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For the first project of my 2nd year we were given a live brief with the clothing brand NEXT, the brief was to create a 6 outfit menswear collection in groups of 6- based around a concept store that we had to create, including a range of market research, and a look book.
We named our project Imola 81, as our concept was 70s/80s retro sport crossed with race car driving. we took primary colours and mixed them with tweeds and materials like corduroy to link to NEXTs heritage menswear line. We all had jobs within the group which we managed- I was assigned sketchbook manager in which I ensured we all had done deigns as a collective and controlled the concept and research pages and development. As a group we all made an outfit each (2 garments). Working in a group of 6 especially doing menswear was a completely new experience for me as I usually work in women wear. It was a good learning experience in which I learnt many new skills and developed the ones I already had. After choosing our concept we went straight into designing and toiling- during this process communication was key in making sure we all had similar design features and we were all working as a team to create a cohesive collection. We found this difficult at times as we all had such different designs styles so had to tweak and change things to fit our concept/collection. we also had to have weekly fittings with a model in which we ensured everything was correct and decided what needed to be changed and altered. I enjoyed looking into the market research aspect of this project and identified NEXTs competitors who we identified as brands such as, Tommy Hilfiger, Ted Baker, River Island, Topman, Zara MEN, M&S as their biggest competitors and looked into their market level and target market to identify what this type of customers needs were. Overall I found this project to be a massive learning curve and a great opportunity to present to industry, It taught me how to work in a group and helped me build strong relationships with those in my group. I also learnt a-lot about menswear as I had never tried it before, and learnt many important lessons on group organisation. It was was amazing to get a live brief with a company as prestigious as NEXT and hope to get to do it again at some point in the future. ...THANK U NEXT ...and this is my first ever blog post!
In this blog I plan to document my fashion side of life, anything that inspires me, my thoughts on the current fashion industry and most of all what I enjoy. As you've probably already read to get here I am a first year (soon to be second year!) fashion design student, from a small town next to Blackpool, Saint Annes. In 1 week I will have completed my first year of University and all I can think is where did the year go! It has been the busiest, most hectic and rewarding year of change I have ever had. I have learnt more than I could ever imagined not only in my course but about myself as a person, moving so far away from home, alone has shown me a completely different side to life. But I wouldn't change anything from living in my slightly scary halls, to my Course at the peak of its stress which could be quite possibly right now. I have made the best friends and had some of the best experiences, Although I'm still not convinced a university/student lifestyle is even a real lifestyle, and its not for everyone, but I couldn't recommend it more, I've had one of the best years so far and I can't wait to see what next year brings. |
livs,
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