Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Final prouct = so happy!!!!
So here is a little paragraph to sum up my swimsuit:
My simple yet elegant design is glamourous with a sporty twist. Inspired by ANNETTE KELLERMAN, this swimsuit embodies a woman who liked to push the boundaries in everything she did. The sporty boy leg shape is functional but cheeky and was inspired by this incredible swimmer and athlete. The halter shape with hanging beads was inspired by various images from the period between the 1920's and the 1950's. It adds femininity and glamour and shows personality, similar to Annette, who was also a Hollywood actress. I designed the cut-out feature to show off the female physique, inspired by Annette Kellermann, who was once dubbed "The perfect body".
My simple yet elegant design is glamourous with a sporty twist. Inspired by ANNETTE KELLERMAN, this swimsuit embodies a woman who liked to push the boundaries in everything she did. The sporty boy leg shape is functional but cheeky and was inspired by this incredible swimmer and athlete. The halter shape with hanging beads was inspired by various images from the period between the 1920's and the 1950's. It adds femininity and glamour and shows personality, similar to Annette, who was also a Hollywood actress. I designed the cut-out feature to show off the female physique, inspired by Annette Kellermann, who was once dubbed "The perfect body".
Getting ready to sew!!!!!!!!!
The cutting process was interesting... I attempted to chalk my pattern pieces on to the fabric, like I had done with the brown toile fabric, but the black wool jersey is so much stretchier and therefore; didn't want to COOPERATE with me! So I ended up pinning and then cutting!
I'm terrified to start sewing on the elastic, as I had already managed to stretch the elastic too much with the toile... Woops! I've learnt from that mistake though, so I'm telling myself that it will be ABSOLUTELY FINE as long as I'm careful!!!
When it came to finally sewing the elastic on, it was fine! No problems!!! But then when it came to the zigzag stitch on the semi-industrial to finish it off, I had BIG problems. Considering the weather was also 38degrees and there is no air conditioning at tafe, it was always going to be a crazy and ridiculous day!
So the semi-industrials decided that they wanted to HATE me on this day, of all days. They decided that they would zig zag incredibly badly today and no matter how much i tried to solve the problem, I couldn't find the solution. For a self-confessed perfectionist, it was incredibly difficult for me to admit defeat. Then out of nowhere, BOOM! It started working again! I thought only humans could be this unpredictable. I was so flustered by 3pm, but at the same time I was so happy and relieved to have my swimsuit finally finished... Almost.
Now I just ahd to thread the BEADS on to the ribbons! This was probably the easiest part of the whole process! Atleast the exciting part is always at the end! It's always so rewarding to see your completed piece that you've put so much work in to!
I'm terrified to start sewing on the elastic, as I had already managed to stretch the elastic too much with the toile... Woops! I've learnt from that mistake though, so I'm telling myself that it will be ABSOLUTELY FINE as long as I'm careful!!!
When it came to finally sewing the elastic on, it was fine! No problems!!! But then when it came to the zigzag stitch on the semi-industrial to finish it off, I had BIG problems. Considering the weather was also 38degrees and there is no air conditioning at tafe, it was always going to be a crazy and ridiculous day!
So the semi-industrials decided that they wanted to HATE me on this day, of all days. They decided that they would zig zag incredibly badly today and no matter how much i tried to solve the problem, I couldn't find the solution. For a self-confessed perfectionist, it was incredibly difficult for me to admit defeat. Then out of nowhere, BOOM! It started working again! I thought only humans could be this unpredictable. I was so flustered by 3pm, but at the same time I was so happy and relieved to have my swimsuit finally finished... Almost.
Now I just ahd to thread the BEADS on to the ribbons! This was probably the easiest part of the whole process! Atleast the exciting part is always at the end! It's always so rewarding to see your completed piece that you've put so much work in to!
My Toile and sourcing my UH-MAZING beads!
