Hi everyone!
I'm so excited! I've finished ALL my sketches for each look and I've finally started buying the clothes! It's like my imagination is coming true! My sketches are coming to life in fabric and color! It's all so much fun right now.
So, the locations I've picked are: Centre G. Pompidou, Fondation Cartier, Shakespeare and Company, the museum Archives national, Moulin Rouge, and (maybe) Carreau de Temple. They were the location that really stuck out to me in their own ways. I didn't really pick based on a theme or anything, these buildings were just fascinating in completely different ways and really had a presence for me (which is hard to do in the chaos of Paris).
So, my sketches! I've sketched mostly based on the feeling I've gotten from the buildings I picked. Originally I was going to base my designs off of the physical architecture and structures but that immediately became overly complicated and I just don't have enough time to digest all that information and translate it into fashion. Once I finished making the sketches, I had to keep in mind that the idea I'd drawn could and most likely would change. Even in Paris, some pieces I wanted wouldn't exist, or be available in the second hand stores I go to. I'm still learning to keep myself calm and open to variations, and not die of excitement like I do.
Now that I've started buying the clothing with the help of my advisor (oh thank you so much!), she's been pushing me to make a schedule. And because I'm shooting on location, I have to think about transportation, food, weather, available bathrooms for my model to change in, which locations to shoot at in one day, how I want to take the photos! So much! But it's part of the process. As a result, I'm walking around Paris a lot right now, figuring out how I want the photo shoot to flow. Luckily, only two of my locations are on opposite sides of the city. The rest are clustered in one area, and that makes my life so much easier.
The most frustrating parts of my project are: the money, and making decisions. This is the first time I've been able to handle money on my own. And it's irritating! Constantly having to keep myself on the budget I've made and not buy things for myself. And deciding what to buy based on the designs I've drawn: already, the clothing I've bought are different in print and shape than I'd originally created, so trying to buy, for example a jacket for my Shakespeare and Company becomes more complicated because I'm not sure it will fit with the overall look.
Overall, I'm having the time of my life. A few days ago, I met with my advisor and model, and we spent the day trying on the clothes I'd already bought, adding different hats and belts to some, etc. That day was the first time I'd taken what was in my head and put it on a person. It was so satisfying, I definitely don't want to stop once this project is over.
Well, three more weeks, and I'm coming home! See everyone soon!
Friday, March 21, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
week 5
Hi everyone!
So, now, regarding my project, everything is starting to move forward. I have picked my final locations and am starting to draw the final sketches, which I may post (some) next week. I am getting together with my advisor more often to walk through the streets of Paris. She also points out the most popular cafes and the hidden second hand stores when we walk so even though I've been here for more than a month, I'm still constantly discovering new places.
The last week was especially fun for people watching. My advisor took me to a street where all the people who were apart of Fashion week liked to meet up, sit and drink coffee and beer for hours. And the clothes they were wearing: so funny! These people had no boundaries (other than the fact that it was cold so luckily no one was naked or anything). Some wore big fur coats, some had half their hair shaved off and tons of make up and bright nail polish on; no one looked the same. What captured my attention the most though, was the way they carried themselves. These people knew when they walked by a café, everyone was looking, especially me. And that was their goal. I spent at least two hours drinking one cup of hot chocolate (because it was expensive) while openly staring at the people walking by. I'm sure anywhere else I would've have seemed... almost disturbing. But everyone was just having fun, drinking, smoking and talking about anything as the traffic rolled by and the sun began to set. It was one of my favorite nights in Paris so far.
The big news from this week end is that I went to Berlin! I took an hour and a half flight from Paris to Berlin on Friday and came back Tuesday night. And Berlin is beautiful, but not the way Paris is. Paris, visually, is rich, and full of stories that span back hundreds of years. You can see it in the arches of the old churches and the way the older buildings literally lean back in the oldest parts of Paris. Berlin, on the other hand was recently rebuilt. This means that there's much more SPACE, to breathe and live. Most, if not all of its current buildings are simple cement blocks with windows and terraces. The streets are wider and there are more (and much bigger) parks. The sidewalks are cleaner but there was beer bottle caps everywhere. For me it was kind of like fusing Tucson and Paris. So it was more than great to go there, almost like I was closer to home...
Anyways, it was nice to escape from the busy-ness and constant noise of Paris to the more open and relaxed atmosphere of Berlin. It really helped to emphasize French culture, which is so different to that of Germany. Even though there are many foreigners in both France and Germany, there is still a certain way of living that identifies the general French population from the rest, no matter how close these countries are.
(By the way, if any of you go to Berlin, I recommend eating their waffles. Actually I command you to go eat their waffles. Crazy good!)
See everyone soon!
