Every creative person, and academic has a unique selling point; something that makes them stand out from the crowd, something that makes an employer look at there CV and say "Yes! We need them!". But if you were asked, like we were in lecture, "Whats your USP?", you would stumble and say erm alot just like the question "Why should I employ you?".

It took me a while to realise what my USP was, my USP is my interest in Theatre, Musicals and Costumes. I enjoy fashion history, which gives my designs a historical twist to them weather its in colour or in garment shaping and style.Progressing this interest I have visited a Theatre to make the costumes, study the pantomime and be a wardrobe assistant back stage of the production.

From knowing your USP you can then write an amazing Personal Statement for your CV. Which is what we did in lecture this week. We went through how a professional CV should look and what it should contain. And came up with this;

• Personal Information
• Personal Statement
• Qualifications
• Skills
• Interests
• Achievements
• Work Experience

Thes dont have to be in any specific order, because there are NO rules to make a CV.

Your Personal Statment isn't like what you had to write to get into University, it's just a short paragraph about yourself, explaining your USP or anyhting else that sells you with in 8 seconds!

As a person I believe in my ethics which makes me a dedicated and self motivated individual.

I am an enthusiastic fashion student; who loves researching new trends and experimenting with them. Making the trends unique to my style is important to my signature. In my spare time I make photos and design garments. Being a fashion student has made me fascinated with the Theatre, Costume and Fashion History.

Meadham Kirchhoff

Their Spring/Summer 12 collection is looking beautiful and summery, not like there usual black dark stuff! It reminds me a lot of my College FMP.

I think that this collection of Meadham and Kirchoff is deffinatley the most quiriest they have done, I love it...wish all there stuff was like this!

Even there stuff at topshop this year is lovely and bright:

Meadham Kirchoff at Topshop

How cute is that!

Check them out at London Fashion Week

This is my favourite piece out the collection, its just something I would wear... minus the socks and shoes! I just think its quiet preppy and quirky with a slight vintage look to it, which I love.

Owl Eyes

During my first Semester at Uni we had a modual that let us experiment with textiles techniques, including Knit and Print.
For these the inspiration was British Birds. researching into that I came up with the colours of a Owl, Brown, for the feathers, Orange, for the eyes, and Pink, for the tallons and other little feathers.

In knit I made loads of lace holes, and experimenting with them in shapes. I managed to get some in the shape of an eye. Also used Hold, to make different patterns that resemble owls. My print was at an earlier stage of my project, you can see the theme coming through with the colourse, but my particular print didnt resemble owls.

My work on the Knit Machine.

My work on the Knit Machine with a weight on the end. You use a weight on your knitting to keep it straight and kept on the machine.

Pinning the samples onto the press, to stretch the wool and flatten in it.

The Press steams the wool and then sucks the vapour out of the wool to keep it in shape.

Knit Sample, Owls Wings

Knit Sample, Owl Eyes

Knit Sample

Knit Sample, Owl Eyes

First practice on screen print

Using the Hot Press and Screen Printing together.

Hot Press

Hot Press

Hot Press, I pleated the fabric up, laid bits and pieces ontop of it and put it in the hot press to see what it would look like opened up. But because of the colours against the white, it doesn't look as good as with the pleats closed.

Using water to make the ink spread, I sprated the Calico first in certain places to my print and the screen printed ontop.

Watered down calico and screen print. Then waited for it to dry and cleaned my screen, and printed over the print in the orange, to make a sharp and soft contrast which portrays my Owl influence. Soft feathers, sharp eyes and tallons.

Hot Press, with a pleat

Hot Press

Charlotte Taylor Anyone?

Charlotte Taylor

 

Anyone say spring/summer 2011?!

I hear that, and Charlotte Taylors new collection is beautiful, i think shes amazing how she can make a big gareish print look so feminime and ladylike! These are only a few images from her new collection, get on her website or blogg, charlotte-taylor.blogspot.com, and have a look!

She inspires me so much, her infomation about how she came up with the collection is a story, this is some of it;

Japan

Its springtime and the Cherry Blossoms are in Flower.

Sakura, a tree surgeon by trade effortlessly glides through the tree families, pruning away their untimely growth spurts, quenching their thirst and warming their hearts, bellies, leaves and trunks with a calculated move to a sundrenched lounger for an afternoon of relaxation. As the sunlight dances through their leaves Sakura makes haste for the bee hives.

 Her body is the essence of the garden, personified....every inch is considered and camouflaged,

in the last of the days sun whilst the humming birds and crickets provide the delicate yet arbitrary

soundtrack

Sakura is thankful for her choices, her passion and her life. She can and always will dance to the rhythm of her own drum.

I can see this in her collection, by the colours shes used and the style of clothes! Love it!

"Only Dead Fish Swim With the Tide"

I say " go with the flow" alot which means be you go with what evers happening, you won't think about better things todo. But then I use the phrase if I have a bit of inspiration and I'm not sure how to interpret it into a 2d or 3d form yet I might just say that I'm "going with the flow". I supose this is bad sometimes, as a creative learner I should be an "alive fish swimming against the tide"! You should be spontaneous and willing to try new and differnt things, learn these things and adapt them yourself. You'll be suprised what you can make if you "go against the tide".

