TASK 1: PORTFOLIO AND DESIGN DEVELPOMENT (WEARABLE ART)

WEARABLE ART

Definition of Wearable art:

Wearable art, also known as art to wear, refers to art pieces in the shape of clothing or jewelry pieces. these pieces are usually handmade, and are produced only once or as very limited series.

SUBJECT MATTER

What's the purpose of a subject matter?

According to the Cambridge dictionary, subject matters are things that are being talked, or written about, or used as a piece of art.

As a fashion designer, the core for the designer's success highly depends on the subject matter that the designer has chosen to work on.

I believe that anything could be a source of inspiration, any subject matter can be valid, as long as the designer or artist successfully displayed his/her work clearly to the judges and audiences.

SUBJECT MATTER CHOSEN: BEAUTY IN DARKNESS

My subject matter for this project is based on a quote, which is ''beauty in darkness".

My message: From my own personal opinion, I believe that in moments of grief and distress, a person can still find a ray of hope and look into the bright side of things. As such, I wanted to deliver this message through the outfits that I will be creating, where my main inspiration comes from the western funeral attires, especially Royal funeral clothing.

MIND MAPPING

Below, the mind map talks about the use of unconventional material. As students, we have been assigned to work on materials which are out of the norm, especially in fashion. In such way, I believe that our creativity is developed in a different way, and this project forces us to think out of the box.

UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIAL USED: CABLE TIES

What are cable ties used for? Also known as zip ties, they are fasteners that bundle cables and wires together to keep them organized and prevent damage. they come in different sizes, lengths, materials and even colors.

RESEARCH ON SUBJECT MATTER

[1]PRIMARY RESEARCH

BEAUTY IN DARKNESS

We often associate darkness with death and moments of sadness and grief. But in this project I wanted to show that even in darkness there is more that we cannot see, which is often beauty.

Where can beauty in darkness be found?

Royal funeral clothing is a good example where we could find beauty in the black attires of the funeral. Wearing black to funerals has much to do with the Queen Victoria. Until the death of her beloved Prince Albert in 1861, black was not a color associated with funerals, though as the 19th century progressed, it was gaining popularity among the upper class funerals, taking over from white.

Outfit archives:

Kate Middleton in a black Alexander McQueen coat dress for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.

Megan Markle in a black Stella McCartney dress for the late Queen's funeral (She previously wore the Navy version for the Queens Birthday)

The death of King George VI, the royal family in traditional long tule veils.

comment: I find the traditional long tulle veil a very unique style for a funeral. Though it might not be a common sight, but it is a very interesting way to express the mourning days of a funeral.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Kate Middleton and Prince Edward's wife attire for the Queen's funeral.

Prince Charles and Prince Harry in suits for funeral.

[2]SECONDARY RESEARCH

On my secondary research, I wanted to focus on the detailed aspects of the traditions carried out during the funeral other than the black outfits that the people wear when their loved ones passes away.

FLOWERS

Sending a floral arrangement honors the dead, and shows sympathy to the family. Generally, flowers today are sent to show respect, sympathy, and love for the deceased. Above all, flowers are important to a wake or funeral because they make the feel like the deceased was cared for by many people close to them.

Relating back to a Royal Funeral, one of the most iconic flower tribute was for the death of Diana. Between 1 and 8 September 1997 an estimated 10,000-15,000 tons of flowers were laid in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-97), at Kensington Palace, St James's Palace and Buckingham Palace, London, UK. The tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales occurred on August 31, 1997 following a car accident in Paris, France. On September 6, 1997, the world came to a standstill for her funeral.

Own interpretation: I believe flowers are celebrated in different ways, as such, people would give away flowers in different occasions, that could be birthdays, weddings and in many cases funerals.

Thus, flowers like roses are very common when it comes to giving bouquets during those times. But to me flowers with thorns are the perfect embodiment of the funeral. Meaning, while some flowers are painful to hold, it is undeniable that they have their own unique beauty. This relates back to the whole aspect of mourning which is painful as well as people often talk positively about the dead which portrays the <Beauty in Darkness>.

CONCEPTUAL STORY

For this project I chose a topic which is not really common for designers to get inspired on in the fashion world. Some may consider it as a sensitive topic to work on, but I believe that creativity has no limits, and anything could be a source of inspiration.

Thus, my message for this project is that there is always beauty in darkness. although someone might pass away, in moments of grief and pain, a person can always look back at the blessings and the bright side of their lives.

This also reflects the flowers that I manipulated in my designs, the whole point is to show that although thorny flowers are painful to hold, this aspect or flaw of the flower does not stop anyone to buy and admire the beauty of the plant.

This eventually sums up the quote <Beauty In Darkness>

COLOR STUDY FROM SUBJECT MATTER

For this project, the color that i wanted to focus on the most is obviously the color black. I

wanted my color to really reflect the title of this project which is beauty in darkness. it is undeniable that black is a very chic and sophisticated color, as well as bold and it adds character to garments especially when the outfits are black from head to toe.

Nevertheless, I believe that touches of white would give a nice effect to the garments, especially when it comes to surface textures and decorations.

LINE STUDY FROM SUBJECT MATTER

Most of the lines that I found in my subject matter which is directly based on funeral attires are most definitely linked to the garments that the royal family wears during the funerals.

I would like to include sharp and very distinctive lines to my design which will be creating for this project. (For reference pictures refer to primary research)

TEXTURE STUDY FROM SUBJECT MATTER

I believe that textures is a very important factor when it comes to create designs. textures can help to improve a designer's vision and gives character to a garment or even an outfit.

the textures that i wanted to focus on this project are mainly thorny textures missed with soft tulle as well as hard tulle. I want to achieve a pretty as well as a dangerous look.

MOODBOARD

The above picture shows the designs and the pictures reflecting the idea of <Beauty in darkness>

DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS

Based on the sampling and manipulation I have managed to do for task two, I was able to develop initial ideas for the collection that I wanted to work on.

Below are my initial idea development