Principles to Live by

As Clothing Technology students we probably often ask ourselves whether certain things and situations are right or wrong - whether we consider them appealing or disturbing. After all soon it will be our job to determine trends and create them. Our class' latest lesson about design principles gave me the realization that clothing design is not only about what makes certain garments interesting and eye catching but also about why or how it is so. The "why or how" is important because it enables us to identify great design over bad ones and therefore ultimately guide us in making appealing designs by showing us how to properly manipulate elements of visual design for our preferred effect.

This reminds me of one of the blogger featured at the ACLE hosted by CT students. He said that he was initially hesitant to be a fashion blogger because being so he needed to have the proper knowledge about the fashion industry, garment production and design. I agree with him. Fortunately for us we are being educated on the very things that he was not formally taught and I think we should take this lessons for granted instead we should live by it.

Blog it out!

I love learning new things, gathering facts. And, I find the internet as a big informative vortex of knowledge. Nontheless, I was not that fond of blogs , especially, fashion blogs not until last Thursday, ACLE day.

The main reason why I didn’t love fashion blogs is because I find it so tediously vain. Don’t get me wrong. I love fashion, I really do, but I don’t find the relevance of showing the world how do you look and feel today: esp. the ranting part. Gladly, my mind now is more open. All thanks to the amazing speakers or should I say, amazing bloggers/designers that graced ACTS’ ACLE, I was freed from my negative mentallity regarding bloggers. Who knew that it only takes a Camille Co to help me realized that there is more to fashion than just vanity blogging? I can really relate to her especially because she graduated with a degree in Management. I, myself was once a lost soul studying business management. Now, I can say to myself, that studying business management for some time was not a waste of time at all. Camille Co said, “ I am not just a designer, I am an entrepreneur as well”. Like her, I will use my business wits to great use. She also proved to me that you don’t really have to be a party animal 24/7 to be recognized by the fashion industry. The important thing is you got to have talent and perserverance , and some balls, to up-notch the game. I quoted from Mean Girls 2, “ To win the race, you have be in the race” so, YES I WILL!

~jamie

Color me Happy

August 15, 2010

I love colors. It makes me happy. I know that seem to be such a shallow thing to say but for me its not because frankly it is true. In my opinion people always gravitate towards color first among other things. Maybe it is a form of intuition? Even in our childhood we always demand colored picture in the books that we read.

I acknowledge the fact that lines do express certain feelings like power, stability, and others but an idea or design cannot be complete without color which imparts a wider range of emotions. Our class discussion about color left me with a deeper understanding of the power color have. Color is such a symbolic and therefore communicative element of art and design. Because it represents people's emotions and also influence it. As designers, who communicate our ideas through our design and also use it to satisfy our client's expectations, color is a valuable and essential design tool to us, a tool that we should always use to our advantage.

Your so Moody

August 22, 2010
(today)

Finally! We have reached the topic I have been waiting for three years and I am not exaggerating. Three years ago I found out that I have been accepted at the University of the Philippines Extension Program in Pampanga for BS Business Management, a course that I knew will be useful but was not what I initially wanted. So in the attempts to hone my design skills and not loose it amidst the Business Management studies I was going to have, I bought a book entitled "200 Projects: to get you into Fashion Design" by Tracy fitzgerald and Adrian Gandon. Among its projects was to create a mood board. It was one my favorite projects but it was difficult to do. I knew I needed help or rather a lesson beyond what the book was telling me.

Last week, I had finally been thought of what I was searching for. Studying color & texture; and applying it to mood boards is such a significant design process. It gives our design clarity and substance. It also shows as the importance of presenting and getting ones idea across. More and more everyday I feel more of a designer and less of an amateur sketcher with the lessons we have been studying specially this one.

I Feel Blue and Maybe a Little Yellow

This is such a late post! The fashion bloggers made me realize that I still have a blog to write. HAHA! Anyhoo, here it is:

Colors have never been as colorful as they ever were since last week's lesson. Don't get me wrong, though, I've had past knowledge on the psychological effects of color, but F'ed Up's report was a reality check that there are actually a lot of meanings and psychological effects of color, and they're sometimes, if not always, contradicting. I think it's insightful how colors have effects on people, and ever more insightful how these colors represent something different per culture.

