Graduate Fashion Show

Thursday 7th June was a very long and stressful day indeed! Final Fashion Show for Heriot Watt University showcasing the graduate collection "See No Evil : Secrets In The Suictases.  The show was curated by Mark Eley of Eley Kishimoto and held at Dovecot Studio in Edinburgh.

Due to dressing problems we all were assigned to a model so I was quite sad that I wasn't able to see the collection hit the runway but hey ho, the other students did a fantastic job of ensuring everything was okay for the men to strut their stuff on the very long catwalk.

Here are some images of the show preview on the day.  A massive thank you to all involved and the models themselves who were a really nice bunch :)

Harris Tweed Coat, Boucle Jumper, Paneled  Trousers

Wool Jacket with Leather Piping, Contrast Panel Shirt and Rag Rugged Wool Trousers

Cashmere Cape, Gathered Knit Jumper and Paneled Wool Trousers

Leather Paneled Coat, Plain Knit Jumper and Wool Paneled Trousers

Brown Leather Paneled Jacket, Contrast Panel Shirt and Pinstriped Trousers

Wool Jumpsuit with Rag Rugged Paneled Leg

See No evil : Secrets In The Suitcases

All garments were designed and made by myself with some help from my intern and sister Jasmyn Hunter.  The collection is featured in my fashion film which was mentioned recently on fashion guru Claire Stuarts blog 

NEXT UP : Ispire The Attire 2, G2E Events, Tall Ship, Glasgow

17th August 7:30 - 12am

So Excited!!! :) 

News...

I haven't posted on the blog for a looong time because I have been so busy busy busy!

News :

Ozwald Boateng

Thank you so much to all of those who took the time to vote on my A Man's Story competition entry.  After the votes were cast, the top 30 were shown to Ozwald Boateng himself and he chose 5 overall winners.  I am extremely excited to be 1 of those 5, giving me the opportunity to meet one of my all time fashion heroes at his design studio on Savile Row.  PINCH ME!  Boateng took to his twitter account to congratulate us and say that he was excited to work with us...AHHHH!!!!

Heriot Watt Fashion Show 2012

As I had stated previously, there was a selection process to determine who would be showcasing their collections at the Dovecot on the 7th of June.  I was playing DJ for a day in the room which was horrible, as when my collection came in I had to look at the wall because it was so awkward.  Anyways! Long story short I made the cut.  I feel very privileged as our year is extremely strong with everyone having worked so hard for the last 4 years.

www.hubtickets.co.uk for tickets!

Who's Next/Pret a Porter Paris

I am vey excited to announce that I am one of 10 graduates in the world to be invited to this competition.  50 other students have been selected internationally by their course leaders to be up for the chance to present our current collections in Paris at this event. Winners will be announced on Monday!  I am not under any illusion that I will be successful in this, as I know how unbelievably talented the other students are, but to be 1 of 10 invited is MAJOR!

I think that's everything for just now.  The Heriot Watt School of Textiles Degree Show opens on Friday so if you are in the neighbourhood (unlikely) come along and have a look at the amazing talent coming out of the school this year.

4 More Days...

4 Days until the competition for Ozwald Boateng ENDS!!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take the time to head over to the facebook page, like it and then press the blue VOTE button to help me out!!!!!

http://bit.ly/H63lDC

GO GO GO!!!!!!!

Well...

So uni classes are over...OH.MY.GOD

does this mean I have to try and get a job now?!

So last week was the final walkthrough, last chance to impress a panel and get into the show..AHH!!  I was in fact in on the whole thing due to my amazing music skills (pressing play and then skipping every time a new collection came in)  Due to the fact that there are so many of us only a select few made the cut and we found out Monday morning who the lucky ones were.

I have to admit, some of the decisions seemed unfair, if everybody could get in then it would be a lot easier!  The show is at the Dovecot in Edinburgh, 7th June for anyone who wants to pencil it in their diary!  It promises to be a good night, with Mark Eley curating the whole thing, including an exhibition which runs for a week or two.

So what have I been up to?  Work. Work. Work.

At the weekend I bothered Jamie Hillen for the last time (maybe) to use his body and beautiful face for my fashion film.  I have to say it was ore fun than work, so that was a pleasant surprise, with most of the clips consisting of jamie laughing at the worst possible moments and being a general idiot!  After going through everything with a fine tooth comb I have alllmost got the finished result, ill post it on here once I have finished!

On Thursday I will be showcasing my collection in the first of a few shows I have been asked to be a part of.  this one is a charity show in Edinburgh and promises to be a good evening!  Tickets are £8 and you can buy them on the door so if anyone is around come along and help raise some money for charity!

A Man's Story

So this week I have been working on a number of things, but most importantly my entry for the "A Man's Story" Competition.

A Man's Story is a documentary film, skimming through the past 12 YEARS of one of the most influential menswear designers in the world.  Ozwald Boateng.  This man is an absolute genius.  Having visited his Savile Row store last Autumn and keeping a watchful eye on his collections over the years, this is a film that I was so excited to see, so you can imagine how disappointed I was to see that the film wouldn't show until a day before the initial closing date of the competition!

Being the chancer that I am, I phoned up press for the film and the lovely Suhan sent a copy out to me straight away!  I sat in my room ( I felt sorry for my flatmate that night because I literally just left her on her own for half the night) on my own with my laptop in-front of me and stared at the screen with my mouth open pretty much the whole time.

This man is the definition of brilliance.  Someone that fought his way to the top and still fights everyday to keep things at the highest level.  I wont give too much away, as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it but I really do recommend it!  So my concept from the whole film was the idea of no matter what is happening the show must go on.  All the struggles, the fights the drama, everything has to be put aside for this one show that could effectively change everything or balance everything out.

if you have a spare minute please go onto the page, like a mans story and then VOTE on my designs!  Make sure its the Mood Board one NOT the final lineup one...just so all votes are going to the same thing! :D

http://bit.ly/H63lDC

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Development

I thought it would be a good idea to put up the development of the collection which I would have done already but I have so much work that it's hard to keep track of!

This collection has been an ongoing project for the past two years, and the amount of time and effort I have put in to it is really quite unbelieveable to me.  Looking back over everything it's amazing to see how one idea can spark and entire world of research, development, knitting, sampling, weaving, experimental textures, design, pattern cutting, fabric sourcing, construction and so on and so forth...oooft!

Inspiration and Development

A few images of the beginnings of the collection, including my self initiated brief.  To date, I have designed, printed and hand bound 28 books of research.  This seems like a lot (who am I kidding it's ridiculous) but is in actual fact all relevant and has helped me arrive at the stage I am now.  A lot of time and effort, but successful at the same time.  All of the pages were made to look worn, like they would in an old book or journal.  As Ian Brady documented a lot of the murders and wrote in books often, I felt this would add to the overall mood of my research.

 Sketchbook Work

Mostly collaging of inspiration and hand drawn garment illustrations.  These took a long time, however the end result was worth it!  I tend to draw a number of garmnets and then the final stage will be to select combinations to start to develop a final lineup.

And.........BREATHE

So here we arrive at the final lineup.  i definitely worry that the end result doesn't look as good as the illustrated line up...but let's hope that this is not the case!