Name: Leroy Nguyen
Course: Advanced Diploma in Fashion Design
Final collection pieces: 19
Brief: I have always been a fan of James Bond films. For me, the iconic role of the James Bond Girl and her many characteristics embodies everything that is attractive in a woman and served as the initial inspiration behind my graduate collection, ‘Natural Born Killer’. Dual personalities and espionage, faceted diamonds and the fluid, transparent, reflective and refractive qualities of water are the main themes used to drive the range. I wanted to give myself the opportunity to cater to more than just one type of dress sense, more than one type of Bond Girl. There are casual, luxe sports pieces alongside more vampy cocktail dresses, whilst slick tailoring can also be seen throughout.
Concept to creation: The most challenging aspect of creating my graduate collection would have to be balance. For me, striving to find balance through diversity was of utmost importance. Embossed and coated leathers and fused silks are layered with plastics and mesh, and vivid digital prints are offset by stark, clinical whites in a range of looks that are completely varied, but all have strong roots in tailored athleticism. I wanted to offer a range of very different silhouettes and garment types that still co-existed with a strong sense of cohesion.
Cuts, fabrics, finishes: In many Bond films there is a strong affinity with water, whether it be speedboats and jet skis or surfboards and bikinis. The ‘Crystal Waters’ print was designed by manipulating imagery of rippled water and faceted diamonds in a colour palette that reflected the way light refracts through water to create the colour spectrum. This print was then applied to bonded silks and lycra, harking towards the notion of active water sports and athleticism. Other active wear fabrics such as mesh, rubber and neoprene are also used throughout.
Name: Inder Dhillon
Course: Advanced Diploma of Fashion Design
Final collection pieces: 13
Brief: My range has been inspired by the fluidity of metals and the jewellery and embellishments of northern India. The range began with the exploration of folded metals. The concept that something so hard and permanent could look so fluid was where this range began. I then started researching Rajasthani jewellery from the 17th century onwards and was further inspired by all the intricate carvings and details. That’s where the concept of bringing traditional motifs began.
Wanting to keep it quite modern and contemporary, folded metal inspired me to drape unconventional fabrics such as leather and metal knits to make them appear fluid. I then started to develop motifs using studs, enamel beads and, most significantly, mimicking silk thread embroidery by bonding twine to the fabrics. I worked on each piece in the collection as if it were an elaborate piece of jewellery and brought in elements of the motifs into each individual garment.
Concept to creation: From the moment I had found my inspiration, I knew I wanted to use interesting and unconventional textiles. I sourced stainless steel knits from Italy, various types of leather/suede from Asia, and quite textured silks/wools from India. Getting these fabrics to behave in a manor different to their conventional use proved to be quite a pleasant challenge. I wanted the garments to drape fluidly and without looking bulky or heavy, so there was much that happened in the under layers of the garments in terms of pattern making and construction.
The next step was embellishing the garments. Knowing from the start that I wanted them to look modern and contemporary, I immediately knew I wouldn’t be using regular beads or embroidery techniques. I started researching embroidery methods in northern Indian, specifically silk thread embroidery called phulkari. The geometric nature of this type of embroidery inspired me to lay layers of twine, cut on meticulous angles, and bond them to the garments. In other instances, I laser cut motifs into the leather and further embellished with metal studs and other mirrored beads. This resulted in the heavy textiles taking on a more delicate form when made into a garment – much like the jewellery and folded metal they were inspired from.
Cuts, fabrics, finishes: The draped overcoat actually has a lot happening under the layer of the drape, so as to make it look quite effortless and clean. There were panels on the coat where there were several layers of fabric going in to one point. Structurally, it was a very involved garment. Throughout the range, I ended up using hundreds of meters of 3mm twine for embellishment. Bonding the rows of twine to the fabrics to create the motifs was extremely challenging. The heat temperature had to be kept constant, as well as having the pieces cut precisely to the right length and placed geometrically. All of the embellishments were done as placements, be it the laser cutting, beading, studding or knit appliqué. I also used several different sizes of studs within the embellishments to create further depth within the motifs.
Name: Varina Krook
Course: Advanced Diploma in Fashion Design
Final collection pieces: 13 garments which make up 8 finished looks.
Brief: The muse was the historic house and the beauty of objects found within it including cut glass, copper pots and old-world florals. A focus on the finer design details of the past inspired a classic look for the current market place. I was determined to create elegant clothing for the modern woman. Clothing with intricate detailing and a sleek finish to echo the attention to detail of historic wares. I used cut glass to determine shape and panelling in the garments. Copper acts as a shimmering highlight in a minimalist/muted palette. I used textured copper to embellish garments and reflect old-world detailing. Florals act as black and white records of the past with detailed illustrations providing a feminine softness to the body of work.
Concept to creation: I’ve always loved old objects and for a long time have been in awe of how considered and detailed they are. I collected many of the objects that inspired the collection and spent some time examining them, developing ideas about shape, colour and line. Many hours of sketching, tweaking and redesigning later I came up with a range of garments which I felt encompassed the inspiration. Once all designs were decided upon I began obsessively collecting fabrics. The fabrication was the most important part to me since I believed the quality of the fabric and the way that each fabric spoke to one another was essential to achieve a beautiful end result. I travelled to Hong Kong and China to continue my search for interesting textiles and found many exciting pieces which were used in the final garments. Through combining high quality Australian fabrics and special bits and pieces I achieved the look I was aiming for. I also created bespoke textiles which completed the looks and made them uniquely mine. Intricate botanical illustration and complex textural foiling were used to make the looks come to life.
Screenprinting and foiling pleated panels and working with pleating in unconventional ways was a challenge. Translating detailed hand drawings to a digital format without losing the hand drawn detail proved incredibly difficult and required top of the line scanners normally used for archiving artworks. Since the finer details were such an essential part of this collection it was very time consuming to piece the garments together. The fabrications were luxurious and required perfect finishings.
Cuts, fabrics, finishes: Since many of the designs incorporate intricate panelling, many hours were spent on manipulating pattern blocks. I wanted to maintain fitted garments but remove all conventional dart lines. Many garments were puzzling to piece together; all evidence of a conventional top was missing and the table was covered in unusual shaped pieces. One of the garments in the collection has 36 individual panels on the front, which was very time consuming to toile and piece together but definitely reflects the beautiful intricacy of its inspiration, cut glass. I needed to be very meticulous with labelling pattern pieces.
Pleating definitely proved to be very technical since many garments required pleating to mould over the body and therefore draped as the garment was pieced together. I tried to be meticulous about every detail to achieve refined pieces. It was important to consider how the garment would feel on the skin and to ensure the dress was luxurious inside and out. Ultimately I’d like to create fresh, modern design with a strong connection to the past.