Distressed Evolution

I have developed the theme "forces of nature" as i have been drawn towards the destruction side of theme. Here is my concept theme below :

Looking at various forces of nature the most prominent being natural disasters, which I collected a number of different imagery from storms to tsunamis. Most of these natural disasters resulted in destruction and wreckage, which allowed me to look into weathered buildings and shattered architecture. After looking into devastated aftermaths I was inspired by layering and mix of different weighted fabrics. The quote "the calm after the storm" came to mind after some of these images. As in some images everything is calm but left in a mix matched disheveled state, as people and nature are trying to slowly rebuild. The layering images made me direct towards homelessness and looser knitwear due to a lot of natural disasters resulting in homeless people. I have one side of disaster been shattered delicate forms, then the other side being the debris left after a disaster being layered in unusual ways. Due to the collection being a winter collection I have thought about layering different garments, some with delicate forms and some more structured, as after a disaster there is a mass of different objects forced together in ways they wouldn’t usually. Altogether I have created a number of different boards that explore different aspects of the theme “Distressed Evolution.” 

Paragraph explaining chosen ideas

Forces Of Nature

Looking for an initial concept theme took me a very long time. As I wanted to push the boundaries and pick something that I have never done before and will allow me to create an unusual collection. I looked at various aspects of nature from under the sea right the way to space and atmosphere, and first came up with a name of Natures Elements, but I felt this didn't quite explain exactly what I wanted to do. However the idea I found most interesting gave me the title 'Forces of Nature' this will allow me to have a broad spectrum of inspiration into theme colour and fabric. My first thought into forces of nature was natural disasters, in which I collected a number of different imagery from storms to tsunamis. Most of these natural disasters resulted in destruction and wreckage, which allowed me to look into weathered buildings and shattered architecture. After looking into devastated aftermaths I was inspired by layering and mix of different weighted fabrics. The quote "the calm after the storm" came to mind after some of these images. As in some images everything is calm but left in a mix matched disheveled state, as people and nature are trying to slowly rebuild. The layering images made me direct towards homelessness and post apocalyptic key words, as well as grunge. I have also explored knitwear and ways of layering knit to create desired effects. Altogether I have created a number of different boards that explore different aspects of the theme “Forces of Nature.”

Pintrest:

http://pinterest.com/jadebdesign/boards/

Investigating Knit Samples

I have been kindly given a knitting machine, which is a frustrating machine yet i have created some unusual samples to aid my designing. 

The aim of these samples was for me to get a feel for the machine and what was capable, i tried to remember the main theme in all this which was forces of nature, destruction, layering. Thinking about large loop holes in the knit, how i could layer things up to create textures. Knit can be incorporated into part of the design, doesn't have to be the whole garment. I am trying to gather research to aid my designing. 

first attempt, failed - But learnt how to create ladders, holes and making the knit look more worn! 

this knit was inspired by the image below 

second and third attempt more successful, created some loose knits and also tried plaiting my strips to make chunky detailing.

the image above i started to get more confident by adding lace to the needles so it knit in with the machine. created some unusual effects.

added a range of different threads and wool.

below are a few scans of me layering my samples together

Homeless layering

I feel that the theme homeless shows worn fabrics and knitwear for warmth. I also think that a person that is homeless shows layers of fabrics, sometimes worn in odd ways, gives unusual shapes to garments that would not usually occur if the item is worn where it is meant to. for example a cardigan worn inside out and upside down so that it drapes across the body. 

Fashion Faces

Before going back to uni i want to have a few relevant 'fashion faces' to help aid my design illustrations. These faces have to link with the themes i have chosen and go with the overall 'look' of the clothing. 

Below are a few sketches i have quickly drawn to get a feel for my style of work again, as it has been over two months since i have put pen to paper.

Homelessness

On my Pinterest board i found the image of a grunge 'homeless' girl wearing very dark black smokey eye, a large wool hat and scruffy grunge hair. I think this would be a perfect face for a distressed, worn , disaster theme to garments.

I also drew another fashion face, but this time went into the 'greek mythology' theme, when looking at forces of nature Greeks believed in Gods and other mythical creatures. Which lead me to this minotaur head, the inspiration came from a number of images i found and placed on my Pinterest board. Again this is just me experimenting and trying to get a comfortable way of illustrating that works for me.

Forces of Nature - Greek Mythology

I have decided to go right back to the original theme, so that i don't stray too far away from the concept of Forces of Nature. I really like the direction of disasters caused by forces and the elements. I would say the main elements are Earth, Air, Water and Fire, which most natural disasters fit into. In Greek Mythology these elements are claimed to be controlled by the gods/goddesses. After some research i found the following names linked most to my work 

Poseidon- God of the sea, earthquakes. Supreme god of Mt. Olympus- Floods, Droughts and Earthquakes ( Links back to natural disasters) 

Haphaestus- God of fire, volcanoes

Zeus- King of Gods, can control the weather, Thunder.

Gaia (Mother Earth)- Goddess of the Earth

Altogether these few gods link to earth, air, water and fire. 

They also link back to natural disasters, whether by nature or the'Gods' it causes destruction and wreckage to the earth.

Looking at the Macro trends given with the brief, i have noticed that the theme 'Modern Myth' is a trend for AW2014/15. Although greek gods are not modern, the way i interpret this myth information to my work could make the concept of modern emerge.

below are some inspirational images on greek mythology and gods

Post Apocalyptic fashion

Looking further into the post apocalyptic fashion i found a number of images that inspire me in designing.I feel a lot of the imagery found can also go into the homelessness category as there are a lot of worn fabrics and layering. Knitwear and jersey are a popular fabrics also used in the research.

Key words:   Disheveled, worn, torn, jersey.

knit layering

tassling

ripping jersey fabric

leather, zips. layering

layer texture inspiration

post apocalyptic heels, nuts and bolts

layering clothing

fur and tassels

textured fabrics

hoods, belts, buckles, tassels

knitwear worn