Within my work, one of my main strengths I believe I the use of floral patterns within my garments. Some of the designers that really inspire me with their use of floral within their garments are designers such as Mary Katrantzou and her use of colour as well as floral patterns. Another designer is Alexander McQueen in particular some of his recent collections and the use of hand painted fabrics

Seen in these images these designs that I had produced were heavily influenced from the use of hand painted fabrics in some of McQueen’s collections. I also added my twist by combining it with the streetwear fashion which would not normally go together. I liked the idea of combining fabric painting which would normally be something that be in haute couture but, by combining fabric painting with streetwear it gives the garment originality which is what I was going for.

These designs where ones that were inspired from Mary Katrantzou and her use of bold floral colours merged also with that watercolour effect as well. I was happy with the outcome of these designs I think they show clear inspiration from Mary Katrantzou with the clear use of bold colours and flowers with also adding me ideas of the shapes of garments.

Within my work there is a lot Virgil Abloh influence being that he is one of my favourite up and coming designers. I feel with Virgil Abloh brings a unique style to the fashion industry, merging streetwear fashion with luxury and high end fashion. One of my favourite collections from Virgil Abloh First collection as Louis Vuitton Creative director which was the Spring Menswear 2019 collection.

What I really liked from this collection which I implemented into my work was the style and the placement of the pockets and sizing of them as well. This use of the bellow pockets I feel gives the garments that merge between streetwear and high-end fashion.

On the 26^th February, I visited the Harris Museum on a study trip to view the white work garments that had been worn in many previous centuries. The earliest item is a pair of men’s silk slippers dating from the 1620s, with most of the other garments dating from the 1800s and 1900s. The collection that we had went see was the textiles collection which included embroidery, samplers, whitework, wool work, quilts, lace, banners and commemorative textiles, much of which relates to the Preston Guild.

Many of the garments have been worn by local people within the Preston region which were made from local manufacturers. These dresses were also worn to Preston Guild balls which I found very interesting and informative.

According to the Cambridge dictionary the word ‘Influencer’ is someone who affects or changes the way that other people behave, for example through their use of social media. Nowadays being that we are known as the social media era, influencers have become a thing that is very common and is something that has made its way into the fashion industry. From Youtuber’s such as Zoella posting various fashion haul videos advertising different fashion brands, To Instagram influencers who spend most of their time travelling to and from different fashion events, whilst posting updates of different outfits for their fanbases.

Influencers are also a good thing for fashion brands because they are able to expand their fanbase by paying influencers to wear their brand or promote it. However, this can be a negative because this can result in Fashionistas no longer relying on the latest issue of Vogue to tell them what’s hot this season, it more about social media and what influencers are promoting. (Wilberg, A 2018)

Personally, I feel that influencers are a positive things for Fashion, because it opens another lane for younger designers to go into whilst earning a healthy salary. as well opening another line of direct communication with these major fashion brands.

On 22 November 2018, I visited the Bowes Museum to take a look at the Catwalking: Fashion through the Lens of Chris Moore, the exhibition showcased fashion desgins from Vivienne Westwood, Chanel, Dior, McQueen, YSL, Giles Deacon, Prada & Jean Paul Gauliter and many more. (thebowesmuseum, 2019).

Personally, my favorite part of the exhibition was the looking at the Alexander McQueen images, this is due to him being my favourite fashion designers so being able to have another point of view on his genius was very interesting to me. It was also very interesting to see the story behind most of the dresses that had been photographed.

Within the exhibition it featured many iconic moments down the catwalk, using original outfits such as Balenciaga,Chanel,Dior, John Galliano, Comme des Garcons, Christopher Kane, Alexander Mcqueen , Yves Saint Laurent ad Vivienne Westwood.

I am currently a first year fashion student studying at the University of Bolton. My love for fashion came from looking up to many different hip hop artists whom would wear different types of designer, I would always be wondering what type of jumper he was wearing or shoes they had on, i was heavily into footwear from the age of 12 I would always be in my room creating different designs and colourways of popular shoes.