Henri Lloyd jacket in FHM

This page is from this months FHM magazine which gives a lot of coverage into the new Henri Lloyd collections. Seen here is TV and film actor Riz Ahmed wearing Henri Lloyd's Alonzo Jacket.

Hurts

Hurts are an absolutely amazing new 2-piece band from Manchester I have just discovered and they are made up from Theo Hutchcraft & Adam Anderson. They produce pop songs which have an electro edge. A few fashion magazines including asos and flux have already written articles on the style and freshness of this band. Flux described Hurts by saying their "look, feel and sound like something different. There’s a swooping melancholy, but it’s backed by a bright pop sensibility. It’s this clash that gives it life."

Hurts have their own unique style of being well dressed and having slick haircuts, they are the only band I am listening to at the moment and I am luckily enough to have tickets to see them in August.

Below, is the front cover of Flux’s magazine cover from Winter 09/10.

Style - Aloha

Asos.com allows me to always keep thinking about new styles coming through and read up information about where a certain style has stemmed from.

The website describes the style of Aloha as a Sunwashed 50's Miami look. This piece of text is taken directly form their article...



Below, are a few images that suggest what to wear if you like the sound of this new look...

MCFC T-Shirts

During my current project for Kitbag.com i have began to research existing t-shirts from other top flight English clubs. Manchester City's latest designs have developed straight from the songs sang on the terraces during the last 10-15 years. 'we're not really here' is a song that still gets sang today, and this developed from when Manchester City fell to the 2nd division and had to play away at Macclesfield Town (a location City fans were not used to). The Banana symbolises an era from the 80's where Manchester City fans took inflatable banana's to games as an unusual way to show their support for the club. Songs are still sung today about the banana, such as, '1 banana, 2 banana, 3 banana, 4!".

These historic references are something I would like to incorporate into the Everton T-shirts, and look further into the clubs chants and nostalgic moments from the past.

Everton brief update..

Here are a few ideas for the Everton f.c. t-shirt brief I am working on currently. I produced all these designs in one day but now I am reaching the final days of my Final major Project I can allow myself more time to consider designs which are suitable for this brief.

Aitor Throup Article..

Aitor Throup is the designer of the currant England football away strip, and I was forwarded this interview with him which asks him many interesting questions, especially the section about how he got involved in fashion through his passion for football and its sub-cultures.

Here is the interview below:

http://www.fluxmagazine.com/

Everton F.C. BRIEF...

Whilst working on my Final Major project brief I have taken on the challenge to design t-shirts suitable for football fans of Everton F.C. The brief has been set by kitbag.com and it allows me the chance to create shirts for their men's range which show graphic iconography from the club, such as famous player Dixie Dean, The tower on the Everton crest, and the Latin text from the badge - Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

I have decided to take on this challenge as well as working on my FMP because I feel it is a perfect opportunity for me to be working 2 different jobs and working towards more than one deadline. I believe this will make me a better designer as I will be producing more designs at a quicker rate.

It is a very exciting brief for me because I am a football fan myself, I am currently gathering market research and understanding the identity of Everton F.C. I'll put some of my T-shirt designs up by next week hopefully.

Fred Perry & Liberty

Fred Perry really are being quite experimental this season and have joined forces with Liberty Of London by using some classic floral and paisley prints in their quintessential Perry designs. i found these really appealing because I am currently creating a collection of clothing aimed at Fred Perry and their iconic style, and it was only last year when I was creating floral repeats which were greatly inspired by Liberty and William Morris design.

Fred Perry World Cup Shirts

Fred Perry have just launched some great new polo shirt designs in time for this years world cup. I read recently that when the football fans in the 1960's and 70's began to wear the perry polo, they wore their teams colours. This idea has obviously encouraged Fred Perry to launch this collection. The designs are simple and just use the colours of each nations flag, and has the name of the country embroidered under the Perry Laurel.

The Lyle & Scott Flagship Store

After I concluded my visit to the Lyle and Scott studio I was kindly taken to their flagship store, situated in London's Covent Garden. I was introduced to the store manager who explained some things about the store and talked about the ranges of new clothing that had just arrived.

He allowed me to walk about the store and take photographs. One thing I admired about the layout of the store was how simple the company showed their inspirations. They would have shelves which had a Photograph of a building or modernist piece of architecture or council estate with a piece of clothing by its side. I like the idea of possibly using this approach at New Designers this Summer. I think it's a subtle and professional way of showing inspiration and displaying exactly what I have influenced by.

Island life

As seen on screen or asos.com provides me with a lot of information on different styles and looks that are currently happening or expected to catch on this summer. They have a small article on 'Island Life', which is their idea of adding an Hispanic touch to summer styling.

