Sophie G Fashion

My Dress for Spring/Summer 2010

2010-01-18T10:12:00.001-08:00

I designed and made the dress for myself in 6 hours on Friday for Spring/Summer 2010.

It is inspired by the English Country Garden inspired trends for the season and also the pastel colour tones which are going to be key this Spring.

I have designed a full circle skirt with the front of skirt slightly shorter. Giving the skirt a flowing swing to it when worn. This also reflects the floaty fabric trend for the Summer.

I wore the dress and will be making some more from similar fabrics this week.

The back has three fastenings a Roulaeu button at the neck, a concealed popper at the waist and a hook and eye on opening of the skirt so it has a minimal finish and the back is slightly open to give another feature.

My Designs, Illustrations and Flats: Yohji Yamamoto

2009-12-08T05:26:00.000-08:00

These are my final Boards for my design Development Project, I have designed a Menswear Range for Autumn/ Winter 2010/11 for the Avant Garde designer Yohji Yamamoto.

My Customer Board

My Moodboard and Colour Palette

Fabric board: Strong use of heavy wools, practical and durable quality fabric choices.

Design Development

Following by utility, practical trend with military influences.

My Illustrations

10 Outfits for my Capsule collection, which really capture the feel and my ideas behind it.

These were scanned in free hand work which I altered on photoshop to get more intense colour and a cleaner neater layout.

My Flat drawings

These are technical drawings to show the contruction, stitching details, fastenings, fabric and colour choices for my final 10 outfits for the collection.

These are computer generated as I thought I would be able to create neater and more accurate representations of the garments.

Sonia Rykiel for H&M

2009-12-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

On the 5th December Sonia Rykiel launches her design collaboration with H&M

It's the first time a guest designer has created a luxury Lingerie collection for H&M women.

But it's only available in selected stores and I bet they sell out straight away!

The opening show was rauncy and 50's inspired sexy collection was unveiled in Paris with Lily Cole being one of the models.

Featuring the iconic conical bra which has recently made a comeback.

Rykiel signatures include inside-out stitching, black, lace, colourful stripes and knitwear that is key for the brand.

Bridget Riley: Optical Art

2009-12-01T00:43:00.000-08:00

For my Assignment 2 in Design Theory I have chosen a piece by Bridget Riley, as I thourght the Optical Movement would be a really interesting topic to analysis structure, composition and form within.

I also really like and have been inspired by her geometric concepts, mainly her black and white art. Here are a some of her best pieces in my opinion.

Metamorphosis

Blaze

Cataract 3

Movement in Squares

Rock

In these pieces colour, light, movement and disorientation can be achieved through her strategic placement of geometric form causing optical illusions for the viewer.

This post may be about Art not fashion but her work has been used and inspired many fashion creations and in the 1960's when she first started creating her optical art the swinging 60's fashions were happening and Op art monochrome fashions were very popular!

My 'My SPACE' Page Link: http://www.myspace.com/sofi_greenbank

2009-11-30T01:54:00.000-08:00

Where you can view more of My Work online!

http://www.myspace.com/sofi_greenbank

Geometric Constructions: Shape, Form and Structure

2009-11-30T01:42:00.000-08:00

For our Design Theory 2 module we have to look into regular and irregular tilings across the plane without gap or overlap, below are the solutions I came up with by hand.

Then we had to construct our own irregular tiling of The Penrose Tiling, I did this using Photoshop. with the restriction of only using 2 sized rhombi with shaded and arrow sides.

Then I coloured it systematically

This is Assignment 1: Where I chose to design a stained glass window inspired by the seaside using just 4 repeated segments of a square then a triangle, here are my final and mock up designs below.

Drapers 2009 Awards Winners

2009-11-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here is just some of the worthy winners from the Drapers Retail Awards 2009.

With Yorkshire looking like it has it's far share of the best independent shops in the country!

New Look- Large Multiple chain of the year.

New look's founder Singh- Lifetime achievement award.

As New look celebrates it's 40th year and 1000th Shop opening.

