Reflection of Part 1.

Reflecting on my work  

Description. 

During my first part of the assignment, I looked at my chosen theme the wanderer and decided to base it on places I have visited around the world. When narrowing down I chose my final three Pakistan, Morocco & Dubai once I relooked at all my primary images and secondary images I finally decided on choosing Morocco.  Once my main focus was chosen I then began developing my primary images into fabric samples further developing the samples into prints. Whilst doing this I also projected my primary images to create unusual shapes and designs throughout my selection of designs.  Throughout my research I looked at colour in morocco and the meanings also the history of morocco and how Europe has influenced the people of Morocco. Which I then used the information to influence my designs for example once I decided that I would flip the rolls and create a more European like collection but with a Moroccan twist therefore allowing morocco to influence Europe. 

Feelings. 

Over all I was pleased with my work however I felt as though time was not on my side I had more time I may have worked on my researched thoroughly, this may have helped develop my work further and allow me to get the best grade possible. I feel as though I have put across what I had intended on doing fusing Moroccan culture with European designs, as my main focus was bringing a bit of morocco to Europe. The reason I chose to bring a bit of morocco to European fashion, when looking into the research of morocco it was clear to see the impact France left on morocco during and after the invasion. I was intrigued to learn that France to this day still influences Moroccan fashion and culture, so I believe it would be a great idea to bring a bit of the Moroccan culture to European fashion. The cultures have been fused before why not do it again and brake down more barriers within Europe, as I feel there is still a divide. Being a Muslim and of Arab origin I understand these barriers better than most and I believe doing something as simple as fusing two different cultures can bring people together or simply brake down barriers and make people interested in learning about other cultures and traditions. This would be a great way to do it through design.   

Evaluation.  

I am pleased with my designs and the body of work I have produced so far although I know if I had managed my time better I would have created more work at a higher standard. When working on this brief I gained more experience helping to improve my embroidery skills, designs skills, use of Photoshop and illustrator. One thing I was happy with was the use of colour and how my chosen artist Mark Rothko influenced my design development and designs.  

I believe what worked best for me was the prints I created, even though I had originally intended on using block colour. As I was working on my development, prints became my main focus so I decided to use block colour and print. When doing my research into colour I was really interested in the fact that colours had cultural meaning to the people of morocco for example blue is used for protection from evil eye and green is for peace and religion when learning this I decided that blue would be one of the main colours within my collection as I like the idea of the colour being a sign protection.  I feel these prints have gave me lots of inspiration to create different designs and they can be used in many different ways. Although creating prints was quite successful on the other hand there were several prints that did not work so well, for example the colours were too dark, dull or messy. I don’t believe these prints could have been developed further so I decided not to use them in my sketch book.  

Analysis. 

I had intended on meeting with local business owners Bushra, and Ishwaq Mansoori who own a home furnishings and textiles company supplying hand crafted items straight from morocco. The reason for setting up a meeting with these two ladies was to gain a better understanding of Moroccan culture and how things are made also why things have stayed the same over the years. I feel this information may have helped improve my research process, which would have improved my development and then my designs. Doing this interview would have gave a me a better understanding of the Moroccan culture and how it is translated through garments across the world.   

  

Conclusion. 

If I was to do all of my work again there would be several things I might have done differently, One being research and investing more time for that part of the brief as I do believe if my research was more in-depth my development may have been at a better standard. I could have improved this by doing various things such as, working on my blog in smaller chunks to make it a little easier to work on, as I find writing my opinions a lot harder than verbally expressing my opinions and evaluations. As this I has came to light in my grade I will look into possibly doing video evaluations for the next part of my assignment.  

Action Plan. 

My plan of action for the second part of my brief, I will firstly work on my research further by looking at Culture & religion in fashion, colour & pattern in morocco, and finally silhouettes.  I will do this by looking into trends that relate to my theme and explore colour and pattern on a wider scale to ensure that I collate as much information possible. Once the best part of my research is done I will begin working on my sketchbook creating more samples testing new techniques like, weaving, printing, laser cutting, draping and photography. The reason I want to test these different techniques is because I feel they will help me develop my designs further as well as giving me the ability to create really interesting line ups and illustrations. I also want to create an accessory to compliment my designs I will start doing this by looking into more cultured trends for inspiration, as well as traditional Moroccan accessories. And hopefully once my accessories are designed and made I may create a photo-shoot as a marketing technique. 

Once my interview with local business holders takes place I hope it will give me a greater understanding on what interests the European public, this will help me make an informed decision on how I should possibly market/ brand my designs.