What I thought about Fashion

I used to think fashion was nothing but just designing clothes and then getting people to make the clothes for you. I love drawing and I love designing so I thought I would do a course in something I love doing that way things would be a whole lot easier. When I got to the class, the zeal the students had and the passion was too much. I don't think I have ever felt soo many emotions pass through the classroom. The zeal the students had was transferred to me and then I began to love fashion more and more. The way the students work motivated me to work twice as hard and finish off with good results. Just the atmosphere in the classroom changed my line of thinking; what I thought about fashion and what I thought it was. I got a clearer understanding thanks to the students.

Manifesto Project

My manifesto was based on the influence the Africans had from the Western world. We adapted the ways of the westerners and started living like them. I wanted to combine the African culture with the Western culture because I knew the result would be different and unique. My design ideas, i got from the western world and the fabrics i chose, i got from the African paintings that inspired me. It was not easy making decisions on which fabrics to use but with time i realised I would combine the most difficult fabrics together which are lace and satin. It wasn't easy because one had stretch and the other didn't so in stitching them the fabrics kept moving. Then I added pure cotton fabric to it to stabilise it a little bit and it worked well.

Culture

In Africa, our culture tends to be different to the other cultures of people around. Respect is earned in Ghana by the way you dress and also by the way you speak. With women, no body parts should be exposed and they should be covered properly and dressed decently. Respect is gained when you present yourself properly before others. Also, the younger ladies wear bright coloured fabrics and the older ones wear the ones not too bright but simple. I chose to use my culture in ma art work because I do believe everyone deserves a bit of respect and the only way you can get it is by gaining it from people.

Fabric selection

In selecting fabrics for my final collection or designs, I get inspiration from African paintings. The bright colours in the paintings remind me of the African prints. They are always bright and have alot of solid colours in them. They are eye catching no doubt and stand out among other kinds of fabrics. If I am looking for a plain fabric to use in ma collection, I pick the colour out of the paintings. I used these colours because they are bold and strong. African print materials represent maturity and growth. And with African prints, it helps in combining colours for other upcoming projects because of the numerous colours in one print.

Inspiration

When I need inspiration for my projects, first thing I do is go outside and look into the sky. I love the sky, the colour of it and how pure and clear it looks. It takes me into a whole new place and my mind keeps flooding with different ideas. At other times, paintings inspire me and so do blue objects. I also get inspiration from the ocean. What I realised was that I am actually attracted to transparent things; things I can see through and it gives me ideas for fabrics when it comes to designing clothing.

My transfer

In November I transferred from De Montfort University to Arts University College in Bournemouth. I moved to improve my skills in Pattern Technology. Learning about Pattern cutting and how to use the sewing machine has really helped me. The help from the teachers and motivation from the students around me drives me to work harder and get better grades.