Best Dressed Man In Tennis?

John McEnroe is one of the most successful tennis players in the history of the sport, but it isn't his accolades that make him so interesting to me. After reading more about football casuals throughout the era's, and really thinking about the fashion of the football firms in the 1980's, it has become evident that tennis gear was a major influence in the fashion of the football fan. With labels such as Sergio Tacchini, Lacoste and Fila all being worn by the tennis player, the style was quickly stolen by the casual, football fighting lads of the 80's. The continental labels had a mixture of youth/sport/style and pride about them, and I believe this is the reason why football fans invested so much money in this sport wear. As for labels these days, the more preppy and vintage companies design with this style in mind, and take into consideration terms such as nostalgia, vintage, and culture.

FMP Sketchbook - an insight

I have just scanned in a few pages of my sketchbook which are showing a variety of my deifferent thoughts throughout my design process. You can see how certain found images of modernist posters and naval military badges are influencing some of my ideas and designs. I have also began considering garment shapes (taken from predicted shapes from view 2 magazine) and considered styles of how to wear certain garments, as you can see from the page on the 'fisherman' style.

Football Casuals - The fashions

I have been looking across various websites and found that footballcasual.com really explains the sub-cultures and history surrounding Casuals fashion as it has changed through the years. I found the following information on footballcasual.com, which I believe helps understand what a football casual is? what clothing they would have in their wardrobe? whether or not its about more than just fighting? or whether fashion and music are also influential on this sub-culture..

"The need for a country like Britain to have a youth culture which is either led by teenage angst, political anarchy or musical revolution has always been evident. Most recently, ever since the 60's when the mods took on the rockers - these type of tribal clashes of various youth cultures have dominated our shores. I cite the mods in particular, as I believe that many of the fashion principles of mod culture (clean lines, minimal styling) also lie at the heart of the Football Casual subculture. Obviously there also some musical links, but that's where it ends really. The whole art and jazz thing (the original modernists) are certainly things which don't translate in Football Casual culture. Every movement needs a vehicle and with mods it was music, scooters and fashion. It just so happens, that the Football Casual subculture originated from the football terraces and their vehicle was football, fighting and fashion. If you were a mod, it was arguably easier for you to move across - as brands such as Fred Perry and (less so) Ben Sherman could translate."

"By the mid 80's there were brands which were almost essentials and others which varied from crew to crew. Stone Island and CP jackets were essential, as well as vintage adidas trainers. Fila BJ, Ellesse, Sergio Tacchini and Lacoste track tops also grew in popularity. Tennis chic is the look which has probably defined the casual look more than any other. Before long the likes of Armani, Burberry, Aquascutum, Berghaus, Fiorucci and Lois were soon being added to the wardrobe."

I have been researching and gathering photographs on all my themes for the last few weeks, and these are some select few photographs which really highlight the fashions of the football casual.

I have also found a great article on GQ Magazine's website, which discusses what a football casual should be wearing, and where you can shop for this fashion on the high street and make sure your getting the perfect look. You can read it below on their website...

GQ Magazine

Lyle & Scott Competition Winner!

Since my visit to Lyle & Scott I have been following their blog and facebook page so that i am up to date with their new collections and news. At the beginning of the week they held a competition on their facebook which allowed entrants to upload a picture of themselves in their favourite Lyle & Scott garment, and the winner would receive a free polo shirt. I decided that I would upload a photo of one of my designs that I created and attach my head to it, apparently it caused quite a stir with the design team and got them laughing. Unfortunately I didn't win the competition however i was a close runner up. You can see the feedback I received on their blog post here

blog.lyleandscott.com

The day later, I entered the competition again. The pictures they wanted to see would hopefully reflect their 'funny Friday' day, click here to see the the image which won me the free polo shirt and to read what the design team thought of it. If only they actually made car stickers!!

Kid British..

Just got tickets to see this band at the new FAC251 club in Manchester. I have followed their music for a couple of years by going to gigs in and around Manchester, and now and they are finally getting the success that they deserve. I love so many things about this band; their clothing, their lyrics, their personalities and their unique sound. It's really clear to see how they are inspired by bands such as Madness and The Specials. They seem to be getting better and better. I am also really excited about seeing the new FAC251 club, which is inspired from the Hacienda and owned by New Order's Peter Hook. Ill be sure to tell you all about my night after the event... I really can't wait!

