The Real Chicken Run

My illustration of a layered dress outfit

Once again, this project is based around some rather unusual inspiration. It originally started being about birds in general but I got distracted and started to concentrate on chickens. Being a vegetarian, I found it really interesting to take photos of the iside chest cavities and skeletons to get shapes for pleating and embroidery. I warn you now, this project is not for the squeemish!

My photograph of chicken wishbones

The wishbones largely inspired the print I used on this strapless top design. I felt that a print using wishbones was a more discreet way to encorporate my theme into the garments, rather than my original idea of using a print with crows and chickens in. The top pleated part was inspired by the same ribcage image as the shorts (below).

My photograph of wishbone dress

One repeat of my wishbone print

One of my illustrations of the wishbone dress and jodhpur outfit

Seeing the illustrations allow you to see the outfit in full, in the situation they were intended to be worn in. The style of the illlustrations give a slightly dark and sinister mood. The models are quite skeletal and reflect a lot upon features seen commonly in birds. Especially using paper cone beaks and giant chicken feet.

My research photograph of inside chickens

The photograph above really interested me and inspired a pair of shorts. I used the ribecage to inspire some pleat shapes and the patterns down the breastbone was used as a central embroidery pattern.

Photograph of shorts, inspired by the chicken ribcage

One of my illustrations of the shorts outfit

I thought it would be a bit more interesting to play with proportions and give them uber long stick legs and huge chickens feet. Illustrations are a mixture of fineliner pen, watercolour, markerpen and food colouring.

Along with the model illustrations, I also did a lot of research illustrations of anatomical objects. I got really interested in the bone structure of feet and created some really bizarre block colourings and panelling ideas. I encorporated it into a few of my designs but felt it worked better as research rather than a literal tranlation.

Collage of images and my illustrations from research

All images subject to copyright

Build Me A Tower and I'll Wear It : Some Designers and That

I feel I need to explain where a few of my ideas come from, starting with a handful of my favourite designers and collections. Generally, when the new season of collections come out, I sift through it unleashed and tend to save bits and bobs that I really like... So here are a few. These are all from recent collections as I felt it was more relevant to use images that have inspired work I have done in the last year or so, in my third year of uni.

 Alexander Wang AW 08/09

I loved this collection due to its 'borrowed from boys' appeal. The oversized trousers and jackets worn with the uber cute shorts and leggings screams of something super wearable, cheap and transferable between seasons. 

"I will 'av two of zees..."

Kirrily Johnston SS o8

I loved this collection so much I emailed the link to a load of my friends at uni. Everything about it was fresh, beautiful and billowing. It had a well fashioned Arabian theme, even including a lack of visible flesh due to the long, front seemed leggings. Flashes of colour amongst swathes of sandy beiges was a real break from the sleek city chic full of greys and acid greens.

Miu Miu SS08

Miu Miu SS08

Miu Miu SS08

Miu Miu SS08

I absolutely loved this collection from Miu Miu, I think it is probably my favourite collection that they have ever shown. I looked at it a little bit during my final collection and really loved the performance and circus feel to it. The cute little collars and panelling are such well thought through details, everything just works. 

Peter Jensen SS08

Peter Jensen SS08

Peter Jensen SS08

I do love a bit of Peter Jensen. We had an industry project with them in the third year and I absolutely loved it. They base all their collections on a muse and outfits are taken from images and videos of each muse. I loved the beaded jacket in the image above. It was apparently hand beaded and took weeks to make. To me, Peter Jensen are an example of inspired, fun and wearable fashion.

Spijkers en Spijkers SS08

"Build me a tower... and I'll wear it"

This collection also held a lot of inspiration for me in terms of my Final Collection. I took a lot of photos of building blocks (I bought some and had great fun building towers and photographing them!) and encorporating them into panelling ideas. I think Spijkers en Spijkers have done this on a very successful level and I have spent many many days lusting after this dress in specific.

Images courtesy of vogue.co.uk and are subject to copyright

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.