Tag Archives: improvement

The Importance of Construction in Design

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Hi Everyone!

I hope you all have had a great past week! As I turned in my first project (as mentioned in last week’s post), I began to think about how I have grown since my interest in fashion really began.

In the beginning, most of my interest was geared toward the design aspect of fashion. I hadn’t yet fully grasped the concept of producing what I drew, so I just spent hours on end sketching garments that I never thought would leave the pages.

When I began to sew, I started with the basics: stuffed animals, pillows, and mini-purses. I created countless variations of the same basic design before I even began to think about transferring my knowledge of how to sew pillows to the creation of my designs. I soon found myself (poorly) constructing blouses made from curtains and blankets, and wearing them proudly!

As years passed, and I have grown older, my skills have developed more.  I found myself sewing more and more successful pieces, more closely resembling my designs, but I still felt as though there was some sort of disconnect between my, then, abilities and what I thought I was capable of achieving.

In the summer going into my freshman year of high school, I took a two-week long precollege course at a prestigious fashion school, notorious for their incredible design graduates. I went into the program confident in both my construction and design skills, but soon realized that my ability to design far surpassed what I was actually able to make; I knew that I had to develop my construction skills more, but I felt hopeless in terms of how I would do it.

A friend that I met in the course suggested that I try precollege at FIT. She told me that she had found herself in a similar situation where she did not have the skills needed to grow in her design career, but after just one semester at FIT, she felt more confident than ever!

Since starting classes at FIT, I have noticed a HUGE improvement in my construction. FIT does an amazing job teaching the basics, while also helping each and every student find their own style and personal techniques! If I could only leave you with one piece of advice, it would be that in the design world, your ability to make what you design is just as important as the design itself!

I hope you have a great rest of the week and a fabulous start to spring!

~Kaela

Improvement

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First off, I’d like to apologize to everyone for my lack of a post last week. Super-busy with normal school and stuff like that.

Secondly, I found my portfolio. My record of everything I’ve done since before I started coming to Precollege courses. It’s great to be able to look back on it and reflect on everything I’ve done… I’ve gotten so much better!

It’s not bad to start with, but looking back on it, the heads are way out of proportion, as well as hands/feet…and the lack of faces.

The first course I took was draping. I can’t seem to find any photos from the class itself. However, I did make this dress (below) with skills I learned in that class.

I had Professor Gardner as my teacher. She taught me proper proportions, and introduced me to markers.

Between the first and second level drawing classes, I took sewing over the summer. Again, I can’t find photos (I’ll try to scrounge some up and then update this post xD)

I had Professor Urena who had me practice my croquis. This was Fall 2011. Each class I drew a new figure before break, and after break I added the clothes.

This was the first time I put together a cohesive collection (more than 3 pieces) with a recurring theme. This was based off the NYC subways, and my personal views of how beauty can be found in the least obvious places. The teacher was Professor King, and I learned a lot from her.

Then I took the summer off (I had another program and two weeks of camps), practiced my faces, and came back for FIT.

This is from the course I’m in right now, Anatomy of Fashion with Professor Uvenio. I feel like my illustrations have steadily improved with each drawing course dramatically.

Recently, I made a fanpage on Facebook to track my improvements and also to help promote my little business that I started up. The link to the page is here: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyDanaOriginals

So go check it out! There’s lots more up on there and you can really see an improvement in my work. These classes are absolutely amazing and a great way to get better.

Hugs,

Emily

Looking Back

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You can have the utmost experience in something and still have room for improvement, that’s just how it is.

Over the course of these last few weeks I have felt like I have improved dramatically in every aspect of my classes here. The difference with this semester compared to others was that this time around I took two classes, which meant a lot more work but also a lot more improvement on my part…and I clearly see it.

As for my morning class, The Ins and Outs of Fashion Merchandising, I got my “decade” project back and I got an A! I was so happy when I saw my grade, receiving A’s in these classes is such an achievement for me and is what I work for over these months. Like I said, although I may have gotten an A, there is still room for improvement. One of my weaknesses is definitely presenting and talking in front of a class. However, this past week I showcased a “Fall Trends” PowerPoint presentation and I just felt so comfortable presenting it. My professor noted how comfortable I looked presenting and it made me feel really good.

In my fabric styling class, we presented our second project this week and it could not have been better! Well, other than the fact that I finished one of the boards two seconds before I had to present! Overall the boards came out really great though. I’m so anxious to see my grade!

“Palermo” dress product board

“Palermo” (Italy) – AKA Olvia Palermo’s clothing line :)

If you go back to this post, you can see my first project from this class and compare them.  The difference is noticeable! Just remember to try your hardest in everything you do at FIT because if you really want something, you’ll achieve it sooner or later! It worked out that way for me!

By the way, I’m considering taking In-Store Marketing and Retail Event Planning next semester, has anyone ever taken that class, if so, how was it?

Fashionably Yours,

Michaela