Tainted Wool

Knitted texture and winter inspirations???

So it seems as though the summer is coming to an end, the weather is cooling, the boots are returning and so are the leather jackets which can only mean that winter is slowly approaching.

Although they say that summer is going to last a real long time, can anyone really see that happening??

So why not start looking for winter wear now so you can be be stylish as ever against the cold winds. And the perfect place to look first is 'Tainted Wool'.

Tainted wool is unique knitwear brand located in New York that produces yarn clothing and heavy accessories. 

                      

The brand produce a mixture of shapes, textures and colours that help blend and intertwine within the piece. Looking at the end produce you can see full mobility within the pieces such as the over sized scarves that take shape of a spine and an alien like effect. The work captures both softness and roughness of knitwear which creates the texture in the pieces.

'My work creates representations of how fiber and textile designs give voice to these symbiotic relationships'

The works of these creations are a total must have and would intertwine with everyones outfits during the cold weather. These are such massive and inspiring items to come across, giving me wants to change up my style again and to develop my own thoughts and aspirations.

Summer project to myself, for myself

A few may know that I am a surreal artist as well as a young designer. SO! I've decided to set myself a project to do over the summer.

What I want to do is to be able to view my art pieces and see what they look like as prints on t-shirt designs and or on jackets ie; denim and leather.

This will and may be a long process in getting everything done. Of course experimenting with my drawings and bringing them into Photoshop, then there's making flats, buying a a cheap t-shirt for a rough idea or placements, ect, ect. Then there's finding a place who would allow me to print and have it done professionally, models to wear them, promoting them and selling them. This would all be in the near future obviously but it's best to think of this now because you never know if it goes well or if it goes badly.

But this is what I'm wanting to do, it may take time, I may not even get to the stage of getting my ideas made but I wont know unless I try. Which I'm doing today!

One step at a time....

Recent findings. (Click to enlarge images)

This post today is going to be about the stores that I've recently found.
I'll be posting them in three posts because this may be lengthy one.

And as usual I'll be sharing the websites are each one. So if you like what you see then go ahead and get buying!! I personally haven't simple because I'm saving my money for Florence but soon after I can guarantee you that I'll be getting my hands one something that I share tonight.

This will also show you what I'm interested in and what my style is like as it is always changing.



SO! First up on the many sites that I've found would be TOXIC VISION.
This is one is especially my favourite simple because of how much time has gone into each design. There's multiple materials and techniques that have been used on them and the detail is something to look out for. some are also quite complex as well.



The prices from this store are running between $200 -$1500

It may be much but baring in mind these design are being made by hand and looking at these garments you can see the time and preparation put in to them. It's also an american store so if you're ordering from the UK then it may be more.

http://www.toxicvision.bigcartel.com/



Next up is BLKLABLEX! This store isn't as complex as the previous one. HOWEVER!! The store does produce some lovely designs. There isn't much to be shown of the site but it does give an idea of what the style is. The designs I would say are quite airy and light and suitable for summer.



The prices for this store are cheaper running between $20 to $60.
Again it is an american store so it may cost more.
They also have a mens section as well.

Again if you like what you see then visit the store

http://blklabelx.storenvy.com/products



My third store is one of my favourite findings and it's DEANDRI!
Deandri is possible one of the few stores that'll produce multiple versions of the same design. Taking a classic dressing and changing it ever so slightly. Turning a dress into a two piece, suspender with zenon collar, to changing the fabric entirely from black to tartan to turning it into separate pieces. It's endless.
the same goes for it's harness and their shoes. Changing and altering them into a complete different outlook



 

The prices for this store are between $45 and $170
These designs are absolutely amazing and I love them to bits.
They also do a mens section where the designs are similar to the womens but with shirts.

Interested?? Then look at the store.

http://deandri.com/




These will be the end of the post for today as I will be posting another tomorrow.

Again if you like what you've seen then do check out the sites and share with others.

