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!!