I think it's a must for designers to have a knowledge on colors because each color somewhat serves a purpose. Designers should know the culture of his/her target market because, well, if he/she disrespects the culure, deads ang career niya. It's really helpful how this lesson gave me more knowledge than what I already had. As usual, all things learned will always be applied in our future careers in the industry. :)

Color, Love And Childhood

Crayola was my very first medium ever. It showed me how creative I can get with colors. Painting the walls, my mother’s wooden furniture and that newly bought refrigerator was then my favorite art activity. Hardly, most of my childhood was about colors: dying barbie’s hair with pink, spending summers in art camps, painting pots, frames and my nails on weekends and doing other colorful activities. I was very much inlove with colors that I frequently change favorite color and got tired of having one. Later on, I settled on white, black and grey, neutral colors.

Last week’s dicussion brought back my love for color. I became interested once again with the infinite possibilities that color can give. I came to realize that color affects us physically and psychologically. Wearing grey most of the time could have contributed to my frequent glumness. From now on, I will spread love and color.

~jamie

Illusions

quickie post!

lines, lines, lines. the magic of lines.

as clothing technologists, we should know how to use this basic element to manipulate the vision. although horizontal lines and vertical lines widen and lengthen, it also changes effects when you space these lines differently.

~Jolens

Optical Illusion

When we made our plates last Friday, I needed extra eyes to judge if I have created the right illusion. Design exercise #3 specifically made me feel blind! I thought it was just my eyes acting up on me, but it was really the illusion the lines made.

According to The Free Dictionary, an illusion is "the condition of being deceived by a false perception or belief." This lesson made me realize that as designers, we can fake these perceptions just to be able to satisfy customers in the look they want to achieve. I've had a previous knowledge on vertical and horizontal stripes, but my previous knowledge was fed with more knowledge. Horizontal stripes can also make someone look thin instead of wider, and the same with vertical stripes. I now know what patterns would make someone appear taller, slimmer, fatter, and all others, so I know what patterns I would use and what I would avoid.

I'm in Shape!

I once encountered a funny statement shirt worn by a chubby guy. Printed in front was the phrase "I am in shape!"; on the back it said "CIRCLE is a shape". I have to give it to the guy he had a clever way of interpreting what is "in shape". I can't help but remember this during last week's discussion about the importance of line and shape interpretation. I sincerely appreciate learning about these design elements, principles, and foundation because it makes any design clearer and sensible.

I believe mastering these specific design lessons would prove to be advantageous to aspiring clothing technologist, like myself, because we can incorporate it in our design in such a way that it serves the different needs of our consumers specifically their body form. For instance a petite woman would like to appear more slender or taller, manipulation of lines in her clothing can help cater to that need.

Buena

Facades of Design

July 1, 2011
(apologies for the late post)

In my opinion Clothing Design should have a balance of functionality and non-functionality. After all fashion design is the celebration of life, it's beauty and emotional ups and downs, but fashion design should serve life itself. That is why I am set to have career in design. I cannot think of any better profession because it is a profession that enables me to be as creative as I want to be and at the same time allows me to improve improve people's lifestyles. There is no doubt that I want to be a designer.

But what kind of designer is a completely different question and quite a hard question to answer in fact. At the moment I am in a phase where I want to explore all facades of fashion may it be couture or read-to-wear. I am just so excited to finally be a part of a world I wanted to get in for so long. Wanting to explore all kinds of design is sort of a way for me to pin point my fashion specialty. Experiencing all kinds of design will make me see where I fit most. For now I am still searching for my fashion identity.

