I will be showing my newest collection at the Bermuda Society of Arts on Friday, June 3rd at 6pm! Along with 8 other local designers. Get your tickets at www.bdatix.bm in advance as the show will most likely be sold out :)See ya there!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Bermuda Fashion Collective Show
I will be showing my newest collection at the Bermuda Society of Arts on Friday, June 3rd at 6pm! Along with 8 other local designers. Get your tickets at www.bdatix.bm in advance as the show will most likely be sold out :)See ya there!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
'Wild Woman'
Photo's taken by Ariana Francis - Thanks for the beautiful pics girl! One of my newest wrap skirts and essay below for an application to the Fashion Design program at IED Barcelona - the theme was "My Creative Energy". Click here to view and rate my project online!
We all have a set of characteristics, instincts and awareness that can guide us through life if we embrace them. This is the part of myself that I like to call my wild woman, and is where my creative energy comes from – ‘She’ is inside all women.
I embrace her by clearing my mind every day so I can hear her, constantly immersing her with inspiration from art, books, movies and culture, enjoying the abundance of beauty in nature, feeding her with healthy and tasty foods, taking care of her body physically, and learning from people with wisdom.
In return, my wild woman creates exciting opportunities for me to choose from. She creates all kinds of experiences, good and bad, showing me the lesson in all of them. She takes me on epic adventures with friends, encourages me to give and receive love, helps me to feel at peace. I feel her most when I am designing, creating and draping. The more I create the more alive she becomes.
Sadly she disappears when I become so concerned with my work or one aspect of my life that it throws the rest out of balance. When I begin to lose sight of her, I seek her again in my breath, in the ocean, trees and stars for without her I would have no voice, no vision, no pride. With her, I feel as though I belong, and together our creations are stronger, more sensual & sophisticated, more natural.
I can sense her in others who are in touch with their purest natures and believe that together, with our creations and ideas, we can inspire others to develop a relationship with their own wild women. I design all of my clothes with this thought in mind and hope that the women who wear them get a feeling of empowerment and freedom to be and love who they truly are.
Inspired by the book ‘Women Who Run with Wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and by the sensory stimulus of New York City, I made a draped wrap skirt using a cheetah print silk. I like the way the print creates an edgy look, while the drape keeps it soft and natural. I tried to recreate this in the photos with the trees and foliage, which surrounds the model in the foreground, against the hard structures in the background.
It is important for us to listen to our natural instincts and embrace nature wherever and whenever we can, especially in harsh environments like the concrete jungles of the world…
I embrace her by clearing my mind every day so I can hear her, constantly immersing her with inspiration from art, books, movies and culture, enjoying the abundance of beauty in nature, feeding her with healthy and tasty foods, taking care of her body physically, and learning from people with wisdom.
In return, my wild woman creates exciting opportunities for me to choose from. She creates all kinds of experiences, good and bad, showing me the lesson in all of them. She takes me on epic adventures with friends, encourages me to give and receive love, helps me to feel at peace. I feel her most when I am designing, creating and draping. The more I create the more alive she becomes.
Sadly she disappears when I become so concerned with my work or one aspect of my life that it throws the rest out of balance. When I begin to lose sight of her, I seek her again in my breath, in the ocean, trees and stars for without her I would have no voice, no vision, no pride. With her, I feel as though I belong, and together our creations are stronger, more sensual & sophisticated, more natural.
I can sense her in others who are in touch with their purest natures and believe that together, with our creations and ideas, we can inspire others to develop a relationship with their own wild women. I design all of my clothes with this thought in mind and hope that the women who wear them get a feeling of empowerment and freedom to be and love who they truly are.
Inspired by the book ‘Women Who Run with Wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and by the sensory stimulus of New York City, I made a draped wrap skirt using a cheetah print silk. I like the way the print creates an edgy look, while the drape keeps it soft and natural. I tried to recreate this in the photos with the trees and foliage, which surrounds the model in the foreground, against the hard structures in the background.
It is important for us to listen to our natural instincts and embrace nature wherever and whenever we can, especially in harsh environments like the concrete jungles of the world…
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Pattern Design & Sewing in the Big Apple!
I've spent the last month in Neww Yorrrk! Attending pattern design and sewing classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Its been an amazing experience and I recommend it to anyone interested in pursuing a career in Fashion. There are many credit & non-credit courses open to the public in design, business, illustration, styling etc. I researched other schools and living expenses around the world and found this to be the cheapest option as a Bermudian wanting to attain the skills but not a degree.
Be warned though, FIT is no joke! The courses are extremely intense, especially during the Winterium and Summer terms when they pack a 13 week course into 3 weeks. I wouldn't recommend taking more than 1 course in those terms... my bad!
The Sewing Techniques course was a lot of fun. Professor Middleton was a real joker, but she kept the class at a high pace making it easy to fall behind. We made a straight skirt, a dickie, and a shirt with buttons/collar etc... and learned how to create a number of useful seams. The hardest part was keeping the jumpy industrial machines under control! Most of the work was done in class which was lucky for me because of the huge amount of work I had to do for my pattern design class.
My Flatt Pattern Design class with Professor Korr gave that lazy Bermudian in me a huge kick in the ass from the very first day. It started out with 20 people and by the end of it 9 people were left. After creating our own slopers to fit our body forms, we learned how to create drafts and final patterns for stylized seams, gathers, pleats, tucks & dart tucks in sleeves, bodices & skirts by manipulating darts and using the slash and spread technique.
The garment had to be a one or two piece dress and include a collar, yoke or midriff, and a closure of some sort. I created a wrap dress with diagonal tucks, dart tucks and gathers that merged into straight seams similar to the panels of wood in the boardwalk. The back of my garment is what I was most excited about. It had a panelled yoke with a triangular cut-out and a row of gathers underneath.
