Little Black Dress...

Being given the Brief to a Little Black Dress project was for me the best project yet! Anybody that knows me will know of my love for black clothing - and in particular my love for LBDs. So being able to study the history and developments of The Little Black Dress was going to be really interesting; and then continuing this knowledge onto a design project and then ultimately a skills for making module was even better!

So starting with a bit of historical research; I looked at the growth and development of both Haute Couture and Pret-a-Porter (or Ready to Wear) which have both shaped the way the fashion industry is today. I also researched the history of the Little Black Dress itself; which of course came from the wonderful iconic designer that is Coco Chanel. Since its first designs and showcase from Coco Chanel; the Little Black Dress has gone through many developments and changes, the silhouettes have changed, the details, the style, the acceptance of it being a staple in every women’s wardrobe...

Here is just a small sample of some of the most memorable Little Black Dresses throughout history:

1949 - Dior

Two years after Dior introduced his New Look, skirts began to narrow; hinting at the lean sheaths to come.

 1951 - Dior

This sleek sheath, again by Dior, was a shape that dominated the 50's.



  

 1959 - Chanel

Mademoiselle Chanel, the celebrated couturier herself, puts the finishing touches on a late-’50s design.

1961 - Givenchy

Audrey Hepburn in what might be filmdom’s most famous LBD, designed by Hubert de Givenchy for Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

 1994 - Princess Diana

Princess Diana raised eyebrows with this stunning LBD—her so-called revenge dress—but not for the first time. The low-cut black gown she’d worn in her public debut as Prince Charles’ fiancée verged on the scandalous for its serious décolletage.

There are so many iconic Little Black Dresses from the past that I simply couldn't post them all; so that was just a small select few and just to end this post nicely...

Here are a couple more images of Mademoiselle Coco Chanel =)

Chanel

with Timeless combination of LBD & Pearls.

Coco Chanel working on a Little Black Dress

Children in Need 2012: Designer Pudsey Bears...

 

Every year for as long as I can remember I have tuned in to watch the annual Children in Need appeal and as a child grew fond of that cute cuddly yellow bear with his distinctive eye patch... I'm talking about Pudsey of course!

 

And with my ever growing fondness of fashion; the news that there was a range of designer Pudsey bears created totally amazed me.
 

The collection including bears designed by the likes of Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Burberry, etc. was curated by Love Magazine editor Katie Grand and features many favourite high end designers each creating a 24-inch Designer Pudsey Bear which will all be up for auction on Thursday 15th November at Christie's; with all proceeds going to the much celebrated children’s charity.

 

The bears have all been showcased exclusively in Selfridges, London and Manchester from October 24th and will continue to be on show until 14th November before being auctioned.

 

"I was honoured to curate this fantastic collection, and have had such fun working with the designers on all of their amazing designs,"

"BBC Children In Need is an incredibly worthwhile cause, and one which myself and all of the designers involved in the collection are privileged to support." - Katie Grand.
 

My personal favorites are Burberry complete with its iconic trench coat, Mulberry with its cute little bag and branded foot, Tom Ford dressed in miniature version of his collection, Missoni with its bright distinctive zig-zag patterns, Paul Smith with his little suit and tie, I really could go on and on...

 

Burberry



Mulberry

Tom Ford

Missoni



Paul Smith

 

  

 

 

And some of the rest...



 

  

Norton & Sons

Diane Von Furstenburg

Anya Hindmarch

GQ

Balenciaga

Alexander McQueen

Gucci



Jonathon Saunders

Henry Holland

Smythson

Vivienne Westwood

Vougue

 

 

 

 

Take a look at the full collection here:

 

http://thelovemagazine.co.uk/feature/2012/childreninneed/

 

http://www.designerpudsey.co.uk/

 

 

Also have a look at the BBC Children in Need site:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008dk4b

 

 

 

Or even better help raise money or support the cause in any way you wish!

 

 

And REMEMBER to tune into BBC1 on Friday 16th November to watch the appeal show!

 

 

Thanx =)

 

 



 

Fashion Show...

