Ziggy Lost

Hallo, see I kept my promise and I'm back :)
I've been working on some new illustrations but I thought I'd post about a past project I did whilst in my third year at university. The project was to design a range of mens shirts for a River Island competition. 
My collection was called ZIGGY LOST and was based upon androgyny and the blurring of sexuality. Below is the collection statement expressing the concept behind the designs.

"Girls can wear jeans, And cut their hair short, Wear shirts and boots, 'Cause it's ok to be a boy, But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading. 'Cause you think that being a girl is degrading, But secretly you'd love to know what it's like, Wouldn't you? What it feels like for a girl." 

Madonna "What It Feels Like For A Girl" song April 2001.

The boys of today's world wear make-up and feminine clothes, have big hair and the freedom of expression.

They walk in the footsteps of their legends Ziggy, Bolan, Freddie and Jagger. 

Iconic's that helped blur sexuality and androgyny. 

Confidence is key. 

They strutt around resembling exotic plumed feathery birds flirting with all they encounter. With their fo-femininity masking their raging testosterone they entice and intoxicate their maiden admirers, who are fascinated by their feminine allurement. 

Boys are expected to act and dress and behave like boys, and girls are meant to resemble girls, but 'nothing is just black and white - there is always shades of grey'. 

The monochrome colouration of 'Ziggy Lost' represents the set ways of sexuality, and within the cut and shaping of the garments the 'shades of grey,' entwining feminine and masculine will be portrayed. 

Fragmented. 

Trying to discover themselves in a stable environment of acceptance. 

Capturing this essence of uncertainty, disorientation and disorder the labyrinth portrays the puzzlement of life.

Escapism from a confused and entanglement state. 

This is ZIGGY LOST.

moodboard

illustration line up

 

working drawings of the Range

 

Inspirational photoshoot shot by Lacey Layne Clements, styled and edited by me Clare And The Bear (aka Clare Heart)

 model: Blane Anthony Chapman

Golly it seems such a long time ago when I was doing this project! Although I still remember the migrain rendering stress of creating what seemed like a million techincal drawings! I definately don't miss those!

Enter the world Through The Looking Glass .....

"Through The Looking Glass"

Photography: Lacey Jayne Clements
Model: Jenna Morely

Garment/styling: Clare Heart

Editorial: Clare Heart

Enter the realm of fantasy and delve deep into the depths of the magical forests and there you'll find the most beautiful ethereal entities that roam the land.

Go discover the magic.

Presenting here to you the photo shoot of my garment the 'Florella' dress. The shoot was photographed by my dear friend Lacey Jayne Clements (click here to see her flickr). This was the second shoot we did together and I feel it went fantastically! The shoot is embedded in magic, beauty and fairy tales, and reflects essences of Alice in Wonderland and photographer Anna Gaskall. I chose the model Jenna Morely, who also attended my uni, as she possesses a bohemian nature to her which I felt was perfect for this magical fairy tale shoot. 

This project was from my second year studying BA HONS Fashion Design at university UCA Rochester. The dress is constructed out of 140 pieces of ivory silk and wool and is based upon spheres and segments. The original inspiration came from the photography work of German industrial architecture photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. Their images of the sphere water tanks 

(inset image) were my main source of inspiration (see more of their work here). Although my construction concept was born out of something hard, industrial and man made, my final design was feminine and ethereal also containing a vintage elegance. This confliction of industrial and ethereal is melted together within the Florella dress, though highly constructed it is eternally soft and feminine.

The image below has been edited to be a double page magazine layout. 

The image below has been edited to be a double page magazine layout.

The image below has been edited to be a double page magazine layout.

The image below has been edited to be a double page magazine layout.

My Final Collection

Three whole years of work, stress and tears for less than two minutes on the catwalk. One did think to myself if it was all really worth it? Yes, but maybe not for the reasons that originally spurred me to come to uni. 

So now its all over. But the story is still yet untold. The story of my final collection. I must admit I became tired of repeating my concept at every review, to all the tutors and friends and students that would dare ask what my collection was about.

In the end I would simply say ..........

Periods. 

And yes it was. The confusement and shock upon peoples was genius! And is something I'll never forget. But why they were so upheaved by it I just dont know.

My final collection is titled Dripping in Daisies and Rolling in Roses.

It is a tale about A girls first period. Consoled in confusion, these adolescents are stuck between being torn into womanhood yet their childhood still has a firm hold of them. The contradiction of innocence and naivety clashes with feminine sexuality trying to burst through. Subtlety is key, creating a delicate collection, with a coy flirtatious and playful essence with an awkward nature as the girls are out growing their old self and re-growing into something new.

Cropped hemlines ending slightly above and below the crotch reveal dainty panties underneath reflecting the essence of outgrowing your clothes and self. Cups seamlessly run throughout the range indicating the development of the breasts, either bursting through the garments or lying flat waiting for puberty to hit. The heart became a defining feature of the collection, and is more than just a decorative feature, as it is symbolic towards periods and puberty. The curves of the heart encase the breasts which are an ultimately feminine attribute, and the point of the heart directs the attention towards the crotch where the period happens. Children's nightwear and lingerie are strong influences due to their closeness to the body. Nudes are the colour pallet representing the body and innocence, with splashes of crimson red symbolising blood and life. The delicate floral print is not as beautiful as it may seem to appear as the flowers are in fact menstruating female genitalia. This metaphoric notion portrays women hiding behind a mask of femininity that conceals a darker element.

The collection is very concept driven and I was adamant to stay ultimately faithful to it. It didnt bother me whether I created clothes that were going to be in an up and coming trend or if my colour scheme and jazz was 'so last season' or even if people thought my collection was crap, which I'm sure people did, I really couldnt give a craps tentacle. My collection is a story and strives to tackle a subject society forced into taboo. Not to become the latest fad where horrid famous people would wear it, then be popularized in all those horrid magazines, "how to dress like a horrid celebrity" then before you know it a watered down version of your design is in Primark.

No thanks sailor.

But enough of my rants.

Heres the catwalk shots of my collection at the UCA Fashion show at the Dockyards, Chatham, Kent, 06/05/2009

I absolutely adore the two blonde models! The girlie wearing outfit four is only 16 and totally encaptured the essence of my collection. Her face is amazing! And the girlie wearing outfit six is beautiful! She looks like a swan, she was so graceful. It really pays to have professional models. They can totally make your clothes shine.

The photo shoot for the collection was located at Hellingly, an abandoned mental asylum. I would like to thank to Lacey Jane Clements for her photography skills and Victoria Jolly for her modeling skills and patience. 

Outfit one.

Outfit two.

Outfit three.

Outfit four.

Outfit five.

Outfit six.