So The Body Shop had a sale a while back and I was happy.
Thursday, 5 September 2013
What three years of travelling on a public train has taught me.
I travel by train every day, almost, to get to college. I remember being ridiculously excited in my first year, cause the train would go past the beach, and I used to get out at 4, so there was hardly any crowd. Pair of headphones on, some music of the moment song playing, I was happy.
It was only a few months in that I started looking at the people. I was,and still am privileged enough to not have to travel like this for everywhere I need to go, it's purely cause it's the fastest way to get to college. I do get really lazy and take the car at times. But for most people in the compartment with me, this was probably their primary mode of commute.
There are all sorts. College students, working women, teachers, maids. All of them come from their own homes and deal with their own problems. One recurring trend is the young girls that carry two phones and talk to their boyfriends on one phone and parents on the other.
But the travel has humbled me. People lead ridiculously busy lives. You can hear the conversations of women who have woken up at 5am to cook and clean and get the house running. Their day starts a good two and a half hours before mine. And I complain about the heat and the travel. Seriously.
This has given me perspective and I am extremely thankful for what I have.
A journey, through a journey, so to speak.
It was only a few months in that I started looking at the people. I was,and still am privileged enough to not have to travel like this for everywhere I need to go, it's purely cause it's the fastest way to get to college. I do get really lazy and take the car at times. But for most people in the compartment with me, this was probably their primary mode of commute.
There are all sorts. College students, working women, teachers, maids. All of them come from their own homes and deal with their own problems. One recurring trend is the young girls that carry two phones and talk to their boyfriends on one phone and parents on the other.
But the travel has humbled me. People lead ridiculously busy lives. You can hear the conversations of women who have woken up at 5am to cook and clean and get the house running. Their day starts a good two and a half hours before mine. And I complain about the heat and the travel. Seriously.
This has given me perspective and I am extremely thankful for what I have.
A journey, through a journey, so to speak.
Unedited Sunset.
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Concept-Instaglasses-2012/4253159
An avid instagram user myself, I can't really complain. But once in a while, I'd like to take pictures as they are. Or at least as close to what they look like in real life, minus color space issues. I caught this in the evening.
Friday, 23 August 2013
The Process.
So, I interned at Elle this summer for college.
And one question I was asked a lot, from friends and family was - How did you come up with a line? How were you inspired? And how did you design them?
Well, design school obviously teaches you a lot. But this was the first time our designs were actualized. It was actually very fascinating. Because I managed to have a hand in the sourcing (obtaining/buying) of the fabrics and actually sat with the tailors making my pieces, I got to see how things were done on a very detailed, small scale.
Of course, export houses and brands work very differently, each design is actualized hundreds of thousands of times and often, machinery plays a very big part in the assembly and construction. But this was a smaller, more well, intimate date with design for me.
So basically, all design houses/brands tend to receive what we call Forecast Reports/Fashion Forecasts/Trend Analysis for the coming seasons. Many different agencies do it, and it is primarily a set of industry based predictions on where they think the colors and moods of the seasons will go.
After analyzing that, and locking down on what has inspired me, I went on to use that ever so important search engine to look at prevalent trends and what was selling in the market in terms of silhouettes and prints.
This all lead to selection of a theme for my collection.
Mine, was a bohemian summer. I wanted to capture the essence of polaroid pictures taken in the summer, or at the beach, and generally revel in a lot of colour which is QUITE unlike me. Free love, the 70's, texture play and freedom. Drugs, weed and gypsies. Whatever. The mood was happy, lazy and effortless yet chic.
Then, I sat down to design a line. It had to be a set of garments that worked well together, yet appealed to a range of women - not too girly, not too tomboyish. Somewhere inbetween where both would work. And I wanted the pieces to be ones that could be dressed up and dressed down. Blah. Loads of sketching later, I came up with the individual garments for my design.
Then, after the necessary approvals, I got the blessings from the various authorities and went around getting fabrics. Remember, these were only sample pieces, so I didn't have the luxury of getting the fabrics that the company really uses for their designs. They get it from much larger mills and vendors. But more or less, I was able to get some really nice lace, crochet and other little trims for the dresses and tops. And the chiffon/georgette/cotton was easily available too.
So, the part after this gets a tad bit technical. Drafting and Pattern Making and such. And then the actual stitching.