So I've been a little busy getting back to college for my 2nd year of my degree that I've neglected my blog a little... Sorry! =\
 

But I'm back with plenty more to say so hopefully I'll keep you regularly updated with whatever I feel like really. But for now I'm going to back track a little to bring you up to date; starting with a Fashion Show I recently worked backstage for.

Tiger Tiger

NEWCASTLE

 

 

The show was held at Tiger Tiger Newcastle in The White Room which is accessed through a tunnel on the second floor. The room is stylish and chic with its clean all white deco featuring leather booths and a raised podium - where the DJ plays, and on this occasion from which the catwalk came from. There was free champagne on arrival for those attending the fashion show and a variety of leaflets from the participating brands were also handed out.

 The White Room

 

Rewind a couple of hours to when I first arrived at Tiger Tiger to help out with the show; after reporting to the organiser to register my presence I was assigned the job of... waiting! Literally; I was told we were all waiting on the remaining brands to turn up for fittings and final preparations for the show. After a while I was given something to do; fit a jacket to a model, with the help of another volunteer we managed to create 'darts' to the back of the jacket which made the jacket fit a lot better and therefore would look better on the catwalk. After this initial fitting things started to pick up and I was given various tasks such as assigning different designs of garments to the different models -  making sure that both the clothing and the models looked the best they possibly could. This proved quite difficult at times; particularly with the male models, their arms were either too big or too long to fit most of the jackets. One model had to push up the sleeves of his jacket simply because his arms were far too long for the sleeves! (Although it did actually look quite good styled in this way.)

There was one brand which needed ALOT of fitting and adjustments; splits had to be made up the back and sides of dresses just to enable the models to actually walk in them. The designer was nowhere to be seen and had put a model in charge of her garments; which resulted in her simply saying do what you need to do! Personally if my designs were to be shown in a show I would want to be there to make sure everything went well (If not me personally then at least someone to represent my brand). Anyway we all did our best to get the garments to look decent on the models; all I'm going to say is it took a lot of pins and improvisation.

The other brands however were much better and other than slight adjustments to make garments fit better; the main thing to do was just ensure everyone knew what the running order was  - what brands would be shown when and in what order the garments needed to go out onto the catwalk. The changing of garments and dressing the models was also a little difficult within the small space backstage. (Well I say backstage; it was actually the emergency exit stairwell, but you make do with what you're given!) The space was not only taken up with clothing rails and garments, there was hair and make -up artists too; meaning we had to make sure everyone knew where everything was and make sure that it was kept tidy.

There were a few things that concerned me with the fashion show; the first being the fact we never actually got the chance to have a run through - the actual show was the first time the models went out dressed in the brands' clothing. This was a result of certain brands not turning up and completely throwing the entire organisation off course (it would be nice to let someone know if you will not be attending anymore). The second would be the fact that some models -one in particular - decided to be rude and act like a diva (learn to have good manners, you'll go much further in life with them). And lastly; and to be quite honest as unprofessional as it is I found this one quite funny and entertaining... The models were getting drunk! No lies. As the show went on the models drank more and more backstage and in the end they were very...let's say 'merry', and not that I could see them but I'm sure their catwalk walk would have changed quite a bit during the night.

A little tip for any models who are going to be walking in a fashion show...Bring comfortable heels, some deodorant spray and wear nude underwear! (You'd be amazed how many turn up without any of this and then cause panic when all you can see is their leopard print undies through a lovely sheer garment!) 

All in all the show went quite well. The brands that showcased their designs were all happy with how the show turned out and we all had quite a good time; even all of us packed backstage in the emergency exit stairwell, which we were informed, smelt like a hangover by the end of the show. The joys that working in fashion brings!




Some of the leaflets for the brands in the show...

AP Apparel Polo

Dizen Couture

 

 

 

 

Check out some of the brands at: 

 

http://www.facebook.com/APApparelpolo

 

http://www.dizen.co.uk/

 

 

 

Tiger Tiger Newcastle:

http://www.tigertiger.co.uk/Findyournearest/Newcastle.aspx?gclid=CKr5kaLLq7MCFbDItAodZQYA3g

 



 

Primark Christmas Collection...

Summer is nearly over...

 So for most of us the next thing to look forward too is...      CHRISTMAS!                                    

