Lecture artist research: DAVID BOWIE

 

For the last week session, we had a lecture about the famous British singer and also an artist - David Bowie. We look at his influence and some artwork he had created and perform. Excluding the identity of singer, he was also working with music, fashion, theatre and art. In my impression, he was really famous for the red white lightning makeup and wearing with full of Avant grade style clothing, I do not know he also participated with working as an artist, therefore this lecture had been a nice opportunity for me to get to know more about his artworks.

David Bowie had been working in the neo-expressionist movement, most of the works were sketching and painting. His artwork style was bold, gorgeous and exaggerated as same as his perform stage. He painted lots of self-portraits and the work called 'DHead Series' also recorded many appearances of his friends and musical partners in his life. I had done further research about his biography and the artwork that he had created, it can be seen the painting had a great influence on his songs, the song "Joe the Lion" salute for the performing artist Chris Burden and "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" had mentioned the French artist Georges Braque in his lyrics.

I was not a big fan of his music but I really admire his attitude, he was just being himself and do what he what to do, like he was just the only one who can define who he is. Although David Bowie was not a really high technique of painting, all of the works are full of passion, the visual work can clearly present out the distinctive, unique style himself.

Reference:

Dazed (2012) Dazed & Confused: Intergalactic. [Online] Dazed. Available from : https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/13415/1/dazed-confused-intergalactic [Accessed 16/03/21].

Reflection of art portfolio one

The second semester has come to the end, and it's time to sum up and reflection on these three months.

 I cherish every opportunity to express my own works very much. In addition, for this time, the design is about the Victorian theme, so I really enjoy the process of creating and learn a lot about British history and culture. I am really proud of myself for the final result of this set project. I think it can show out how I combined the Victorian fashion style and 2021 fashion trend together, also it's really present out how I use the same colour tone but in a different style. I spent a lot of time studying the history and fashion styles, and I had also explored much more painting skills of Procreate, from understanding to applying them to my works which just gives me a great sense of satisfaction and achievement. At the beginning of this semester, I had made a promise to explore different fabric texture and try to apply them into my works. In the end, I successfully present them out in the collection of Website. I think I have did a great progress in this regard, and keep improving during this semester.

Every class tasks are able for me to learn how to consider and analyze the actual meaning behind the works, so as to let us apply the concepts and develop them as my personal works. I know that understanding how to develop my own work is very important and this experiment will very beneficial to the next three study years. During processing this set project, I had also think about whether I want to continue to study fashion design, which just made me started to be more clear about what I want to or not.

I must admit that there are problems with the time management and keeping up with the deadline. I did not publish the blog post according to the schedule on time and spent too much on the designing part, thus leading not much research on the project. I want to be able to get rid of these bad habits in the following semester, leave more time to make an adjustment before the deadline. For the following semester, I also want to focus more on further study of the main topic and research. At the same time, I hope I can use the skills that I had prepared for the project, for instance, I learned how to use Photoshop to edit an image before this semester, but unfortunately, I did not apply the skills to this project. Therefore, if there's another opportunity, I would like to keep challenging myself and broaden my skills, because I know that mastering and applying the skills with photoshop would be very important for studying university or even working in the future, so I would like to practice this skill to increase my personal application experience. From now on, I also hope that my works can be presented from multiple perspectives, no longer limited to only the front side.

Overall, I am very satisfied with what I have gained and achieved in this semester, and I am looking forward to the challenges in the following semester. 

Accessories of the final work

Here are some accessories that I had researched from the website:

The shoes:

And the hair style:

Victorian Era Women’s Shoes, Boots, Clogs and dress slipper. [Online] Victorian Era. Available from : http://victorian-era.org/victorian-era-shoes.html [Accessed 15/03/21].

Black Victorian era kid leather shoes with straight leather sole date from the 1840s. [Online] Ruby Lane. Available from : https://www.rubylane.com/item/683113-1476/Black-Victorian-era-kid-leather-shoes?utm_source=opengraph [Accessed 15/03/21].

Vintage Portraits Depict Women’s Hairstyles From the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. Available from : https://www.vintag.es/2017/11/vintage-portraits-depict-womens.html [Accessed 15/03/21].

Collection six: ELEGANCE

Contrasting with collection two, completely exposed the shoulder area was only restricted to the upper and middle class. For the working-class women, they could not reveal too much flesh, that's the reason why shawl became a feature of the dressing.

According to that, I decided to combine the shawl and irregular, structural design to present a new image for this collection. 

