MADE IT TO THE FINAL FOUR!

Out of the 12 designers selected to compete in the Top Design Competition during Fashion Week New Orleans, I was one of four selected to advance and compete on Saturday, March 23rd!  Have to whittle it down to only 4 looks instead of 10 to represent theDesignLab...that's going to be TOUGH...take a look at some of the models getting prepped for hair and makeup and outfit selection process... All hair was done by Paul Mitchell School and Makeup was applied by Magnolia Makeup

Taylor Jones

Headpiece by Kristy Kernan

Hair by Paul Mitchell School

Iman Shervington

Melanie Powers

Meghann Harney

Nadiya Kahn

Magnolia Makeup

Megan Peck

Backstage!

WWL PRESS & VIDEO

Couldn't be happier with the recent interview and press coverage by WWL which can be seen here.  Getting so excited for the Runway Competition on Thursday at the Sugar Mill!  I was able to grab some behind the scene's shots of my girls at WWL station and wanted to share some of the fun!

Hope to see you at the show on Thursday, there's MUCH more to see!!! Also be sure to check out my blouse in the interview ;)

Model Taylor Jones

Taylor Jones is showing off a brick orange silk jersey pleated maxi skirt with a High-Low hem blouse that has a hand woven yoke from the CTTC in Peru.  She's also wearing gorgeous accessories created by Douriean Fletcher of Eklektik Ekhos.

Models Backstage at WWL Station

Hand woven accents from CTTC on Taylor Jones and Nadiya Kahn seen left and center.  Also on Nadiya is a hand knit sweater from Toto Knits of Kenya, silhouette and knit patterns designed by Kallen Forster.  Beaded hip yoke on Emelie Wilson was also created by Toto Knits from patterns by Kallen Forster.  Emelie is also wearing a vegan leather fitted v-neck bodice and flowing silk hemp skirt.

Local Collaboration

Prepping for an appearance on WWL tomorrow morning, so a little frantic, but quickly calmed down when I picked up the jewelry from local artist, Douriean Fletcher of Eklektik Ekhos.  I sat down with Douriean a couple weeks back to talk about potential collaboration for this show and we bounced some ideas back and forth and this is what was created...couldn't be happier!  Our collections truly compliment each other.

Custom Pendant by Eklektik Ekhos

Earrings by Eklektik Ekhos

Model, Taylor Jones, sporting a custom piece by Eklektik Ekhos

Things I'm excited about...

Fashion week is less than a week away, and I'm just so excited about all my FABRICS!  I've taken a lot of time to select and design each fabric, from material to the patterns/prints you'll be seeing.  It's very graphic, and invokes the spirit of historic art and textiles...without giving away too much, wanted to give you a little preview of what you'll see on Thursday March 21st at 630pm at the Sugar Mill :)

Found an amazing woman in California who has helped me transfer my pattern on to silk :) it is GORGEOUS...

CAD pattern I created for textiles

My pattern on Silk Habatoi 

Cal State Printing Process

Also experimenting with knits for Fall !

Discovered an organization of women in Bolivia who recently lost their jobs at a factory, and they decided to pool together with the help of a local businessman to buy their very own knitting machine and are creating some of the most complex knits and jacquards I've ever seen!!

I designed the pattern, selected yarn and thickness and experimented with some dyeing and I am extremely pleased with the result...this is one of my favorite pieces :)

My pattern machine knit in Bolivia

FIRST RECRUIT: NESLYE F.

FIRST RECRUIT: NESLYE F.

Here at the​Design​Lab it's our mission to take an under-served population women here in New Orleans, and TRAIN, EMPOWER, AND EMPLOY THEM! Our first recruit is Neslye F.  She is currently studying to receive her GED, and is intensely interested in Fashion (and merchandising more specifically!).  Neslye will be learning to sew and work on projects to aid in the development of ​the​Design​Lab​​ Fall 2013 Collection which will be released on March 21st, 2013 during Fashion Week New Orleans!

learning to press/steam/woodblock

checking her pattern

Neslye's first sewing project ever = success!

seriously impressed...

Sneak Peak at the Fall 2013 Collection!

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A behind the scenes look at the making of the Fall 2013 Collection.

dimensional layout for TotoKnits to follow

rough sketch of silhouette and pattern

Final sweater on dressform

draping pleating ideas with silk jersey...

peplum sweater mock-up muslin

peek-a-boo beading under peplum

rough sketch of peplum and pencil skirt

ensuring patterns will match at seams...

machine knit layout for peplum sweater

machine knit peplum in sew-up process...

Wavering but Willful Waves...

One of our latest projects in our Creativity class (which reminds me, I never posted this semesters courses – quick sidenote – I’m taking one undergrad design class – HUEC 3230 – Advanced Patternmaking with CAD Application; HUEC 7041 – Research Methods…kill me; HUEC 7044 Creativity in Design; and HUEC 7900 – Independent Study geared towards individual repurposing projects, CAD software, and technical sewing skills)  Sorry for the sidetrack, SO, for the Creativity class we had an assignment to design a hat that portrayed and explained our inspirations and motivations as individuals.  Tall task to design into one hat, not to mention no one in the class had ever designed a hat before, and some of the students in the class weren’t even design students (merchandising and textile science are also under our Division).

Too make a long story short, I grew up swimming, and many of my inspirations and early memories involve my sisters and the pool.  I combined the bond between my sisters and the motivation that swimming inspired in me at an early age.  I used the trinity knot as a symbolic representation of the bond between my sisters; it’s similar to the infinity symbol, but it has three points that intertwine and are never-ending.

I used a vintage swimcap as my foundation and mesh wire to shape the 3-D waves.  I then covered the waves with molding clay and painted them.  It was a long process, and halfway through I really was loving the effect, but I’m not as efficient/skilled with acrylics or molding clay as I’d like to be; I think the concept is extremely interesting, and I do love the outcome, but I’d love to have another crack at it to really work on shaping and editing the colors (in comes to play the title – wavering but willful – the intent was there, but the construction could use some work).                     

All in all, it was fun, and I wish I had time to do it all over again!