Sophia I Wanna be ya

I've mentioned her before and now I'll mention her again, Sophia Kokosalaki creates wearable but unique pieces that have inspired me by how she incorporates her cultural Greek roots into her designs. Her design aesthetic is very similar to mine and I love the way she uses detail and fabric manipulation to create modern and intricate garments

As part of our capsule collection it is vital to take into account who our brand's major competitors may be.  After putting much thought into this and comparing myself and my designs with countless designers I've decided that Sophia Kokosalaki's consumer is very similar to my target consumer. 

Not only do our designs involve a lot of fabric manipulation and are made of delicate fabrics like chiffon,  they also both suit a certain mindset of a woman wanting to look feminine and modern.    Pattern is used sparingly however effectively and the shapes of the garments always are a little bit twisted and unique.

Even though I adore Sophia Kokosalaki I need to differentiate my product from hers to make it desirable to my target consumer. Firstly my designs are different because instead coming from the point of view of Greek culture my designs are inspired by Australian art culture, making it even more interesting due to the lack of knowledge from overseas. Furthermore i want to create less dresses than Sophia and focus a lot on coats and pants as well as tights.  Lastly Kokosalaki uses a lot of delicate fabrics in her designs, i want to incorporate stretch wear as well as light silk chiffon's and add a bit more colour than her neutral colour palettes.  

Make sure you have a look at her website: http://www.sophiakokosalaki.com/

love Phoebe

Sample This

So after weeks of sampling and pin tucking and measuring my final sample is pretty much complete. There's still a few things I'm unsure of to do with the fit of the garment but i won't be able to sort those problems out until the swimsuit is on a proper size 10 model.  Unfortunately I'm not of a supermodel stature so i couldn't measure it on myself and the mannequin used in the photos below is a size 6-8 not a size 10. 

One of the major problems that occurred when making my swimsuit was that i stretched the fabric out of shaped when i unpicked some of the binding and over locking and this is noticeable on the leg holes and the under bust of the garment.  I'll really have to try to be careful not to stretch the garment when I'm making the final swimsuit.  Also the fabric got really thick in different areas which made the binding really messy.  Hopefully because the wool isn't as thick as the cotton Lycra (what the sample is made of)  it won't be as much of a problem, but if not i will have to move some of the seams around so they aren't overlapping.

love Phoebe

Stretched as Far as I can Go

As a continuing trend with stretchwear, our capsule collection needs to include other stretch garments. 

When I've been sketching i've been using pin tuck details and piping, the same elements that were used in my swimwear collection to make it more cohesive. Below are some of my designs including tights and tight dresses.  I also want to play around with the below aboriginal artwork and work it into a print to use on some of the fabric. 

Hit the Target

Two words: Target Market

I can't tell you how many times i've heard these words throughout both my fashion and business degree, and with due cause.  At the end of the day, someone needs to wear my clothes otherwise it's just not fashion.  Therefore it is crucial to know who your target market is, what they like and what they'll buy.

For the sake of the capsule collection  i've said that my target consumer could be from any age group however loves orginality and simplicity. She's sophisticated but always up for a good time. All my designs will therefore incorporate features that could be worn by numerous body shapes and different pieces will highlight and conceal different body parts.  This will make my design process more focused, hopefully leading to more original workable designs.

love Phoebe

Recreation

I realised waking up this morning that i still haven't posted my final design.. or any of my designs for that matter. Below is my final swimsuit collection, based on the lines in aboriginal artwork.  Out of these designs we only have to recreate one of these. I've decided to make the swimsuit in the top left hand corner. I chose it because i think reflects me as a designer the most. It is simple but sexy and the pintucks will look effective and unique. 

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I've started making the pattern and a sample to see how the pintucks will work and how i'll go about making the straps as well as the overall fit of the garment. 

Observations from the sample tell me a few things:

• Instead of using piping  i'll use a stripping foot which will flatten the seam so there isn't too much bulk in the swimsuit.   
• the straps are really annoying me and i may have to eliminate the fourth shoulder strap from the design to make the swimsuit more practical
• instead of using panels, i'm making the swimsuit in two pieces to again eliminate bulk
• I was right!.. the pintucks look awesome

love Phoebe

Cover Up

As part of the 6 black swimsuit designs, we also need to create a capsule collection based on the same concept.

I'm really excited about this capsule collection because i love my concept and really want the opportunity to push it to the furthest level.

Last week the class started designing cover-ups which could be anything really, like a dress, jacket, shawl. So firstly i looked back at certain design elements from my swimwear like the pintucks and the piping and tried using that on the following designs as well as flipping back to some aboriginal artworks in my journal that reflected circular shape which i've interpreted as large volume. 

I was really inspired by the 'cover ups' in Emilio Pucci, Diane Von Furstenburg and Sophia Kokosalaki's Spring-Summer 2010 collections.  i was particularly inspired by the sheer flowing fabric and the simple yet sophisticated  shapes and Ive tried to incorporate this in my designs.

love Phoebe

Resurfacing

I know it has been a while since my last entry and to be honest i have probably been a bit slack overall with this blog. This being my first blog I have found it hard to express my thoughts let alone discuss my processes, so I want to start a fresh and try my hardest to be as honest and profound as i possibly can be.

Before as a sit in my room listening to Amy Winehouse, flipping through the latest RUSSH magazine i came across a sentence in the editor's letter that really struck a cord with me.

'Artists inspire empathy for the process, rather than finding glory in the end result'

Sometimes as a fashion student i worry too much about the end result without focusing on the beautiful, creative journey that fashion should take me on. Therefore for the remainding 5 or so weeks of semester i want to use my imagination and learn because of my love for fashion not just my desire to succeed.
love phoebe