massive catch up!!

So, its the first day back at uni today after a looooong summer. I'm so excited and ready to get stuck back into working, it gets quite boring when you don't have a project to do!

So, this summer i spent five weeks in London doing work experience for an independent fashion designer called Lena Santana. i had a really good time, i learnt lots about myself, and about the world of fashion. Whilst i was there, my job roles included; pattern cutting and grading, flat drawings, styling fashion shoots, cutting fabrics, making toils, and sewing together final garments to be sold online, and at an exhibition for London Fashion Week.

Even though i had a really good time working for Lena, if i were to do a work experience again, i think i would try to find a place at a company, not just an independent designer. I found that she hadn't made enough work for both of us to do when i was there, because she was used to working at a pace that was made for one person to handle, and because she is still in the set up stage of her label, it felt more like i was working for a third year student doing a collection, than an actual designer. This said, i still learnt so much, she taught me little tricks on the sewing machine, helped me with things i didn't really understand, and she did make me work!

One of the weeks i was there, we entered a competition for London Fashion Week, we were sent a pattern made by various designers and we had to interpret it our own way, make a garment and send in photos from a photo shoot. the winning eighteen entries are shown during London Fashion Week in Somerset house. Unfortunately we didn't get picked, but i had lots of fun making the garment! We chose one by yamamoto, and used African fabrics to build up layers along the back and the sleeves, this brought in parts of Lenas own style of working and became very personal.

It was also the first time i had lived away from Leeds, so i gained lots of experience on that front living in the big city! I made sure i went to all the gallery's, museums, and places to see as i could!!