Fashion Awareness Direct
Fashion Futures 2 Programme
21st January – 18th March 2006

The seven-week project will give the students the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the Fashion industry. They will be taught by practising designers and lecturers with a design background.

Workshop One
Saturday 21st January 2006, 10.00 - 13.00
Introduction – The London Olympics – 2012.
Based on Ancient Greek Art and Culture.

The brief, based on Ancient Greek Art and Culture, is the starting point for the students to gather and develop visual resources for inspiration in order to design a four outfit piece Sports collection for men or women. The students will also have the opportunity to design sports accessories as a co-ordinated piece for their collection, which they will present in their sketchbook. The key elements of the project are: Research, Communication through visual ideas, Designing and Construction.

The first workshop is based on a still life of draping on a tailor’s dummy to create a series of drawings using pencils and mixed media. There will also be an opportunity to create a Mood- board. This is vital for communicating initial ideas based on the theme given.

Workshop Two
Saturday 28th January 2006, 10.00 - 13.00
Mood board, Design and Technical Illustrations

The students will be able to design freely using their Mood-board as a starting point. They will then be able to choose, with guidance from the lecturers, the strongest pieces to present as Fashion drawings and Technical illustrations. This will give them the opportunity to learn how to think through the whole concept of designing pieces that are Practical.

Workshop Three
Saturday 4th February 2006, 10.00 - 13.00

The students will be taught the basic elements of creating a Pattern based on their proposed design. This is called Pattern Cutting. They will also have the option of creating their design by draping on the tailor’s dummy.

Industry Day
Wednesday 15th February 2006
Trip to Asda - Fashion Design Studios – Leicestershire

The students will have the opportunity to visit the Head office of George in Leicestershire, to observe the whole process of a design studio, buying office, “mock shop”, production and distribution. This will be lead by the George design team.

Asda’s George label - Head of Clothing will give a talk on what it takes to get one’s designs to sell on the High Street.

Workshop Four
25th February 2006, 10.00 - 13.00
Meet the Accessory Designer - Brief Encounter

This will give the students an opportunity to meet Contemporary Accessory designers, who will start by talking about their designs. This will be followed by a demonstration of how they work, and the products they design and have produced. This will give the students an opportunity to explore the possibility of a pathway towards a career in Accessory design. The experience will also allow the students to have an idea of how to design a sports accessory to co-ordinate their collection.

Workshop Five
4th March 2006, 10.00 - 13.00
The Fashion Industry - Career’s Talk Creating a Toile

The students will be given a brief talk by a lecturer at the London College of Fashion about the Career pathway in the Fashion Industry.

Following the talk the students will have the opportunity to cut out their pattern pieces onto fabric (called Calico or Jersey). They will then follow the guidelines for sewing, using a range of Industrial machinery and will learn how to create swatches to demonstrate different sewing skills, for example darts and pleats. This will allow the students time to adapt or amend their design piece to enhance the appearance. The initial piece is called a Toile. This is always prepared in advance of creating the design piece using the ‘real’ fabric.

Workshop Six
11th March 2006, 10.00 - 13.00
Developing the Toile

The students will continue to develop their Toile. However they will also have the opportunity to work independently on other areas of the project. The aim is to allow them a level of freedom to make choices about how they manage their time schedule.

Workshop Seven
18th March 2006, 10.00 - 13.00
Preparing for the Presentation

The final workshop will allow the students to complete any outstanding work, and create an environment to present their own work as a showcase. They will also have an opportunity to express their views on the workshop. The presentation is also aimed to assist the students to make initial decisions about taking one of the many possible career pathways into the Fashion Industry.

Each of the students will give a four-minute presentation of their work. They will also need to submit the following: A3 sheet- Mood-board, A3 sheet- Colour Fashion drawings of 4 outfit collection, Technical Illustrations, 2-dimensional Accessory designs, and a completed Toile.

Final Exhibition
Wednesday 26th April 2006
Presentation of all the students design work will be on display at a venue in East London tba. All students who complete the seven workshops will receive a certificate, and the 15 finalists to go to the summer school will be announced.