Cinema Against AIDS

 

Thursday saw the 20th annual Cinema Against AIDS benefit which raised over $25 million for amfAR, a charity which works to fight HIV/AIDS.

 

The night included a fashion show with a gold theme, featuring outfits from well-known and up-and-coming designers. There were a lot of stunning women's looks including a show-stopping satin dress from Armani Prive and a classic  gold skirt suit from Channel.

 

However, it was the men's looks that really interested me, while some of them were beautiful there were a few outfits that were more eye-watering than eye-catching.

My favourite outfit from the night was by Tarun Tahiliani. rather than being brash the gold theme was channelled through a subtle shade of grey with a hint of metallic. The simple jacket with a neru collar and plain piping was perfectly understated and combined perfectly with a pair of loose, dull gold trousers, reflecting the designers Indian heritage but blending it with a western tailoring style.

 





both images
http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/celebrity-photos/2013/5/24/amfar-gala/
 



 

 

On the other hand some of the mens outfits took the gold theme to the opposite extreme. Thom Browne's outfit for the show was completely bewildering and seems like a list of all the sartorial errors it is possible to make.

- metallic three piece suit

-matching tie

-anchor prints

-exposed stomach

and the grey fluff escaping from his trousers.... what are me meant to make of that? Thom Brown is a designer known for his bizarre creations but this outfit is something else!





Let Work Out

 

It's currently the middle of exam season and some of you may know (especially those that follow me on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/GHardingFashion/) I am a bit of a fitness freak. My favourite way to spend revision breaks it to head to the gym or do some Pilates, so I thought I would share the clothes I want to be working out in this summer.

Sweaty Betty is one of my favourite brands for workout clothing. Their designs are really colourful and fun,  they would make anyone want to go and work out. For me the best piece in the summer collection are these ombre running capris, they have a classic shape  but the quirky detailing, I especially like the pink piping on the side seam, make them stand out.

Sweaty Betty Ombre Capris http://mysuperficialendeavors.blogspot.co.uk/

Nike is a  name synonymous with work out clothing and there is a good reason for that; their clothes are functional, comfortable, attractive and reasonably priced. There are some parts of your gym bag that aren't worth skimping on and a good sports bra is one of them but Nike prove that they don't need to be ugly. This constellation print bra is so eyecatching you might be tempted to wear it on it's own, but it also offers support and  is made from moisture wicking fabric to keep you comfortable.

Nike Pro Printed Sprots Bra

http://store.nike.com/gb/en_gb/?l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-300/pid-709699/pgid-709701

 

 

 

 

 

 I couldn't write about workout clothes without mentioning my current fitness inspiration Cassey Ho, not only does she create great Pilates workouts (POP Pilates) but she also designs a fitness range.  This includes a line of inspirational tops in a range of bright, fun colours. So if you need and extra motivation to get down to the gym you can pop on one of these to get yourself going.

 

 

 

 

 

Blogilates Top

 http://shopblogilates.com/collections/tank-tops

What's Next?

So I have just handed in my final project of my second year and so I'm starting to look forward to my placement year which I will be starting in June.

I have managed to secure a placement with Temperley in London in their pattern cutting department, which will be an amazing opportunity and I can't wait to start! Although I specialise in menswear at university I am going to be working for a company which sell very feminine women's clothing, I think this will really help me develop as a designer and pattern cutter as it will mean I have experience in both areas.

Temperley London Pre-Fall 2013
http://www.fashionising.com/runway/b--temperley-london-pf-13-36893.html

A placement year is not compulsory on our course but I think it will give me a greater insight into the industry and will hopefully make me more employable, it seems almost impossible to get a job without this kind of experience. However,  there are a number of challenges associated with internships and placements as many are not paid and a number of companies including The Arcadia group have run into trouble in recent years and have now started paying their interns.

Last summer I worked for a small children's wear  company over the summer, although I learnt a lot from it, especially the stages involved with staring up a business, I don't think it was worth the amount I ended up spending on transport and living in London. So although gaining work experience is an important thing to do I think it is better to work with companies which have an established internship programme to ensure you are getting the most out of your time and not just working for free.