The fashion trend of the Victorian period:

The fashion trend of 2021:

 I separated the design into two parts, one for the shawl and one for the tent dress. Always make sure they would be separate into different layers, it helps avoid drawing mistakes in the process and can be erased easily, added the layer can save repeating the steps and time.

I wanted to add some layers to this collection, so I had tested some layers pattern next to the template.

As I had mentioned before, I wanted to challenge myself in this project. Tried to bring out different texture by using drawing tools. Here was some example that I was imitating the pattern of cotton bobbinet texture.

Brush tool of left-hand side: Wave

Brush tool of right-hand side: 3D triangle

Finally, added the detail of the shawl pattern.

This is the final result:

Reference:

VIRAGO Women’s fashion, ca. 1830: Day dresses, part 1. [Online] VIRAGO. Available from : https://ellie-valsin.tumblr.com/post/132119109316/womens-fashion-ca-1830-day-dresses-part-1 [Accessed 16/03/21].

The Top 5 Fashion Trends for Spring 2021 Straight From the Runways. (2020) [Online] FASHION Magazine. Available from : https://fashionmagazine.com/style/trends/spring-fashion-trends-2021/ [Accessed 16/03/21].

Collection five: LUSCIOUSNESS

During the Victorian period, a long slim torso emphasised by wide hips is the ideal shape of all women. In order to achieve a slim waist, they would put on the corset tightly around the waist, and also the function of the corset can help stop the bodice from horizontal creasing. For this reason, the corset also the same as the cage crinoline, both of them became an essential clothing element in the Victorian period. 

I combined the bra on top of the 2021 fashion trend in this collection, I thought they were both having a similar feature, tightened up and emphasise the body curve line shape, so grouped these two together to form a new collection.

The fashion trend of the Victorian period :

The fashion trend of 2021:

Reference image of the corset:

Separated into two layers at the beginning. Then outlined the shape of the design and filled up the colour by using the same brush ' Syrup'. I used pale lavender as the major colour of the top design and mist violet for the corset.

And then started to sketch out the brightness of the shirt and the details of the layer.

For the bottom, I explored two kinds of fabric texture, both of them were lace but in a different pattern. I felt like the left-hand side was too dazzled for the whole visual layout, so I prefer right-hand side to the round dots pattern more.

This is the final result:

Reference:

Waist training a waste of time. [Online] Health Beat | Spectrum Health. Available from : http://healthbeat.spectrumhealth.org/waist-training-a-waste-of-time/ [Accessed 16/03/21].

Thomas, P. (2018) Early Victorian Costume History 1837-1860. [Online] Fashion History, Costume Trends and Eras, Trends Victorians - Haute Couture. Available from: https://fashion-era.com/early_victorian_fashion.htm  [Accessed 16/03/21].

The Custom Juliet Corset Deposit. [Online] Lace Embrace Atelier. Available from : https://www.laceembrace.com/catalog/the-custom-juliet-corset-deposit/

[Accessed 16/03/21].

New item …

Collection four : OOMPH

The dressing was an expression of women's place in that society. Although the clothing layers were heavy and not comfort,  the type of fabrics and the numerous layers were worn as a symbol of wealth. Therefore the upper-class women would wear a skirt adorned with numerous embroideries and trims, as much as the example. In fact, this trend had been still influenced by current fashion designers, these elements had been presented under lots of famous branding. Combining another hot trend of 2021, light and sheer fabrics can always bring out a strong visual impact on the stage, the see-through fabric design added a sense of sexy and femininity, put on the top of the skirt so that the collection can perform multiple layers.

The fashion symbol of the Victorian period:

 

The fashion trend of 2021:

I researched some history of flower symbolism. The flower was the ways of sending secret meaning in the Victorian era, a list of meanings were assigned to flowers and the language of flowers was started to begin. Most of the meaning was about to show romantic affection and interest, therefore it can be seen flower always appeared in painting during that period. 

For the reason that ofter small delicate dimity patterns can help to add a neat ladylike quality to the whole effect, so I decided to combine the flower elements into the light, sheer fabrics.

Reference image:

I started to sketch out the design by using the same brush 'syrup'. In order to present outs a sense of see-through texture, I turned its transparency into 50% and it can be seen vaguely with the body shape of the template.

In the next step, I sketched out a multiple-layer dress. Despite that, I was not really satisfied with the draft, it looks complicated and heavy in the design, so I tried to make it cleaner without losing the concept.

