Print development

Despite the fact that my photoshop skills are extremely rudimentary  (consisting only of: Copy, Paste, Rotate, Opacity) I have managed to create some images that I feel are a more refined step towards my final prints for the collection. 

It's just something I did really quickly, so there will definitely be improvements before I get to the final image to be printed. My favourite is the last image. It would look great on the mesh dress worn over the lingerie...

Pastel sky

Photograph from my bedroom window, 

...and my colour palette 

In Orbit - collection board update

Since the previous design selection assessment and the arrival of my neoprene, I have re-thought and re-designed my collection. 
As a reminder, this (below) was the original collection board:
I was unsure of how the neoprene would behave when it came to sampling the garments. Once I got my hands on it and its 4-way stretch, I decided to embrace the stretch rather than fight it to make tailored/structured garments - like the cropped jacket, above left. This is one of the reasons for the evolution into mostly stretch  garments. I will post photos of my samples on the models we had for assessment yesterday as soon as I get them off the studio camera. 

Here's some details on the individual designs:

Cropped shirt in white cotton organdy (below: back view showing circular 'moon' cut out)

Skirt in printed organza - circle skirt base with repeated gradating circles sewn on top. 

Raglan sleeve dress in white neoprene with crescent and star laser cut-outs. Shorts in printed stretch mesh worn underneath. 

Lingerie set in white neoprene with white mesh overlay in panels. Crescent Swarovksi crystal bead at the centre of the bra. Underwear have a crescent seam detail at the back. 

Maxi dress in printed mesh, lose fit with extended arm holes and racer back. Tights in jumbo spandex with crescent seam detail at the front. 

    

 Cropped jacket in neoprene with an exposed zip at the front at large 'tuck'  sleeves. Skirt in printed duchess satin.

 

Dress in lavender neoprene with printed mesh inserts at the front and in the sleeves. 

Neoprene and prints

I didn't think I could get so excited about a package arriving. When I went to Sydney last week,  I received this picture message from my housemates and couldn't wait to get back to Brisbane to get my hands on its contents...

"You've got package love!"

The box contained my fabric order that I had been waiting on to begin sampling: neoprene, mesh and spandex. 

It was exciting to get the neoprene in particular as it is pretty much impossible to find a similar fabric to sample in - a thick 4-way stretch fabric (think wetsuit material) is definitely not stocked in Spotlight. 

For some reason, the white is significantly thinner than the colours, and the black is the thickest. This will effect the fit of the garment, and I will soon see how and in what way. 

These Neoprene colours are what my dreams are made of. My recently developed aversion to black clothes and the fact that the black Neoprene feels to thick and rubbery has helped my decision to avoid black in my final collection. Therefore, I have some 'design development' to do, which I knew would happen anyway as my drawing skills sometimes don't effectively communicate the 2D to 3D. 

Prints:

More exciting developments! My fabric prints are done and look amazing! The quality is better than I expected and the colours are true to the photograph. 

The beginnings of a circle skirt using the polyester satin fabric. 

The printed mesh provoked poetic ideas... 'a window into the night sky' (neoprene cutout over printed stretch mesh)

Now I know of the quality of the prints, I will get many more meters of both the mesh and satin printed. Now the hard part will be choosing and modifying the images for printing. I aim to rework the images to make them more refined and with less colour variance.  

I am hoping that the prints will add depth to my collection, giving it a more personal and unique touch than just block colours. 

Sydney:

My trip to Sydney last week proved useful for  ideas on garment construction using neoprene... unexpected yet useful ideas! The Cynthia Rowley for Roxy stand in David Jones gave me the chance to look at construction using neoprene. This was very helpful, as I have mostly worked with woven fabrics to make garments, and was finding it difficult to understand how I would construct the garments using neoprene and stretch wear sewing techniques. 

Apologies for the bad photographs, I was sneaking them with my iphone...

Swimwear for the fashion-consious surfer girl... 

Nice use of pastels Cynthia! 

Cover stitched leg opening

The inside of the garment appeared to be glued or bonded together

Feature binding

Seamless zipper

Raw-edge sleeve finish

Colour:

The Australian Museum in Sydney had an exhibition on crystals and minerals...such beautiful colours and forms found in nature.

pastel combinations with white... thank you universe!