"New season style takes Latin America as its key influence. Natural, earthy tones are offset by folk-art inspired prints from a culture rich in art and architecture. With a muted colour palette paired with faded brights, colour-saturated madras checks and plenty of leather accessories, this is a look that tips its (battered woven trilby) hat to Latino beach life."

I am always checking online for new styles or ways to add a new influence to an in-trend style. I believe It helps me understand styling more, keeps me thinking about what is on trend and makes me aware of exactly what companies are being influenced by and what the fashion conscious public want.

Timeless Style... The Jam

I have discovered some quite rare snaps of Paul Weller and Rick Buckler from the Jam with some of their young fans. I discovered these photo's on a fan page about the Jam. These images feel really nostalgic and show the fashion and style of this mod band and their fans. Their style usually consisted of tailored suits, but even out of the suit Weller can be seen in a navy marine cap, big neckerchief, denim jacket and tailored grey trousers. Their fans can also be seen copying the style of the Jam with their harrington bombers, v-neck sweaters and casual trousers. This style along with their angry young music placed The Jam at forefront of the mod revival movement and these images really summarize my historical and cultural influences.

Paul Weller.

Rick Buckler.

The Street Scene, Brighton

It's a place I really want to visit at some point because Brighton's North Laine has such an exciting scene full of music, fashion and designer boutiques. I have found a page in last months asos catalogue that has a feature on the Brighton style and asks the eclectic fashion crowd about their favourite shops, bars, and hang outs, aswell as discussing fashion with them. One student says, "I feel confident in whatever I'm wearing, no one judges you here". It is definitely the place to be if you love the vintage and designer styles and shops, or if you want to see some super cool fashion on the people in the street.

Specification Sheets

This is the first time when i am really putting a fashion collection together which requires spec sheets and visualizations for all designs. The spec sheets are used throughout the fashion industry and their purpose is to explain exactly how a garment is constructed. It enables a factory to be able to understand clearly what buttons, fabrics, shapes and stitch etc. you require.

I have seen examples of spec sheets from a presentation by Helen Latimer and they are very technical sheets with a lot of information and guidelines. they show a visualization of the garment with instructions about the construction of it.

I have been researching different opinions on how to design a spec sheet which is suitable for industry and found a very interesting forum on the subject at fashion industry network . One poster explained her method of creating one and it says,

"Spec sheets are important to monitor all aspects of your product. My pattern maker is inhouse, so my spec sheets are simplified- including a front and back sketch, brief description, sample size and photoshoot size needed, fabric swatches with fiber content info, lining and trim info along with group, season, delivery date, size range and style number. We use a separate size chart that includes standard measurements." Reply by Karen K on December 28, 2007

This is very useful information to me because I feel a lot more confident in creating a variety of industry standard sheets.

Below, are a few examples of different styles you can create a spec sheet in, it seems to me like they can give a flavour of your style just by the way the sheets are designed.

Matthew Horne

A.K.A Gavin Shipman from sitcom Gavin & Stacey. I have been fan of this show for a long time and to be honest the thing that attracted me to it was seeing some of the clothes that were being worn in the show, particularly by Gavin. From the very first show 'Gav' was seen to be wearing a blue harrington style jacket with grey cardigan and a buttoned down collared shirt, (very Ben Sherman!) and very mod. I really admire his dress sense in the show and it basically represents the kind of style of clothing I am currently creating. Maxim magazine have also taken notice of his style in the sitcom and described his look by saying,

"As with all stylish Brits, he’s gently cultivating a look and attitude of his own, though will gladly stick to an honest pair of loafers and Nudie jeans for down the pub. A tidy chap."

Sebago

I was browsing through Maxim's website, reading up on their fashion articles and found a really exciting one on football casuals. The article gave an A-Z list of everything you need to know about the style and attitude of these casuals. Click here for the list.

I continued to read through the list and when i reached the letter 'Y' for yachting, it explained that the only other attire a football casual would touch in the summer months (apart from tennis clothing) would be yachting accessories. The article states that,

"While the cool months of the year were taken care of, clothes-wise, in the summer the only sport that could compete with tennis for clobber was yachting. Deck shoes by the likes of Sebago were especially popular, though the nearest they ever got to sea water was wading through the puddles in the car park outside Stoke City’s Victoria Ground."

I visited Sebago's website, and found the clothing to be really appealing. Since I have been researching nautical fashion I have discovered that many companies actually specialize in this area of the market. Some are very fashion conscious and others, such as Sebago are making sure that the garments are rugged, hard-wearing and suitable for life out at sea.

Whilst being aware of what is required at sea (clothing wise) and creating clothes that would be ready for action, Sebago have also made their clothing stylish and original.

Norse Projects..

