NUA MA Textile design reflective journal

Today i experimented with the CAD embroidery software. I started to doodle shapes inspired by the project and turned them into illustrator drawings ( as shown in the images). I then booked out the embroidery room for the day and converted my images onto the CAD Machine. There was a special feature that automatically converts my drawing into a stitch, which was very useful and less time-consuming. My drawing with the negative space was to be done on dissolvable fabric, and this created several issues in my sample. Firstly, the fabric stitching was too delicate so we needed to double layer it, and i was worried about the metallic stitching because the machine doesn’t take it well. However, i really want to incorporate metallic hues into my samples and it seemed to work well. After the sample had been stitched, i noticed there were a few gaps between the different shapes in the sample, so when the dissolvable fabric disappears, i was worried the sample would just break apart. Reflecting on this, i would like to carry on using the CAD embroidery in my samples, as i particularly enjoyed it during my BA studies. I admire the convenience of turning your drawings into stitched samples in a click of a button, this opens so many opportunities for future designs. I would love to embellish onto my stitched samples or even stitch onto printed fabric!

Today was the life drawing session. We started off by doing 1 min, 2 min, 5 min and 10 min drawings of the lady in different drawing positions. This was quite intense as i had to try and get the right proportions in a short length of time. This was my first time doing life drawing so it was really interesting to see other peoples perspectives and methods of drawing. My favourite drawing was the abstract piece i made with the fabric, i like how its very simplistic yet you can still kind of see the shape of the body. i also liked layering different drawings on one bit of paper, it made the overlapping look more dynamic. Overall, this workshop really helped me in terms of fashion illustrating, i have a more realistic sense of body proportions that i can use when design my own fashion pieces. Futhermore, this workshop has helped me to explore new ideas when getting inspiration for samples, could i showcase my work visually on body shapes made out of foil or sticks for example? Could i create abstract silhouutes where my designs would be placed?

Today, we did a workshop on constructing our own visual outcomes on mini mannequins. I gathered materials and fabrics that I thought would be relevant to my project ideas, such as organza and metallic netting. for my eventual master’s collection, I really want to produce fashion pieces, particularly dresses so i decided to focus on that for this workshop. Taking inspiration from natures exotic shapes, i decided to work as 3D as possible by stuffing the fabric with paper. The formations were really interesting and i really admired my coursemates work how each mannequin was completely different. My feedback was likened to a jellyfish, the way i had multiple puffs around the bodice. I liked the layering of translecuent fabrics and the way it draped down. what I have gained from this workshop is inspiration towards new shapes and textures surrounding my samples. For example, i could create a dress that has 3D elements coming off it, or twisted fabric to give a futuristic look. I am used to working really slowly and paying attention to detail, and this workshop comprimised of short-times exercises so it was really fun to work under time pressure with those ideas coming to mind so quickly

David Attenborough just released a new documentary called the mating game… amongst the rather amusing yet interesting scenes there was an episode that focused on sea creatures. whilst watching this fascinating episode, I was focused on one thing, how mesmerising the textures were in marine life and how inspiring it was as a textile designer. The Persian Carpet Flatworm particularly gained my attention and I sketched up a potential sample idea with heavy embellishment and laser-cutting media. What I admire about the fashion industry is how clothing can be inspired by the most random and intricate textures of an animal or plant for example. I have definitely decided I want my product application to be fashion, particularly haute couture as I feel this is a more sustainable option but I need to investigate sustainable materials and equipment. Sustainability is so important and is growing so much, for my RIPU project I will be rationing modern technology as a sustainable way forward. I am particularly interested in bioluminescence and to attain that in my fashion pieces I will need to use fibre optics… doesn’t sound so sustainable but there are ways it can be more sustainable.

My friend posted about this artist today on her insta story, I thought it would be an interesting medium to use for my collection, however, it didn’t look very sustainable and kind of defeated the main aim of my project. I did some research and managed to find a company that had the idea of using used plastic bottles or any unwanted plastic and melting it to use for the 3-D Pen. In my opinion, this sounds like an amazing idea, you would be wearing an item of clothing that was made out of 100% recycled plastic but unfortunately, the company didn’t get enough sponsors and my search continued. I found a material called PLA where carbon emissions are 80% lower than traditional plastics and biodegradable which could be an option if I did decided to pursue the idea of making a garment out of 3D pen drawing.. this is an idea that I will come back to later on when I start sampling :)

whenever I start a new project I always have to start with an initial mood board that captures the type of work I want to look at for my master’s degree. Through my research, I was constantly reminding myself why I wanted to start a masters degree in the first place and what I want to explore and develop. Trying a concept that was completely different to my BA was the main inspiration, I really wanted to look at something more modern and sustainable and this somehow took me to the path of mutations and biol-luminescence idea. The initial concept was inspired by a film I watched over the summer-annihilation starring Natalie Portman. In this movie, I had gained a lot of inspiration from the mutations, textures colours and theory behind the meaning of this film. The movie is about “self-destruction,” and on a metaphysical level, Annihilation certainly has that. A lot of the animals and plants have been mutated to alien-like organic forms and this is something I want to explore further. The concept of self-destruction intrigues me as well because the film is variously compared to tumours ravaging our planet and this can also be compared to human’s inability to stop the pollution that has given way to climate change. With this thought, I will also be exploring sustainability as a key part of my collection.