Polo Ralph Lauren- Menswear retailer of the year

Sandwich- Womenswear brand of the year

Lyle and Scott- Young Fashion Brand of the year

Humbug, Ilkley- Best Kidswear Retailer

Topshop/ Topman- Best new store in New York

ASOS- Best Etailer

John Lewis- Best Multiple Brand Store.

White Stuff- Smaller Multiple Brand.

Kiosk 78, Leeds- Best New Store

Drapers Website only available for subscribers!

2009-11-29T01:55:00.000-08:00

From the 27th November www.drapersonline.com are asking users to subscribe for £150 to access the latest valuable fashion industry news and trends information.

Most of it's content will now become exclusive to Drapers subscribers, as Drapers are now dramatically developing the website so an enhanced version will be available for subscribers only, which is hugely beneficial to subscribers and will give you the latest fashion information exclusivley without it being broadcast online for everyone.

Is the modern world a bad time for fashion?

2009-11-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

Is modern fashion design all about money and not enough about the creativity and generation of new revolutionary ideas and concepts?

This is Colin Mcdowells view of the modern fashion industry, as the designers can only serve in the societies they are in, and when the U.K is dictated by the highstreet and all the cheaper copies, are we not getting quality, or are we just getting the modern equilvent of quality just at an affordable univerisally available price?

Topshop he regards as a brilliant phenomenon, but bad for fashion as they only give us cheaper copies of the real thing! As Topshop isn't leading fashion as their not even looking for it just copying it! As vulgarity sells this is their philosophy in Colin's view.

This also is a perfect example of the Young fashion everywhere, every shop on the high street caters for the young and what about whats appropriate and comfortable for the older customer, as isn't this where the money lies?

Are we going to come out of the era of throw away fashion and cheap copies or is this our future?

The fabulous designs are out their apparently for both men and women but will they sell are they commercial are they fashion forward?

Are high street chain stores the problem, bargains always to be had?

Colin Mcdowell predicts we will come out of this bad time of fashion in his view as we will need to look for survival in these harsh times and thats when the fashion design industry will flourish!

What are your views do you agree with Colin Mcdowell? Do you have an issue with the high street stores?

A lecture with Colin McDowell

2009-11-25T07:27:00.000-08:00

After our 2oth Century Fashion lecture with the fashion historian and editor Colin Mcdowell (above) I was left with many inspirational thought provoking words of wisdom from the legend of the fashion world.

We found out that his favourite era of the 20th Century is the 1950's, when women were still elegant, the last era of couture, when the older woman still had her fashion and their models and fashion wasn't so dictated by the young. He loved the beauty the stately grandeur of the decade and regards fashion as a high point before it started going down hill.

He also regards fashion as having three stages, which can be regarded as skirt lengths from very long (which he thinks will never return in the modern world), the average length and then the mini. The Mini is the time which he regards fashion as dropping dramatically!

He also thinks couture is not what it was, garments are regarded as couture just because a more expensive fabric is being used and it has nothing to do with the hand made and personnal unique quality of traditional couture, he thinks this is very common with American designers such as Armani.

The best tip he has for all us wannabe designers buy all the old Vogues, American and French from the 1930's-50's, as all designers use these as their sourcebooks, but beware they are very expensive, £100 a magazine!

His favourite designer of our time is John Galliano he couldn't rate him more highly, as he looks to the 1950's for inspiration and even uses Dior's mother as his target customer, which he likes as she's an older woman unlike all the targeted markets today and on the high street use.

He also regards the 1950's as the end of the fashion Editor and the beginning of the rise of the Fashion Stylist as all designers now go to the stylist rather than the editor for advice.

There is only three designers he regards as moving fashion forward at the moment and that is obviously John Galliano, Mucca Prada and Marc Jacobs.

As John Galliano is gradually bringing in the Underwear look, alot more sucessfully than the likes of Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier ever did.

Prada is constantly looking at new fabrics and innovations, taking a scientific approach to the future of fashion.

