Make it work moment !

Back in Chennai and finally got started with my samples and print developments . Not quite at the pace I want or should be working in at this point, but at least it's a start. My concept is to use the embroidery styles and techniques that I saw in Bikaner  and use it in my designs with a modern twist .

MY MIND MAP 

TREND FORECAST -  before finalizing on my inspiration I took a look at the trend forecast for spring-summer 14. And my inspiration , with it's colours , detailing , print and style ideas is bang on trend. 

MORE TREND RESEARCH - source www.wgsn.com

DETAILING IDEAS INSPIRED FROM THEIR CLOTHING 

APPLIQUE PATTERNS USED AS EMBROIDERY ON LEATHER ( Rajasthan has a lot of camel leather products, but since it is not viable for me to work with camel leather , I chose a thinner leather  to make my embroidery samples on . These could be used on yokes and cuffs . or even on bags 

NOTICE THE CAMEL THAT IS EMBROIDERED ON A CUSHION COVER  , I TRIED  PATCHING THIS  SYMBOL  ON  A COTTON FABRIC USING LEATHER TRIMS 

GEOMETRIC CAMEL SYMBOL - could be used on T- shirts

TIE - DYE SAMPLES I HAD SOURCED FROM MY TRIP TO RAJASTHAN   - I  will be trying these tying  techniques on knits and Georgette . These patterns are very unique and all hand crafted by the master mind himself - Mohammad Iqbal Ji  

SIGNED AND EMBROIDERED SIGNATURE OF IQBAL JI -  all the fabrics that I will be getting dyed and embroidered  for my collection by the craftsman in bikaner , will be signed by the craftsmen themselves to give credit to them and also add a personal touch to the collection

THE KIDDOS - since a major part of my  collection is inspired by the people  I met  , I tried to develop prints  with their faces and then embroider them to give a funky modern twist. I chose 3 images, but not all of them seem to be working out . I dont like this sample

UNCLE JI  T-SHIRTS -This is one of my favorite samples. I chose this picture because  his mush ,spectacles and eyebrows are soo interesting , I decided to print his face on a t shirt and then embroider his specs and eyebrows etc , and then appliqued a turban on his head..   

VIMALA -  okay ! this was a complete fail ! i tried to print it on a sheer fabric ... but the iron on sticker  did not completely peel off , so my sample still has paper stuck on the fabric.  Plus this image is too literal and when I tried embroidering her eyebrows and her bindhi and earrings she looked very scary . which is completely opposite to what she actually looks like. Vimala was one of the  most beautiful women I met there . and had this innocence in her eyes that I wanted to capture in the print. 

This is just some of the work I could do in the last one week. It's not a lot , as compared to how much I should have done by now but I'm sure I'll get there. Confession time ! I might seem like I'm super confident about my collection and not at all concerned about the time frame  ...but  the truth is,  I did have a random breakdown during my mentoring session this week. YES! it was embarrassing ! in my defence I was already 2 weeks behind with my work and when you see everyone else around you with fat process books and getting their final range approved , it hits you ! pretty badly !  but after a quick pep talk from my mentor , I was fine and back to work with a lot more focus . time to pull up my socks and make it work !

This is just the first of the many many more breakdowns yet to come , but it goes to show how much our final  collection means to each one of us. The name Skinny 'drama queen' sounds more apt now , doesn't it ?  :D  

okay! I'm off to vizag for ' KINGFISHER ULTRA VIZAG FASHION WEEK ' . The rush of adrenaline that you get while working backstage is exactly what I need right now! Will be back with more updates on my collection after the 5th :) 

xoxo 

-skinnydramaqueen