I'd love to know what you think of internships, did you do one? are you planning on taking a placement year? Do you think they are worth it?

Twisted Tradition Project

This is the final stage of a project I have been working on for the last few months. It is based around the ideas behind the Slow Fashion movement promoting the use of environmentally friendly fabrics, ethical manufacturing and lower levels of consumption.

Below are the flat drawing boards and a few illustrations of the collection I have designed which is aimed at men between 30 and 50 incorporating punchy colours, tradition fabrics, reflective tape 9 for the avid cyclist) and detachable elements to make  garments multi-functional and trans-seasonal.

I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me on my work.






Flat Drawing Board

 

 

Illustrations

 



Flat Drawing Board





Yohji Yamamoto

Here is a quick look at one of the projects I did earlier on this year. It is targeted at the eponymous brand of Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto, it is quite a conceptual brand but based around an ethos of high quality clothing following classic tailoring techniques.




Yohji Yamamoto Moodboard

Yamamoto's  usual colour pallet is dark with accents of red, to reflect this I chose to base my collection around the concept of shadows, playing with layers of sheer and opaque fabrics and creating contrast between loose flowing shapes and more structure pieces. Below are the illustrations I created for this project.



Yohji Yamamoto Illustrations

Can I kick my fast fashion habit?

 

As you've probably gathered from my recent blog posts my work this semester has focused a lot on sustainability within the fashion industry. It is a subject I have been interested in for a while but learning more about the reality of how and where our clothes are made has really made me want to change the way I shop for the better.

The fashion industry uses huge amounts of resources: water, energy, chemicals, oil, the list goes on, but it is also responsible for terrible pollution from the use of pesticides and dyes as well as the exploitation of workers around the world.


Water Pollution caused by textile dying
 http://we.thinkaboutit.eu/profiles/blogs/nightmare-maritsa-river-with



We all know that Primark is bad but the reality is many of the high street chains people perceive as offering better quality and ethics don't, Zara for example, despite charging much more for their products were recently at the heart of a scandal involving the use of slave labour in their factories.  As consumers we have very little concept of where our clothes come from or how they are made and what I have realised from my research is that often companies don't know either due to the complex supply chains in the fashion industry.



3% of Hong Kong's daily textile waste

http://www.ecouterre.com/16-foot-mountain-of-clothing-illustrates-hong-kongs-daily-textile-waste/

I am as guilty as anyone of shopping and not thinking about what it is I am buying, what its made from and who they are made by but I've decided that I need to change my shopping habits.
There are a lot of ways to wear more sustainable clothes, the most obvious one is to buy less and wear what you already have. If you think about the amount of energy, resources and time that goes into each garment you own it makes no sense to leave half of them in the back of your wardrobe and then throw them straight into landfill.



Another way to be more sustainable is to buy from charity and vintage shops. Reusing clothes means your are consuming less virgin materials and  making use of what has already been produced. Another great idea is upcycling, either by adapting your old clothes or buying from companies that remake second hand clothes. A brand I really admire are Goodone who produce beautiful clothes from second hand clothes and industrial waste fabric, the designs are really modern and wearable, breaking the stereotype of what 'ethical' fashion looks like.

Goodone AW 2012 collection

There are a lot of companies out there that are doing a lot to improve how sustainable they are, one of the aspects of this is improving the tractability of products so consumers know where their clothes have come from. Nurmi are a band that really focus on this element of their business producing garments that not only are low impact but can be traced back to their source. I really love their jeans which are made from hemp and organic cotton and produced in Finland.

Nurmi Jeans

Unfortunately buying sustainable fashion is more expensive than high street clothing and in reality a lot of people will choose the £2 Primark T-Shirt over the more expensive organic cotton, ethically sourced version. But on the other hand by cutting back on the impulse buys in the Topshop sale you will save money allowing you to invest in better quality clothing that doesn't cost the earth, that's my plan anyway!

Havana Forgets

Earlier in the semester I did a project based on the concept of memory, the brief was to create two outfits that reflected the nature of memory as well as a personal or collective memory.

