FRANÇOIS NARS

www.15x15project.com

Marc Jacobs by François Nars

http://www.style.com/beauty/beautifullives/042409_Francois_Nars

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN S/S10

McQueens AMAZING collection, has been core to the development of my print project for Indigo. i love the symmetry within the collection and also the animalistic vibes. I am looking to Butterflies, symmetry and artistic marks to create the collection and McQueens collection when comparing to butterfly wings is almost identical.

McQueens choice to show his collection through the internet on a live feed was brilliant, i love McQueens attitude to fashion he does not have an elitist view. Like Nick Knight and SHOWstudio.com, who i have researched and included for my dissertation, he believes fashion can be for the masses.

A Nick Knight and Alexander McQueen Collaboration for www.showstudio.com

BASSO & BROOKE S/S 10

Neo-pop, the theme of Basso & Brooke's Spring collection, gave them a tailor-made opportunity to duplicate on fabric (and micro sequin) I love their strong interest in black and white within the collection, it was a great counterpoint to all the colour.

I loved the presence of beading that covered the body of a dress, i adore bead and sequin work, and the way that Basso & Brooke transferred their print into such beautiful beadwork really inspires me. The shapes were streamlined to maximise the effects of the prints, and the prints shone. The collection has really made me consider the direction of my prints, i love this more graphical genre of print, but i am not sure if it suits my design aesthetic.

ANNA SUI S/S 10

'Blame that on Rex Harrison: Sui had been watching the 1967 version of Doctor Doolittle, and it must have really struck a chord because the tailored pieces—a flowered pantsuit on Ranya Mordanova, a voodoo-beaded denim shorts suit worn with a paillette-embroidered mesh dress—had a cool sixties-take-on-Victorian-menswear feel.'

This Sui collection had such a variety and a great sense of humour. As a designer this is the kind of collection i aspire to, humorous and multi textured. I love print, embellishment and construction, i do not want to limit myself to one avenue with my work.

BALENCIAGA S/S 10

"I wanted to do something urban. No more history for the moment!" - Nicolas Ghesquière

The quality defines Ghesquière's Balenciaga as unique, i love the athletic vibe of the collection, it is modern and urban. Take the "jeans." What looks, at a distance, as if it might be gray-blue denim is actually vegetable-dyed leather. The "hoodie" is engineered from molded leather, woven jersey, and nylon foam. In the collage of elements, there were recycled fabrics and natural-looking hemp weaves, and a sidelong tribalism in the urban-warrior eye makeup and footwear. I love the striking colours and Ghesquière's ability to create intense collections, that have an air of simplicity.

FINAL COLLECTION INSPIRATION?

I am totally in love with this image, i'm really feeling the new over the top animal fantasy aspects that is kicking around fashion at the minute...

MOSCHINO CHEAP & CHIC - I'M INLOVE

Jardini is the ultimate escapist with this collection, frivolous, fun and fresh!

I love the use of print in Moschino's collections, they always accomplish sophisticated collections with a sense of youth and frivolity.

SHOWstudio

The ShowStudio exhibition at Somerset House, 'Fashion Revolution' i found incredibly inspiring, i love the media side to fashion and my dissertation is looking at how the fashion and art industry interact with one another, so for me the exhibition was perfect. Nick Knight the director of ShowStudio, a website that aims to unite fashion and art through the medium of the internet.

‘A place to show work that wasn’t created to sell a product, but was instead created simply for the love of the art’ - Nick Knight

I really respect Knights ambition to unite industries under one bracket, also the way in which he has used the internet, when SHOWstudio started it was revolutionary and i think he has still maintained the revolution, he is constantly pushing boundaries and introducing new concepts and medias that previously were unheard of. I love Knights ability to unite designer and public in a similar way performance art unites artist to public for example the 5th Plinth at Trafalgar Square. The exhibition really highlights the importance of technology to the fashion industry.

The fashion films really inspired me. It shows films of collections by the designers, such as Gareth Pugh's dark, emotional film of his A/W 09 collection. I love the strong concept which was beautifully illustrated through the media of film, this i think would be a great way to show my final collection, via this blog.

Another really great piece in the exhibition was the 'Sound of Clothes: Synaesthesia' by Daniel Brown/Nick Ryan, 2006. The piece was a screen with a jacket that you were able to touch and interact with, where you touched a different sound was made. I thought the idea of music making a piece of clothing was really innovative and something that is only possible with the aid of technology.

SUPERMARKETS AND SURREALISM

'Supermarkets and Surrealism' was a brief i under took whilst on my Foundation year, this project is what cemented my love for fashion and ambition to work within the industry. I loved the modules freedom, i loved the juxtaposition of the two completely contrasting topics, 'supermarkets' and 'surrealism'. Here are the final photographs of the project and a few designs from my sketchbook.

INTRODUCTION

My name is Kitty Keay and i'm a third year student studying Fashion and Textile Design, at Colchester School of Art and Design. This blog will be an on going reference and reflection of my final year. I am currently writing my dissertation and producing a print collection for spring/summer 2011 in order to sell at Premier Vision, Paris.