Colour Blocking & Dirk Bikkembergs

Colour blocking is always a big hit in spring/summer collections, and it is something I want to work with, for two reasons. Firstly, it will allow my theme of modernism and Swiss poster design to appear really obvious and slick. Secondly, it keeps in trends with my sportswear/football casuals theme and could be seen as a really contemporary and original garment, whilst still having that nostalgic edge to it.

I have been looking a lot at Dirk Bikkembergs sports ranges from this season and last and its excellent, his use of blocking really makes his clothes look sporty and casual.

"Dirk Bikkembergs has turned his name into a brand, which is known across Europe and beyond. He has managed to create a buzz amongst fashionistas and within the global fashion scene. The Belgian fashion designer is renowned for his unique capacity to merge the exclusivity of fashion with the universe of football."

Major Project Update..

I have been working solid on developing my ideas and linking research to them in my sketchbook this week, I have been experimenting with colour and drawing up garment shapes which I will post about at some point over the next couple of weeks. I have been drawing up initial ideas for designs, and then developing them on the computer, which I will continue to do over the next 2 weeks. I have experimented with a check design (something I haven't done before), and I feel that in my first few designs I have really combined my themes of nautical/football casuals/modernism and 60's. The designs which you can see below have not yet been visualized on garments but they will be once I have decided on the garment shapes I want to work with. I have chosen to design a collection of spring/summer wear for Fred Perry. This decision took a lot of time to reach, I had considered other brands and even thought about creating my own label and designing for my own company. I have decided against this idea though because I want to be able to keep a brands existing identity in my mind throughout the design process, because I feel I could create a more exciting collection this way.

Samuel Preston

Known by the public simply as Preston, the ex Ordinary Boys lead vocalist and guitarist Sam Preston has a dress sense that I have really admired for years, and it's about time I blogged about it. He is someone I look at him for inspiration when designing, and for inspiration when I'm thinking about what I can wear!

He is commonly seen modelling labels such as Fred Perry, Lyle & Scott, Lonsdale, Merc and Ben Sherman. The garments he wears represent the style I want to work with, a variation of buttoned-down collared shirts, harrington jackets, cardigans and polo's help create that traditional yet smart/tailored vintage look.

Anchors!

I have really been exploring the nautical theme, which i discussed in a previous post. I am currently looking at anchors and have began drawing them and figuring out how they could be used in my designs, whether they are used as a tiny all over repeat or a larger scale graphic, or both! It's a very obvious way of showing a nautical theme in my work and the shape of the anchor is something I would like to work with. I'll even consider the ropes and chains connected to the typical anchor shape.

I found a link to a fashion blog which discusses anchors in print, click here to have a read.

Also, here are a few gathered images which I am drawing from...

Contact Report: Helen Latimer & Nigel Warren

After I completed my last brief, which was to design a range for Lyle & Scott I presented my finished collection to Helen Latimer and Nigel Warren. Helen has designed for Umbro, Le coq sportif and Sergio Tacchini amongst others. Nigel is working for Mosquito and has a history of working at Whittards tea & coffee.

Together they viewed my collection, portfolio and DVD whilst I discussed my design process and finished outcomes. They then together discussed my presentation and work and I received feedback shortly after from what Helen and Nigel had said combined.

The feedback was given to me in a list, which read:

• DVD research ideas are great, as industry use this media. Consider putting into book format as to avoid technical problems & allow industry to see your work easily.

• Blown up images (Large designs) on boards looked fantastic – Arty feel.

• Market research good, fabric and application research helped to explain ideas.

• Understood brief, designs fitted clients style. Really good felt the project was clear and met brief.

• Push how designs can work as a collection/range.

• Look at details on garments, i.e. stitch details etc. Also badge applications, what’s new in the market?

• Explain graphic application – print, embroidery, yarns, dye etc.


I’m delighted with this feedback, and alongside the feedback I was given from John Tate at Lyle & Scott, it’s really helpful to me as I approach my final project. Feedback from the industry is the only way I will improve as a designer and become produce more professional output.