So, now, regarding my project, everything is starting to move forward. I have picked my final locations and am starting to draw the final sketches, which I may post (some) next week. I am getting together with my advisor more often to walk through the streets of Paris. She also points out the most popular cafes and the hidden second hand stores when we walk so even though I've been here for more than a month, I'm still constantly discovering new places.
The last week was especially fun for people watching. My advisor took me to a street where all the people who were apart of Fashion week liked to meet up, sit and drink coffee and beer for hours. And the clothes they were wearing: so funny! These people had no boundaries (other than the fact that it was cold so luckily no one was naked or anything). Some wore big fur coats, some had half their hair shaved off and tons of make up and bright nail polish on; no one looked the same. What captured my attention the most though, was the way they carried themselves. These people knew when they walked by a café, everyone was looking, especially me. And that was their goal. I spent at least two hours drinking one cup of hot chocolate (because it was expensive) while openly staring at the people walking by. I'm sure anywhere else I would've have seemed... almost disturbing. But everyone was just having fun, drinking, smoking and talking about anything as the traffic rolled by and the sun began to set. It was one of my favorite nights in Paris so far.
The big news from this week end is that I went to Berlin! I took an hour and a half flight from Paris to Berlin on Friday and came back Tuesday night. And Berlin is beautiful, but not the way Paris is. Paris, visually, is rich, and full of stories that span back hundreds of years. You can see it in the arches of the old churches and the way the older buildings literally lean back in the oldest parts of Paris. Berlin, on the other hand was recently rebuilt. This means that there's much more SPACE, to breathe and live. Most, if not all of its current buildings are simple cement blocks with windows and terraces. The streets are wider and there are more (and much bigger) parks. The sidewalks are cleaner but there was beer bottle caps everywhere. For me it was kind of like fusing Tucson and Paris. So it was more than great to go there, almost like I was closer to home...
Anyways, it was nice to escape from the busy-ness and constant noise of Paris to the more open and relaxed atmosphere of Berlin. It really helped to emphasize French culture, which is so different to that of Germany. Even though there are many foreigners in both France and Germany, there is still a certain way of living that identifies the general French population from the rest, no matter how close these countries are.
(By the way, if any of you go to Berlin, I recommend eating their waffles. Actually I command you to go eat their waffles. Crazy good!)
See everyone soon!
Saturday, March 1, 2014
week 4
Hi everyone!!
SO, the coming week is officially Fashion Week in Paris, France! Next week, there will be the famous fashion shows where the models walk down the runway with their straight faces, you know those scenes from the movies. In each show, all the major designers like Chanel will be showing off their designs or "looks" for the coming Autumn/Winter, so that magazines like Elle and Self Service can order the looks they like and put them in their magazines before the new clothing hits the stores in a few months. This is when stylist like my advisor are hired: they help organize the outfits that will be displayed; they're in charge of getting any extra accessories, props for the location, etc the magazine wants. Overall, stylists like my advisor have to be one step in front of everyone at all times. So for few months, stylists have a ton of work to do. Just hearing all of this is exhausting!
The newest development for my project is finding my inspiration for my final outfits I will be (hopefully) bringing back with me when I return to Tucson. I've decided to base my designs on the architecture of Paris buildings! That means I'll be taking the characteristics of some buildings I find unique to Paris and incorporating them into assembling my outfits. Cool, right?
So now, I'm spending my time trying to pick up to eight different locations (that means eight looks if I have enough time) from which I can start assembling my mood board. A mood board is one place (doesn't have to be a board) where a stylist puts everything she/he finds inspiring, etc so she/he can start actually designing. So I have a lot of work coming up, but's going to be off the hook!!
SO, the coming week is officially Fashion Week in Paris, France! Next week, there will be the famous fashion shows where the models walk down the runway with their straight faces, you know those scenes from the movies. In each show, all the major designers like Chanel will be showing off their designs or "looks" for the coming Autumn/Winter, so that magazines like Elle and Self Service can order the looks they like and put them in their magazines before the new clothing hits the stores in a few months. This is when stylist like my advisor are hired: they help organize the outfits that will be displayed; they're in charge of getting any extra accessories, props for the location, etc the magazine wants. Overall, stylists like my advisor have to be one step in front of everyone at all times. So for few months, stylists have a ton of work to do. Just hearing all of this is exhausting!
The newest development for my project is finding my inspiration for my final outfits I will be (hopefully) bringing back with me when I return to Tucson. I've decided to base my designs on the architecture of Paris buildings! That means I'll be taking the characteristics of some buildings I find unique to Paris and incorporating them into assembling my outfits. Cool, right?
So now, I'm spending my time trying to pick up to eight different locations (that means eight looks if I have enough time) from which I can start assembling my mood board. A mood board is one place (doesn't have to be a board) where a stylist puts everything she/he finds inspiring, etc so she/he can start actually designing. So I have a lot of work coming up, but's going to be off the hook!!
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