I chose to focus on a trip I took to Cuba a few years ago, the country fascinated me as it was a place of so many contrasts and overlapping influences. The difference between the crumbling houses and the pristine state owned hotels and the legacy of past leaders in the colonial facades,vintage American cars and  revolutionary murals really inspired me so I started to combine my memories of the Cuba with the history of the country.






Havana Forgets Moodboard



 

 

 

The mood of my collection was based around the ideas that the influences of the past are fading in Cuba not just physically, in the crumbling buildings built by the Spanish, but also in the memory of the population. I also wanted to focus on the contrasts existing in the country, the iconography of the revolution that is still so prominent while economic restrictions are being relaxed, overturning the established communist ideals.

 

 

 

The collection I created used layers of laser cut fabrics in a pattern mimicking the peeling paint of old Havana, distorted images of Che Guevara representing the relaxing of the communist systems, and contrasting textures to portray the ideas of the old and new. The colour pallet was mostly muted reflecting how memories fade over time but also drawing on the colours of the derelict buildings in Havana.

 

 

Havana Forgets Final Outfits

Patterns inspired by islamic tilings

For our module on the theory of design, we were set the challenge of creating patterns, in the style of Islamic tiling, without gap or overlap for a practical application. To do this we had to take a square and a triangle, divide them up into sections and then rearrange them to create 6 patterns from the triangle and 6 patterns from the square.

My colours and shapes were inspired by alpine scenes, using shades of cream, blue and pink, with sharp angular shapes, below is the mood board for my patterns showing how I divided the triangle and square.

Here are some of my designs so far from the to four are the triangle rearranged and the final two are from the square.

 

 

 

 
 

Australia Fashion Week: Don't forget the boys

Yesterday saw the close of Australia Fashion Week, you might expect that the collections would be all bikinis and surf short, and while some of them were, the majority showcased truly talented designers who are worth keeping an eye out for. As with many fashion weeks the focus was very much on the womenswear , however, the handful of menswear collections that were exhibited really stood out.

My favourite collection was by From Britten, it was a mix of classic tailoring and sportswear with basketball-style shorts paired with sharp jackets. Cropped, boxy silhouettes and contrasting panels gave the collection a fresh edge  and quirky styling details such as mismatched socks providing a sense of fun to sombre colour pallet.




From Britten SS13/14
 http://derriuspierre.com/2013/04/10/from-britten-springsummer-2013-14-mercedes-benz-fashion-week-australia/

 

Another great collection came from Paul Scott, this collection was much more eclectic than From Britten's with a mix of prints including contrasting checks and fairisle patterns. Layering and patches formed a big part of the collection with cropped suit jackets worn over long line shirts.

 

Paul Scott SS13/14

 http://australia.mbfashionweek.com/photos_and_videos#

 

 



Slow Fashion Project Designs

This week I've been working on my initial designs for my current design project which centres around the idea of sustainability and creating fashion that looks good but is also good for the environment and the people that make it.

I am going to design a menswear capsule collection with the focus on creating garments that can be worn in a number of ways either with detachable or reversible elements.

 

 

This first design is for a green herringbone tweed jacket with a detachable wool lining, this makes the garment suitable for both autumn and winter meaning it is very versatile.

 

 

 

The next design is a pair of drop crotch jeans made from 100% hemp denim, the trousers have knee patches, the knees of trousers often get worn so protecting these areas will allow the garment to last longer.

 

 

This design is a reversible cashmere coat, the fabric it is made from is double sided so the garment is multifunctional allowing the consumer to get more use from it.

 

 

 

The final image is two shirt designs, both designs have detachable sleeves meaning they can be worn in different ways making them suitable for multiple seasons.

Tribal Instinct III Update

Last month I blogged about Tribal Instincts III, the East African Society fashion show I designed and made some outfits for. I've just received the professional photographs from the event so I thought I'd share them with you.
There's also a photo of me and fellow designer Zoe Lipscomb taking our bow at the end.

Let me know what you think!






Shirt and shorts on the catwalk

Tunic and trousers on the catwalk

 

Fabric shopping at Cloth House

 

Last week I went to London to visit some of my favourite fabric shops, it sounds sad but its pretty exciting walking in not knowing what you are going to find and slowly bringing a collection to life. My favourite street to shop for fabric is Berwick street and my favourite shop is Cloth House, well shops because they have two  outlets on the street.

