Junior studio collection Fall 2017

Junior studio is a course in which a fashion design student is given the task of creating a 2-3 look collection, within the semester. For this project, Hawaii really stuck out as a classic concentration/inspiration but it has been so overused that it seemed to cry out for something new. Starting with a mind map, along with a list of topics, "Things to look into", that will help to create a course through the research process and create a multi-layered, in depth concept, that will then be translated into clothing.

The first stop is the place.

Then the climate, region, wild life and foliage.

More Foliage. The thought of "Which style will this topic fit into the best?" or "What style of clothing has this topic never been incorporated into?"

Observing the region, volcanoes are a key part of the landscape, If it wasn't for them, the islands wouldn't exist. A pair of joggers begins to develop based off of the features of the lava. Colors are also pulled and set off to the side. Later, these colors will be used to create the final color pallet for the collection.

Getting even deeper into Hawaii, the people come into view. Not specifically them but the way in which their bodies are marked; Tattoos. Most of the tribal tattoos are based of of deities, deriving from ancient Hawaiian religions and cultural practices. The tattoo artist chooses who will get a mark and what that mark will be. It is more of a privilege rather than a personal choice in their culture. Clashing up against the blacks and whites of the markings are the rich green leaves, and natural toned textured background which creates interest and texture, that will potentially be used in the collection.

Similar to the Maori tribe of New Zealand and Australia, we find the bone fish hook pendants. Being an island tribe, a main food source was fish from the sea. These were not only functional fishing hooks but they were also considered a statement piece. The men of the tribe, wore these pieces as a sign of masculinity. The more grotesque the fish hook, the manlier the wearer was. The natives believed that after so man years of wearing the pendant, a piece of the soul would be absorbed into the bone and would remain there forever. These pendants would be passed down from generation to generation, father to son and the inheritor would have a part of their father of grandfathers strength while wearing the hook.

The events that happened at Pearl Harbor, Sunday, December 7th 1941

Lauhala is the practice of palm weaving, in which the islanders created trinkets and usable items, like hats, bracelets, necklaces, skirts, bags, ponchos and baskets.

Lauhala examples.

Silhouettes of the developing looks.

Color Pallets 3-D and flat color examples.

Fabric Swatches

Fabric Manipulations.

A first attempt at DIY silk screening (Upper left Corner)

Embroidery (Middle Right)

Example of the cracked lava textures that will be made of real fabrics (Bottom Left)

Hard Wear Examples

Customer Profile and identifying the key aspects of the collection.

Muse: Will Smith. (Mainly from the 90's)

Sketch of Potential Accessories, incorporating details from the research. In this case, Lauhala.

Garment Sketches.

Embroidery techniques and developement.

Second and most successful attempt at DIY silk screening.

On the left, Acrylic paint on a Poly/ cotton blend sweatshirt material. On the upper right, fabric paint. The fabric painted piece was selected to move onto the final garments.