Declaration of Authenticity; I confirm that the attached assessment is all my own work and does not include any work completed by anyone other than myself and sources have been appropriately referenced.
Evaluating my Research & Experimentations:
Having been given the theme of Data for my FMP, I decided to focus on the concept of space. In particular looking at rovers and Mars.
Before I had decided my concept of space within the overarching theme of data, I created a Mindmap of initial ideas of everything that links to data this included different forms of data and the dictionary definition of data.
One of the thing I wrote on my Mindmap was NASA Perseverance Rover as it was very current and it’s mission was to go to Mars and collect data in many different forms. Once I had settled on that concept I created several moodboards to visualise my ideas, the theme and also the colour scheme. I found these initial moodboards really helpful to look back on throughout the project and also to base and develop my work from.
I have tried to develop my ideas within all aspects of my research, I have especially focused on my secondary research through moodboards and photos.
I have found moodboards very valuable throughout my FMP as they are a good way to visualise ideas and look at different techniques.
I personally don’t think my work changed much throughout my FMP, I just developed on my previous work, trailing a variety of techniques and undertaking more research working towards creating a final piece.
I have looked at a variety of different artists and materials. However, other than Chesley Bonestell’s work and style and Tomoko Nakamichi‘s pattern magic work none of the artists I looked at had any particular influence on my work other than giving me some inspiration. I also took inspiration from watching the film, The Martian as it was set on the planet Mars and it gave me quite realistic understanding of what the planet Mars is like, the colour of the planet, what the surface is like.
Chesley Bonestell is artist who has made some incredible space paintings including ones just looking at the planet Mars, I struggled to find what exactly chesley bonestell used to create his paintings.
Tomoko Nakamichi has written a series of Pattern Magic books, which include a range of her own pattern making techniques.
I think I have done well on the practical and practical blogs as most of my time in college work was solely focused on that and the experimentation process. I personally found the practical blogs easier than research ones as I am writing about what I did, the process, what went well, what did not go so well and then at the end writing a small evaluation on the techniques and the final outcome and if I am happy with it.
I probably could improve on my artist research and taking more influence from some of the artists I have researched. For my initial research I looked at 3 artists, from the brief and then I also looked at a collaboration of an artist and a clothing brand. I did take inspiration from these initial artists research but It had no further influence on my work and I did not do any experimentation in a similar style using my own theme.
Looking back at my FMP studies I don’t think that there is anything I wished I had explored further as I tried to cover as many aspects as possible within the time given for my FMP.
Evaluating my final piece:
I have included formal elements in my design such as shape, colour and texture.
I have included shape with in my bodice with a 3-D pattern magic cube, I have used colour within both my bodice and my skirt, on my skirt I have used a variety of shades of red, yellow and orange. When my garments are worn together there is a contrast of light and dark colours between the garments. Finally, the Suffolk puffs and french knots add texture to the garments.
For my final piece bodice I used black cotton jersey fabric and a shiny metallic silver Lycra. I then used white embroidery thread to add my french knots onto the bodice. I also stuffed the cube with toy filling and used a small bit of netting to hold it in place. As well as cotton thread to stitch the bodice together.
For my final piece skirt I used calico, I then ice dyed the fabric with ice and powdered dyes and for the Suffolk puffs I used 3 different cotton fabrics for the outer circle and for the inner circle I used fabric from a t-shirt and a shirt as well as another grey fabric. As well as cotton thread to sew the skirt as well as the Suffolk puffs.
The techniques I have used to create my garments are pattern cutting, construction, French knots, Ice Dyeing and Suffolk Puffs.
The design of my final piece garments is trying to show the NASA Perseverance Rover heading towards Mars for its mission to explore and collect data on the planet.
The black fabric used in my bodice represents outer space and the french knots represent distant stars, the 3-D pattern magic cube on the bodice created using a strip of silver fabric is an creative interpretation of the NASA Perseverance Rovers. Once I made the bodice I stuffed the cube with toy filling and cut a netting cube net to stop the stuffing falling out.
The ice dyed bubble/balloon skirt with suffolk puffs was inspired by the planet Mars, with its colour shape, texture and craters.
I hope that the theme and link to data is clearly conveyed through the design of my final piece garments.
I am very happy with my final piece bodice and skirt I think they are effective. In particular I like the the Suffolk Puffs on the skirt as it adds another layer of texture and design to the skirt they are all 3-D. I also love the cube because of the 3-D aspects and french knots as they have a texture.
I hoped that my design and final piece would be reminiscent of a costume and I think that I have achieved that effect.
I don’t think that there is anything I would change about both of my final piece garments, the only thing that is a little bit annoying is that the skirt is slightly too big but this is not a major issue. This happened when you gather the fabric at the waist and at the bottom of the skirt and you are trying to gather the waistband to the right size and if you gather it too much it would be too small and you cannot amend it.
I have done a photoshoot to style my finished garments I took photos of both of the garments on a mannequin in front of a ring light. I also got a friend to take a few photos of myself wearing the garments as I made both the bodice and the skirt to my size. I did have to pin the skirt at the back so it fitted me for the photos. I managed to get quite a few good clear photos of my final piece. After I had taken the photos I added a couple of photos to the NASA Perseverance Photo booth and that created a few interesting and cool images.
Overall, I am really happy with how my FMP project has gone and the final pieces I have created.
Unpicking Fashion 