I'm really struggling with finding a concept (as always!) for this project. I find it so hard to work with a concept in tailoring, because ultimately I'm creating classic suits and there are relatively strict rules within their design, especially this term because we're designing as if we work for Thom Sweeney, a classic yet contemporary tailor. Also we have a kind of theme of the sixties, because that's the era Thom Sweeney takes influence from with their suits. So I have to find a concept that works well with the Thom Sweeney look and cut, yet be inspired by the 60s, and to suit my clients style, but also work well with womenswear when Thom Sweeney makes menswear. It's tough.
The 60s was very bright and bold with its colours and patterns, but Thom Sweeney is more influenced by the more masculine culture, like Bond and The Beatles for example. So I really don't want to take the 60s theme too literally. The cut and structure of my jacket is going to be influenced by the Thom Sweeney style (a mix of Italian and British tailoring) and I want to make something that would be worn now, that reflects a kind of 60s style. My client is myself, as I'm making to my measurements, so ultimately I want to be able to wear what I make. I love the 60s style so I'm really feeling the theme, and Thom Sweeney are one of my favourite tailors, if not THE favourite! So it's almost as if an older (and richer) me is going to Thom Sweeney to get a suit made.
So my official client is a 25-30 year old woman, stylish, likes the odd vintage piece. Generally she creates contemporary looks with throwbacks to the 40s, 50s and 60s. Businesswoman, works in the city. Husband / partner gets his suits from Thom Sweeney, a few bespoke, some made to measure and ready to wear garments too. She's starting a new job in the fashion industry, quite a high role, she's looking for some new suits that are contemporary and unique, that she can wear to work but also go to a bar in after. She can't find any suits that really capture her style, or fit her well, on the high street, so her husband / partner suggests Thom Sweeney. They don't have a specific womenswear range, but they will make her a bespoke suit to her specifications. And so now it's my job to design said suit.
I'm currently leaning towards something related to monochrome; it's bold, will always be relevant and in fashion, can be paired with a statement colour, classic. Maybe something geometric with the patterns and psychadelic themes from the 60s..? I'll just have to have a Beatles binge and see if anything comes to mind!
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Having had a chat with my family (my mum and dad were both born in the 60s so I thought they might be able to help), we managed to come up with a few concepts! So now I've got to narrow them down to what I will be able to work with best.
- geometric patterns in 60s art
- angular
- birth: babies only see black and white and shades of grey in their first few months since birth, until they learn to distinguish colour, so a concept along the lines of birth, new starts, rebirth, revival?
- Abbey Road album cover by the Beatles, 60s band, zebra crossing is black and white, monochrome theme
- CND sign is black and white, John Lennon wrote a song called give peace a chance, hippies
- in 1964 segregation laws were abolished meaning black and white people no longer had separate seats / places / entrances; integration, colour entwining, monochrome, unification
- women's rights laws and protests, women becoming more equal to men, equality
- the majority of photography in the 1960s was still black and white, so MONOCHROME!
I'm really leaning towards monochrome as you can see..!
Some ideas for a project title:
- woMan
- Differentiation and Integration
- The Future is Bright
- Threads of Integration
- Monochromatic Integration
- Intrinsic- belonging naturally; essential
- Black and White
- Clean Cut
- The Darkest White and the Lightest Black
- Dark Whites and Light Darks
- All of the Black and White
- Light and Dark
If anyone actually reads my blog, any suggestions or feedback would be great! :)
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
Research; Thom Sweeney detailing
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| Detailing on a Thom Sweeney suit |
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| Trademarks: Slightly wider lapels, shorter jacket and trousers |
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| Matt Smith in a bespoke Thom Sweeney suit, with a trademark horseshoe waistcoat |
Monday, 9 January 2017
Research; 60s style
Thom Sweeney's house style is largely based on the 60s aesthetic, some specific details they include in their suits are;
- slightly wider lapels
- slightly shorter jacket
- slightly shorter trousers
- trademark horseshoe waistcoat
Since I'm doing womenswear, I will have to find a way to include at least some of these trademark factors into a ladies bespoke suit.
The 60s was an iconic era for women, women were starting to get jobs, not just stay in as a housewife.
Iconic 60s women;
- Jean Shrimpton - one of the world’s first supermodels, appeared on the cover of countless magazines, helped launch the miniskirt, part of new era of skinny long-legged models. Iconic fringe and pout.
