Blog 3: Project Outcome and Personal Development
Going into this pathway oblivious played to my advantage of absorbing new information. My knowledge was at a basic level, stylist tends to have an obsession with clothes whereas my course, Creative Direction briefly touches on that area. I didn’t know to the full extent of what being a stylist entailed. I needed to achieve two experimental and contemporary looks that responded to sportswear fashion and represented another subculture and the workshops helped break down how I could approach this.
Figure 1. Subculture Brainstorm (2020)
Brainstorm workshops were beneficial, they helped me to share ideas and learn new concepts from my peers from all different courses like Fashion PR and Hair and Makeup. One thing I found interesting was breaking down looks, through a hair and makeup student I learnt how they focus on building a character in the face however through a creative direction student like myself that isn’t always the central focus however it was important to understand that we all play a part in the execution of a vision.
Figure 2. Subculture Collage (2020)
Previously, I would’ve always considered myself an independent worker, I find it hard to pass and share responsibility however through these workshops I was able to see the advantages of collaboration and construct looks within a team.
Operating as a stylist I needed to understand contextual knowledge and skills and values such as sustainability and culture, these were central topics in our lectures. These masterclasses encouraged me to become a cultural translator. Social responsibility and sustainability were themes that were a central topic in our lectures. Through these lectures, I gathered the importance and awareness of the impact we as consumers have on the environment. These themes translated into my looks and informed work outside the unit such as my fashion histories essay.
This unit taught me how to be resourceful and create alternatives looks in our current situation. Curating a look that could represent my vision, I took to digital tools to design and shape. It was interesting to see how clothes took the backseat in terms of corona and lockdown as everything, but clothes became a priority and due to restrictions, it has made us become more resourceful.
Figure 3. Pose and Body Language (2020)
Both looks created were an interpretation of sportswear and ‘old grime’. The subculture came from the interest of the UK music scene and channelling how these artists represent themselves through clothes. Old grime being the subculture I chose when it was an underground sound was very discreet emerged from London.
Putting emphasis on the silhouette created in both looks, layering was essential to embody the puffy shapes that were worn throughout supposedly for comfort and versatility.
Grime before it became mainstream. Recognising a running theme in the clothes that people wore to represent grime culture, for instance, baggy jeans, boot cut jeans, raincoats, shades, layers and incorporated that into my look. In means to create a grime interpretation to display on the runway to tribute to the iconic genre.
Figure 4. Sportswear and Grime Culture Look 1 (2020).
Figure 5. Sportswear and Grime Culture Look 2 (2020)