He doesn't regard Coco Chanel as a designer at all let alone one of the best, but an activist! As she was all about the attitude, bringing women equal to men and proving that they are if anything better!

Madame Vionnet he regards as the Real Inventor, with her modernisation of the bias cut and actually turning the industry into a fashion business registering her designs. She makes Chanel seem modest and small compared to her genius.

Balenciaga is the next of his great designers, the original label not the modern day designs. Pierre Cardin and Courreges are just his disciples.

Yves Saint Laurent another of his all time greats for continuing Chanels work of making women's garments simplier and actually creating Men's inspired clothing for women, revolutionary ideas.

This was in times when there were strong leads and women decided how they wanted to be dressed, before the high street and the bad time in fashion reigned: the modern world in Colin's views.

The Basso and Brooke Archive

2009-11-25T03:50:00.000-08:00

After talking about the current Spring/Summer 2010 Basso and Brooke collection I thought I would should show you the best pieces from their previous collections to help you realise why I love the creations and how inspirational they are to me.

I have actually used their creations as a huge inspiration for my current Digital Design project, which is all about geometric print mini dresses.

I will be uploading this work shortly, hopefully you will be able to see the link between the two.

2010 RST

FALL 2009/10

Spring/ Summer 2009

From these past collections I think they have more than made up for the outrageously scary Spring/ Summer 2006 Collection, their first collection was loud bold and over the top but you could give them the benefit of the doubt as it was their debut they had to make a dramatic entrance, the following collections are far more sophiscated and wearable but still loud enough to make a statement.

Spring/Summer 2006

Basso and Brooke Spring/ Summer 2010

2009-11-25T03:31:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love bright bold colours and prints and in this post I am broadcasting my appreciation of the designers Basso and Brooke (above).

Their quirky bright geometric prints are sophisticated and classy but still fun and youthful and are my favourite designers at the moment because of this.

I have adored their creations for the past few seasons and their Spring/ Summer 2010 collection didn't disappoint if anything it was better.

They still kept to their trademark bright graphic digital prints with sophicated tailored suits and dresses and took London Fashion week by storm with their Neo Pop themed collection.

They also embellished the graments with beading to add texture and a three dimensional look to the high tech pieces, another favourite technique of mine.

Here is just a few of the best pieces.

River Island's accessories the best on the high street

2009-11-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

This winter River Island's womenswear accessories beat all their high street contenders with their bold graphic print Alexander McQueen inspired scarves and luxurious comfy snoods and hooded scarves appealing from young teens to the older shopper. Not only have they got a wide diverse range but still managing to maintain their lower prices which Topshop and Warehouse don't seem able to contend with, putting them in a new lower priced and therefore more desirable position on the high street.

Here is just a few of my favourites from their collection.

And it's not just their winter staples winning me over this season in the past few years the River Island Bag collection seem to have gone to a whole new level hugely increasing the quality and designs within the range.

Their clutches, purses, handbags and leather bags are all key trend and quality long lasting pieces and should be a wardrobe staple and this season is no exception.

Below are some of the best from the store.

What do you think of River Island and their Winter collections, do you agree, do you think they have any strong contenders? your comments are very much appreciated.

Olly Murs wins the Style wars on X Factor

2009-11-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

The X Factor's Olly Murs not only gets my vote for his singing but he also has the Style Factor on the show! His understated effortless look every week without fail steals the show a head of Cheryls and Dannii's own fashion wars and Olly beats them hands down, without even looking like he's even tried!

Even from his first audition his cool highstreet look with his cheeky personality made him a forerunner.

And his likely lad image just grew and grew to make him a style icon

Whether he's dressing up or dressing down

His look suits his cheeky personality making him both appealing to men and women alike.

His look is individual and quirky but he still manages to link to the everyday man

Whether he's dressing in up to the minute fashions or living in nostalgia during his 1950's swing performances

He is not only the best dressed male on TV at the moment but also the most stylish man in the public eye in the past few years!

