It's October and the students of London College of Fashion ba honours degree in
fashion design and realization are starting their final year through the
course of the four-year flexible learning program which is designed to
fit around their careers and other commitments they've learned strong
graphics and research skills and they've gained an understanding of the practical
and aesthetic sides of a career in the industry now they're about to start
their final major project a portfolio of garments and written work which will be
their launch pad into the fashion business card on the highest
My name is Michaela and I'm communism. My
name is Christina and I am storytelling
my name is Beverley and I am transformation. My name is Pavlina and I
am invention. My name is Maryam and I am shaped by war. My name is Rodana I
am urban myth. My name is Katie and I am dystopia. It's going to be a long year of
conceptualizing testing tweaking and making. Each of the students is taking a
different visual approach to the design elements of the pieces that will end up
in their collection, experimenting with different ideas to get there. For our
final hand-in and for the degree we have a project proposal and a workbook and
the project proposal element is all about the research, building a concept. My
concept is dystopia some really powerful images that I developed were shadows
fireworks so trying to capture the tail-end of the smoke from the fireworks
and and then re-colouring them in Photoshop and I've been able to use some
of these images and as prints in my final collection I found a good way of
moving forward was to take a suit jacket so a classic symbol of conformity in our
world and to do lots of draping on the stand with it so turning it upside down
removing the arms all this kind of thing. And for some it's intimate personal
experiences that drive their creativity. Why did you choose war?
I have a personal connection with this where I've come from from Afghanistan
yeah it wasn't the cooler for I've seen it I've lived at and I thought that
might be why that's that's a good reason it's a good way of you dealing with it
as well this is the images of my flat I took the pictures last year I was back
home. It was actually left for years.
These were some of my own images of smoke
The concept is about communism because I come from a communist background
I've translated this into the fashion worlds through brains through design
development its overlooked into surveillance and hiding like lack and
absence and type of surveillance biometric surveillance types of
punishment and torture these were my initial silhouettes.
At the same time as working out their designs and patterns the students have
to consider the silhouettes helped by Leonora Eggenton final year pattern
cutting tutor and Jessica Saunders course leader for the BA in Fashion
Design and Realization. Unless you know you have
some kind of seaming detail there and then you were able to cut this on
the bias but you know but double it so it kind of rolls. The difference between
having a good idea and making a successful piece is tricky to find as
the students discovered it actually works really really well and that's much
more exciting than your twelve and if I were you I would work with this because
this is much more contemporary they also have to think about who their audience
is and who's going to buy the end result. And this is another possibility you're
gonna have to be really really careful on the proportions of these areas
because you're kind of really emphasizing the area that that most
women are conscious of you know is your backside too big to expose is your here
you're kind of exposing the tummy area and they're the two key areas that most
women are going to be like although I don't want to be showing that off and
actually you're making a real feature of it so essentially you're going out in a
pair of hot pants or a yeah pair of pants and then that with cards of lead
you who's your customer and how does she because it to me that would be somebody
who's been quite young so perhaps to something else. Yes plenty you can do is
just a matter of looking and thinking working and trying and experimenting I
think when you look at your work sound your image is great I just don't think
you could be done enough of the sort of the 3d experimentation what you've done
is it's come from your head but actually you need to work with some of the images
so let's have two twelves next week so let's have a reinterpretation of this in the
proportions that you've got there and let's have an interpretation of this and
then go from there and bring some pleating okay okay I'm exhausted Maryam
you've worn me out. To bring the reality into fashion realisation the students
have a session with designer and show producer Deborah Britz who will help
them make sure they create pieces that stand up to criticism. My big bug bear
is lots of different hemlines I've mentioned that to a couple of you already. I hate it when
someone's making four garments and one is a mini and one stops just above the
knee and the other one is somewhere vaguely in the mid calf area and I think
there's nothing worse than that because um I end up looking at that it's like a
graph rather than looking at the individual garment and I will you know
if you iron out those little details you look at the collection then you start
analyzing each garment and that's what you want people to do. You want to look
and see the details and you put in not the accident that you've allowed to stay
Deborah who has worked worldwide with renowned designers such as Vivienne
Westwood and high street brands like Marks and Spencer delves into some
practical considerations that the students might not have thought about. So
if you laser-cut into that sort of colour and put my skin under it it's not going
to look great if you get black skin under it
fabulous right so that would change it as well so if you're laser cutting into a
charcoal leather and then but pay or spin behind again you're going to get
something really fabulous but in some cases like for Katie happy accidents are
part of the process is messy toile was a top when I made the pattern for it it
quite obligingly make some sorts of pleasant shapes and I love that I've got
a few pieces that I've really just started to work on so now I've got some
good ideas of how to extend those take them further to give the students some
perspective their work in progress is exhibited in a public showcase called
the I critique invited our staff and students from the London College of
Fashion plus invited industry guests friends and family. The I critique was
set up for final students to have a really interesting alternative view of
their work in progress so they've had to set it up in a exhibition space and it
gives them a chance to step back and look at it in a completely different
context and maybe make a few decisions about what to take forward and maybe
what to leave behind it also gives people who've never seen the work before
a chance to look at it in comment and then we get their comment and they have
no background knowledge of what it is they're just reacting to what they see
so you do get some very interesting ideas and thoughts that perhaps we as tutors
or the students themselves hadn't really
thought of. I think it's something that I would also like and when I do go into my
fourth year because it's always good to see a fresh fresh perspective. With
graphics and prints developed progress is being made and it's time for the
students to work towards prototyping their garments. Jessica Saunders is still
on hand to guide them in the right direction and help iron out any problems.
But this is a bit more challenging and more now I think. It's very challenging
yeah it is good that's what you need.
You got two primary colours so yeah and you've made it work there so Thanks the
reason that this has a nice 3D element to it is because it's small and it's
been called out of it as soon as you extend these and make them bigger
it just goes flat because it's closing flappy yes there's nothing sort of
putting it into that 3d shape any relevance here?
No no no so we have a dress yes well one we have you in one training if you're
doing three aren't you. Yeah I think you should design six and but you make three
Yeah that's one. So you must think in terms of range is it all fading is there
more that where this is coming down is it all going to dribble down is it you
know how's the. So before you go anywhere that needs to go beyond
an A3 page. Absolutely. The part-time course has spread over four years soon enough
it's the end of the first term handing in the formative submission means that
the finish is nearly in sight. Today is the end of this term and we are handing
in our formative assessment so for that we need to have our lineup and also one
garment and twelve professionally done develop the necklines because they are a
little bit similar yeah see what's quite clever about this is I know you've done
it in Photoshop so the stripe goes right the way across it can can you engineer
your pattern yes so that it's well and I can engineer that right it's great if
you engineer the print. The student should have one completed garment each for Jessica
and Leonora to review but in some cases there are still problems that need
working out and just putting a print on print isn't going to solve your kind of
pattern cutting issues when you think about your concepts and what it's about
I mean the imagery that you've got this is kind of really out of place. I know that but
try lots of different finishes on on this how do you feel to see if you feel
like you are kind of getting yeah everything is just understanding the
transition between what you draw and what you produce. You must earn it everybody does it is something where you
draw something design something essentially and then you make something different so
that's it's there the information is there so what you need to do is be able
to translate that. The BA in fashion design and realization isn't
just about the end product it's also about helping the students find their
own professional method. It's almost like you need to just create on the stand and
then draw what you're creating and so you're communicating it back most people
work this way some people can't because what they're putting down on paper and
what they're getting out the other end isn't what they want to but ultimately
design realization is about realizing your ideas but the way you communicate
them is crucial I mean you always have a conflict between how you imagine sewing
and how you wants me to look and it being a clever complex enough pattern
that you feel it's worthy and very often you have an idea of how something will
look but you don't feel that it's worthy because the pattern is not clever enough
and then it ends up being something different and I think there's probably
something in accepting that for the majority of people looking at it it's
aesthetically what it looks like rather than it being a clever pattern. It's mid
March the students are making progress but not quickly enough they should be
much further along if they're to complete their projects on time it's up
to Jessica to give them a reality check. We had a deadline last week
you know we all have a nice time and it's all great but actually we put these
deadlines in for a reason and really we should be at the point now where you are
manufacturing your final collection we've experimented like crazy you know
the research is there you are pretty much on track in terms of you know
you've all got something good going on you're just not going to do yourselves
justice you've spent four years here you know you want to finish with a bang you
don't have finish with all my god whoa I just about managed to throw it together
because I've left it all a bit late. The pressure is mounting on the students to
make their designs into a finished product it's April and time to fit the
garments with the help of fit model Lauren seeing their prototypes brought
to life will expose even more issues and realities that must be dealt with before
final submission. Debate continues about some garments with more amendments to be
made if they're to meet the tutors expectations these are the outfits I've
actually made and this is a back opening coat which you can step up from
That that doesn't offend me as much as this and this makes it really look like
an after-thought have you got any more fabric I mean I know it's quite a bit of
work now I think once you get rid of that extra there which is that's what's
really bothering me because it just looks like you stuck a zipping can I
just check with you on the pattern exactly how you do it
who's ready to put clothes on next. You just you just draw a line there
By the time they finish the students on
the part-time course will have been working for four years all the students
are at different stages of completion with their work there's only three weeks
left to go so it's time to finalize the garments ready for submission
last-minute complications aren't making anybody's life easier that information
needs to be on here because then when you make it or someone else makes it for
you you get what you want you don't get a version of it because they don't have
all the information it's the last push so it's it's really difficult because
the level of stress is really really high. If that was intentional I haven't
got a problem with that. So at this point in time I'm actually I'm behind. Would you
buy it like that? It will be stressful you know it is just when it hits it
hits and there's nothing you can do about it I've nearly finished one dress
though the others are toiled so I've just I've got to make them now basically. You
think that you're being more organized than normal and more organized than normal
isn't really sufficient. They need to link as a collection more than just the print
I'm not in the kind of mood to talk today sorry. I'm mainly feeling tired I have
lots left to do and we have three weeks left. It's been a long way it's been
really really exciting and it's been really really hard work
So yeah just keep sewing; sewing sewing sewing. The students are on the
home stretch with different combinations of finished garments and written work to
hand in they're working all hours to bring everything together on time the
end is in sight but everything has to be spot-on because once it's in there'll be
no chance to change. June the second and it's hand in day four years of hard
study is soon to come to an end for the signature on a piece of paper. The last
sheet. Four years. But so rewarding. And now I'm gonna have a drink
get some sleep and enjoy the Sun.
Two bags, six outfits in total, two portfolios
and all flat work and my patterns
I've just handed in feels great life goes on and I'm looking forward to it
I'm gonna go home and have a glass of champagne. I haven't slept for two days
haven't eaten. Tor some the race to the finish didn't happen quite as they
planned. This belt was in the last minute yesterday I cried over it because the
print was done wrong I love to till the end but then when I got the prints it
was red so I was like this is wrong I don't have anything red in my collection
and she was like yeah mistakes happen it's human error that's why you
shouldn't leave things to the last minute but now the colors are perfect
and I'm happy with it. How are you right now? Hungry, thirsty, sleepy, happy
But the degree is at an end and with everything handed in or the students can
do is sit back and wait for their results. It is hard but it's really worth
it and they do very well in the end. With the course over the
students can relax but there's no such luck for the clothes this year their
work will be showcased in an exclusive fashion film which you can find by
looking for knockout from the London College of Fashion online