Avant Garde Mask

From the performance-inspired painting, we advanced on to making an Avant Garde mask.  I incorporated some aspects of my Lepidoptera painting into the mask. Plain and fuzzy wires as well as stockings were the materials I used to achieve this.

Lepidoptera

Ballet first got into my mind when we were told to create a painting inspired by performance. As I searched for the best piece on YouTube, I found the "The Nutcracker". It is traditionally performed during the Christmas season, filled with magic and wonder as the child Marie’s toys come to life, including the wooden nutcracker soldier prince.  The one I watched was the 2010 show. Choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich, it was held at the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, Moscow with performers  Maria as Nina Kaptsova and Artem Ovcharenko as The Nutcracker/ The Prince.

Screencaps

So in this painting that I made, I applied surrealism which uses numerous techniques to provide inspiration and free imagination by producing a creative process free of conscious control. Burnt umber was the poster color and since there was no available canvas at the store where I went, I used a document frame instead. I also call my painting "Lepidoptera", the scientific name for a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies, because I perceive ballerinas as butterfly-like beings whose dance movements give that feeling of being free. As you can see, the skirt is like a butterfly wing and the rest that are in my work, I hope, are decipherable for you.

Rock Element

This is the streetwear I designed for our midterm project and here's the brief.

Occasion & Season

            The outfit is designed for the spring season specifically intended for an event with ‘rock’ theme. For a warmer climate, a blue hue can be beneficial since it produces a calming effect. Adding black on the scheme complements the look.

Muse/ Customer

            Aside from having an established name in the industry, Candice Swanepoel is the one I chose to represent my creation because she’s in her early 20s, the age in which you can liberally experiment on what you wear since fashion bears no limitations during youthful years. This 24-year old South African has a slender built with vital statistics of 33-23-34 and tall stature with a height of 5”9’. She is said to be best known for her work in Victoria’s Secret and in 2012, she came in 10^th on the Forbes top-earning models list with estimated earnings of 3 million dollars between 2010 and 2011.

Target Market

          The prospective buyers for the product are young adult women of any race who could be fun and flexible when it comes to fashion.

Material and Fabric

            Denim is mostly used in jeans and jackets. I wanted to put a twist on the use of this textile by making a top out of it. I did ripping as part of the design and on its edges, I removed the blue threads on the weaving to create a raveled appearance. Also, I used leather to accentuate some areas of the top and utilized same kind of material for the entire skirt establishing that ‘rock’ effect. The gold buttons and sequins were adorned on the outfit to augment sophistication.

Costing

            Since almost all the materials were already available in my place, I didn’t have to spend much. The denim was from my friend’s old jeans and the leather for the top was from her jacket but I needed more of it for the skirt so I bought a plus size leather skirt at a thrift store. The gold embellishments I put were just found in my crafter’s toolbox.

Practical Outcomes

          While I was on the process, I tried to experiment on the incorporation of such ideas for the outfit. On balance, I was able to achieve what I am expecting to come up with giving the look that I intended to present.

I got bits of inspiration from the materials and structures of the pieces that are in this visual page.

Streetwear with  Rock Element -Final Product

When I thought of streetwear, denim was the first thing that popped into my mind as the material. It is most often seen on jeans and jackets but I wanted to use it for a crop top. I also desired to try how to do ripping on it as part of the design so I watched video lessons on YouTube and incorporated my learning on the creation. While I was making the top, I unexpectedly felt like taking advantage on the raveling edges of the fabric so I took the blue threads on its weaving to make it look like it’s really meant to have hanging threads.

One time, my friend took off the leather fabric at the back of her jacket leaving the lining on so I collected those torn pieces believing that I could use them for some purpose and so I really did. The collar and cutouts on the connecting parts of the top are made of the materials I got. I had sewn them into the fabric by hand but ensured that they are attached well by applying Crown Band instant glue.

That kind of ‘rock’ look that I desired to achieve was planned in the middle of the process of making the top and I decided to choose it because the materials and colors give that feel. To complete the outfit, I did a high waist skirt made of leather and also sewn by hand. I needed more leather so I bought a plus size skirt at a thrift store. On the waist band has gold buttons so I adorned the collar of the top with gold square sequins as well so that the two garments would agreeably match each other. I also designed the top and the skirt in a manner that those could be worn with inner garments (such as fitted blouse and leggings) in a way that the one who will wear it can experiment on it depending on her style. Moreover, I could imagine these clothes paired with wedge sneakers or ankle boots in black, gold, blue or a combination of these colors. 