So i was now busy constructing my exciting toile. The toile fabric didn't have as much stretch as the soft wool jersey that the final swimsuit would be in, so I was prepared that it might be rather tight. And boy, was it tight! I changed the shaping around the bottom on my pattern, as it wasn't as boyleg as I would've liked. All good now and ready to source trims to start my final swimsuit!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!
Now I could see the finish line! So I went to the bead shop on Rundle Street (Cabeadle) and found the most perfect, glamourous beads!!! Since we were allowed to only have clear and black colours, I was lookign for some crystal or glass beads that were so gorgeous and shiny... And I found some!!!!!!!!! I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them! I then found some black beads in two different sizes to surround and complement the crystal beads! I was set!!!
I then went to Spotlight on my way home and found some BLACK CRINKLE GEORGETTE with a sparkly sheen to it, which was perfect for the side panels of my garment, I would cut them on the bias to get as much stretch out of the fabric as possible. Lets hope that its as perfect as I want it to be! Now I was set to cut and sew!
What would Annette Kellerman think anyway?
The patternmaking process was surprisingly very straight forward! Seeing other students designs, I was getting worried about the simplicity of my design. I told myself not to worry and to stand by my choice. I guess that's what designing is about, standing by what you believe in. But taking constructive criticism is also important. I guess you need to find a balance somewhere between the two. TASTE IS KEY. The lecturers had assisted me with narrowing down my choices during the design process, so if my design was so unappealing and boring, then it wouldn't have been selected. I would make my design stand out in a different way...
My design would be ELEGANT and glamourous and everyone will want to wear it! I don't feel like I need to go over the top with embellishments or shapes to get my design noticed. WHAT WOULD ANNETTE KELLERMAN THINK ANYWAY? She was once heard saying "I can't swim wearing more stuff than you hang on a clothesline." For this reason, I think that she would love my gorgeous design if she were alive today!
My design would be ELEGANT and glamourous and everyone will want to wear it! I don't feel like I need to go over the top with embellishments or shapes to get my design noticed. WHAT WOULD ANNETTE KELLERMAN THINK ANYWAY? She was once heard saying "I can't swim wearing more stuff than you hang on a clothesline." For this reason, I think that she would love my gorgeous design if she were alive today!
Sporty swimsuit + Glamour = Annette Kellerman inspired!
So now that I had decided on one aspect of my design, i played around with many, many sketches. I then became inspired by another image we were given by our lecturers, of men in swimsuits from the same period that ANNNETTE KELLERMAN started pushing the boundaries!
The sporty shape of the male swimsuit was so simple, but so functional. It was then that I decided that I definitely wanted to utilise a BOY LEG shape in my designs. So now with the boyleg and the halter sorted, i knew that i wanted to add a twist........
The CUT-OUT shape is a very modern look, causing the one-piece swimsuit to appear almost as a bikini from the front... This was the direction I wanted to move towards!
At the end of the design process, I had narrowed the choices down to THREE! I then decided on a rather simple, yet ELEGANT and CLASSIC shape, which has a hint of glamour, as I wanted to find some gorgeous BEADS that would really stand out and finish it off! I was definitely happy with my choice!!!
So....lets design a swimsuit inspired by Annette Kellerman!!!
I'm so so so excited at the prospect of designing for the woollen mermaids competition, it's such a great opportunity, a challenge and (I'm hoping it will be) a lot of fun!!! So... starting with the design process, I decided to focus on a slightly SPORTY twist with a GLAMOUROUS edge.
I was playing around with a few different shapes and then became inspired by one of the swimwear images we had been given, which had a beautiful classic HALTER shape.
I was playing around with a few different shapes and then became inspired by one of the swimwear images we had been given, which had a beautiful classic HALTER shape.
I thought it was such a gorgeous shape that's so versatile in swimwear in both bikini's and one-piece's. It adds a certain amount of CHARM and ALLURE to any swimsuit, still to this day! This certainly helped me narrow down my designs a little!
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