Cloth House, 47 Berwick Street
http://tolkathoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2009_01_01_archive.html
 

The first shop you come to when you turn off Oxford Street houses their linen, cotton, suiting and denim. they have an amazing collection of hand printed and woven cottons and a basement filled with every colour of velvet and corduroy you can imagine. The second shop is further down the road towards Soho and is  where you need to go if you are looking for something luxurious or unusual. As well as stocking a wide range of stretch jerseys and wools they have some slightly more outlandish fabrics including neoprene, rubber, PVC and numerous types of silk.

This shopping trip was different from normal in a couple of ways; as this project is concerned with reducing the environmental impact of clothing I had to think about the sustainability of all the fabrics I chose, and also I had by dad in tow. Rather than being a hindrance as I imagined Papa Harding actually proved pretty useful as he falls into the target customer of the brand I am designing for, it was useful to have a potential customer to bounce ideas off and he actually suggested some fabrics I hadn't considered such as combining the green and orange wool fabrics seen below.

Fabric samples from Cloth House 

In terms of sustainability I found a couple of interesting fabrics, one of which is the denim fabric which is actually made from hemp. Hemp comes from the cannabis plant and has had a reputation in the past for being a scratchy, stiff fabric worn by hippies, I was surmised to find that this fabric was almost indistinguishable from normal cotton denim so I decided to include it in my collection as it has a much lower environmental impact as it needs less water and chemicals than cotton.

The best thing I found in Cloth House was a reflective tape which I can incorporate into my collection, making tailored jackets suitable for the environmentally conscious man to wear on his bicycle. I can't wait to get started designing!

'Twisted Tradition'- Slow Fashion Design

The design project I am currently working on is inspired by the concept of Slow Fashion and the issues surrounding sustainability in the fashion industry. Slow Fashion is a movement which counters the fast fashion model promoted by most of the fashion industry, it encourages consumers to buy less and to really appreciate the clothes they own, thinking carefully about the origin and quality of products before purchasing them.

Researching this project I was shocked by how much the fashion industry takes natural resources for granted. We all think we know what the worst culprits; natural fibres are often held up as environmentally friendly alternatives to man-made fibres such as polyester. Therefore, finding out that cotton, usually seen as the better option is just as bad for the environment as fabrics essentially made from crude oil is pretty shocking.

However, there are quite a few examples of retailers which are making efforts to lessen their environmental impact. H&M, often held up as examples of how unsustainable fast fashion is, launched their 'Conscious Collection' a couple of seasons ago and have started introducing recycling points into their shops.   Marks and Spencer have also been leading the way with their 'shwopping' initiative and 'Plan A' which aims to dramatically reduce the companies impact by 2015.

Slow fashion Customer Board

From my research I decided to create a capsule collection of sustainable menswear using high quality, low impact fabrics such as wool and Lyocell to make designs which would out live the fast fashion cycle of one season. I decided to design for my own brand 'Real' which centres around the concept of  educating consumers about how to care for and repair their purchases enabling them to extend the life of their products.

The mood of the collection centres around the idea of creating innovative designs by using traditional techniques, fabrics and styles in new ways. I will look at traditional tailoring techniques and historical features, such as detachable collars, but reinterpret them to create a range of essential pieces with a modern twist.

I'd really appreciate any feedback you have on my ideas so far so please leave a comment below.

Junky Styling

 

This semester at university all my work seems to have been very focused on sustainability and designing with an environmental conscience. I think these are important issues for the fashion industry to tackle and I have been very inspired by some of the companies I have researched.
 
A company I came across a while ago but which really stuck in my mind when it came to considering a more sustainable model for the fashion industry is Junky Styling. Operating out of their shop in London this brand's focus is up-cycling and recycling clothing,  creating unique pieces from customers own clothing or second-hand finds.




Junky Styling up-cycled Jacket
http://www.junkystyling.co.uk/

 
As part of my research into the company I read the book produced for its 10 year anniversary, it tracks the evolution of the brand from an inspired idea to a full blown business. It also shows past collections, one of my favourite things about them is the way basic garments such as men's shirts can be remade in to create so many different garments in so many styles. Once you know that the dresses below are made from shirts you can see all the different elements, the collars, buttons and sleeves, but if you didn't know they still look like interesting, classy dresses. 
 