- Aretha Franklin - The Queen of Soul, first female performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- Audrey Hepburn - most iconic role was as Holly Golightly in Breakfast At Tiffany’s in 1961. The little black dress she wears at the beginning of the film defined LBDs forever.
- Charlotte Rampling - became an international style icon due to brazen minidresses and creative pattern situations.
- Mary Quant - She pioneered the miniskirt and hot pants, and encouraged women to treat fashion as a fun game and dress to make themselves happy. About the miniskirt, she said, “It was the girls on the King’s Road who invented the mini. I was making easy, youthful, simple clothes, in which you could move, in which you could run and jump and we would make them the length the customer wanted. I wore them very short and the customers would say, ‘Shorter, shorter.’”
- Cilla Black - Most famous for the crackling single “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” English singer and actress Cilla Black was a style icon everywhere in the universe.
- Elke Sommer - The German-born sex symbol was one of the most popular pinup girls in the ’60s, posing for Playboy twice in 1964 and 1967.
- Jacqueline Kennedy - The first lady of our hearts managed to maintain her impeccable, influential style throughout her time in the White House and even as she lived through unimaginable tragedy. Her look managed to combine the grace and elegance of classic looks with a charming youthful sensibility that she maintained for her entire life.
- Ursula Andress - Swiss-born Ursula Andress was best known for her role as Bond girl Honey Rider in the very first James Bond film, Dr. No, where her white bikini made her a sex symbol and a star. She was quoted as saying, “This bikini made me into a success.” In 1965, she posed for Playboy and when asked why, simply replied “Because I’m beautiful.”
- Brigitte Bardot - A world-famous French bombshell and actress who was the subject of a 1959 Simone de Beauvoir essay declaring her a “locomotive of women’s history” and the most liberated woman of post-war France. Bardot’s style was unabashedly sexy.
- Twiggy - Teenage supermodel Lesley Lawson (née Hornby), better known as “Twiggy,” was declared “The Face of ‘66” after agreeing to get her hair cropped short by celebrity hairdresser Leonard. Her signature look was both boyish and whimsically feminine; a stick-thin figure, the haircut, exaggeratedly long fake eyelashes, and adorable boxy short dresses.
- Audrey Hepburn - most iconic role was as Holly Golightly in Breakfast At Tiffany’s in 1961. The little black dress she wears at the beginning of the film defined LBDs forever.
- Charlotte Rampling - became an international style icon due to brazen minidresses and creative pattern situations.
- Mary Quant - She pioneered the miniskirt and hot pants, and encouraged women to treat fashion as a fun game and dress to make themselves happy. About the miniskirt, she said, “It was the girls on the King’s Road who invented the mini. I was making easy, youthful, simple clothes, in which you could move, in which you could run and jump and we would make them the length the customer wanted. I wore them very short and the customers would say, ‘Shorter, shorter.’”
- Cilla Black - Most famous for the crackling single “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” English singer and actress Cilla Black was a style icon everywhere in the universe.
- Elke Sommer - The German-born sex symbol was one of the most popular pinup girls in the ’60s, posing for Playboy twice in 1964 and 1967.
- Jacqueline Kennedy - The first lady of our hearts managed to maintain her impeccable, influential style throughout her time in the White House and even as she lived through unimaginable tragedy. Her look managed to combine the grace and elegance of classic looks with a charming youthful sensibility that she maintained for her entire life.
- Ursula Andress - Swiss-born Ursula Andress was best known for her role as Bond girl Honey Rider in the very first James Bond film, Dr. No, where her white bikini made her a sex symbol and a star. She was quoted as saying, “This bikini made me into a success.” In 1965, she posed for Playboy and when asked why, simply replied “Because I’m beautiful.”
- Brigitte Bardot - A world-famous French bombshell and actress who was the subject of a 1959 Simone de Beauvoir essay declaring her a “locomotive of women’s history” and the most liberated woman of post-war France. Bardot’s style was unabashedly sexy.
- Twiggy - Teenage supermodel Lesley Lawson (née Hornby), better known as “Twiggy,” was declared “The Face of ‘66” after agreeing to get her hair cropped short by celebrity hairdresser Leonard. Her signature look was both boyish and whimsically feminine; a stick-thin figure, the haircut, exaggeratedly long fake eyelashes, and adorable boxy short dresses.
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