Yohji Yamamoto Project

2009-11-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

For the Design Portfolio group project we were given the avant garde designer Yohji Yamamoto, we began researching who he and his label are and what philosophy he has: which is rooted in his Japanese culture and his designs are all about the complicated construction of the garments and therefore he uses mainly black in his designs and limited pattern so focus isn't diverted from his construction techniques.

His desirable store locations and store concepts and the exclusivity of the brand, as thre are only 5 flagship stores outside Japan and unavailable in stockists.

His Website and his different diffusion lines: the clothing is not available off his website so you have to visit his stores to buy.

Who is his customer? His typical customer, men and women we feel follow the same way of life and are loyal to the brand as they follow his philosophy.

Some of Yohji Yamamoto's customer wearing his clothes.

Our Customer Boards for the project

Gathered all our research together to sum up who we think they are and therefore who is our target market when designing.

We chose different trends for the Menswear and Womenswear boards within the group and this is my 'Functional Duty' trend for Yohji Yamamoto's Menswear range.

It's quite an industrial worn, heavy trend, which I think mirrors his philosophy of fashion being all about the contruction of the design. It has a military edge to it which I am exploring further. I will be updating you soon with my designs for the collection.

My Moodboards

2009-11-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

This part of the research/ design process is definitely one of best bits as its when all the research you've done comes together and you can begin to get into your own specific project and you begin to see exactly what you want to create from the process. This is just some of the moodboards I have created for my design projects.

Oriental Infusion

Year 1 Semester1: French Connection Womenswear:

Spring/ Summer 2009

Patchwork Warrior

Year 1 Semester 2, Group work:River Island

Men's and Womenswear Knitwear Autumn/Winter 2009/10

Skinhead Survival

Year 1 Semester 2, Group work: River Island

Menswear Autumn/Winter 2009/10

Ghostly Dollhouse

Year 1 Semester 2, Group Work: River Island

Womenswear Autumn/ Winter 2009/10

Functional Duty

Year 2, Semester 1. Yohji Yamamoto

Menswear Autumn/ Winter 2010/11

Design Portfolio: Year 1 Semester 2: Skinhead Survival Menswear River Island

2009-11-22T05:04:00.000-08:00

For my group design project last year we designed for River Island, I chose to design for the Menswear Range and decided upon my trend 'Skinhead Survival' to base the collection on, it's a hard, gritty, patrotic feel and a casual range. Theres just some of design work for the collection below which capture the essence of this 1980's yob culture, working class trend.

My Mood Board A colour palette which is bold to create a statement mirrors the strong use of tartan, denim, Dr. Marten Boots and the Union Jack influences taken from the history of the 1980's, but brought back to the modern day in a more understated tasteful way.

My Fabric Board Tartan features in the choice of fabrics along with denim which is a vital element to the trend and River Island, also a white jersey cotton and leather for tops and jackets. Fastenings and buttons used are hard chunky, metals and plastics to bring the trend and the fabrics together.

My Top Designs

I used tartan in the finer details in a more understated commericial way to appeal to a broader market.

My Jeanswear Designs

Created lots of diffrent shapes and silhouettes so theres lots of diffrent fits and styles for the River Island customer as they have a large Jeanswear range.

Casual Shirts

I used a pinstriped white cotton which created lots of different directions on the design with the grainline.

Smarter Jackets

Leather Bomber Jacket Designs

Jackets
As the collection was for the Autumn/ Winter 2009/10 Collection I designed a lot of jackets and coats to suit the season.

I also used the computer for most of these designs to add colour and pattern which helped me progress hugely with my computer skills, using photoshop.

Pattern Cutting: Menswear Pathway, My completed Samples.

2009-11-22T02:21:00.000-08:00

These are my completed samples from Garment Technology Menswear Pathway, I really like how we used different fabrics instead of calico this year it gave me a whole new insight into how different fabrics handle and look.

Hood

Waistcoat: Lined with contrasting front and back fabrics

Strap sleeve: In Jersey

Rever Collar
Raglan Sleeve: In wool