Design - Communicating Ideas in Black and White.

So...our 2nd proper design brief! 'Sculpture - Communicating Ideas in Black and White.' We were first given this brief on Monday 19th ... and to be honest I found it a wee bit daunting! Felt a bit, 'Eeekk, Where to start/What to do?!'

It was the first 'proper' project I'd been given to complete at AUCB and I didn't like not knowing exactly what they were expecting from us and what I needed to have completed by the deadline. It was that 'grey area' again (my weakness!), things weren't totally clear and 'black and white' so to speak.

So...after these initial thoughts, how did I get on? First I started on some research. This definitely helps me! It shows me the kind of thing we're aiming for. This is when my own idea's start developing! I noted these down and tried to combine some for better results - although aware I didn't want to over complicate things. I was particularly inspired by some of the work found in Viktor and Rolf's Spring 2009 and 2010 collections as well as work by Jum Nakao.

Once back at the studio, I began placing my chosen materials onto the mannequin in a way that would form my chosen initial idea. This was a good learning process - learning how to work with paper and what worked and what didn't, what looked good etc. On the right is the collar I completed using simply black and white card. I am very pleased with this piece and how I adapted to using paper rather than fabric. The piece ended up rather more 'squiggly' than I'd originally planned but it just sort of happened as I was constructing it. I really like the effect it gives but thought if I were to do it again I would have another go at achieving my original idea.
Once the day was over, my initial worries had disappeared as I'd seen how everyone else had interpreted the brief and I was happy with what I had produced. During the week we had to complete the project I began to fill my sketch book, including the research that had inspired me and the development of my initial ideas. Below is my final piece. It is based on the same idea as the collar above but is more in keeping with my initial idea (as I had hoped to do!) I'm extremely pleased with the final result and it really is as I had hoped it would be. I feel it could provide a good starting point for further garment design ideas.