After I received this feedback from Helen and Nigel, I was in contact with Helen again and she sat down with me to discuss my portfolio and show me hers. She offered me advice as to how I would present a collection to an employer. Helen suggested that I should literally show 6 sheets of work from a collection, 2 sheets of photographic research and influence, 2 sheets of my most successful designs and visualizations, an example of a spec sheets and a sheet that shows how my garments would be used together as an outfit. Helen's portfolio was similar, she had a variety of her different jobs and collections in one portfolio and showed examples of her skills on illustrator, her understanding of fabrics and their constructions and her portfolio was so concise and informative with design skills.

I met with Helen again the week after, and she showed me examples how she has produced a check repeat on illustrator and she explained to me the technique used to produce it. I then practised this technique throughout the day whilst discussing my major project with Helen. She gave me some very interesting pointers, suggesting that instead of designing for an existing brand, I could create my own which would specialize in the the themes I was interested in. I hope to stay in touch with Helen because her advice was very useful and I believe that she could be very helpful for me in discovering new contacts in this area of design who could hopefully keep offering me advice and opportunities.

What I'm Listening to at the moment..

The Enemy





Amazing band, this is their video for 'Had Enough'. There influences come from bands like the Jam and Oasis, I love this video, it really captures the essence of British youth culture and style. I've seen The Enemy play live about 4 times now, and can't wait until their next tour.

The Firm

A quality film by Nick Lowe which I have just bought myself, I remember watching it in the cinema and just loving the casuals tracksuits of the 80's. The footage is going to be very inspirational to me on my FMP because I am looking at casuals, learning about everything from their wardrobes to their behaviour to the music of the time.






some wicked websites to look at for casuals fashion:

http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/
http://www.stuartslondon.com/cat/Retro%20Fashion%20MENS/
http://jimmy-paulterracecasuals1982.piczo.com/?g=1&cr=7
http://www.filavintage.co.uk/
http://www.fila.eu/

Simon Page

After browsing the internet looking at some Swiss design, I have stumbled across Simon Page, who is a contemporary graphic designer who has produced some amazing posters.

The website where I discovered his work and information, was a very interesting read. grainedit.com described Simon as, "a self-taught graphic design whiz with a mathematics background. He takes shapes and morphs them into cerebral abstractions. His style shifts around futuristic digital designs and 1960s minimalism, trotting the delicate line between simplicity and detail". The interview on this website is very insightful and he believes that his background in mathematics is essential in his designing, because it inspires some of his geometric designs, which I believe are really unique and original.

I love his use of line and how his collection of stripes can in itself make a geometric shape, his layering and tonal values are also incredible and this style of print could make an amazing fashion sample.

Manchester & The Canals

Throughout my final project, 2 themes that I will be taking into consideration and gathering inspiration from are modernism and nautical. The main area I want to look at in modernism is the swiss poster designs from the 1950's - 60's and i want them to inspire the graphics I use on my clothing and possibly the colour. I want the nautical theme to be seen in my choice of colour, to help decide which garments I choose to design on to and to offer me a style which is something I havn't worked with before.

I decided that during my day out in Manchester I would try and capture photographs of the city and the architecture which had a similar feel to the modernism posters I have been looking at. I had to be clever with my photography though, or try and find areas of the city which naturally had beautiful geometrics.

I visited the Marple canals the day after, as I wanted to get more of an idea into the nautical theme. It's possibly not the most appropraite place to visit because there are many other places which would suggest the theme better, however It was a good start and enjoyable day because I found some interesting patterns and colour combinations, whilst having a nice walk!

I believe that alongside my research from the internet and magazines, my personal photographs from my areas of interest will help me understand and develop successful designs for my final project.

Below are a few of the photographs taken from my days out.

