Reflection and Evaluation

Creating my showcase range garments has been both an enjoyable yet testing journey. At times it has been quite challenging, for a few reasons. One being the ability to work within busy schedule. I have a part-time job, a small business and other classes to juggle, making it difficult to find the time to complete all the tasks necessary on time. It also doesn’t help that patternmaking is not my natural strength, although I feel my understanding has actually improved. Whilst in the past, I have always completed my patterns and garments in the end, it just takes me a while to get my head around how things work and why. I am someone who needs to understand why something is the way it is, before it “clicks.”

In hindsight, if I were to start the year over, I would have bought a patternmaking book much earlier and studied it far in advance to moving to Melbourne and pursuing my final year of Fashion Design. In my first two years of study at a different institute, we did not refer to any books, so in some ways I feel like I’ve had to start over in some aspects (or at least, half way). One way I could tackle this is by focusing on patternmaking and having my garment construction outsourced – so I can be sure to complete everything on time. This would also provide me the valuable experience of liaising with machinists. For my first outfit, however, I would like to be the one who has developed the entire product from finish to end.

Although I am doing the best I possibly can (given personal circumstances and my schedule), in future, I would try to manage my time a lot better. I’ve found it very challenging to manage and balance personal health and self-care and creating my showcase range, and this is something I am still working through. I am realising it is important to take care of oneself in order to work more effectively -- it’s a cycle. Not looking after your mental, emotional, physical and leisure needs does not take away from the speed or quality in which other work is completed. In fact, it helps boost motivation and allows clarity to see things with a fresh perspective, which I feel is valuable in the design process.

There have been revisions to my designs along the way. For example, originally, my range was going to feature an apron-inspired dress or two. Upon reflection, going with a “housewife” theme seemed too cliché. Obstacles (other than broken needles and malfunctioning machines) have also arisen throughout the construction and toiling process. For example, I noticed that my petticoat was missing a vital layer of tulle that would help support and provide extra fullness for the overskirt. This was resolved by making an extra tier of tulle to fill in the gap. Another example is that my first overskirt toile was too roomy, whereas I desired a tighter, more sleek A-line fit. In order to overcome this, my patterns were adjusted and the skirt was re-toiled until it fit just right.

Example of skirt fullness before (left) and after (right) adding extra tier of tulle.

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On a positive note, I feel my colour palette of red, black and some white fits my theme perfectly, as the tones are both classic and bold, representing the punky elegant woman just perfectly. I also feel that the choice to use scuba fabric was a good one. Originally, I was going to use classic sateen, eveningwear-type fabrics. In order to add a modern twist to my designs, scuba (in combination with other textures) seemed like the right way to ago, especially after I saw how beautifully it draped on the mannequin. My digital print turned out fabulously, even though I would certainly allow more time to order a sample first (to obtain the absolute ideal colour) next time. The scuba fabric which was printed on has a deliciously silky feeling, which is such a bonus!