That's enough blogging for me for a while...

Its now time to get on with my Fashion As A Forum essay....oh how I love to leave things until the last minute. I suppose its not too bad when I am well on schedule for everything else.

I will keep you posted......

They finally replied!

I was so lucky today when I checked my AUCB emails; I received mail from a Natasha at Lu Flux. I was excited to read that were interested in having me in for an interview and view of my portfolio- which I do not have at present, but I dare say I can whip something up. I will reply with great enthusiasm and hopefully attend an interview over easter or sometime after that.

It would be an amazing experience for me and it is what I am really, strongly interested in within my fashion career. I don't think I have ever been so excited about anything and this was only one email! YAYYYYYYY!

MY DREAM JOB?!

I am going to amazing! I will gain some experience from any placements, internships and jobs. I would ideally like to do some other courses in other specific areas such as; shoe design, accessory design, corsetry and lingerie. I want to have as much experience and as many skills as physically possible, in order to better myself throughout my career.

Job Description: Looking for fashion experienced, enthusiastic person. Experience to include knowledge of all areas within fashion and specifically in Creative Pattern Cutting. The ability to manual pattern cut is key but basic knowledge of computer pattern cutting systems is a bonus. A very keen interest in ethical design and the ability to source better fabrics and textiles to produce the desired effect.

Job Roles: Working within a team of professionals to include designers, seamstresses and garment technologists. The role of head pattern cutter is time consuming and may take longer than anticipated, therefore work hours may vary.

Annual Salary: £25,000-35,000.

Portfolio and References Required.

Top 10 Careers in Fashion...

(1 being the best available career and 10 being the least.)

1. Designer

2. Model

3. Stylist

4. Journalist

5. Buyer

6. Boutique Owner

7.Fashion Illustrator

8.Fashion Photographer

9. Visual Merchandiser

10. Personal Relations

According to a couple of websites these are the top fashion careers and not on of them has relevance to pattern cutting or garment technology. The only way I can see myself on this is at No. 6 and that is only after I have gained some experience.

Some other careers achievable after FdA Fashion Design and Technology:

Fashion Forecaster, Sample Seamstress, Fashion Magazine, Pattern Cutter, Textiles Teacher, Lecturer, Couturier, Garment Technologist, Retail, Entrepreneur, Free Lancer, Textile Designer, e.t.c.

Shoe Design!

Here are a couple of my shoe re-designs. You all know very well by now of my love for shoes and recycling and re-crating something unique. The back shoe boots were a Christmas present to myself a couple of years ago. I bought £15 worth of feathers from McCulloch and Wallis and hand stitched them round the top of the shoe. The Aubergine Mary-Jane's belong to my Mum I glued each feather on one by one in this design and the feathers came from a pheasant that my boyfriend's family ate and gave me the feathers. However, I am not too sure this is ethical but I do really love feathers and both pairs.

Fashion Career Websites and Agencies

Mintel:

Completely useless for looking for careers in Fashion however, I then just tried typing 'Fashion' into to the search box and I find some really useful information and statistics. It redirected me to 'Mintel Oxygen'. I think this is promoting jobs in the business sector, there is more information to do with the business and financial side of fashion as appose to jobs themselves. There are many issues that have been reported on, on the website such as size issues in fashion for example. I think the only way Mintel will help me is if I am in need of some fashion facts and statistics.

Fashion Monitor:

Fairly easy to use however, to look at current updates you need to be a member and sign-up to the site; this to me just means more junk mail. I did look at the job opportunities and it has become clear that it advertises mainly for experienced people in the fashion industry and those who are more in the promotion side of fashion. There were no jobs at that present moment in any of the design and construction areas and especially not a recent graduate.

Companies House:

First impression were pretty poor; it is not very appealing to someone with a creative mind and eye, it is not at all easy to access. I believe this site would be more useful to people wanting to start a business, which may be me in some years to come but I'm not in a hurry to throw myself into that just yet.

Fashion Index:

Seems to me that this website is advertising new and small business, the site re-directs to several other sites. It is definitely what it says on the tin, meaning it literally is the index for all the fashion needs of anyone in the industry. There are links to manufacturers and cloth warehouses. It would be very helpful to me if I do begin my ideas and are in need of the above sources.

Draper's Record:

Lots more job opportunities and of course we know that Draper's is a reliable source, unfortunately there are few careers for a graduate only 6 when I looked. A definite bonus of this site for jobs is the more detailed descriptions and the adverts aren't only for jobs in London but all over the U.K. Sometimes I can be a little delusional and believe I am going to land myself a career in London and in fact it would be more beneficial to me if I were to find one either closer to home or Bournemouth for my first job after graduation.

