Covid 19 Lockdown 2020 what's been happening in the studio?

2020 has brought us a multitude of life altering experiences and we aren't even half way through the year. As the coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a halt, I thought I would show you all what I have been up to during lockdown whilst working from home. Bringing you the initial inspiration and processes for my first collection as a new designer.

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As a new designer you want that something special about you that people will remember you for. This can be harder than you think. I have spent 4 years interning and training in the fashion industry after completing my university degree. In this time I've worked in high couture fashion as a beading and lace specialist, multiple seasons as a head dresser for fashion week shows working with some incredible designers, as well as spending time in the the fast paced environment of high street fashion. During this period I had a very lucky opportunity to be trained in tailoring which has helped me develop all my fashion creation skills in so many ways.

With all this experience I have worked out what I like and what I wasn't sure on, bust mostly where I want my design label to go. Bespoke women's wear is an element of fashion that I find breath taking, creating garments that highlight each individual woman's figure and character, this can range from a head to toe lace and beaded gown, to a sleek and stylish special piece of underwear that every woman desires. These moments are where we can feel our best, and to be the person able to manufacture those experiences through garment creation is what i want most as a designer.

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Working from my home studio i have been super busy creating the collection, being mostly inspired by my trip to Venice, Italy. I was taken to Venice for my birthday in 2019 by my partner and I became infatuated by the unbelievable amount of beauty we experienced whilst there. We went from doing the traditional tourist list of things to do like taking a romantic trip through the canals in a gondola and visiting the beautiful Doge's palace, as well as the slightly different adventure of an afternoon/evening spent kayaking ourselves through the Venice, giving us a wide range of angles and perspectives to view from. Venice just kept giving and for a creative mind its a wonderful place to go.

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Photos I took while on my trip in Venice which became the main source of inspiration for the collection

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The silhouette ideas came from a brilliant book called "1000 Dessous A history of lingerie" by Gilles Neret, a must have book for people to have in their bookshelf. Displaying underwear and women from all eras, it really shows you the development over time.

My chosen favourites from the book, if i could have put every page in I would have.

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Working on the stand is how i design and create patterns best. Being dyslexic i sometimes find working in 2D difficult. I usually work by designing a few quick sketches, which are more to show the silhouette i want to create with a few ideas of placement or layering, I then head straight to the stand and use different coloured tailors tape for different layers and being surrounded by my inspiration and music i get to work. Draping patterns has been something of a dream for me, it is a skill i have taken many years developing to get just right. Draping and free hand designing with tailors tape on the stand, i fall into a zone where i can create with out fear of it being set on paper, i can develop and create exactly what I am envisioning in my head. This collection has been completely created from scratch on the stand with no pre made patterns, this gave me such freedom and pleasure in the process of creating.

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