It was a little hard getting them to see the design the way I saw it (you can never really really control that every time, sometimes it comes out better than expected, sometimes not so much). But that's how you learn.
And then at the end of it, I was left with around 8 pieces that I used for my final collection.
I learned a lot, through the internship and through this.
But that is, from conceptualization to creation, how shit went down.
And one question I was asked a lot, from friends and family was - How did you come up with a line? How were you inspired? And how did you design them?
Well, design school obviously teaches you a lot. But this was the first time our designs were actualized. It was actually very fascinating. Because I managed to have a hand in the sourcing (obtaining/buying) of the fabrics and actually sat with the tailors making my pieces, I got to see how things were done on a very detailed, small scale.
Of course, export houses and brands work very differently, each design is actualized hundreds of thousands of times and often, machinery plays a very big part in the assembly and construction. But this was a smaller, more well, intimate date with design for me.
So basically, all design houses/brands tend to receive what we call Forecast Reports/Fashion Forecasts/Trend Analysis for the coming seasons. Many different agencies do it, and it is primarily a set of industry based predictions on where they think the colors and moods of the seasons will go.
After analyzing that, and locking down on what has inspired me, I went on to use that ever so important search engine to look at prevalent trends and what was selling in the market in terms of silhouettes and prints.
This all lead to selection of a theme for my collection.
Mine, was a bohemian summer. I wanted to capture the essence of polaroid pictures taken in the summer, or at the beach, and generally revel in a lot of colour which is QUITE unlike me. Free love, the 70's, texture play and freedom. Drugs, weed and gypsies. Whatever. The mood was happy, lazy and effortless yet chic.
Then, I sat down to design a line. It had to be a set of garments that worked well together, yet appealed to a range of women - not too girly, not too tomboyish. Somewhere inbetween where both would work. And I wanted the pieces to be ones that could be dressed up and dressed down. Blah. Loads of sketching later, I came up with the individual garments for my design.
Then, after the necessary approvals, I got the blessings from the various authorities and went around getting fabrics. Remember, these were only sample pieces, so I didn't have the luxury of getting the fabrics that the company really uses for their designs. They get it from much larger mills and vendors. But more or less, I was able to get some really nice lace, crochet and other little trims for the dresses and tops. And the chiffon/georgette/cotton was easily available too.So, the part after this gets a tad bit technical. Drafting and Pattern Making and such. And then the actual stitching.
It was a little hard getting them to see the design the way I saw it (you can never really really control that every time, sometimes it comes out better than expected, sometimes not so much). But that's how you learn.
And then at the end of it, I was left with around 8 pieces that I used for my final collection.
I learned a lot, through the internship and through this.
But that is, from conceptualization to creation, how shit went down.
Sunday, 18 August 2013
TIS DONE.
So my internship document that I've been working on for GOD knows when is finally DONE.
It looks rather like a book.
Lamination binding ftw. And if anyone in Chennai wants to know where I got this done, it's a place called Sun Xerox in Nungambakkam. Screw Student Xerox. 20 INR for an A4 color print is madness.
It looks rather like a book.
Lamination binding ftw. And if anyone in Chennai wants to know where I got this done, it's a place called Sun Xerox in Nungambakkam. Screw Student Xerox. 20 INR for an A4 color print is madness.
Brainfood
I love lazy Sundays with good food. Sandys really is one of the best places for it. Chocolate does my system wonders:P Happy Monday:P
Saturday, 17 August 2013
Poppin' Tags
Well. This is probably one of the most well known and slightly controversial songs of this year.
We've heard all sorts of trash over the past few years in the name of music. Bieber has made his crawl to the top of the slag heap by singing about beauties, beats and babies. He has also been caught spitting on fans from his hotel room during a tour. And oh, look, he could be banned from the US because of his alleged assault outside an NYC nightclub. Such a role model.
Then there's Nicki Minaj, who never fails to make me wonder why someone would want to willingly look like a pornographic Malibu barbie on steroids. And that new MAC campaign. Really. Lying in a swimming pool with opened lipsticks pointing at her.
And One Direction. Rebecca Black. Condom Style. Hot Problems. I could go on.
But no. There is one duo that has really brought something very close to my heart onto the music scene. When I heard it for the first time, I literally almost wanted to kill myself. But I was one of the uninitiated and therefore, naive.
As I started listening, really listening, I realized what they were trying to say.
