The end of Term 2 - My Practice Hand In

So after what seems like months and months of  late nights teamed with early mornings, several energy drinks and a few breakdowns later, my processes module, which was part of my practices module of my MA, was finally handed in last Wednesday, and I honestly couldn't be happier with the result and feedback I've received from my peers and also just general friends, family and acquaintance's after putting a video and some photos up of my work last week on a personal social media account.

With how hard I work day in and day out to try and make my vision as a designer and researcher become a reality, alongside working a day job to bring in some extra cash, and all whilst still trying to have a social life, its easy to give up on yourself sometimes, and think your work doesn't quite reach the standard you wish it would, but this hand in for me was really proof that I can achieve anything I put my mind to and that you are your biggest critic when it comes to these things, as I never in a million years thought the work I posted would receive the comments it did, so thank you to everyone who made me believe in myself just that little bit more just by even liking the post!

Anyway moving on to what I actually handed in, in terms of my term 2 processes module hand in for my MA. MA's, or should I say my MA, is pretty open to what you hand in in regards to not having any type of checklist of work that needs to be submitted like you may find you did have when studying undergrad, so they'll be no frantically adding a "few more pages" to your sketchbook the night before because you forgot about it, like I did within my final year of undergrad, unless you think you need to, thank the lord for that one hey!

So for me, because I loved that type of checklist structure of undergrad, I put myself a little list together at the beginning of term 2, as to what I wanted to hand in, in regards to my processes deadline which would reflect my development of both my manufacture and design skills aswell as written research to sit alongside this, so what I handed in, is as follows;

* "Into Bloom" Sketchbook - I did submit the first few pages of this last term, but my design inspiration sort of took a different direction, so thought it was important to show this once again through continued practice research within my sketchbook.

*Mood Board - This highlighted the consumer, primary research and written research to really showcase what my project was about and is also a staple piece of any fashion design portfolio work.

*Inspiration Book - This was an A3 book, put together, containing various different screenshots from social media channels which I found inspiring either because of the design of the underwear or outerwear, because of what the image was promoting e.g. body confidence or just because it reflected in some way my primary research and therefore was in-fitting and inspiring to me. I used my inspiration book massively when undergoing my design development process and creating the underwear and outerwear packs this term.

* Design Development Packs for Underwear and Outerwear - These two design packs were the next key stage in reflecting where exactly it was I wanted to go with my ideas in terms of designs and how I had taken inspiration from my primary research within my sketchbooks and combined them with trend and social media analysis research to create different silhouettes and shapes for my designs. I'll use these next term to help me determine which garments I manufacture and hand in for my Major project.

* 20 A3 Textile/Fabric Samples - The purpose behind the textile/fabric samples was so that you could get a real feel of where, once again, it was I was going with my project and what direction I would be taking it in terms of fabric and textile techniques. All fabrics used were secondary sourced, due to me wanting to focus on designing the actual garments rather than the fabric they're made of, with all added detailing such as 3D flowers and beading added by myself through the use of hand stitching. These will once again be used next term to help to decide which fabric/fabrics will be used within the final manufacturing stage.

* 3 Mini-Books; Trend Research, Social and Visual Media Analysis and Written Research - These three mini books helped me out in a variety of different ways, but they all contributed to the ending result of my design development packs and my A3 Textile/Fabric Samples, trend research and social and visual media analysis helped me in terms of key silhouettes for the seasons I wanted to design my collection for, whilst my written analysis highlighted what the industry was lacking and what the consumer wanted through my questionnaire and its analysis to go with this.

Although it sounds and probably looks like a lot of "research" work, I can assure you that the majority of the work I handed in was practice led and reflected the process of my project moving forward from just a project proposal question and some research, to getting the ball rolling and physically making my idea a reality through practice of design development and sampling. You can see a few more photos of the work I submitted as part of this deadline below, alternatively, you can view the video and more photo samples of my work on my design instagram @jessicalpepperdesigns.

All the work I have undertaken within term 2, will ultimately help me to continue to progress both within my written and practical research going forward into term 3 and when under taking my major project.

Jess xo