ London Sky

- Prints done in France originally for £55 (aprox) on silk

- Switched to print factory in India for £28 on viscose (viscose is cheaper and easier maintenance)

- Parachute Dress previously sold at £230, now £160 due to cheaper print factory used

-Timeless classics

- Inside equally interesting as outside

-Vintage Military pieces

-V&A museum for inspo

- Pictures of inside corset printed onto tops

- Lots of levels of print

- 'Victorian Vintage'

- Scandinavian / Danish customers

- Customer tends to have open mind to fashion and trends

- Drape Jersey Pieces

- Not much denim

- Muted Colours

As you can tell, Kait spoke in great detail about the brand which was great because now I feel like I understand so much more about the brand than I would if I were to merely research online. 

BOLONGARO TREVOR BRIEF INTRODUCTION BY ME:

A boutique focused brand that appeals to a very specific and unique market. A dark, grungy theme throughout and a repeat pattern of constantly modernised Vintage, Victorian and Military pieces ensure that clothes become part of a lifestyle and story as well as anything else. A focus on re-inventing timeless classics to create pieces that will last in your wardrobe for a lifetime. Print orientated designs with as much attention to detail on the insides of garments as there is on the outside and the use of a muted colour palette.

MEETING THE CLOTHES

Kait very kindly brought in some of her favourite items of various collections for us to have a closer look at and she spoke to us in detail about where some of the inspiration had come from and the fabrics she used. 

The dress that you can see right at the front of the picture above was inspired by London's dreary skies, ravens and the crown jewels which really inspired me to start my own research into a narrative for our up and coming collection at Bolongaro Trevor.

I have taken some pictures of some of my favourite items on the rail.

This is hands down, my favourite garment on the rail. First of all, I love to mix comfort with style in my own designs so these tracksuit inspired trousers drew in my attention straight away. I love that they're minimal but that the fabric speaks for itself AND you would never need to iron these?! If that doesn't resonate with you then I don't know what will.. The fabric also reminds me of Issey Miyake's style too.

This long sleeved top was probably my second favourite. Again, I love that the fabric says so much on its own and my favourite colours are black white and grey so understandably, these two caught my eye. The same pressed pleat fabric has been used but in a sheer form for this top. I love that the edges are raw and that the pleats go in three different directions.

My third favourite was this stunning evening-wear dress. It screams quality with its beading, embroidery and intricate detailing and I think that the muted mauve colour and the sheer fabric is just beautiful. I love that it's super glamorous and stand-out but that the fit is loose and looks comfortable. The low hemline is my favourite feature of this dress.

And finally, this semi sheer sleeveless top. This is something that I would personally wear but when Kait told us that she had taken a picture of the inside of a corset and pasted it onto front of this top, I was instantly interested. I think that the colours drew me in too.

It was a really good experience to be able to see the clothes up close and have a good look at how they are made. I feel that I had a better understanding of the brand after seeing the clothes in person. Hearing the stories and inspiration behind them sparked an interest in me too. I think that the way they bring their collections together and their ideas behind them are so unique and that shows through their collections very clearly.

GROUP DISCUSSION AND SEPARATION OF TEAM

The Womenswear team grouped up to discuss what each individual team member wanted to do in regards to design and print. We then had teams split up into; print, trousers, tailoring, relaxed softs, lounge wear and dresses. We agreed to research a concept each to bring back on Friday and share with the team. With these concepts, we would then discuss the next step.

MY INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH / CONCEPT & PRINT

I used my independent study days to research and product an idea for a narrative that would carry out our upcoming collection. I was thinking about a certain dress that Kait had talked to us about. She said that the print was inspired my London's dreary sky and I started thinking about Britain (which heavily influences Bolongaro Trevor's philosophy) and how the weather in England is one of the things that we are known for. I started to look for pictures on the internet and thought of 'Winter Walk' as a concept. I found pictures of typical things that you might see on a Winters Walk in England. 

I looked at textures of wood (you would see a lot of interesting looking tree's on a winter walk) and those pictures alone were very inspiring to me. I then looked into the moss that grows on trees which was surprising interesting- I particularly picked out pictures that automatically sparked ideas of translating them into fabrics, prints or designs. I also looked a little bit at rope. When I used to walk through the woods as a child, there was a rope swing that everyone would fight for in the summer. I think that it has a lovely raw and rough texture.

LINKING MY RESEARCH TO THE BRAND

After I collected this research I had to ask myself 'Is this relevant to Bolongaro Trevor's brand? Will it tie in with their previous collections?' It is difficult to get into the mindset of reminding myself that my work has to be relevant to the brand and not to my own personal style. I decided that it wasn't quite dark enough. Bolongaro Trevor has a darkness to it's aesthetic that's evident in the use of skulls, ravens and characters like Jack The Ripper. I needed to add some darkness into my research.

I wanted my new research to still relate to my 'Winter Walk' concept so I started to imagine a darker, gothic and slightly romantic version of a Winter Walk. I guess I used ideas that have come from previous books and films that I've read and watched because I this was what I imagined, although it may be a little difficult for outsiders to see the link between the two research stages. I thought that the Gothic buildings could be further researched towards Victorian Architecture which would be very appropriate for the brand. 

I remembered that Kait said there was a lot of layering that takes place in the making of their prints and one thing that stood out to be was the constant repeat of Skulls (which Alexander McQueen also liked to use) and I wanted to use that idea to further stretch out towards animal skulls. I think that they would make such a beautiful feature to a print and would fit in very well with the brand's image. 

TRANSLATING RESEARCH TO PRINT

Although I am NOT on the print team. I just really wanted to give some print ideas a go. I wanted to show what kind of prints could be created with my research and imagery and where I would personally take it. 

I started this print by using a painting of a tree and mirroring it until it created the first print in the very top left. I used Photoshop to then change the hue to provide ideas of what it could look like in different colours. The bottom six are the exact same colours but I have turned the opacity right down to make them more subtle. I didn't intend it to, but where the illustrations of the tree matched up, it made the shape of what looks like a deer head! I was so happy that it just happened to fall like that because I think it looks really cool. 

I decided on the magenta print with hints of green as the print to carry out further as I wanted something that was appropriate for the season we're designing for and it was the most muted in regards to colour. 

As I said before, there is a lot of layering that goes on with the prints for Bolongaro Trevor so I wanted to use an appropriate object as a top layer for the print. I noticed that this type of layering is commonly used in their collections. I went back to my research on animal skulls and picked out this illustration (not drawn by me) to complete the print. I then darkened the background as I felt that the print was too summery for an Autumn / Winter collection.

This is my finalised print idea. Again, this is merely an idea for how we could take my ideas further as a group so that my team have a better understanding of my personal vision. I am really happy with this print. I think that it could work in a Bolongaro Trevor collection, I think that it's appropriate for the season and that it has a dark and romantic feel to it and carries out a narrative that's inspired by Britain. 

On friday, we met up as a team to share and discuss out concepts and narrative ideas. We one by one, spoke to the group about where our concepts came from, why we chose them and suggestions on how they could be carried out towards designing and print. We seemed to have similar-ish ideas that could be linked if we wished and there were elements to everyone's research that we all liked and think could work somehow. 

We were advised to futher our current research and dig deeper. We are going to further research into the Fire of London, Folklore stories, Animals (possibly hybrids) and English weather. I was very pleased with the group meeting as everyone was respectful of each other's ideas.