Especially in the Fashion and Textiles industry you have to have the next best thing or be radical and out there! With the industry bringing in £21 billion in the UK alone and houseing 12,000 bussinesses with 15, 600 emploies, its the place to be. Although its a huge industry its taking some beatings by the economy, prices are going up and up and people just can't afford any more than the monthly bills so are shopping less; so the whole globalisation system is changeing, highstreet store will be disintergrating and more vaulue stores will open up. Highstreets will be full of poundlands and primarks, ASDA's George and Tesco's Chereoke will be where to shop and have this seans must haves! This is whats happening to my home town, its so upsetting. But hopefully the world will kick back into balance soon and it won't be to beyond repair!

This is stafford on market weekend!possibly the bussiest day off the month!


I have a therory though! I think if companies paid there staff the national minimum wage, if you work in retail, then they'd one be able to afford more staff and more hours and two the unemployment rate would go down again because there are more jobs. But instead of this companies are paying way more than the minimum wage and struggling for staff...this is most on the high street and its deffinatly happening where i work which is a huge company! I'd have a couple of things to say to Head Office to save the company money if I could!

These are just some of the jobs in the Textiles and Fashion sector.
Magazine Editor
Fashion Buyer
Visual Merchandiser
Textiles Designer
Fashion Designer
Tailor
Seamstress/ Dressmaker
Pattern Cutter
Wardrobe Assitant
Model Booker



There are so many more jobs out there like embroidering, P.A, Web designing, Print Designer ect. I could go on for days!

November

I was walking home from Uni late today, I thought it was such a beautiful dusk and that most nights in Novemeber are like this. Novemeber is my favourite month of the year and being in a differnt city has gotten me a bit down. Its strang that its my favourite month because its probably most peoples most hated month.

But yes, I was walking home from Uni and its not been feeling like winter at all, or November time for that matter. And when I walked out the doors at uni there was a beautiful novemeber scape in fornt of me, the low mist and dark sky and the silhouetts of some trees with a glistening lake behind!

The pavements were shimmering from the recently fallen dropelets of rain. And the heavy rush hour traffic not so hard as the headlight shone brightly merging in the darkening night sky.

Its just so mystical and mysterious.

Information Exchange

This is a special evening at my Uni that lets the 3rd years share their work placement experience with us and give us contacts too if we like the things they did. I talked to some many people, some amazing and interesting people, but a few that stood out the most to me and inspired me alot were;.....

Elizabeth Rong
Sophie Jain
Stuart Milverton Pressley

Elizabeth Rong
She went to work at McQueen, she had alot of attention that night becasue of it. But I think what she had to say was interesting. I think that anyone would jump at the chance to do a placement there, but she had to leave after 3 months because of a few reasons; she didnt enjoy it, and the stress of it made her so ill.

She worked there for 3 months, she said that the first few weeks were so hard, because its either right or wrong, theres no "thats alright, we can use it". it has to be perfect. She said she got home many days and just cried because it was so cut throat and you have to be extremely thick skinned to work for McQueen. Fashion is like that though I supose so always be prepared. Elizabeth also said that she changed greatly in this time... when you say that most off the time is for the better! But in Elizabeths case she said she found herself becoming very mean and angery. Maybe this is what happened to the amazing belated McQueen?!

Living in London cost her £500 per week! So she was there for 3 months...thats about 11 weeks... £5500...oh my gosh crazy she said she still doesn't know how she survived! But on the plus side she had a 50% staff discount, which okay if your paying that much for living you have no money for even Alexander McQueen! Shame.

Sophie Jain
I think I was most amazed at this girl; what made me walk over to her stand (which I am glad I did) was that I noticed a top that I had seen in topshop on her mannequinn. I said "is that from Topshop?" Sophie said "Yeah it is" she didn't say straight away that she had designed this top! it clicked when I was talking to her that she had designed everything infront of my very eyes! I was so gobsmacked! I don't even know why. I think it just clicked that one day, possible next year, I could be designing clothes that people would buy in shops...it shocked me that it was that close! I just started University and next year on placement I could have clothes in a shop with my name on! crazy!

She told me that working for BC Internationals was really rewarding seeing her designs on hangers in shops, she still works for them now as a junior designer. BC Internationals, buys the rights to print disney charecters, or famous slogans and makes designs up to go in high street stores, like Topshop and New Look.
Whilst working for them she mainly used Illustrator to draw her designs, everything is computerised, it has to be so technical and percise. But she says she loves every minute of it! Especially when all her travel and general work expencese were paid for her! Its always a bonus.

Stuart Milverton Pressley

I Love Pattern Cutting so I decided to talk to someone that did it...well it bought me to Stuart! He did his placement at a not so well known designer yet, J W Anderson .
He said because of how fashion has become so fasted pace the pattern cutting in working for a designer is completely differnt to what its like in studio. What he had to do was work backwards, look at the design, go out to buy something that looked like it and take it apart and cut the patterns out....interesting way.


He said to work there he had to become more thick skinned and strong minded. To be confident in yourself . He had lots of opportunities working there and lots more will come out of this, so he said it was a grand life experience, something he will never forget.

http://www.j-w-anderson.com/