'Norse projects' is a company who have only recently began producing fashion pieces, and I have only just discovered what they do. The companies aim is to create and combine streetwear, classic culture and immerse itself in the best of it. The look of the clothing is based on the Nordic style and Danish climate.

aplace.com describes the company as being, "inspired by Scandinavian weather, natural surroundings, tailoring traditions and fashion. The collection is basic and functional with a Scandinavian and workwear inspired twist."

'Aplace' to look!

I have discovered a really informative website, which keeps updated about design, and they offer information on cool, kooky brands. www.aplace.com is a Scandinavian magazine and fashion boutique. They are based in Stockholm and the store has a brilliant range of brands which include Opening Ceremony, The Local Firm, and Norse Projects.

How I Get Dressed - Paul Weller

Paul Weller is commonly known for being in the coolest band of all time (in my opinion), The Jam! He also spent time making great music in The Style Council and now is still a contemporary artist with his solo career at it's peak. Paul Weller is a musical inspiration to me, aswell as this he is my style icon, he is the man who I look at for ideas when buying clothes and when designing clothes. Paul Weller, also known as the 'modfather' has grown up with an obsession for the mod culture and style. This was seen mostly in the Jam where his typical outfit would be a tailored suit and bowling shoes. He has carried this appreciation on throughout his life, changing styles slightly as his music has changed through the times. However, he has still kept the undercurrent of the mod style obvious in his appearance, which can be seen in his sharp edgy clothes and structured hair styles.

I have found a brilliant article online which gives you a great insight into how Paul Weller become obsessed with detail and mod culture from when he was just a young lad. He also discusses what he likes about this style of clothing, which has filled me with new ideas for completing my designs...this article was found on www.guardian.co.uk

"I come from a time when every kid dressed up. Everybody. If you didn't, you wouldn't be able to hang out. It was very tribal. There's nice things in that. It's culture, it's roots for me. Maybe I just never grew up, mate."

"When I was a kid in Woking, every week you went to the football dance, and every week the top kids would be wearing something different. You were constantly trying to catch up with them - which you could never do because, by the time you'd saved up enough to buy the item, they'd moved on to something else. That's the whole Mod thing I suppose."

"This was the late Sixties, early Seventies and we were all post-skinheads - suedeheads. We were little peanuts, too young to be proper skinheads. But those styles permeated down to the kids anyway. The main strand that forged it together was that American-college look, the Brooks Brothers look: the cardigans and sleeveless jumpers and the buttoned-down shirts and the Sta-Prest trousers. That was the common ground. It was a way for people who haven't got much to make a show."

"I can remember original Ben Sherman shirts being around till the early Seventies. I had to really save for my first Ben Sherman. We used to buy Brutus shirts, which were much cheaper - second best. But Ben Shermans were the sought-after item. The first one I ever got was a lemon-yellow one. I must have been 12, 13, and it was a bit too big for me. But being a kid I didn't realise you could take it back to the shop. I wore it till it fitted me."

"It's the aesthetic that sticks in my mind. The colours and the look of things have stayed with me. It meant everything to me. It was a statement of intent. And I thought, wouldn't it be nice to have a Ben Sherman as they used to make 'em 40 years ago, or whatever it was. So I spoke to Ben Sherman about doing my own design, based on how they used to be, as near as dammit anyway. With a few little modern touches. I just did a little sketch, put all the details in: the bigger collar, bit more like a contemporary Italian collar, a few little touches here and there. It's not rocket science."

"That love of detail, the Mod thing, it's eternal for me. It's ingrained, I don't even think about it. I get a buzz going into a furniture shop - not even to buy things. Just to see the roundness or the cut or the shape of something. It's all art, you know what I mean? There's a shop down Knightsbridge way, it's all Italian furniture - it's like walking into an art gallery. And most of the decent clothes are made in Italy as well, aren't they?"

"I think my love of detail comes from the whole skinhead thing in the late Sixties, early Seventies. But even having said that, it must come down to the individual. I'm sure my contemporaries who were little skinheads at the same time as I was, if I talked to them now about the cut of a trouser, they'd be like, 'What are you on about? It's just a fashion we went through'. Which is right in some ways. But to me it meant more than that. Evidently I was looking at all those details and studying it. So I guess it was down to the individuals interpretation of what you care to see."

Creating a Check..

This is the first project where I have ever attempted to create a check which would be used in repeat to form a pattern for a shirt. I have produced 2 checks which I am happy with and quite a lot that don't work. I want to keep researching and gathering information into creating checks because I have started to learn that there is certain ways to do it and certain ways to avoid if you want a successful design.

Below, are 2 checks I have designed which have gone into a repeat and then visualized on a shirt as you can see at the beginning of this post.