Week One

This week I have been largely focused on researching into designers – Japanese designers in particular because their designing methods are arguably the most innovative in the world. I’ve looked into the works of Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake & Rei Kawabuko. Using these cultural inspirations opens my mind to new ideas and ways of working which will undoubtedly enhance my skills in the future. English (2011) explains that Issey Miyake describes stereotyping garments as a boundary that he strives to break. Palomo-Lovinski (2010) highlights the importance of society’s framework that designers should study, understand the position of fashions within culture. As a designer, there is always competition to create the ‘new’ trend so I’ve experimented with diverse methods such as draping, overlapping & wrapping. Some designs were successful whilst others reminded me of fashions that I had already seen before. Such as historical togas, poncho’s & harem pants. I learnt that I have a tendency to to overthink during the design process & being a perfectionist is at times my flaw. I found that I’d reached a point where I needed to stop toiling and just move on to finalising my design. Realising this, I intend to finalise my design & begin constructing this over the next week.