 

Reference image:

Finally, I realised that the skirt made with sheer fabric wasn't puffed enough so I used the tool 'Twist' to edit the size and to be more volume.

The final result:

Thomas, P. (2018) Victorian Fashion History for Women from 1860 to 1900. [Online] Fashion History, Costume Trends and Eras, Trends Victorians - Haute Couture. Available from : https://fashion-era.com/mid-late_victorian_fashion.htm [Accessed 14/03/21].

5 Components of Victorian Floral Design. [Online] Bloomin’ Blog. Available from : https://www.flowershopnetwork.com/blog/5-components-victorian-floral-design/ [Accessed 14/03/21].

Dior References Artist Lucia Marcucci For Spring/Summer 2021. [Online] Vogue Hong Kong. Available from : https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/gallery/dior-ss21-everything-you-need-to-know [Accessed 14/03/21].

Louis Marie Lemaire - 19th Century Paintings and Watercolours 2020/05/13 - Starting bid: EUR 2,400 - Dorotheum. Available from : https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/6697398/ [Accessed 15/03/21].

Museum of the City of New York - Search Result. Available from : https://collections.mcny.org/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchResult_VPage&VBID=24UAYWU9EXZ7&SMLS=1&RW=960&RH=502 [Accessed 15/03/21].

Collection three : VOGUE

In the 1850s, at least six petticoats were needed to hold the wide skirts and they can be weight as much as 14 pounds. In order to solve this uncomfortable and heavy clothing problem, they invented a steel frame cage crinoline, which freed women from the weight and also supports the shape foundation for the dress skirt. For looking at this history, it was an essential clothing element and influenced the structure of the mid-late Victorian fashion, so I decided to put this concept into the collection and combining the 2021 fashion trend, falbala and bold puff sleeve. 

The reference image of the Victorian period:

Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring 2013 had a similar corset on top design, but all of the dresses, skirts and sculpture-effect bustiers were inspired by the classic Sicilian basket. 

The fashion trend of 2021:

After I sketched out the puff sleeve top and the bubble dress, I tried different shape, size and colour of the corset to see which would be more suitable for the collection.

In order to have a larger contrast with the colour tone, I decided to use dark blue as the major corset's colour. The dark blue would not become an integral part of the dress, and even accentuates its presence

This is the final result :

Reference:

VIRAGO Women’s fashion, ca. 1830: Day dresses, part 1. [Online] VIRAGO. Available from : https://ellie-valsin.tumblr.com/post/132119109316/womens-fashion-ca-1830-day-dresses-part-1 [Accessed 15/03/21].

5 Fashion Trends We’re Predicting Will Dominate Our 2021 Wardrobes. [Online] Marie Claire. Available from : https://www.marieclaire.com.au/fashion-trends-2021 [Accessed 15/03/21].

Collection two : SPLENDID

In the 1850s, certain elements of the garment had been changed, people completely exposed the shoulder area, the volume and width of the skirt increased, rows of flounces were added, the style was not conservative anymore and these elements leading the trend of that year. Thus I invested some major feature into this collection. What interesting is, the Victorian trend had also been the rage for these few years, the puffs and frills were always presented at the street or fashion week. For connecting with the 2021 trend, I mainly focus on the side waist hollow design. The cut off of the side can emphasize the shape of women without too much exposed.

The fashion trend of the Victorian period:

The fashion trend of 2021:

Firstly, I combined those two trends and filled up the basic shape on the draft.

Here you can be seen, I was exploring the texture of the sleeve, imitating the see-through netting fabric by using 'Heavy Linen' and 'Fleece'.

However, I felt like the pale lilac colour can't express outs the sense of splendid, so I decided to change the whole design into an azalea colour tone that can perform more likely noble and power expressions. 

I also changed the princess sleeve into a puffer off-shoulder sleeve. The exaggerated sleeve design can represent out the noble life in the Victorian period and also balanced between the huge shoulder and the skirt which widened and flared.

The final result:

Reference:

VIRAGO Women’s fashion, ca. 1830: Day dresses, part 1. [Online] VIRAGO. Available from : https://ellie-valsin.tumblr.com/post/132119109316/womens-fashion-ca-1830-day-dresses-part-1 [Accessed 14/03/21].

Dresses with cutouts: 45 fashion outfits 2021-2022. [Online] Joy-Pup. Available from : https://joy-pup.com/en/fashion-en/dresses-with-cutouts-45-fashion-outfits-2020-2021/ [Accessed 15/03/21].