Fit in Men and Women mannequins and how this will effect my collection

I am having some trouble in designing on a men's form as I am so used to designing on a women's form so I decided to drape a fitted tunic on the male mannequin and make it up and compare the fit on the female mannequin in order to get a bit idea of sizes and the body shape.

As you may be able to see, the main areas of distortion on the women form is on the side of the bust, the shoulder and the area in the back. The back and bust areas do not really concern me as from the beginning I have wanted my collection to be lose and protected (with lose layers) however the major slopped shoulder does concern me as this translates to the armhole placement. If the armhole is too low on a woman (especially in a woven fabric) this can cause a lot of discomfort when moving. I have to think about this in my design development. 

Mood Board from photoshop tutorial

Here is a mood board that I did in class after a tutorial on photoshop. To me it does not really satisfy what the Alain collection is all about but thought it showed some ideas and skills that I have looked at along the way. I want the collection to have the protected idea and similar colors to the Margareta collection but in a more youthful, unisex, playful way. 

Sustainable fashion an textiles, Kate Fletcher, Chapter 5 - Fashion, Needs and Consumption

I have always been told to reduce before I reuse and recycle. The chapter on Fashion, needs and consumption relates directly to this push to change the way people think about clothing and fashion, building “a new vision for fashion that satisfies needs and minimizes poverties.” (Pg 122)

Fletcher speaks about the importance of fashion to human culture – how it proclaims who we are etc etc but in doing this we must also recognize the “urgency of the sustainability agenda.”

What really captured my attention in the chapter is the idea that garments create, sustain and evoke social integration, relationships and creativity within society. “Relationships can be fostered by designing garments that encourage us to ask deep questions about our sense of place in the natural world…It is about designing confidence and capability-including pieces that encourage versatility, inventiveness, personalization and individual participation.” In conjunction with these ideas, Fletcher also talks about the “new aesthetic” that creates a connection between the consumer and the natural world and how the clothing they are wearing communicates this. “Aesthetics are important to sustainability because they act as a great social attractor, an outlet for ideas, a form of cross referencing and an agent for change.” Through informing people about sustainability though a trend of clothing (e.g. unisex dressing) you are bringing about a change in thinking in our consumerism society for good. This may be as simple as green stitching as American Apparel uses on their sustainably friendly clothing or the Kate Sylvester ‘Made in New Zealand tags that sits along the price tag of her Made in New Zealand garments. One can hope that one day that made in New Zealand tag will be as important as the price tag as it is to a lot of consumers already.

In conclusion, I really like this idea that a garment should integrate society, enhance relationships and increase thinking about sustainability. I believe that in the current economical situation, people look for more than just a ‘trend fix’ when looking for any type of clothing. Conversely they want a story, or an idea behind the piece that sustains as individual relationship. I see this all the time when I work at Kate Sylvester – people want to know what the collection is about and how the print was developed and what fabric it is etc etc. These ideas as not only fantastic for sustainability and slowing down fast fashion but they are also a great marketing scheme for a company with a background like Alain. Therefore, I want this collection to stand out as being versatile, educating, durable, innovative but most of all engaging. I can imagine people coming into a store and looking at draped jackets/pants etc and thinking is this men’s of women’s, how do I wear this, what is this made out of etc. At this point they either try it on and do something individual with it or they ask the shop assistant and immediately are engaged into a conversation. I want the collection to not only be made in New Zealand but look like it is made in New Zealand also. This goes right from the weather conditions in different cities (e.g. could have the Wellington jacket, Auckland jacket etc) to the tags that inform consumers where exactly there garment started and ended.

Time to start designing more! 

Market Comparisons

In order to understand my market better (mid to high range) I decided to do some further comparisons using some research that Pippa found for her blog. 

Market Research

I decided to go around different shops and record myself talking to the shop assistant in order to get an idea of the most popular mens fashions. I made up a scenario that I was buying a shirt for my friends 21st and I wanted to no the most popular item. Some of it is very hard to hear (and very embarrassing as I sound like an annoying child) but I went to Marcs, Country Road, Barkers and Zambesi (in order). 