Further Development

 For the final design I've decided to go for a sleeveless play suit. Here I've experimented with the placement of the embroidery. I've also experimented on another page with different fastenings, deciding whether to use all buttons, button and a zip or a zip. In the end I decided to use buttons and a zip to separate the bottom form the top.

The next image displays the final design as a flat as well as a close up of the design of the flowers for the embroidery that I will be using, which will be done by a machine for a better effect.

The denim I'm going for will be a dark navy blue, but doesn't need to be stretchy for the adjustment that will be placed at the back.

Design Development for final idea

My final design is a play suit.

Here I've experimented with adding sleeves, collars, bootcuts and darts. With the development I then moved on to designing an adjustment tot he back for flexibility, because it is made out of denim it may be hard to move around in. If I wanted to to make a design evolving sleeves than an adjust to the back would be need.

The adjustments I've designs are both elastic, one being obvious and the other being hidden underneath more denim, giving a cleaner look.
Either of the two would be useful to the garment.

Development of designs

I do apologies for the bad quality of the image.

This displays what I've managed to develop, with my mood boards I've taken the embroidery and used them as key detail in my designs. I've used the embroidery in different areas of the designs, around the pocket, on the bottom of the garment and around the waist.

I've also drew a close up on the areas where detail would be placed, both pencil and in colour. The embroidery shown is made up of flowers, I used pink carnations and heather ling. I also tried using pink swirls for the back ground but the ended up coming out like the cancer ribbon which isn't what I wanted. 

So when designing further for my final idea I would loose the pink swirl and just use scattered flowers instead.

Lindsey Thornburg

http://lindseythornburg.tumblr.com/
http://www.lindseythornburg.com/index.html

Final pt 2

To view on larger scale, click on image ^^^^

With this final, just like the other one i used my own drawing and used the same tool but this time i used the pen tool to outline her body, i also scanned my drawing into the computer. To make her body symmetrical i completed one side of her body, copied and paste the image drawn and reflected to the other side. 

Again i made this image slightly sketchy but still making her shape visible in the drawing.

This illustration came out well and goes well with what i had done with the first illustration. I did however draw another one that i was going to use but the out come didn't pair well with my other drawing, it was messy and quite child like so i decided against it.

I should be posting more or make time for posting, been jammed packed with work so hopefully i should be back to my one/ two posts per week. 

Zac Posen (You can click on the images to enlarge them)

Peter Popps - Cubed Shoes

Glimpse of a line-up that I had done from the first project from Fashion Drawing and Communication.

This is a line-up I'm showing is from our first module, Fashion Drawing and communication.
The designs were based around a theme/storyline that we had to come up with and work around it. I decided to go with Modern Myth from macro trends on WGSN and I went down the root of Cosmic Couture.
 I chose these two because Modern Myth is based on mythology and scientific surrounds and beliefs, the fact that it is a mixture of religious and scientific views makes a story line interesting with the amount of stories that can come from them.

The storyline however...
I researched on some short stories and I came across Population 218 by Acacia. The story is based around a nuclear war that happened and the survivors live in a dome where the population is strictly 218! So, if a baby is born a member of the population must die. BUT!! Instead of using the tragic side of the story I thought I would base my ideas around the surroundings inside the dome and what it would be like not being able to enter the outside world.

Researching further with this storyline I looked into the Edens project with it's shape and the plant life on the inside to give me the idea of what it would be like if there was no green life on the outside of the the dome.
I then looked into the hexagon shape that appears on the dome, looking at architecture and bridges around Newcastle and into designers such as Gareth Pugh and DZHUS, looking into their collection that used a lot of laser cut and 3D uses.

I then went on to experiment with my own designs and illustrations by using water colour paints, photo copying fabrics and placing them on to my designs to help me capture what I would be looking at if I were to create the garments.

For this first module I really enjoyed it because drawing is one of my strongest points and being able to use my skills and ideas was good use to this project.

The other photo I am showing is one of the experimentations that I had done in my file to back up my ideas and designs, focusing on shapes and detail with the use of water colour.