So... Why All The Gnomes?

"First things first"

These are images of my Final Collection from my university degree show. The research, and subsequently, the Collection, were based around one of my favourite films, Amelie. I wanted to characterize the 'colourful oddballs' that embody the film, and make it so lovable. I like to base things on unusual sources of inspiration and this collection is no exception. Garden gnomes, Russian Dolls and wooden building blocks are a steady influence throughout.

The following images are photographs taken on a location shoot in King's Cross. Basically, we charmed our way into a block of flats and went up on the roof to use it as a backdrop. The rooftop was truly amazing (I have the photographer to thank for location seeking) and was covered in an assortment of red bricks and yellow chimney pots. Unfortunately it rained most of the day, but this probably enhanced a few of the photos, especially the sky. Jeunet himself super-imposes clouds into his films if there aren't enough natural ones! Sadly Nigel, one of the gnomes we used, did get smashed, however his brother Arthur lives on.

Photographer - Laura Potts

Model - Eleanor Kerr-Smith

Clothes and Styling - Lora Sutton

Printed Yellow Dress and Purple Trousers

Yellow Wadded Playsuit and Purple Grow

Red Circle-Panel Dress and Printed Yellow Grow

Green Bubble Coat

Black Jumpsuit and Printed Yellow Bag

"Now what's this then?"

These are swatches from my print design for this collection. They are basically big snowflake shapes made up from Russian Dolls and Garden Gnomes. The yellow version appeared on the dress and bag and the purple was used for linings in the green coat and purple trousers. The print is in vector Adobe Illustrator format and one repeat (each sample above is one repeat) measures 40cm x 40cm, so makes much more of an impact on fabric. See the 'Printed Yellow Dress' image above (from the King's Cross shoot) to see it on fabric.

These images below are from a photoshoot in London which me and my course mates paid for, to use in our Graduate Fashion week brochure. I was quite pleased with mine so I thought I should put them up. Unfortunately, I have no name for the model or the photographer, otherwise they would be credited.

"Oh yeah, the shoes are DMs by the way..."

I feel I need to give a quick credit to those established companies who I bought and used accessories from. The shoes are white Doc Martens, the coloured tights are a mixture of American Apparel and Jonathan Aston at mytights.com. I made most of the accessories but there are two watches from Argos and one from Swatch. 

All work and images are subject to copyright.