The results were as follows:

- Marcs: "Red is everywhere at the moment" - shop assistant. $59 dress shirt on sale. Very helpful and a little more casual which was nice.

- Country Road: emphasized slim fitting shirt as opposed to baggy shirt. Also in blue check and red check. $109 standard and I believe $79 on sale

- Barkers: Quite unhelpful shop assistant. $99 on sale - biggest selection of colors as the brand is only mens wear 

- Zambesi: Very helpful shop assistant. Silk shirt for $600 plus. Gingham two tone, only made in NZ, slim fit for $320

In conclusion, my favorite shirt was definitely the Zambesi two tone gingham and if money was not an issue I would definitely go with this. Saying this, I think you are getting the best value for money at Barkers at $99 as it was the largest selection of colors, some of which were more interesting than your red and blue check. As you can clearly hear in the video, I have the least conversation with the Barkers shop assistant and did not really enjoy my experience. This shows that above all value for money and price will normally win. 

P.s. I tried to upload this as a voice clip but it would only let me load the video so I cut the clip and this is a filming of it on my phone :) 

Initial Design Development

Moving into initial Design development I need to think about a few key concepts that will affect every part of my collection:

- Think about the LARGER VOLUME MARKET through cost, care, function, perception of quality

- How these factors relate to COST = if New Zealand label the cheapest production/ most feasible is to get the garments made off shore. 

- How does this affect ETHICS 

WHAT ARE MY PRIORITIES IN THIS COLLECTION?

Now: Begin to redesign/ modify/ filter - previous design work and future ideas 

A) Jackets and tailoring 

B) Outerwear

C) Knitwear and Jersey

I have included the mens and women's sides to represent how this collection can be unisex. This is proving much harder that I thought but I am trying to think how fastenings in different places e.g. zips will provide shaping in the women's body especially in the outerwear section. Having unisex garments that is one size fits all would mean less manufacturing, less pattern development, one cut plan that would be eco friendly and all round more sustainable clothing that can reach a wider population. 

JACKETS AND TAILORING 

OUTERWEAR 

KNITWEAR AND JERSEYS 

Market Research

In my Market Research I have included a range of markets from High to Low price ranges. I have included markets that are New Zealand made for example Kate Sylvester and Zambesi and others like Topshop and Just Jeans that mass produce to a western worldwide market. In addition to this I included Kow Tow which is a mostly sold online however features in boutiques like Good as Gold. It is an organic, fair trade label. 

Kate Sylvester is a high end market. It is mostly New Zealand made with designer clothing that is individual to the New Zealand market. It has the main line, Kate Sylvester and a diffusion line called Sylvester. Sylvester is seen as "Kate's Little Sister" hence the shorter hem lines, more colorful palate and overall more youthful appearance. The Sylvester line is in fact designed for the australian market. The lower price point is mainly due to the polyester blends used in most of the garments compared to the silks and mohair wools used in the mainline. 

Zambesi symbolises what New Zealand fashion is for me. It is a high end boutique label that presents a different/inspiring way of dressing. The clothing uses extremely expensive fabrics of the highest quality. The garments are mostly made in New Zealand and not mass produced hence the higher price point. 

Country Road is a mid range market selling womenswear, menswear and home ware. The garments use good quality fabrics with good finishes that are durable. The garments are mass produced and made off shore which explains the slightly lower price points. 

KowTow is a fair trade, organic womenswear and menswear label. They sell there clothes at boutiques like Good as Gold. The price point is mid range which is very reasonable for a sustainable company. 

Area 51 is a mid to high range market that stocks labels from Marc by Marc Jocobs to Adidas. These Lonely Hearts pants are made in New Zealand yet the price range is not as high as a label like Karen Walker. This could be due to the fabric being bought off shore. 

Just Jeans is a lower market company that follows trends in fashion. They use mostly man made fabrics which explains the lower price range of the garments. 

I included Topshop as it is important to "Think Global" in the present market. Topshop is an example of a business which has spread over the world. It mass produces clothing in both mens and womenswear. 

I included Hallensteins in my market Research to insure I was including a means wear lower market. Similar to womenswear lower market organizations, Hallensteins also uses very simple designs with mostly man made fabrics.