Manchester City Centre (4/2/10)

Marple Canals (5/2/10)

Henri Lloyd SS/10

I visited the Henri Lloyd store in Manchester this weekend, and collected their catalouge for their new Summer 2010 range. These few pictures are definately showing how nautical is going to in trend this summer. One thing that John from Lyle & Scott told me is that he expects big knitted jumpers over shirts that suggest a kind of fisherman look, and what the model in the white clearly shows is a similar approach for Henri Lloyd's summer range. The colour ranges here are very similar to the ones I am currently looking at for my FMP. The turqoise blues and light pastel colours are really going to be seen this summer, as well as a more sophisticated style of sports clothing for men. I think Henri Lloyd's new collection is amazing, it mixes high end style with a sport twist whilst being bang on trend. Something I want to be achieving in my work!

Visit the website to see for yourself, but if their is a store near you, it's really worth a look in..

Henri Lloyd

Contact Report: John Tate at Lyle & Scott

I was waiting so long for a great opportunity like the one I had on 25th January, a visit to a design studio, a chance to see what was the day to day routine of working in fashion, to see how the professional mind works and ask numerous questions that would allow me to only improve as a practitioner.

It was not just any old studio that I visited that day though, It was the company I had been interested in for years, a brand that I shop for on the high street, and finding the studio situated just off Carnaby street just made my trip to Lyle & Scott amazing.

I had been in discussion with the company over Facebook, who kindly gave me the email address of the HR department, who shortly after put me in touch with Lyle & Scott's head designer, John Tate, who had previously had a brief look at my work and asked me to travel down to see him. I gathered my visualization boards and portfolio of Lyle & Scott designs and made my way to the studio on the morning of the 25th.

I arrived In Euston and made my way to Oxford Circus, and I knew my surroundings instantly because I was a 30 second walk from Carnaby Street, (easily noticeable by the radical fashion trends and style of people). I located the studio and made my way to the 3rd floor of the building, hoping that I would be met by a receptionist who would kindly introduce to me John. However, after reaching the 3rd floor and making my way up a corridor and through a door I found myself in the centre of one of the design studios, with John Tate and 2 other designers sat there discussing visualisations for their next collection. Thankfully John stood up straight away and welcomed me into the fray, allowing me to sit and watch him and his team conclude their discussion about their new designs.

20 minutes had past, and the discussion was over, John then told me about what he had planned for me aswell as summing up quickly what Lyle & Scott is all about. John showed me 2 rooms that were next to each other, with different design teams in. One team designs and constructs outfits for the vintage range of the company and the other designers focus on the golfing area of the company. The styles don't get mixed because the 2 rooms look at different inspirations and are designing for different ages and style of customer.

John then asked to see my portfolio, and he asked me to guide him through it as much as possible and then he would give me some feedback and explain how I can improve in this area of the design market.

I began by showing him some of my research and photographs from New York City, and he gave me very useful information about how as a designer I can break these photographs down, and notice shapes and lines which don't particularly stand out. John emphasised how I need to begin taking my photo's out of their context, and if I played with scale it would allow me to create more visually interesting designs and provide me with more ideas.

The 2 images above were shown in my portfolio, alongside possible fabric swatches and inspirations, John really liked these two designs and commented on the stripe design by saying that it wouldn't have look out of place in Lyle & Scott's last collection. This was re-assuring because I felt that I had understood the identity of the company, and their style of design. John liked how I had the design as an A3 sheet aswell as it being visualised on garments, he said it is something he is currently getting his design team to do.

After discussing my portfolio for a while longer, with John kindly giving me some great advice and feedback about the processes of designing, the company, and the positives and negatives of my collection, he allowed me to ask him some questions. These were questions which I had wanted to be answered for a while, questions which I wanted someone in John's position to answer - a professional designer of a company I hoped to work for. Below is the question and answer sheet I typed up just after the interview...




I found out some very useful things off John including how to visualize garments, asking how to improve and whether or not living in Manchester would affect my chances of working in a studio similar to his.

The day wasn't over yet though, John very kindly stayed with me for a few hours before he headed to a meeting but before he left he told me stay in touch and made sure that I was given a variety of different fabric samples and colour ways for me to understand. John then said goodbye and shook my hand as he introduced me to the woman who designs the golfing range of the company, she kindly took me to the flagship store and introduced me to the store manager and told me lots of information about the history of the company. We discussed how the company had grown, which areas had improved since she joined and explained to me how the companies concept had changed throughout the years.