Junky Styling Catwalk
http://sustainablethimble.wordpress.com/tag/recyclable-fashion/ 

 
 
I love the idea that worn out, old clothing can be remade into something new and beautiful; given a whole new life and cherished by someone else. I think the reuse of existing materials, and so the reduction in the use of new raw materials is an important aspect of creating a more environmentally sound fashion industry.
 
 

My Website

To see more of my work take a look at my newly updated website:
http://graceharding3.wix.com/gracehardingfashion

Berlin: Wilfried Pletzinger

I've spent the last week traveling around Europe as part of a charity hitchhike, we managed to blag our way to Berlin which is an amazing city full of history, street art and quirky shops. 




Wilfried Pletzinger AW12/13


Wandering around the city we found a little shop called Wilfried Pletzinger selling up-cycled clothes. The focus of the company is customised sportswear, sweatshirts became harem pants while football shirts are made into dresses giving old clothes a new lease of life.


As part of a slow fashion project at university I have been looking into ways garments can be made to last longer, one way of doing this is by reinventing clothes that have become damaged of outdated. Creating something new that can be loved by someone else.

My favourite pieces in the shop were these dresses because of the way they combined bold, bright sportswear with softer fabrics and shapes to create a romantic, feminine garment. I also loved the tops that were made into trousers because of the way they challenged how garments should be worn.


Sustainability in fashion is something I'm really passionate about and seeing up-cycling in practice, being used to make exciting and innovative clothing was really inspiring. It showed that sustainable fashion doesn't have to be about hemp and hippies but can be colourful, fun and interesting.

Tribal Instinct III

Last weekend was the incredible Leeds University Union East African Society fashion show; Tribal Instinct III. I was lucky enough to be involved, creating two outfits as part of a Collection by Leeds University fashion students.

The show itself was amazing displaying the best aspects of East African culture; dance, music and fashion all coming together in aid of Tumaini Children’s Home, a Kenyan charity which supports destitute children with education, food and clothes.

Photo by Salmon Media Collective (@_Salmonmedia on twitter)

The starting point for the collection was the vibrant nature of East African culture, especially the broad range of bold colours and patterns used in native fabrics (see my Pinterest for the inspiration board).  In my outfits I wanted the focus to be on the patterns on the fabric so I decided to keep the designs of the garments quite simple, I also wanted to play with the idea of African fashion meeting British fashion so I decided to combine the African fabrics with traditional western garments to create a collection with a sense of cultural fusion.


The outfits I made up can be seen below on the stand but soon I'll post some pictures from the night showing them fully styled. Congratulations to the Tribal Instinct III team for hosting such an amazing night and to all the other designers that took part for their stunning work. Take a look at http://zoelipscomb.blogspot.co.uk/ to see Zoe Lipscomb's take on our collection.

Damart Thermals Project

At the beginning of this semester we started a project sponsored by thermals company Damart. They make clothing which until recently was more likely to be found in your grandma's wardrobe than your own, however, in the past couple of years they have been doing quite a lot to change their image teaming up with fashion student from London Collage of Fashion and now us at Leeds University.

Damart Styled by London Collage of Fashion student see http://www.mcgpr.co.uk/press-area/2012/05/london-college-of-fashion%e2%80%99s-brightest-stars-re-style-classic-british-brand-damart/ for more details

The aim of this project was to create garments that would appeal to a younger market that Damart's usual customer while still making the most of the fabrics thermal qualities. This meant tight base layers with interesting detailing and looser pieces that could be worn over the top, channelling a young, fun and quirky feel without alienating Damart's current customers.
I designed two Menswear pieces, a top with gathered sleeves  and a pair of leggings with a draped over-skirt.

 

 After several weeks pattern cutting and prototyping  I started making up my garments in cream Damart fabric with contrasting red stitching. So far the top is finished and hopefully tomorrow I will complete the leggings. I'll be posting again soon hopefully showing another finished piece, until then it would be great to know what you think of the top. Would you wear it? Does it change your opinion of thermals?