Unit X Evaluation

Throughout Unit X I have demonstrated professional methodology by underpinning my practical work with vast context and trend research. Visiting the WGSN website regularly has enabled me to keep up to date with the latest material trends, print designs and embroidery techniques. Creating samples that are in trend has been very important for this unit, with my context being for womenswear fashion.

One challenge I faced with this unit, was to really research my context in depth. Although my audience has always been womenswear, in past projects my research has been too “couture” for my work. Contextually, I have underpinned my practice in Unit X by taking inspiration from womenswear fashion designers who work in a similar way to myself. Examples of these being Denise Van Gent, Leutton Postle and the fashion brand Typical Freaks.

Testing and sampling, particularly on fabric samples has been key to my professional development. This unit has given me the chance to really experiment with colour and surface texture using a wide range of processes. These being digital printing, painting with puff binder under a heated gun, fabric dying and experimenting with the Tufter machine. I've also been using my own embellishments in this unit, because they worked so well in the last project. Continuing from the last project, colour has been one of the main challenges of this unit. I was going off course regarding my colour palette half way through his unit, so I went back to basics and created a sketchbook full of yarn wrappings. Something as simple as this really helped me get back on track with my colour palette.

I have created a strong portfolio fit for purpose, which tells a clear story from start to finish. I have a few different collections within my portfolio, but all own the same qualities. These being layered fabrics, hand embroidery and crafted embellishments. I've come to the conclusion that I like that handmade craftsmanship, unique quality of my samples. This is where my professionalism lies, a mix between embellished embroidery and printed fabrics.

Another challenge which I tend to struggle with in most of my projects, is time management. It was really important for me to keep up a fast working pace throughout this unit, so I could achieve the appropriate goals. I have worked hard in this project, and I have made more time to create work during this unit. Having weekly tutorials helped with this, as it almost scared me into doing more work each week. Knowing I had a list of things to do for the following week made me motivated to get lots done. This is clearly visible with the amount of research I've carried out and the quality of my samples in my portfolio.

Over all this unit has given me the chance to push my ideas from the last project and create some of the best samples and designs I have ever made. I've corresponded well to my learning agreement, finishing off with a professional portfolio ready to be shown to the real world.