Whilst in the store, the manager explained which garments were selling most, and gave me his opinions on the new range. He told me that the busy controversial designs balanced with the simple plain shirts were key in creating a successful collection. A collection which will appeal to the mainstream and give people something to talk about.

My day was concluded shortly after when I was taken to see the Lyle & Scott clothing in Urban Outfitters, I hope to stay in touch with John and I intend to invite him to my show at New Designers this summer. The day was just fantastic, I have learnt so much in the space of one day and can now imagine how great it would be working in a studio like Lyle & Scott. I was delighted by the treatment John and his design team gave me, everyone was polite and easy to get on with and the whole atmosphere of the company is brilliant.

This is sneak-peak of John Bartlett's new menswear range for spring/summer 2010. The colours he is using are inspiring me the most, the subtle changes in tones and his use of oranges are really appealing. His tones suggest quite a preppy look, which will be seen a lot this summer. The collection looks to me like a mixture between summer/sport/and nautical wear and this is visible because of the deck shoes and chino trousers in white that are used in the collection.

FMP themes - Nautical

There will be many different themes running throughout my final major project, the one I am currently investigating is, 'nautical'. It's always a massive hit trend throughout the summer months, and this year I expect it to be massively influencing certain menswear brands like Lyle & Scott. I want to begin thinking about using big knit jumpers in my collection, wax finnished overcoats and adapt the subtle pastel colours and navy blue and white in my sampling. I think this theme offers such beautiful tones of colour and working with 'nautical' alongside my themes of football casuals, the 60's mods and swiss poster design (which I will eventually discuss), I could create something really on-trend and original..

Lacoste - The Future Video

This video is so cool!! It is Lacoste's advertisement for how they see the future of their company. Bearing in mind that I'll hopefully be creating fashion for the future, the slickness and stylish approach of this video is really something I want to keep in mind. I love the white and subtle greys tones, everything looks clean and shows a really sophisticated view on sports wear, looks awesome! I'm really glad I have found this.

Contact with Lyle & Scott..HR

I contacted Lyle & Scott through their Facebook page, and they eventually gave me contact information so that I could get in touch with Lyle & Scott Human Resources.

I sent an email to HR and they forwarded my work to John Tate (The head designer at Lyle & Scott).






After a few weeks of contact with the company, I eventually began chatting to John Tate. we arranged a date for me to travel to London and discuss my work and ambitions with him. I will post information about my trip to London soon.

Interesting photos I found

The two images above are very influentual images to me, "With cover designs by Yves Zimmermann, these copies of the Swiss Typo/Printing magazine Typografische Monatsblätter) were published in 1958"(feed://acejet170.typepad.com/foundthings/atom.xml). It is the first time I have began looking at swiss poster design, but I can instantly see lots of design ideas for fashion from how the content on them is displayed and placed.


The geometrics in these designs are are a great source of inspiration, their bold graphic shapes could easily be adapted to have a contemporary sportswear feel to them.

Click here for the link to the blog I found them.

Final Major Project..

I am currently in the position of starting my FMP for my degree show. I'll be producing 50 designs for Fred Perry, which will be visualized on a variety of garments. these include T-Shirts, Polo's, Bags, Cardigans and Jackets etc. It will have a sportswear feel to the collection because it stays in keeping with the companies identity and it's something I am passionate about.

The theme running throughout will consist of nautical, Modernism, preppy, swiss posters, architecture, sub-cultures and football casuals. My starting point is to research these themes and try a select a colour palette which is suitable in representing the 'feel' of the themes.

I want to take photos of architecture from around Manchester, trying to photograph it in unusual way which shows a similarity to modernist posters and geometrics.

I am currently researching my themes, taking photographs from Manchester, finalising colour and sketching up initial design ideas.

I'll keep you updated.

What I'm listening to...

Click the link below...

The Ordinary Boys - Seaside


The Ordinary Boys were influenced by mod revival and Britpop music before they split up, as well as being influenced by the bands Madness, The Specials and the Smiths. Their music talks about lad culture, weekends and problems with Britain. Alongside their dress sense and swagger they were truly one of the coolest bands around. I love this!