Rad Runway Shows

Focusing in on one thing/theme has been kind of difficult for me. I want to do so many different things... especially since I'm not producing many garments for the show. Ugh. I'm frustrated, but thankfully not discouraged. It's just so hard because I want to do earthy, refashioned garments, but i also want to do concept, artsy garments just as bad. Since tomorrow is my day off, I'll probably spend most of my day doing more fashion research and come up with a theme for my garments to follow. Wish me luck!

Check out these runway shows! They're all really great. Also, if anyone wants to buy my a Zac Posen dress, I surely wouldn't be against it :)

Zac Posen

Betsey Johnson

Alexander McQueen

Vivienne Westwood

Inspiration Board pt. 2

This is my Inspiration board part deux. I'm not sure which one I like more, this or the first one I made. It makes sense though, right? The top half is more calm, has the city in it, and a homeless woman, which then equals MK Olsen. The bottom is more chaotic, bright colors, has the city in it as well, one picture of some harajuku styled girls, and then Paris Hilton wearing a crazy garment. The recycle symbol comes into play for both the top and bottom parts of my board. The homeless chic look can be made by purchasing items from a thrift store or wearing something old you may have found around the house. The harajuku and Paris Hilton's semi-trash, yet urban nomad-ish outfit is made of a mixture of fabrics new and old, and for Paris's case, a lot of old objects sewn on to her garment.
I have too much fun making these boards. ha.

Inspiration Board.

This is my Inspiration board, which was made in Adobe Illustrator. I think my board portrays what I'm going for with my collection pretty well. Though, I am going to make another one because I'm feeling like a perfectionist right now.
In making my Inspiration board, I used some of the pictures I've been collecting for the past couple weeks and vector graphics. Vector graphics are basically awesome. They're a little hard to figure out at first, but I definitely had a lot of practice last Winter in Prof. Amidei's Illustrator course.

Yesterday I went to a thrift store near my house. Sadly, I didn't find much that I liked enough to buy. Since tomorrow is my day off from school, I'm going to try to go to another thrift store that I know will have some treasures.

I drew up some sketches today during my Independent Study/ Y Collective class. I came up with about 4 garments, but I'm at a total loss for the other 2. Kind of a bummer. I want to make a couple skirts, but what am I supposed to do for a top?
Speaking of my Indep. Study class, some of my classmates totally amaze me with their creativity. I thought I was rather creative, but they all put me to shame. It's great to hear others ideas and how they interpret concepts, it has really been helping me with ideas for my collection. Thank guys! :)

Websites worth checking out

After going to JoAnn's and spending a small fortune on some fabric, I spent a good chunk of my day researching the recycling of old shirts and other things. I definitely found a lot of great things and ideas, so I figured I'd share them here. Plus, I won't forget the sites if I post them :) ha.

Made by Rachel
Craftzine
Craftzine - Refashion
Craftzine - Recycle
Craft Chi
Wardrobe Re-Fashion

Craftzine is simply amazing!! I might be on inspiration/idea overload.

fabric/material ideas pt. 1

1.) The first pic is made from cotton spandex. (from American Apparel)
2.) Lamé (80% Nylon / 20% Elastane.) (from American Apparel)
3.) Tweed.
4.) Tulle.

So far, in my head, those are a few fabrics I'm wanting to work with. I really love tweed and tulle. I have a really great tweed mini skirt I bought from Hollister Co. a few years back, that I can't seem to throw away. I probably enjoy the way tweed looks more than how much I love houndstooth. Tulle is another great material. It reminds me of when I was a little ballerina and also of my prom dress. And who doesn't love spandex? haha. Those two pictures above somewhat grasp what I'm going for. What I'm really looking to use for one of my garments is not cotton spandex, but more like swimsuit spandex.

I'm almost positive I have one complete garment in my head. Now I have to think of about 6 more. My goal is to construct 3 garments for the runway show, but I'd love to make 4 of my sketches.
I found a few models for my line the other day :) One task down, a million to go.

Britney and I are planning on getting together tomorrow and Monday to finish gathering ideas/inspiration and then start using Adobe Illustrator to sketch our designs.

3 months until the big day!!

inspiration pt. 1

So yea, as you can tell, my inspiration and ideas are all over the place.
Mary Kate Olsen is my personal fashion icon. She's always two steps ahead of trends, kind of a trendsetter. Mary Kate loves fashion, yet does her own thing, kind of similar on how I do things. Plus, she has great hair. Man, i miss my hippie/wavy hair.
Paris Hilton has her moments with me. Sometimes I think she looks really great, and others she looks rather trashy. I absolutely love that picture of her!! She is definitely rockin' a fashionable urban nomad style. I'm pretty sure one of my garments I design will be similar to what Paris is wearing.
Betsey Johnson. The second picture, if you didn't know, is a Betsey Johnson dress. Gosh! I'm pretty much obsessed with her dresses! I actually bought 2 within 5 months of each other. haha. Anyway, I love the modern 80's prom look of the dress pictured. I REALLY want a dress like this, but where the heck would i wear it to? bummer. The lace really makes that dress.
The piece of art. I love all things artsy. Though sometimes I really hate abstract art (I get the whole "I could totally do that!! and that guy is making so much money off this stuff!!" feeling,) I actually really like it. I like that abstract paintings and artwork really make you use your brain. I always want to figure out what it is... like solve the puzzle. Abstract art seems more creative than still life art to me.
Recycled outfits. How awesome is that?! I definitely want to recycle old objects for my line. It's so interesting how you can turn old receipts, shirts, burlap sacks, puzzle pieces, and scrap material into something new.
Buttons. I just love buttons... as well as keys. Not sure why, but one or both of those will be present on my garments. I believe I may be slightly obsessed with buttons. I always want to make a crazy button necklace or sew some on to random things in my closet. haha :)

I'm more than sure that my line of clothes are going to be more on the urban nomad/ homeless chic side of things. I wonder if my partner, Britney, will mind :)

me.

I'm shannon, but mostly known as shan. I'm a professional student at EMU, where I study fashion and marketing. This blog is going to be dedicated to my independent study class on the process of constructing a garment from the very start, to having it go down a runway in April. So I plan to post pictures and blogs about my inspirations, sketches, designs, and all the ups and downs i'll experience with producing my garments.
more to come!!