Iceberg Spring/Summer 2010

Looking at Spring/Summer 2010 for men is inspirational for me, and allows me to see what other designers have been inspired by, the colours they have used and how their collection comes together. Looking on GQ online, I have found a great collection by Iceberg. The colours, prints, patterns and even style features and accessories work well within themselves as a collection, but create a range of styles.

To most of the garments there is a lightweight, airy feel, very suitable for the season and the colours add to this in their pastel hues and greys and neutrals.

Links in accessories and footwear make this collection connect, which is something I hope to achieve in my next design project's final illustrations.

Thee is a very simple shape, which fits close to the body, but gives a structured look to the outfit. Blazers, short jackets, cropped trousers, colour blocks t-shirts and checked shirts all feature within this look.

Features such as the placings of the flowers on the lapels and breast pockets create links between the jackets where only one or two would be bought within a collection. This gives their collection a signature so that people might associate flowers like these with this specific collection.

Click here see more of this collection.

Images are from www.gq.co.uk

Garment Technology - Rever Collars

The next area in Garment Technology that I researched into was Rever Collars. This gave me a better idea of what exactly I would be making in that lesson. Rever collars are made up of two pieces, the lapel (or rever) is separate to the main collar which gives more variety in shape and how it sits against the body that many one-piece collars. The board shows a variety of rever collars in knit, coats and jackets as well as flat drawings of them. Below this is the example of the rever collar I made. If I was re-doing this sample, I would change the shape and style of my rever, making it narrower and wider.

Images are of my own work and are taken from my camera. Thankyou to Nathan Whitehouse for modelling my final garment.

We're with Stupid

Diesel's latest advertising campaign is really quite interesting. Opening the front page of February's GQ, the first thing I saw was "BE STUPID", opening out the ad further explains that "only the stupid can be truly brilliant". This got me thinking, what could this mean? Is it that their customers are stupid and buy their jeans because they're brilliant? Probably not their intentions. I looked into it further and actually Diesel have a point. After watching the video on their website, I kind of understand where they're coming from. Smart people think about what they're doing, planning their next move and making something of themselves, whereas the "stupid people" are brave, live life to the full and are spontaneous. Who are Diesel aiming this advert towards? The people who find life a bit boring, the same thing day-in day-out. The want people to believe that being "stupid" can actually enhance their lives, make it more fun and adventurous. Diesel are selling a lifestyle to the consumer, and it's the lifestyle everyone wants to live.

Image from www.diesel.com

Best Dressed Men

When I returned back to Leeds after the Christmas holidays, I found the latest issue of GQ had arrived in the post, and with this months issue is the GQ Annual Best-Dressed List 2010. This is a list of Britain's 60 best dressed men, including Ronnie Corbett, James Nesbitt, Prince Charles, Bill Nighy, David Walliams and Jude Law.

The top 10 consists of: 10. Dizzee Rascal (New Entrant)9. David Beckham (Last Year's 10.)
8. David Cameron (Last Year's 8.)
7. David Furnish (Last Year's 7.)6. Daniel Craig (Last Year's 4.)
5. Tom Ford (Last Year's 3.)4. Fantastic Mr Fox (New Entrant)3. Alex Turner (Last Year's 13.)
2. Take That (Re-Entry)
1. Robert Pattinson (Last Year's 39.)
These top entrants range from animated to sporty and political to actors and singers. The number one, Robert Pattinson, has moved 38 places to reach first place, which has probably been influenced by the Twilight films. Dizzee Rascal is well known for his hip-hop style and is quoted as "the most stylish rapper this country has ever produced" by Andy Morris at GQ.

Images from GQ

Garment Technology - Shoulder and Sleeve Details

The next research board I had to complete was for 'Shoulder and Sleeve Details'. I found this interesting in menswear because some of the details I found were very discreet. I was surprised at the range I found from appliqué to embroidered details, as well as stripes and tabs. The sample we had to make in relation to this research was a 'Strap-Shoulder Sleeve', which I hadn't really seen before. This was good because it showed me a different type of shoulder detail and how it sat on the shoulder, which could not be achieved by the other shoulder styles I knew.

Images are from my camera and are of my own work. Thankyou to Nathan Whitehouse for modelling my final samples.

Garment Technology - Waistcoats

Here is the research board i did when researching into waistcoats. There is a wide range of both primary and secondary images on this board as well as some historical. Below are the front and back views of the waistcoat sample i made. This was the most interesting sample for me because we made a complete garment and the fabrics were interesting to work with too.

Images are from my camera and are of my own work. Thankyou to Nathan Whitehouse for modelling my final garments.

Garment Technology - Hoods

Over the past two years at university, we have studied a module called Garment Technology. In this module there are two main areas, these are the analytical side and the practical side to garments. For the analytical part, we have to visit a range of stores and research into garment styles and features, find images and take pictures, and then analyse these to give us a greater knowledge about the differences found in each area. This knowledge is then applied into the practical side, to allow us to make a pattern and construct a garment featuring an aspect of this area. The first area we were given this year was hoods. Below is the page displaying the different types of hoods I found. These included those found on outerwear, dressing gowns and in academic dress. Below this are photographs of the hooded garment I constructed. The research in this module can also be used to inspire a wider range of designs in other modules and personal projects.

Images are from my camera and are of my work. Thankyou to Nathan Whitehouse for modelling my final garment.