Blood, Sweat, and Gliters

July 25, 2011
(apologies for the late post)

I have to admit that the reason why I got lured into designing is my fascination with the artistry that is put into clothing. I often think of clothing as a means to transport a wearer to a different time, place, state of mind, or at most to make them feel different; like how a long flowing silk dress can make a woman feel sexy and in control or like how a vintage dress can remind the wearer so much of the past. Yes, the whimsy and the bigger than life quality of fashion design is hard to resist. But since I do acknowledge its artistry, the effort placed in making clothing, made me feel I understood its workload.

I was wrong. The designing and production of clothing is far more complicated and laborious than what I previously viewed. This was greatly stressed by the week's discissions and testimonials of practicing designers. Along with that realization, I have also realized that I still have a lot to learn. Despite these new realizations of how much hard work is needed in this career path and how far off I am in learning everything about it, I will most definitely still peruse it because one cannot quit love. ;)

Buena

Cooking Style

Previously in our class we tackled design elements. It was so fun learning about lines, shapes, texture and the likes. I also appreciated how all these are very similar to cooking. I love how our prof, Ms. Kitty, made a simile of design elements as the ingredients and design principles as the procedure. And overall, it seems like you just have to mix everything to make the perfect dish, I mean the perfect clothes. With all the knowledge I have acquired this week, I had a greater value on education may it be on fashion for knowledge is everything. And, I will use it to conquer the world.

~jamie

Design between the Lines

This week we discussed a lot about fashion, but what interested me the most were the meanings behind the lines, spaces and the shapes that we use for designing. They are symbols that we can use either to conceal or enhance some body parts thus creating optical illusions. I realized that when we choor style or fashion, these our clothing, we don't only showcase oure are messages that we can also convey using the patterns or designs of the clothes we wear.

The difference between form and style also became clearer to me after the discussion. Knowing these elements of design will help all of us to determine what will work for us and we will be able to use them more effectively. We had a rundown of what we will be learning about patterns, color perception and other design principles, I'm so excited to apply what we've learned.

It's also great to get tips for getting inspiration and it's encouraging to know that there is no limit to our imagination. We just have to translate them to our designs.

Fulfilling the Dream

This post might be a little delayed, but I think the topic we discussed 2 weeks ago is very relevant. A lot of people think that people who study to enter the field of fashion will only make clothes that will satisfy our own emotional and aesthetic needs, and this has to be changed. First of all, not everyone is studying just fashion. Second, we, Clothing Technology majors, aren't just inclined to do one thing, and I think that's the greatest part about our course.

 

I have a lot of dreams that I want to come to life after I graduate, and one of them is starting a clothing line. Growing up, I found it hard to buy nice clothes because they were too expensive for me. I guess I took this as a sign that this country needs affordable (yet fashionable) wear, and I could be that person who'll cater to people's clothing esteem need.

Last week, I was asked, "When you die, what mark would you want to leave in this world?" It took me days to realize that the mark I want to leave behind is being able to make fashionable clothing accessible to those who can't afford to buy them.

The Aesthetic Button

According to the test pasted on my croquis book, I am an aesthetics person. Oh, really? I was dubious at first but after a moment of mulling over, I realized I really am. If there was a pleasure button in front of me, the 'Id' in me would keep pressing it.

Aesthetics, literally meaning 'feeling', is the shaped feeling and sensitive perception of things. The lack of it is called anaesthetic. Applying this to clothing technology, aesthetics is the overall perception of a look. The feel, the smell, the taste, the sound and the appearance. It is one of the most pleasurable parts of designing clothes as it includes indulging the five senses (well, four if you exclude the tasting part).

Maybe this is why I am so attracted to Alexander McQueen. His aesthetics have such a great impact that it leaves my senses blown away. The way it looks and probably feels (I have never felt a McQueen piece before) gives a surging feeling of pleasure. So does Betsey Johnson's works, but on a lower level. They are colorful, but they look too glossy and polished, the texture disappears. This critique is biased by the way. Hehehe.

I realized that in the future, I will be using aesthetics as an essential guide for creating clothes. I am particularly drawn to scents, because the other senses have been there for a long time but creating scents and incorporating them to clothes makes aesthetics a whole new topic to explore again. Hey, I got an inspiration for a new design! :)

~Jolens