My first term in 3rd year has been an exciting and challenging time, where I have learned lots of new skills, and pushed myself to harness these skills as much as possible.
I started the term by developing the concept for my final collection. My collection is called: Quintessentially British: By the Seaside The collection is an ironic exploration into the everyday lives of people who live and work in British coastal towns, in contrast to the tourists who go to holiday there. Juxtaposing both contemporary and historical imagery of vibrant, quirky and kitsch seaside holidays, with the everyday realities of the local fishermen. Once I had established my concept I started researching and designing, developing the toiles for my first two outfits by the end of the term. These outfits are: An elegant twist on classic dungarees, with a silk shirt and quirky printed roll-neck underneath. A floor-length denim coat, with traditional denim detailing on an unconventional, sophisticated silhouette. I have decided to make my collection from sustainable denim, as I am interested in the long-lasting authentic nature of denim, which is now complemented by advancements in denim to make it less harmful to the environment. Alongside my collection I have also written and submitted my dissertation, which analysed emotionally durable design as a possible solution to sustainability. I really enjoyed writing my dissertation and have chosen to extend it in order to build further upon my research. I have also been working on a competition for ISKO denim, a sustainable denim supplier, which has built on my knowledge for my final collection. I have now entered my second term of 3rd year, which I am sure will bring new challenges and learning experiences.
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I interned at Next for 2 weeks at the end of summer 2019. I was there for a short time; however, I learned a great deal and met many inspiring people who taught me a lot of new skills.
During my time at Next I worked in the menswear team, working on range planning, selecting fabrics, creating technical packs, completing specification drawings, and helping to create the new concepts for the fall. This enhanced my skills in illustrator and taught me a great deal about how the high-street reacts to trends, allowing me to complete in-depth market research to report back to the rest of the team. It was a very interesting contrast to work for a high-street brand, in comparison to Purple Label Ralph Lauren, and this has given a greater insight into different market levels in the fashion industry, and the different ways in which they operate. I was fortunate enough to intern at Ralph Lauren for 10 weeks in the summer of 2019. This was an incredible experience where I relocated to New York City in order to work as a designer for Purple Label Ralph Lauren.
During my time as an intern at Ralph Lauren, I learned many new skills as both an apparel designer and concept designer for Men’s Purple Label. As an apparel designer I learned how to execute specification drawings accurately so that the factories in Italy were able to interpret my designs correctly. I also learned a great deal about garment fit, luxury fabrics and how to design for a target customer. As a concept designer for Purple Label Ralph Lauren I learned how to set the mood and tone for the upcoming collections in 2021. I worked in a small team to capture the essence of Ralph Lauren in a new concept, working closely with the creative director to create a new concept to be shown to Mr. Ralph Lauren. During my time as a concept designer I learned a great deal about colour, trend, capturing the mood of a brand and concept development. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to work for such an iconic brand, and met many incredibly talented, inspiring and like-minded people. |
Issy HamblyThird year fashion design student at Nottingham Trent University. Archives
February 2020
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