My textiles A level is beginning to stress me out.

This year holds an extremely exciting project, we get to take it wherever we want, anywhere at all. I decided early last year that I would take on a Japanese inspiration, looking at Kimonos and traditional Japanese art to influence my design. This is what I came up with:

(Unfortunately bad quality image)

I'm pleased with my design and I'm really excited to make it, but I don't currently have ANY of the materials required to even start! I've had to borrow over £100 off my dad to get silk and silk paints just for the Obi (sash around the waist) and I'm not even sure if my teacher has ordered it yet. I just want to start already! This waiting is making me angry!

Chloé S/S 2012

One thing I love to see in a summer collection is crisp clean whites mixed with subtle, muted tones. Chloé really delivered that this season, with the new girl in charge, Clare Waight Keller.

The colection developed from a simple white, calf length dress with a thin striped print, into an array of muted colours and floral patterns. The progress from one look to the other was made subtly enough for the collection to remain completely classic and still have that fresh crisp feel.

 The florals, the geometric prints and the pants in particular were the stand out pieces for me.

The pants have such a beautiful fit, especially the wider leg pants in the image bellow.

 The collections progression into muted tones of beige and salmon were what really gave the show movement and fluidity. The collection was certainly not static in it's styles and ideas, offering a range of different looks suited to different women. I personally believe this is the true skill behind a good collection.

Dolce And Gabanna say goodbye to D&G.

These two amazing men hav graced the runways of milan for many a season with their D&G collection, but this season They say goodbye to the brand, but of course as any good designer would do they closed it with a bang.

The collection as a whole had a complete youthful charm, bred from the huge mixture of prints. The prints appear to be silk scarf prints, and some of the pieces where created to have a look of such ease that they could be mistaken for a simple scarf, wrapped around the body.

It was pieces like this that really made the collection for me, the pieces that had that perfect look of ease, it gave the collection a light-hearted feel that's classic to the D&G brand.

The shoes were also a major point of interest, silk fabric, much like that of the majority of garments, wrapped around the foot and tied at the top to create a really fun but elegant look.

These shoes have been a huge source of inspiration for some of my recent designs.

Although I'll be sad to see the brand go, I'm extremely impressed with this as a final collection, and I have to hand it to Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana on a job well done.

My full circle skirt for textiles..

 

Remember my textiles designs? Well this is the product which came from them. I didn't have the time or the fabric to create the accompanying jacket however which is quite dissapointing.

To be fair I'm quite proud of myself. This is the first skirt I've ever created to this kind of standard, I've only ever made simple dresses before, and this has actually turned out quite well.

The overskirt is made from a bright orange cotton and the underskirts are made from a lighter orange dress net and a white cotton lining with a strange finish (I found the lining material in my loft so I don't really know much about it haha)

Mango: Colour & Stripes (S/S 2011)

I personally find this to be a perfect little summer collection! It takes into consideration a large amount of the current summer trends, vibrant colours, stripes, capri pants, playsuits and clean whites and it get's all of them right!

  

Everyone needs at least one clean white look in their summer wardrobe!

 

 Overall this collection is really quite lovely. It's got a mixture of the cutest summer essentials in perfect shades of orange, tiel and yellow and blue!

Laura Theiss S/S 2011 Look Book

 

(A personal favourite piece from the collection)

 I read somewhere at the start of the spring/summer season that 

macrame and knitwear would be a big trend.

Up until now I had not seen much proof of this, the collections

that I enjoyed most from S/S RTW weren't exactly full of knits.

Now to be completely honest, I'm not particularly a fan of 

Knitwear and the likes myself, it usually appears

a little too chunky and not exactly flattering, just a 

personal opinion.

However, this collection has completely changed my mind.

The artistic genius in these beautiful clothes is astounding,

everything is designed so creatively and created with

an air of perfection.

 This piece in particular looks great, the loose knit gives at a

wonderful sheerness and a soft easy drape.

 Above and below are two more of my personal favourites, I love

the vibrant colours mixed with the worn look that the macrame creates

and the general shape of both pieces looks great, the sunlike radial

stripes on the above piece along with the uneven hemline gives an

edgy bohemian look and the large neck and colour design on the below

give it the biker/rock chick edge that so many girls love!

 The multicoloured tassels on the bottom of this dress give it a cool unique look that I love!

In my opinion a very interesting little collection that's been presented wonderfully, the shoes offer as the perfect accessory as well, going so well with the crazy blue legs and the deconstructed look of the garments. Major love for this designer!

Boring or brilliant? Elie Saab Fall/Winter 2011.

Elie Saab was one of the first designers I clung to as I krept into the fashion world and he soon became one of my biggest inspirations, the gowns he created were so airy and flowing like wind or water and it was all so elegant and beautiful. Then along came the next collection and once again the movement in those flowing garments took my breathe away. Then came the next collection and the next and the next and a feeling of deja vu fell upon me. Not much changes with Saab does it? I mean his clothes are wonderful, they're made beautifully and they really make a woman look elegant and sophisticated but that's all they ever do.

I will admit however that this latest collection is taking a brave step into tailoring over drapery and Saab is venturing futher into seperates than in past years, even pants! Now most people would pay more attention to the evening gowns in an Elie Saab collection but for me this collections day wear was much more interesting, the clean tailored look is pulled off beautifully and although it isn't the biggest change from his usual dresses it's a step in the right direction and I hope to see brave new things from him in the future!

What are your opinions on the matter? Do you think Saab should stay just the way he is? Or does he need to take that risk and get a little more out there?