Yes. Thrift Shop. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
They have brought to light the growing consumerism and commercialism that is brewing materialistic toil and wrecking havoc in world.
With the steady increase of buying power among not only the rich, but the upper middle class and the middle class, who are spending more and more of their disposable income on luxury and premium goods, there is now a new enemy we face. The brand whores. Those who buy not only for the sake of buying, but purely for the logo. Those who refuse to believe that everything really is, Made in China/Bangladesh/Thailand and India.
Then this song came along. No. Do not mock them. Listen to their message.
First, an extremely interesting point was brought up - sustainability. Up-cycling of fashion is something that is very much in vogue. Not only does it cut costs, but it creates an individuality in pieces that mass production simply cannot touch. And vintage/charity/Goodwill shopping. You can find some really, really quaint pieces in those stores. And by mixing and matching, one can create and recreate style to suit their own needs.
As is demonstrated in the lines,
'One man's trash, that's another man's come-up
Thank your granddad for donating that plaid button-up shirt
'Cause right now I'm up in her stuntin'
I'm at the Goodwill, you can find me in the bins
I'm not, I'm not stuck, I’m searchin' in that section'
We've heard all sorts of trash over the past few years in the name of music. Bieber has made his crawl to the top of the slag heap by singing about beauties, beats and babies. He has also been caught spitting on fans from his hotel room during a tour. And oh, look, he could be banned from the US because of his alleged assault outside an NYC nightclub. Such a role model.
Then there's Nicki Minaj, who never fails to make me wonder why someone would want to willingly look like a pornographic Malibu barbie on steroids. And that new MAC campaign. Really. Lying in a swimming pool with opened lipsticks pointing at her.
And One Direction. Rebecca Black. Condom Style. Hot Problems. I could go on.
But no. There is one duo that has really brought something very close to my heart onto the music scene. When I heard it for the first time, I literally almost wanted to kill myself. But I was one of the uninitiated and therefore, naive.
As I started listening, really listening, I realized what they were trying to say.
Yes. Thrift Shop. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
They have brought to light the growing consumerism and commercialism that is brewing materialistic toil and wrecking havoc in world.
With the steady increase of buying power among not only the rich, but the upper middle class and the middle class, who are spending more and more of their disposable income on luxury and premium goods, there is now a new enemy we face. The brand whores. Those who buy not only for the sake of buying, but purely for the logo. Those who refuse to believe that everything really is, Made in China/Bangladesh/Thailand and India.
Then this song came along. No. Do not mock them. Listen to their message.
First, an extremely interesting point was brought up - sustainability. Up-cycling of fashion is something that is very much in vogue. Not only does it cut costs, but it creates an individuality in pieces that mass production simply cannot touch. And vintage/charity/Goodwill shopping. You can find some really, really quaint pieces in those stores. And by mixing and matching, one can create and recreate style to suit their own needs.
As is demonstrated in the lines,
'One man's trash, that's another man's come-up
Thank your granddad for donating that plaid button-up shirt
'Cause right now I'm up in her stuntin'
I'm at the Goodwill, you can find me in the bins
I'm not, I'm not stuck, I’m searchin' in that section'
The song also recognizes the perceived versus the real value of a brand.
'I hit the party and they stop in that motherfucker
They be like, "Oh, that Gucci - that's hella tight."
I'm like, "Yo - that's fifty dollars for a T-shirt."
Limited edition, let's do some simple addition
Fifty dollars for a T-shirt - that's just some ignorant bitch (shit)
I call that getting swindled and pimped (shit)
I call that getting tricked by a business
That shirt's hella dough
And having the same one as six other people in this club is a hella don't'
Lastly, the song has a message that runs strong and true, and that is the real essence of fashion. Individualism. Being comfortable in what you wear. Making a statement. Being different. Being confident.
'What you know about rockin' a wolf on your noggin?
What you knowin' about wearin' a fur fox skin?'
As you can see, the singer has enough self belief and confidence to be able to carry off such daring yet high fashion pieces. He challenges (the public perhaps) and asks them what they could possibly know about such statement making and unconventional dressing.
'What you know about rockin' a wolf on your noggin?
What you knowin' about wearin' a fur fox skin?'
As you can see, the singer has enough self belief and confidence to be able to carry off such daring yet high fashion pieces. He challenges (the public perhaps) and asks them what they could possibly know about such statement making and unconventional dressing.
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