And one of our High Street favourites; PRIMARK has already released images of their Christmas 2012 Collection.
Think layering, embellishments, and PLENTY of sparkle! Just the perfect thing for the Festive party season!


Some of my favourites are the sequined suit, the black sequined blazer and the black sequined skirt.

What better time to sparkle than at Chrismas!

 

 Keep an eye out for the collection in stores...

Matalan AW12

So while we're all wondering when the Summer Sun will arrive; Autumn & Winter clothing collections are already begining to make an appearance from High Street stores.

  Matalan has been a favourite of mine for many years now; they always have something to offer; wether it be following trends or simply for basic everyday essentials, I never leave the store empty handed!
  Their upcoming AW12 collection doesn't disappoint either; offering plenty of sparkle with embellishments and glitters, patterns and prints for everyone, sheer, bodycons, peplums... & of course winter knits. Here are just a few of my favourite items:






Leather Style Biker Jacker - £35

Leather Mini Skirt - £18



Sheer Print Shirt - £18



Black Denim Fringed Shorts - £18

Neon Print Trousers  - £12

Structured Tote Bage - £14

Brown Satchel - £12

Leopard Print Envelope Clutch - £8



Snakeskin Print Open Toe Heels - £18

Available in store and online soon!


In the meantime visit:
http://www.matalan.co.uk/



Want to see more of the collection?:
http://www.look.co.uk/pictures/matalan-aw12-collection-75-amazing-picks-you-need/matalan-aw12-blue-beaded-prom-dress-%C2%A330

Newcastle College Fashion Show 2012

 The White Show

 

   On Monday 11th June Newcastle College displayed some of the best work of the fashion students who had just completed their foundation degree. The catwalk show was held in the on campus bar SPACE and featured collections such as; The Little Black Dress collection, as well as other garments designed and made by the students.



 The catwalk was decorated in an all white theme and included origami flowers and butterflies as main features. Some of the tasks I was assigned on the day was to help to attach the many paper flowers and butterflies to the boards - and with only a staple gun to do so this actually proved quite difficult!  I also had to cut out the long strips of paper that created the "skirt" of the actual catwalk; again sounds easier than it was - I was sat on the floor... in the dark, rolling the paper up as I cut along the strips! But the results were good and fitting for the theme, and with the addition of butterflies scattered around the entire catwalk... The decor was complete.

 The main reason I was in attendance on the day was to help out back stage: this involved keeping the place tidy and organised, making sure the garments were on the right rails, and most importantly dressing the models to ensure the show ran smoothely. After the 11 models arrived; we realised with only 4 of us backstage, this was going to be more chaotic than we had originally thought! We were assigned 2 models each with the hope that the models with fewest changes could sort themselves out with little help needed from us. Luckily another volunteer came to help out later on. After meeting our models and running through what outfits would be worn by which models and what the running order was, etc. we were ready for a dress rehearsal. This was an essential part of the day as it allowed us all to work out timings and how to dress the models quickest and most efficiently. We conducted a couple of dress rehearsals, to the dramatic music (which stayed in my head all day & night!), until we were completely happy and confident with the timings and running order. Some minor alterations of garments were also needed, most notbaly a floor length dress which almost forced a model to waddle down the catwalk! But with the simple addition of a split to the bottom of the back of the dress; we were all ready for the actual show.

 

Dress Rehearsals

After a short break; the models were sent to the hair & make-up artists who gave them all sleek ponytails and smokey eyes, which worked well with the garments and theme of the show. The doors opened to the public and as they settled in their seats; backstage we were all getting hyped up for the show to begin! And with the models all dressed in their first outfits, we listened to the introductions as we waited for the cue of the atmospheric music...



The show was a success and the crowd applauded the talent on show greatly. It was such a good feeling knowing that the show had gone to plan and everyone had played a part in making it such a success. It was also interesting - as a first year student  - to see the work produced, the designs, the talent and so on; of the second year students. I'm glad I was given the opportunity to help out at the event and I'm already thinking about next year's show; wondering what it will look like, what theme it will be, the decor, the music, etc.

And also most importantly...

That will be my designs on show next year!