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Final evaluation 

Flynn Love

 

 

The title of my final project is Urban Military. My focus for this theme was to create two looks that are based on army inspired apparel mixed with sportswear. My Initial interests were to combine athleisure and military wear patterns, shapes and silhouettes which I have done in two very different ways in the project. Blurring the styles through my looks was a central element and I did so by choosing textiles that could cross over both worlds and also by use of my colour choices. 

 

I do think that overall what I intended to make by creating a crossover genre between sports and military I did manage to achieve. I was able to create roughly the pieces I had set out to make with some minor alterations as I hit a few setbacks which I will discuss throughout this evaluation. 

 

I had to change my idea about the magazine I was going to create firstly because of time but upon reflection I think the look book I ended up with supports and enhances my overall project more in comparison to the full magazine. The look book ended up being a simple and clear reflection of the work I wanted to showcase so overall I’m happy with that. I think if I’d put the images in a full magazine alongside other things it would have diluted my message. 

The ghillie reversible bomber jacket and trousers were an exciting but very difficult and time consuming challenge however they turned out how I wanted them to. This ghillie inspired suit has clear visual connections to classic army flight jackets, with shiny green fabric and chunky gold zips The reverse side is inspired by sniper ghillie suits that typically use strips of cloth to create a layered camouflage that resembles leaves, twigs or snow. The only thing I wasn’t able to perfect was making the look fully reversible and I think that’s because of time pressure and skill but I did learn a lot from making the suit. 

The methods I used to achieve the layered ghillie suit effect are that I cut tiny triangles of fabric in different colours. Black, navy, grey and silver were my colours of choice to create the look. I sewed the triangles on individually and then I collected real leaves to inspire  the shapes of the fabric pieces that would go on top. I then after choosing a specific leaf I liked, I cut my fabric around that so it would mimic the authentic nature theme and then sewed them on one by one. A full variation of textural elements felt very important to add to give it a real camouflage feel but my use of colour, particularly silver was how I made the look feel more unique. 

The double-pleated pinstripe shorts ’n trousers, also have a shape inspired by basketball shorts. I managed to find a jersey fabric which I felt combined the sports and military worlds. It added a level of athleisure but still supported my overall idea of them being sleek and clean. I found that sewing the inside and outside seams of the shorts and trouser legs separate to be challenging but after going back and looking at them in detail I figured out a way to do it. The biggest setback in this particular part of the project was losing them and that I had to start again which put time pressure on me. I made quite a simple pattern for the trousers and then adjusted the same pattern by shortening and widening the leg for the shorts. After that I started by sewing the fly which I always surprisingly find to be the hardest part but I got there in the end. The rest of the construction was fairly standard except for separating the shorts and trousers outside and inside seam. 

My pattern designing and construction skills have greatly improved and the making of the ghillie side of the jacket taught me how to basically make my own textile. Creating a magazine/look book was something I had never done before in terms of curation and I also had very little knowledge on the tools needed for this kind of subject. Working on Indesign was completely new to me and was something that I needed help with to navigate through. 

 

My research into the Vietnam war has been critical for my project for apparel style and accessories. The tough military style is something I was drawn to for my ghillie suit. I spent a lot of time looking at war time photographers like Nick Uts and Phillip Jones-Griffiths work and their use of shadows which ended up inspiring my own photography. 

Styling was always on my mind whilst designing this project and my deep dive into Ray Petri and the Buffalo movement inspired my own styling a lot. Petri managed to cross over many genres with his vision and his use of sportswear with more formal pieces was one of the biggest inspirations for my shorts n’ trousers. I looked at a book called ‘A Hundred Years in Menswear’ and I found that in old sports teams there was use of a lot of stripes but how pinstripe then evolved into being connected with formal wear which I found interesting. I later also found in old pictures of Michael Jordan that there was an era where there was pinstripe in the Chicago Bulls uniform. All of this ended up being key  research for my shorts n’ trousers when it came to picking my textile. I’m a fan of supreme clothes as their street wear in particular has an edge. I found a reversible bomber jacket from their AW 22 collection that became the main inspiration for my own reversible ghillie bomber suit.

 

All of the materials that I used were from fabric stores in my area which meant I was able to support my local businesses. I tried my best to source ethical materials within my budget. If this was more of a professional project I would then have the means to solely work in more sustainable materials. This would be a goal of mine. To work with sustainable and ethically sourced materials and even recycled goods and make a full collection would be a dream come true and is something I aim to do in the future. 

 

With my timetable there definitely is room for improvement. I have a tendency to set the bar too high at the beginning which then leaves me pressed for time at the end so I always feel like I’m trying to catch up. I think sometimes simplifying things without jeopardising my vision could actually lead to higher quality work and that’s something I’m going to keep in mind. I tried to keep to my reflective journal by writing weekly sometimes daily entries to keep my process clear but it wasn’t always easy to maintain that habit. One of my main ways of articulating and staying up to date with my process was through production photos and videos. I kept myself inspired by visiting galleries and by doing online research, looking at fashion books and magazines throughout the creation of my project. Teacher feedback for my pattern cutting was especially helpful when I hit roadblocks and whenever I came to starting a new piece. It was also useful when it came to learning techniques that would improve the quality of my looks. Peer feedback with my classmates was always good when we could go back and forth with each other and give advice and thoughts with fresh eyes. Given more time I would want to actually execute the full zine completed with more shoots and mock adverts to add dramatic effect. I had all the research to do that so if I had more time I know I would’ve been able to make that part of my vision come alive. Beyond the foundation course I will be thinking more about my time management and figure out my own way to catalogue my process as this is very useful. But I need to find a way that aligns to my vision and personality. The research I have done and the products I’ve made are definitely the beginning of my own design language and I intend to continue exploring that.