With thanks to Escada.

I finally heard from the people at Escada and I am pleased to say that I wasn't too disheartened to hear that my application for internship was unsuccessful. I was satisfied with my design which I foolishly did scan in or photocopy to add to my blog but never mind. They sent me a very rewarding letter which I am not stupid enough to believe was only received by myself but it still put a smile on my face.

Check this out.....

Angel Chang....

These are some fairly old collection images but they are quite fascinating.

From left: Spring 2008, silver rip stop nylon jacket to keep the wearer cool in the summer and has odor-free and anti-bacterial properties which means it never needs to be washed.

Autumn 2008, this multifunctional dress can also be worn upside-down, with a skirt unbuttoned, or with the scarf removed for various different looks. the map print can be changed by the wearer were-by she can touch the areas in which she wants a different colour and thermochromic ink changes it. With Swarovski crystals to detail the cities of the world.

Spring 2008, silk dress inspired by military garments. The dress also with thermochromic inks changes according to the wearers preference. Again a map, but of a city and all of its bars, restaurants and social places; perfect for a girl about the town.

My fascination with this designer will continue through the Fashion as a Forum essay.

http://www.modipgroupproject.blogspot.com/

After completing the group project Modip decided to go one further and posted us on the Modip blog. I felt very privileged and actually quite impressed at the groups who managed to get their team project work into the cabinets in the library; our group however, were the ones who has a blog link. For some sad reason this is exciting and I do like to help AUCB promote students work and attract potential students.

Well done to my group, and they were a great team to work with.

Spring Trends 2011....

It's all zesty, with oranges of all shades, prints and textures; from left: Spring 2011 runway looks from Carlos Miele, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, Chris Benz.

I love the bright colours except I still firmly believe in clashing all the colours with all prints. I would be pairing the Marc Jacobs number with a bright fuscia pair of cork wedges.

From left to right: Hermès, Balenciaga, Christian Dior.

Why not spring back into 80's retro style makeup; it's all about the clash!!?

Your hair this spring/summer is all about the sleek and sexy up-do's yet still keeping it ultra feminine. It's time to practise the fish-tail plaits and tousle those luscious locks.

Five month plan...

How can I not want to spend money when shoes are so beautiful. The highstreet is KING when it comes to shoes. The summer sees a massive change in highstreet style and the shoes always grab me.

So instead of a five year plan I have made a five month plan of some shoes I would like to see in my wardrbe bythe summers end!......

March: River Island Wedges. £69.99

April: Office Floral, Denim, Gingham. £72.00

May:River Island Embellished Sandals. £44.99.

June: Reebok Easy Tone. £75.00....(For my birthday and hopefully in purple).

July: Converse CT Lite, Purple. £36.99.

Finances?! :-(

I need to get on top of my finances. This is in my list of short term goals whether it mean pay off loan and overdraft or just learn how not to spend, but something needs to be done.

In my attempt at getting some cash Hannah Bingham recommended the following site...

http://www.studentcashpoint.co.uk/Default.aspx

However, my efforts did not pay off AUCB are not registered therefore we cannot apply for all of the random grants and bursaries that are available....but I'm still on the case.

www.fashionworkie.com

I was fortunate enough to find an internship on the site with a designer that I have been strongly influenced by for my collection; Lu Flux. It is a really good site and did apply by email from two separate email addresses and I am still anticipating a reply.

The job opportunity was with the new design based, up-cycling inspired company in London. In the description it states that they are interested in taking on a fashion student/graduate for a 3 month period over London Fashion Week at the end of the summer. The specification points of the job is pattern cutting and general running and assistant to designers, stylists and admin staff.

I am really to do this placement as I was one of the unfortunate ones to not complete a two week work placement last year. If I do not hear from Lu Flux within the next couple of months leading up to the closing date of the application, then I plan to send a letter and my C.V to the office in London. Also to demonstrate how truly keen I am I will send some photos of my collection and my designs. Maybe it will persuade them to take me on?! Fingers crossed!...

http://fashionworkie.com/a,1094,Lu-Flux---Sewing-and-Pattern-Cutting-Assistant.htm

Exhibitions Visited....

A whole dedicated to exhibitions, galleries and lots of walking. Gemma , Hannah and myself wrote out a detailed itinerary stating the times, trains and places we were able to visit in the time we had. We did so well and all managed to get to all of the exhibitions we had set out to visit.

