Sustainable Fashion; Stella McCartney

For my new brief I have been looking at sustainable design and how it links in with Fashion. One designer that has interested me is the wonderful Stella McCartney. :)

I was already aware of Stella McCartney as a designer, but hadn't realised she was so eco-friendly!
Many designers today are using and eco-friendly fashion philosophy; to support environmentalism and social responsibility through their designs. Stella McCartney combines her personal beliefs with her Fashion, she is a lacto-ovo-vegetarian and supporter of PETA, in her fashion design, Stella has a no animal policy, meaning she doesn't use fur or leather in her clothing, she only uses organic fabrics.

I feel that by having a better understanding of sustainable design now, that I can appreciate it more. I can now see why it's so important to change the way we think about design and the environment. I think I would like to look at this topic closer, and maybe consider incorporating it into my end of year Fashion Show Collection. :)

The Fashion Show!!!

So last Thursday and Friday I was working backstage at the Mid Cheshire Fashion Show, and I have to say I really enjoyed it! There was a mad rush to get the models dressed and ready to go out on stage in time, the atmosphere was really intense and insane, but I loved it! Above is a short video I took on my phone of some of the dresses on the catwalk, mine is there too. :)

My dress, the Front.

My dress, the Back.

I'm not going to lie and say I was 100% happy with my dress, but at least now I know what sort of standard to aim for, and what to expect for next year.

Nearly finished!

I have now made the needed adjustments to my dress for the Mid Cheshire College Fashion Show, and was unsure about my original plan's for the skirt. I decided that I would like to gather it all around, and not just at the back.
It's a lot shorter than I have expected, so the model will now be wearing black tight shorts underneath, and I will call it a feature. :)

Here is an image of my dress, this image doesn't show my dress complete, this is just me messing about with the gathering.

The Fashion Show will be taking place tomorrow and Friday, since taking the above picture I have now finished my dress, hopefully everything will run smoothly on the night, and I will be sure to keep you informed of how it goes, wish me luck!

Fitting my Garment

Today I was finally ready to fit my garment to the model, Lauren Preston. There was an air of uncertainty and nervousness in the room as this was my first time fitting a garment to a model, I sensed that perhaps it was her first time modelling too as she also seemed nervous and shy.

I was relieved to see that my dress fitted well, and only a few alterations will be needed. I will be taking in the sleeves slightly, taking it in at the back were the zip will be and shortening the hem. I will also sew the netting (was underskirt) to the waist facing, as the facing naturally tries to stick up, I feel that sewing the netting to the facing will help to weigh down the waist facing and therefor make it less visible and my dress more streamline.

Its fits! I have asked my model Lauren Preston to bring plain black heels with her for the Fashion Show.

I'm so glad that my dress fits, and can't wait to get it fully completed. :)

Progress!

Since my last post, I have sewn on the embellishments to my front and back bodice, attached the facing to the bodice and attached my circle skirt.

 The diamond shaped embellishments for my bodice were quite time consuming as I had placed some of them wrongly and had to unpick. I also had to unpick some of the facing as originally I had forgotten to leave space for my shoulder sleeve to attach at the back, I have decided not to attach it yet as I don't know the measurements of my model, and feel it would be best to wait till I am called to fit my dress.

I still haven't completed my final garment, however I feel that I have achieved a lot today, and I am happy that I finally have the shell of the garment,  I am finally ready to fit my final design to the model! 

Continuation of the making of my final garment

Today I have been working more on my final garment ready for the Mid Cheshire fashion show.
I have now completed my sleeve, my diamond shaped embellishments, and began attaching my front and back bodice via the strips.

What I have accomplished today.

 I feel that I still have a lot of work to do if I want to finish my dress in time for the Fashion show, however I am happy to see it slowly coming together. :)