Be warned though, FIT is no joke! The courses are extremely intense, especially during the Winterium and Summer terms when they pack a 13 week course into 3 weeks. I wouldn't recommend taking more than 1 course in those terms... my bad!
The Sewing Techniques course was a lot of fun. Professor Middleton was a real joker, but she kept the class at a high pace making it easy to fall behind. We made a straight skirt, a dickie, and a shirt with buttons/collar etc... and learned how to create a number of useful seams. The hardest part was keeping the jumpy industrial machines under control! Most of the work was done in class which was lucky for me because of the huge amount of work I had to do for my pattern design class.
My Flatt Pattern Design class with Professor Korr gave that lazy Bermudian in me a huge kick in the ass from the very first day. It started out with 20 people and by the end of it 9 people were left. After creating our own slopers to fit our body forms, we learned how to create drafts and final patterns for stylized seams, gathers, pleats, tucks & dart tucks in sleeves, bodices & skirts by manipulating darts and using the slash and spread technique.
We were assigned projects twice a week, 6 in total, (in addition to our classwork, which no one ever actually finished in class, AND homework) to create a 2 drafts, patterns & muslin for each part of a garment. Here is the short puff sleeve I created...
...and a princess line bodice with buttons and a collar.
As a class we decided on the theme "Coney Island" as our inspiration for our Final Term Garment. Here are a few of the images from Coney Island that I chose as my inspiration.
The garment had to be a one or two piece dress and include a collar, yoke or midriff, and a closure of some sort. I created a wrap dress with diagonal tucks, dart tucks and gathers that merged into straight seams similar to the panels of wood in the boardwalk. The back of my garment is what I was most excited about. It had a panelled yoke with a triangular cut-out and a row of gathers underneath.
I was supposed to be here for a month... but I'm learning way too much and meeting too many cool people to leave just yet! Spring classes started on Monday and its time for me to learn a bit about the basics of draping... :)
See you in May Bermy!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Shades of White Fashion Show
The Shades of White Fashion Show took place on Sunday Dec 19th at City Hall. JaKoma was responsible for the show which was beautifully set up. Unfortunately the wild weather kept the numbers low that night... I had fun regardless, and the models looked fabulous in ElleTee!
The full set of pics can be found on bernews.com. (The last 9 looks are ElleTee!)
Wanderlust Boutique Launch - a Success!
On Friday Dec 10th, Rachel Sawden launched the Wanderlust Boutique. Wanderlust: an irresistible desire to travel. It was the beautiful jewelry & trinkets we came across during our 6 month travel adventure earlier this year that inspired Rachel to start this exciting venture. The 'Night Market' launch at Port'O Call Restaurant was a huge success - shoppers enjoyed themselves as they shopped and mingled, with their glass of wine in hand among the gorgeous necklaces, earings, silk ties & scarfs and many more exotic items straight from Thailand. They also had the chance to try on some designs from my ElleTee Mumbai Collection and place orders for custom designs.
For those who missed out on the event, Rachel will be offering private viewings upon request - email her at info@wanderlustboutique.com.
For those who missed out on the event, Rachel will be offering private viewings upon request - email her at info@wanderlustboutique.com.
Rachel Sawden
Necklaces --- Pocket Clocks
Shoppers browsing
Soap Carvings
Shirts from Thai brand --- ElleTee Draped Silk Skirt
Click here to view the full set of pics taken by Bermynet.
Rachel - Congratulations on your first shopping night - I'm so proud of you!! Thank you for allowing me to sell my designs at the event. I am extremely excited to be involved in the Wanderlust Boutique in the future and look forward to our first buying trip together! ;)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
PRETTY GRUNGE!
This photoshoot was an attempt to portray the essence of the hard working Indian Women who always look beautiful, feminine & slightly seductive in any setting, as grungy as it may be... I hope that my designs inspire the women at home to do the same.
Click here to view the full set of pics from the Pretty Grunge photoshoot
Clothes - ElleTee Mumbai Collection
Jewelry - Gem Designs by Cindy
Model - Ashley Kirkpatrick
Photography - Ivan Outerbridge, Eye Designz
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Pretty Grunge! - sneak peek...
One of my latest designs and a sneak peak of the 'Pretty Grunge' photoshoot held at an abandoned house in Dockyard.
Thank you to my gorgeous model and best friend Kirk for understanding my vision and showing off her raw beauty.
Model - Ashley Kirkpatrick, Photograpy - Eye Designz
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Draped Silk Georgette Skirt
Black Floral Silk Georgette & Jersey Skirt -The newest design I'm working on at the moment.
I found this fabric to be the most popular in my Mumbai collection. I purchased it as a saree in Jaipur, Rajasthan in India. (Check out my blog post from Jaipur!). Its light and sheer - making it so beautiful when draped... and very hard to handle!
I'm using a black silk jersey as the base layer with the silk georgette draped over the top, similar to a wrap skirt, with pleats at the waistband. The waistband will be a 2in black elastic with a strip of the bronze at the bottom, which was the border that came on the original Indian Saree.
LT
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Bermuda Fashion Collective Show
I am extremely proud to have been a part of the first Bermuda Fashion Collective Show on November 4th, 2010 alongside 6 passionate and inspiring local designers. It was a very simple, classy event with the focus on the art of Fashion. I'm looking forward to a 2nd!
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Thanks to BSOA, and to my Friends & Family for their support - especially my Pum :)
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Thanks to BSOA, and to my Friends & Family for their support - especially my Pum :)
Monday, November 22, 2010
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