I particularly wanted to see the 'Future Beauty, 30 years of Japanese Fashion' at the Barbican. I totally loved it. The exhibition space was beautifully set out and there were lots of surprises around each corner or behind a wall. I have recently become more interested in Japanese and futuristic fashion after studying the Pattern Magic books for the draping project last term. I took some sketches of shapes that I liked and noted down some designers and their collections, in order to look at them in more detail. (We were unable to take any photographs.)

The 'GSK Contemporary- Aware: Art Fashion Identity' recommended by Alena was also very inspiring, it taught me to look at fashion from different perspectives. The gallery itself was also lovely as I had never visited it before.

This was very valuable to me for the Fashion As A Forum unit as we have been asked to look at the different ways designers use to promote their work. The image of a women was projected onto the mannequin wearing the garment which was being blown by a fan gave the illusion it being a real model on a catwalk but in a controversial way.

We also went to the science museum but this didn't really inspire me as the exhibition we saw was very small not as interactive as the others. However it was free to enter so that is always a bonus.

http://luflux.com/

Check these out spot on the money for what I am interested in......

A fellow fashion upcycler! This young women is my new inspiration, she takes something old, like clothes, curtains and bed covers and turns them into something beautiful......this is what I am aiming to do for my Professional Project/Collection.

I am definitely staying at A.U.C.B.

It is now definite that I will stay at A.U.C.B for the BA top-up year. I really like the sound of the new course and it would be sad to leave. The that the course is call design and technology appeals to me more than maybe other courses that do more fashion theory and research and essays; I would not enjoy a final year of my academic career doing a course that requires me to write something I am not interested in.

I also stated before that I am interested in creating my own business and I believe the entrepreneurial with help me to solidify my knowledge and creative skills to do so. However, I do also like the idea of a placement; as I was unfortunately let down with several placement oppoutunities last year. With this in mind and the fact that fashion is all about networking I think I will have to do some form of internship at some point.

Something from the amazing Stumble Upon!

These images are by a designer called Setareh Mohtarez. I will research this designer further for my collection his pieces reflect the pattern cutting techniques and effects in which I am intrested in.

Setareh Mohtarez, Brigtness Dawn Collection.

http://www.setarehmohtarez.com/index.php

Fashion As A Forum.

Presentation Task.

This was really interesting as I was unaware of the many locations of online fashion and was unaware of some of the exhibitions and shows that various designers and artists had created for fashion lovers. There are so many new and exciting ways of displaying and promoting fashion and I now know to think outside the box a little more.

One online source of fashion which my group and I looked into was Stumble Upon. I now believe that everyone should sign up to this and have a go it is really easy a good fun. Simply highlight the areas in which you are interested and click and enjoy. I chose photography, art, dance, music and obviously fashion as my topics.

Get Stumbling!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Flourish! Business Development Course.

I am really interested in setting up my own business so this course run by the Enterprise Pavilion at uni has been so beneficial to me! I am thoroughly enjoying the sessions run by Pete McKinnley, and I have learnt alot about the business world itself as appose to the fashion industry; where sometimes I can be only a little bit narrow minded!

My business ideas have strongly development throughout the programme and aim to produce a business plan to put forward my ideas to gain feedback and hopefully be assessed for the business start up fund available to graduates up to one year post graduation. I have included starting up my own business in the plan for my career and I hope that I will be able to successfully get my foot into the fashion industry's door after I graduate in 2012 and get myself a job and continue to increase my knowledge, experience and status/reputation within fashion. When I have enough money and feel I have gained all of the relevant information needed I will start my business.

Some serious fun that Hannah Bingham and I had.....After discovering a YouTube video of Adam Saax cutting some Ed Hardey t-shirts on a model, then pleating/tying/weaving together to create interesting and personalised garments.

I will include some of these customising ideas in my project as they are very quick and easy to create. They are very cheap and eco-friendly as they are produced from old and unwanted t-shirts. I hope to explore more possibilities within this styles with other garments also. I can't wait to model some of designs and record reaction to this 'punky' fashion.

Stumbleupon!

I was looking for some interesting illustrative ideas and I got lucky with this one.

It was also suggested to me that for the Professional Project I should look into surrealist artsists. I didn't want to go for the obvious and look at Dali.

The illustrator that I 'stumbled upon' is named Raquel Lissima and he has several inspirations for his work including personal, siblings and the ark project. I will look further into this artist and take ideas from his work for my designs and illustrations. I feel it is necessary for me to develop my illustrative style to increase the aesthetics of my design work.

Some other works of interest to me.....