Tyrannical Cape

This cape is made of net fabric that I just folded diagonally into four parts and cut like how you do on a full balloon skirt. The cut part serves as the neck hole. I wanted it to have a unique silhouette so I draped it in a manner that one side has a clean outline and the other has added volume which hangs freely. It also has a detachable neckpiece framed with wires and adorned with looped/ knotted silver metallic strings as well as silver ribbons zigzagged on the upper part. The lateral parts are actually embellished with chili-shaped sequins but I wasn't done putting all those in this photo.

This visual page represents the identity of the one who will wear the cape, my alter ego. If you're wondering by the way, the one that shadow is holding on her left hand is a cornucopia, the "horn of plenty" containing celebratory fruits as a symbol for abundance and nourishment. And also, those places are the four fashion capitals of the world: London, Paris, Milan, and New York.

My alter ego speaks:

Call me Tyrrany Tykhe. Tyranny sounds like the names Tyra (Banks) and Tiffany combined and taken from the term for a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler while Tykhe is the goddess of fortune. My name says it all. In my world, I am the one who governs and I am lucky in a lot of things. I have what I need, I get what I want, I do things I like, and all those I love are just around me.

I am a pure Filipino but I was born and raised in Paris, one of the fashion capitals of the world. I have long brown-black straight hair and fair flawless skin. Though I don’t have a foreign blood, I look attractive as those mixed-race beauties even if I don’t wear any cosmetics. That’s what I am always told by people around me. Thanks to my parents for having such great genes.

Art, specifically in garments and accessories, is my penchant and it is what I love to do. Yes, I’m a fashion designer who belongs to the elite world. Growing up in an environment surrounded by people inclined to fashion, I have this intense desire to design unique pieces of clothing so I took up Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design at London College of Fashion which is one of the leading centres of fashion education in the world. Being an academically outstanding student and active in extracurricular activities in school, I garnered many awards thus making me popular in my educational institution. After I graduated, I decided to work here in New York where I’m having a stable and successful career.

By the way, I also love to travel and I could carry myself from one place to another by paranormal means called teleportation. It’s exciting to find inspirations for my designs from the things I discover as I take trips in various locations of the world as well as spending time with my family, friends, and colleagues. So that’s it. My life is full of blessings and fun!

Lou Ruvo Dresses

This is another thing that speaks of architectural fashion inspiration. Each one of us were tasked to search about the architect who was individually assigned to us and design a garment inspired by him or his works. As we went over with the lecture, we had to select the architect we'd like to know more. Upon seeing the structural designs of Frank Gehry, I was captured and I chose him. What wowed me is the complicated architecture he has since the construction of his buildings has that kind of irregularity wherein you wouldn't even believe that those could really exist. Stirred up by the manner of his architecture, I made this sketch of a collection. I call them the Lou Ruvo Dresses because I particularly intended to derive their cuts from the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, a health care facility specializing in research and care for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, ALS, and Memory Disorders, which was designed by him. Pop colors, I think, would be great to add vibrance to the look.

Thyssenkrupp Dress

Do you know Zaha Hadid? She's an architect known for her distinctively futuristic buildings and the ThyssenKrupp headquarters is one of those. I actually just heard about her in class when the subject of the lecture was architecture as a source of inspiration in fashion design. The photo of the building was presented to us and we were tasked to sketch something with the incorporation of its structural design. Based on how I see it, there's variation on the sizes of squares in its external aspect so I integrated that feature in my design. Moreover, I decided to make it look futuristic as what Zaha Hadid has in her style.

Pollock Bangle

As far as I could remember, the topic that time was about the creations of great artists. Photos of their artworks were shown to us. Then again, we were made to get inspired by those. We had to pick one creation that we like and design a fashion accessory inspired by it. I chose Jackson Pollock's painting because I'm also into abstract expressionism which is what his work is all about. With minimalism, I incorporated the pattern that's in his painting into the imprint of the bangle.

Umbrella-inspired Neckpiece

On our first day in Design Studio class months ago, aside from the self introduction habit and discussion, we also had this activity wherein we were told to open our bag and get the first thing that we could see then design a fashion accessory using it as an inspiration. So there you have it, an umbrella inspired neckpiece! I could imagine the cord being made of a bendable metallic material and resembles like the handle of an umbrella. That big pendant is apparently similar to the rib assembly of the umbrella and is also embellished with mesh of wire. A gold hue would make this accessory look more eye-catching.