Final designs

Guess its time to finally add my designs.......not sure how proud of them i am.....

Problem solving.....

for the last few weeks i've been trying to come up with a way of proving a little added protection to neck and ears that the ballerinas can wear while practicing.  Hoods are prefect but not practical when moving about.  About the only headwear sports people actually wear (apart from helmets) are swimming caps......

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 I thought by lengthening the sides for ear coverage and building up a few layers of fabric (for both fahionability and UV protection) it would provide a little bit more protection and still be practical.   Here's a starting point...

 

I use the pattern of a swimming cap then create long ties that overlap at the back and wrap around the head.

Thermoregulation.....

When i was hunting for fabrics i went on WGSN to have a look for fabric ideas,  they had a whole report on new smart textiles and thermo-regulatory fabrics were a key area of research.  While none of these fabrics are availible and/or in my price range i thpught it was interesting to see into the future....

 Sections taken from report by Andrew Jobling and Sophie Mather, WGSN report: '2011: Techtextil', June 2, 2011. 

Finding inspiration from the past.....

I was concerned that perhaps my print was too bright for ballet wear.... known for blacks, dusty pinks and greys, i thought perhaps the cancerous melanocytes were one step too far....

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then i remebered looking at the images in the paper of the images of the ballet russes costumes.  there was a recent exhibition in NGA Canberra.  some of the costumes, designed by the artist of the day, were examples of the large shapes and bright colours that modernism championed.  honestly they make my designs look tame....

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Design Inspiration.......

These are the images of Freja Beha Erichsen by Craig McDean in Tough Ballerina | Interview April 2010.  I loved this editorial shoot and it was part of the reason i wanted to do Ballet wear.....

All images can be found here

Target Market.....

Adult Ballet Classes are on the rise.... not just for ex-dancers, these classes cater to a wide variety of age groups and abilities.  Ballet, like most classical arts, tends to be frequented more by those of a high socio-economic class and so these women expect quality high end garments to wear to class.

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With my range, I am targetting the same women who would wear Stella McCartney for Adidas to play tennis or golf in.  They want to appear stylish and fashion forward even when (not quite) working up a sweat.

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The designs need to be equally understated as they are fashion forward.  I think my idea of using matt and meshed fabrics will work well and i have to be careful not to over use the print.

The awareness ads that I remember......

The two campaigns I remember were the slip-slop-slap campaign and a teen orientated "sun tattoo" campaign.

I think this ad campaign worked because it was friendly, easy to remember and didn't keep reminding you that you were going to die a cruel and horrible death.  I find that because so many advertiser go straight for fear mongering tactics we get overwhelmed with all the things that are going to kill us and we switch off.  This is fun, laughter and sunshine with a message - perfectly appropriate for the audience and the topic of conversation.

This second ad worked for me for a completely different reason.....

While it looks like a fairly basic ad nowadays, when it first came out it got peoples attention due to the fact it used then 'new' CG animation techniques which i thought were great.   This made me remember the ad and therefore, i also took home the message.

From these ads i guess I want my clothes to be fun, friendly and easy to wear but also new and innovative- those things are what will make people wear them and therefore, be saving their skin as well....

Pattern Ideas....

I wrote previously about how i wanted to create a few patterns using images of cancerous cells.... I put these together in photoshop....

 
I really like the one of the right its a bit more ambiguous and the colours are pretty striking....

Bodytorque.Muses

Bodytorque is my favourite Australian Ballet Production of the year.... its brave, modern and showcases new choreographers and dancers. 

This video shows what the dancers wear behind the scenes.  They are still quite conservative in what they wear, esp. compared to street dancers...

The work that goes into these productions is amazing.  There are such gifted individuals in each field - without them the production would not com together....

Both videos can be found on YouTube. 

Fabrics for Printing...

Looking at local wholesalers Eclipse they have a great range of sublimated fabrics... i think these fabrics may work really well.  Gillian brough in some samples of prints her company had done and they looked fantasic....

 

go to: www.eclipsetextiles.com.au

Sports Fabric Sublimation Polyester LYCRA® Olympic

"SOFT AND COMFORTABLE POLYESTER SUBLIMATION BASE"

The Ultimate Fine Gauge High Quality Sublimation Base

UPF 50+ Jersey Lomellina’s Polyester LYCRA® fine gauge circular knit fabric, offers a smooth second skin sublimation base, including unique performance benefits. Olympic is soft and comfortable, yet strong enough to assist in muscle control, whilst still being a quick drying, hard wearing ultra flat Polyester, with a perfect fit due to Invista's LYCRA® technology. Creating a high quality print base with minimum grin through due to the technology of a fine gauge knit. 

Eclipsepaque LYCRA® Sun Protection

"THE ULTIMATE CHOICE FOR WHITE"

UPF 50+ Eclipsepaque Polyester is a circular knit non-transparent fabric containing ceramic core technology. The Polyester yarn contains ceramic within the central core of its filaments. This technology prevents the “see-through” effect, in turn creating a UV blocking fabric. Due to the construction, the fabric also offers a completely new handle, creating a powdery feel with a graceful drape. Eclipsepaque is the perfect sublimation base when working with fashion swimwear in pastel pallets and large white areas due to the non-transparent effect it creates.

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Print Ideas.....

I like the idea of using images of cancerous melanocytes to create a print a can use in my range.  I think it appeals tothe dark humour in people- creating a sun-smart range covered in cancerous skin cells....

I love these images....

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Material matters - bacterial problems...

Work out clothes get sweating and therefore, smelly very quickly.... for ballet dancers who work quite intimately with one another this is something which needs addressing...

Looking again at stretchtex.... they have a carbon bamboo fibre..... bamboo's antibacterial properties from what i can see in the literature has been overrated somewhat but carbon is definately antibacterial (just ask Bear Grills- remember the drinking water through my sock incident in Man v.Wild).... Also has UV rating!

PROBLEM SOLVING.- a question of heat...

Head to toe coverage may be great for sun protection but in Queensland the fear of my garments causing people overheat could easily become reality.  it got me thinking about how i would counter this.....

I instantly thought about ski jackets. they have to balance the heat/cooling factors in their design- usually through use of zipper opened vents to allow flow through (and secret pockets!).  My design for a cover-up jacket has loose overlayed panels that allow for the free flow of air and mesh panels in 'hot spots'.


The next thing i had to consider was where on the body requires the most air flow for maximum cooling.  Thanks to a little google search.... Adidas has engaged with UK's Loughborough University ergonomics experts to body map heat and sweat patterns in atheletes to produce diagrams showing designers where they show be using certain fabrics to improve performance...

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This got me on a roll with some new designs that included some lose and mesh panels....

practice wear for ballerinas.... first look at designs...

practice wear for ballerinas has not been looked at by many designers.  While street dancewear has been picked up by all the fashion activewear brands, ballerinas are limited to leotards with a 'slightly interesting back or neckline' to meet their sartorial needs....

I want to make practice wear for ballerinas which is attractive, easy to wear and maybe even include some edgy prints.  Here's a taste of my designs:

Warm up gear and leotrads can mix and match easily and this will be great to combine different colours and prints.


Fabric wise the ballerinas need something that will wick away sweat and the designs require a light gsm so the gathers are not too bulky.  At the moment I'm thinking this fabric from Stretchtex may work well: