End of year "show"

So instead of having the usual "Line Debut" show at the end of the semester, Parsons chose to do a gallery exhibit instead. Lame.
But, we all submitted our garments for the show.
The committe chose the garments based on an theme. However, wouldn't it have been nice to tell people what the theme was prior to gallery opening? So, needless to say, they didn't choose my dress and jacket to be in the exhibit, apparently it was "too wearable" but hey that is a good thing in my eyes. [The whole what is fashion conversation can be for another time (Is it art, is it not…)] But, here are some of the ones that I liked at the exhibit.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Isn't he handsome this brother of mine??? Corban graduated from automotive school on Friday. Although I wasn't there, I am soooo proud of him!!! Corban even made the dean's list and was working while in school. Way to go brother!Nate couldn't be more proud of his uncle, he was sooo excited for him and decided to go up on stage to be a part of the action.

Mother and son.

Father and son.

My Aunt Betty with Corban and Nate. Seriously if Corban is around, Nate is his right hand man. He loves to be near Corban (But really who wouldn't, he's so great)

Corban and Kijuana.

And last but never least, Devon and Corban. We all love you so much and can't wait to watch you succeed (and fix all our cars!!) You are the best and are going to go on and do amazing things!

Recap

I think I am almost recovered.

I am in kind of a weird mood/state. It’s a relief to be done with school, but being in school was my “thing” for the past 3 years. Most of you know I moved to New York in August of 2005 from DC to start school at Parsons. It seems soooo long ago. When I first moved to new york, I had one day to look for an apartment. I took the bus from DC to NY in the morning and left that evening. I looked at about 6 apartments within my budget and cried on the way back. What in the world am I doing? I loved my life in DC. But, I know when you get comfortable, it’s time to push yourself. So on I went.

I settled for a loft studio in Brooklyn, with this eccentric photographer named Lemuel. He was really chill and since I was never home, we got along great. THEN he broke up with his girlfriend and the madness began. A different woman was sleeping in my apartment each night. I often times went to sleep with my headphones on….
But, it led me to this awesome Brooklyn ward and to meeting the allen’s. They had this great apartment not too far away, so I went to look at it. Clean(!), newly renovated, and in the budget (kinda). Unheard of! So, as soon as I could I moved there with the expectation that Dereck would join me as soon as possible. Relief. All the while, I was doing temp work at places like American Express, Food & Wine Magazine (so fun) and trying to get through my first semester of design school. NO-body and NO-thing prepared me for what I had gotten myself into. While it was amazing to allowed to be creative at school, it was foreign. It was intense beyond belief. It was competitive and exciting and pushed my limits. But, I made friends, struggled through that first semester. Survived a move, a transit strike (had to walk across the Brooklyn bridge to get to school during finals with my friend Regine with all of our projects, her sewing machine, and in the FREEZING cold weather [0 degrees]), started a new job (FMV where I still work), many sleepless nights, broke up with Dereck, and somehow maintained my sanity enough to learn something about patternmaking, draping, and sewing!

My second semester I had to move out of my apartment and Dereck moved into it. I moved to the upper east side where I lived with my dear friend Wendy. The second semester I realized just how hard I was going to have to work on my drawing and I took construction 2 (4 credits, 6 hours long) and spent many, many hours on the 7th floor working on my creations. That summer I worked on my most favorite creation (my wedding dress), went to counseling with Dereck and tried to enjoy a little bit of New York over the summer.

By the start of my third semester (2nd year) I was planning a (small) wedding learning photoshop and illustrator and somehow managed to get married, move back to the original apartment and move again to our current apartment, and maintain B’s….whew, I’m exhausted thinking about that semester.

The next semester was a blur, but I just happened to also be enjoying wedded bliss. Thank goodness for a husband who was supportive and easily entertained and who worked a lot, because I was not home much and when I was home, I was doing homework…pretty much the next 3 semesters should say this. We scrimped and paid a huge chunk of my tuition as I went so the amount of my loans is miniscule compared to what it could be when you attend a school that charges $15K per semester for full-time students...How time flies!

And now it’s all over. In some ways I missed out on a lot. Weekend trips, relief society enrichment nights, building a savings account, tv shows, etc. But somehow managed to squeeze some fun around the city, go to Phoenix (once driving, 2x flying), California (2x for work), Dallas and Colorado and Boston & DC (several times). Maintain friendships (barely) and keep a full-time job! (not sure if I should be excited about that or not). I think every semester during Finals I would have the same thoughts "what am I doing this for?" But every semester that I would finish I was so glad to be done.

I have had so many amazing opportunities along the way and had some really great teachers and some not so great. For such a prestigious school, it was run pretty poorly. The administrative procedures to add/drop/change classes was a serious joke. However, I feel like my knowledge of clothing construction has greatly increased, but more importantly my knowledge of the industry and where I want to be within the industry. I have classmates that are succeeding in the industry. I know where the end goal is, but am having a hard time deciding what my first step should be. And I feel like I need a small reprive. So, for now I will continue to take it easy (just work my full-time job) and research and figure out my next move. Excuse me, our next move. My dear husband is always at my side. Supporting me. I feel so blessed. I know that there were people put into place each step of the way just as I needed them. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family who I still rely on talking to one of them nearly everyday and Sara who we’ve been on more adventures than I can count. What would I do without these people? And my dear friends who don't live nearby that I can always count on to vent to, solicit advice from, and send encouragement when I didn’t think I could make it one more day.

Wow, I didn’t mean to make this post so long, but I get carried away sometimes when I’m passionate about something. All in all a great journey. One that I will never forget. Now, on to the next chapter!

Collection 5 - and the leaves came tumbling down

This collection was all about Fall. I love the Fall season and the beautiful colors it poses. I used tweeds, wool, and some cottons.

Collection 4 - The Awakening

This collection was inspired by the Awakening statue in DC. It's this cool statue of a man who is coming out of the ground...which reminds me of how I feel after a long winter...trying to wake up with spring-time colors . The fabrics page.

Collection 3 - Grow Your Inner Jewel

This collection was based on the image on the above left. I liked how it was a jeweled flower, so I translated the jewels into pearls and added pearls as a necklace to several of the dresses. It’s summery and I love how the colors go together and remind me of a hot summer day. I wanted to try and convey clothing hanging on a wire outside in the summertime. I think it sorta works, but plan to do some edits and redrawing over the summer. I used mostly lightweight jerseys, cottons, linen.

Collection 2 - Private Decadence

This second collection, I did for BCBG for the resort season. BCBG is a company that I just admire and love! My inspiration for private decadence was the little things we do to make our lives luxurious. Whether it’s a trip to a resort or just a $15 manicure sometimes we do things just so we feel good and nobody knows about it. So this collection has interesting linings, blind stitches, top finishing techniques, quality fabrics, and an overall feeling of luxury to the wearer. For the woman who appreciates little things without being too flashy.

This is just a five piece collection, but I really tried to convey the feeling. It’s not my favorite collection, but I’m determined to show good and bad…
Not sure what happened to the swatches…(must have saved the wrong version)

I am using, wools, leather, fur, cashmere, and satins.

Collection 1 - Entertaining Hell's Angels

Title Page (Similar to my business cards, again, designed by Leah)



This is a fall/winter collection inspired by the phrase “entertaining angels”.
I didn't want to do anything too demure and nice, I wanted to do something a bit more masculine, so I inserted Hell’s in there and took cues from the notorious bikers.

I used a lot of zippers and patches and even the Hell’s Angels emblem to create this collection. I also used leather, knits, wool, and even a silk jersey. My favorite aspect of the collection is the “tattoo tights” used in two of the looks. I seriously want to get those made... how cool is that?

Red dress with the leather jacket is my favorite look, I think.


I had fun with this collection. I think it's pretty different from what I normally do, so it was fun.

Disclaimer – Portfolio

I am going to start posting my portfolio today, but wanted to state my disclaimer and explain the process a bit. For each collection we were given two weeks. One week to come up with the mood/direction, cut fabric swatches, create 21 looks. The next week to edit the looks to 7, render the drawings and make it presentable. It’s an arduous process that was both exciting and horrible.
As most of you know, drawing is NOT my strong point. But, as you will see the next few days, I have gotten better. I am not a fashion illustrator. Nor, do I want to be. In most large companies they have illustrators on staff. The designers will do a quick sketch and hand it over to the illustrator. I have learned the basics and realized that yes, I do get slightly better, however, I was not blessed with that talent.
The little drawings on the side are the technical designs – I did those on the computer. They have to be technically correct in order to send to the factories with the measurements so the factories know what it's supposed to look like when sewn and what measurements to use. I have worked hard on making those as accurate as possible.
I am pleased with how the entire book turned out. I think it reflects how far I have come, and it also gives me motivation, because I still have a long way to go. Looking back, I was so clueless when I first started school. All I knew was that I loved fashion and knew how to sew.
I want to post about my experience at Parsons the next few weeks as I contemplate my time there, but I will save that for another day. So, without further adieu (sp?)....

"Leave behinds"

As finals continue on, I am torn because on one hand I want Monday to be here because that means I will be done, but on the other hand, I want Monday to come in 2 weeks because I still have a lot to finish. But, I am making progress with everything. I turned in my silkscreen project on Wednesday to rave reviews. My teacher was impressed despite the flaws! So, 1 down 2 to go.

My biggest thing left to do is my portfolio which is what I have been working on ALL semester. Creating and doing, then re-vising, re-doing, re-working, re-everything! It’s been a crazy process but I am looking forward to sharing the final result. Hopefully it will be good enough to get me a job…haha…time will tell…

Looking at what I started with to what I have now is pretty cool. As much as I still cringe when I see my drawings, they HAVE gotten better. Some how. Some way.
But, enough of that.
Leah helped me to re-work my “leave behinds”. Something for the interviewer to remember me by…after I leave.
I think they turned out great and complement my business cards perfectly. [size 4" x 4"] Thanks again Leah.

Front

(Remember this dress?)

Back

Enough rambling. back to work.

It's Done!

Here are some pictures of the silkscreening process. My friend/classmate Vanessa and I worked together at the end since we were both printing onto fabric. The previous two weeks, my dear husband willing woke up early on Saturday morning to help! He was so glad when Vanessa decided to take his spot!

Excuse the bed head and dirty clothes...

We were nearing the end of our day and had been printing for hours and were delirious and one of the techs who is really mean (and talks to people like they are infants) had been patrolling us all morning and monitoring how much space we took up. We had been working on Vanessa's print first and were finishing with mine. She was using her fabric for one of her finals and could only use black, yellow, and white. Anyway, the mean lady came up to us and said, I like this one better and pointed at mine! HAHAHA...Let's just say Vanessa wasn't too happy. We laughed about it for hours though. Everytime we did anything, 'that was better' than yours...
Maybe you had to be there, but come on - who says that to students?? They are completely different and really there is no need to compare. We were both happy with how they turned out! So rude! I think she thought that maybe I was doing both of them...who knows, but it was hilarious and in very poor taste and the cause of many laughs in our tired state.

I'm making progress

I am starting to dream of this print. (not in a good way)
It's amazing all the time I take to measure, check, measure, mark, etc. and I still keep messing up. If you look closely you will see all of my crazy mistakes, so don't look closely. Three colors down two to go. I plan to finish this on Saturday...

Silkscreen - part 2

Here is an update on my monstrous project. I have only done one color....4 more to go...and only one week left and only certain times that the lab is open...kind of a joke really, but I am happy with the way it's turning out. The side that my teacher helped with is obviously better, but hey I am learning along the way! I will post colors 2 and 3 hopefully later this week and the finished project next week!

FIT v. Parsons

Here are a few pictures from the FIT v. Parsons fashion show a few months ago that I never downloaded. They didn't really turn out that great, but here's a few. P.S. Supposedly FIT won this year, after Parsons dominated the years prior...I don't really agree, I thought Parsons had some cool stuff, but I am a bit biased.
Kamilah