Live Brief: Womens Denim Ideas & Inspo

When creating my women print collection, I do want to experiment a little with other fabric techniques other than just print.. Because Old navy is a bit user of denim and chambray, i wanted to work with a more distressed denim and then work on to of that with perhaps screen print, foiling, using bleach and fabric dyes to create shibori techniques and painting directly onto the denim. I want a fun feel to the designs that will reflect my trend research so have began to look at patches and badges. This is also something very American about it as a lot of motor bikers are thought not only to wear leather jackets, but oversized, distressed denim jackets with badges. Moto cyclists are also a big pat of the idea of the American Road trip theme Old Navy has provided in the brief.

Below is a Inspiration board for this very idea.

Live Project: Old Navy Girls SS16

For the live project with Old Navy, I have to create and design for two members of 'their family'. I had chosen to design for Womens and Girls for SS16.

For the girls designs im looking into creating a conversational print for casual wear. For my digital designs i would like to create designs that can be transferred on to screen and can be printed upon denims. 

I am focusing on the theme of the amercain road trip and looking into the idea of holidays. I'll be using summery images and motifs including things like ice creams, beachcomber finds; like shells and starfish. For a more American twist on the theme, 

I have drawn palm trees, cactuses and moel signs.

I have begun to create some digital designs using my motif drawings. I feel they are fun, summery and suitable for the target market of young girls.

These designs could stay digital or be easily translated into co-de traces for screen. I am planning on uisng the screens for one og two fo these designs depending on how much it will cost me to expose multiple screens for different layers.

I think the designs capture the amercian road trip vibe sue to their summery imagery ad would very well on cottons, denims and jerseys for easy and casual girlswear.

Self Initiated: Words to work from

After a discussion with my tutor, it was suggested that instead of drawing actual weather, I should look at my sources and decide on what attributes I like about them, whether it is the way the rain falls or the blur of lights through soaked glass panes; and start to draw using these words. The words I have decided to look at are: 

No control - we cannot control the weather or its outcomes

 Distortion - how the effect of weather can make things look distorted

Blur - similar to distortion, but i will try to look at how i can blue things myself rather than relying completely on photoshop.

Direction - looking at how water runs down glass window panes or how it falls from the sky catching the light on its way to the floor.

Contrast - I liked the strong contrast in the flashes of lightning and dark skies.

Direction: using acrylics and water and painting at a vertical angle to encourage the paint to run. This also has a aspect of having no control over it too as i cannot garnet where the paint will run or whether it will run into each other.

No control: I mentioned in my sketchbook i wanted to experiment with how to fluid paint. i researched it and decided to experiment with it. The paintings have a lack control over how they end up looking, my only input is where i originally put the paints and the colours i choose. i thoroughly enjoyed making these and i find the outcome very interesting. This will look very effective on a whole garment and as a block panel on a garment.

Distortion: these is a photoshop manipulated development of first painting. I was experimenting with the kinds of distortion filters to achieve these effects. Ive also tried to get the colour palette more accurate to what I have chosen to work from as apposed to my orginal drawing.

Blur: During November i went to a gig and had lots of photos pf the stage set lights, I decided to use these photos in photoshop to create some deigns and I feel they are quite effective and reflect my theme and sources very well. 

Self Initiated: Drawings

Ive been looking at how rain falls and the direction in which it does so, so, I created some mark making that relate to falling rain and its direction. Using ink and a dryish brush and also the ends of string.

I can now manipulate these in photoshop using 'define brush pattern' to create separate layers with them, or I could layer them onto of another background.

Whilst it was icy, wintery weather, I took the opportunity to take some photos of ice on a pond. i really like the contrast caught in these photos and will start to draw focusing contrast. 

The patterns left on ice are due to wind direction, this has reminded me of at a piece of art i looked at for research.

This is a piece of photographic paper that was left outside during a lightning storm and left to expose in that storm. the mark made are totally organic much like the pattern found in ice. 

Art like this is so interesting to me - that fact that you can have so little control over how something may turn out. This has lead me onto wanting to experiment with fluid painting. I have tried before with watercolour, however this has failed because my paper was to thin and watercolour is not a thick enough media.

I have researched this though and shall experiment with acrylics and thicker card. The result is similar to properties I see in the clouds and the sea when they are a bit roughed up by the wind. 

Locating Brief

During the Locating unit, I must create my own self initiated project and also answer one of the live briefs.

I am basing my self initiated project on weather. I will look at how certain types of weather make the sky look and how they look on the earths surface and other surfaces like glass and puddle reflections to start with for inspiration. 

As I'll be designing for A/W16, I shall use websites like WGSN for future trend research and further inspiration of how I can apply my designs to garments for women. Below are a few pieces from her AW15 collection.

I want to experiment with using more of the studio facilities this time for create rich and interesting samples which i will then work digitally over for final outcomes. I will experiment with techniques such a procion dyes and manutex, foiling, marbling, ice dying and fluid painting amongst others i may come across on my creative journey.

Colour Palette

For the live brief section of the Locating unit, I have chosen the Old Navy live brief to work with.

I want to focus on womenswear for SS16 and grislier for SS16. Old Navy focus on the american spirit and for this brief, my theme is the great American road trip. For this, I'm mainly looking at California for inspiration. I would like to work toward a beachy vibe for both groups I'm designing for. I'm also mixing this with the imagery of motel signs and other signs you'd see on american roads.

For the girls deigns I want to have a fun holiday feel so will focus on a conversational print. ii will also work on placement prints as all i seem to do as a designer is repeat and i want to be flexible in how I'm designing.

For women I will focus more on textures and placement prints for t-shirts.

In this project i would like to look at using denims and distressing them and this printing on them. perhaps the designs could be applied to jean pockets or dungarees.

Below you'll find my inspiration boards.

This brief will also be answered digitally, but i shall hand draw and hand print and then work digitally with those drawing outcomes.