Week 1.

During my first placement week I have been working on some patterns for a fitted bespoke tailored jacket for a client. The client wanted the jacket to fit as well as one that he already has so I have been using this jacket as a guide for the pattern pieces. The images above show how I have been creating the patterns based on a similar style jacket that we have taken apart whilst adapting the measurements in order to fit the client. 

Once I was happy that the pattern was accurate and would have a nice fit to it I pinned half the jacket to the manikin as if it was the real thing and was made out of fabric. The images above show how the jacket would fit if it wear on a real person, it also shows where each pocket would sit on the jacket and I have tested them out using the paper patterns so that they are really working pockets, this gives me as much accuracy as possible and shows me what the pockets, collar and the overall fit of the jacket will look like once it is tested in fabric. The jacket consists of one welt pocket with a flap and one piped jetted pocket, creating these pockets out of paper and fitting them to the manikin was difficult and took a lot of time as it is hard enough to achieve when trying to make them out of fabric let alone paper. 

The jacket pattern has taken a great deal of time to make and still needs some tweaking here and there  however it is almost ready to be toiled and the process was a lot quicker to do then a usual jacket of this kind due to some of the most accurate technical flats I have ever seen. This sped up the whole process and meant that I constantly had a guide to look at, I also now know the areas I can improve upon when it comes to my own technical drawings. This week has been great I've loved working on this jacket and have learnt so much about how many pieces go into making a tailored jacket (for this particular jacket it is 30 pieces.) Putting the pieces together on the stand taught me about how a jacket is constructed which confused ma a lot at first because there were shapes I hadn't seen before and patterns which I had no idea where they belonged. Not only do I have a better understanding of how to construct a tailored jacket but I'm also clearer about what fabrics are used and how much hand sewing goes into creating a jacket and also some of the different stitches used such as a Chevron stitch which is used to baste the fabric together and helps to create the structure of the jacket. 

Interview with Nylander Couture

On Monday I had my interview with Ivor Nylander, it went really well as he was extremely nice and liked my portfolio. After the interview I was asked to stay till 18:00 to take part in a trial, I was given a few different tasks to complete (shown in the images.) 

The image to the left shows an example of the beginnings of a waist coat. I had to stitch the front pieces together and create two pipped jets.  In traditional tailoring interfacing is not used so to replace this they use a canvas material, this is the method I used to create the jets. I also had to do a lot  of basting (tacking) which I don't normally do at uni however I could definitely see the benefits from basting rather than just using the machine straight away. It was quite challenging doing the jet pockets without any help as I have only ever completed jetted pockets once or twice and that was with the help of my trusty friend YouTube. So as you can imagine completing them by myself while feeling nervous and under pressure was a nerve-racking feeling, I eventually finished the pockets but made a few miner mistakes which meant that there was a little ridge/bump that you could feel around the pockets due to the seams being too small to press open. I attempted the pocket again shown in the image above  (on the left side of the fabric) it was a lot more successful as Ivor showed me some techniques he learnt when training in Savilerow and the methods they use. Although I managed to complete the pocket I definitely need more practise.

During I was also given some pattern pieces to experiment with, the pieces were two shapes that were curved and fitted together, all I had to do was sew them together (shown in the image on the right.) This sounds really easy and simple to do which is precisely what I was thinking, it turned out to be a lot harder than it looked as sewing around the curves was extremely difficult because the fabric would just get caught and pucker. 

After my trial Ivor spoke to me and said that he is willing to teach me bespoke menswear tailoring and I can start on Monday 14th 11am to 18:00/19:00, I'm extremely happy as although it was a very nerve-racking day I learnt more techniques and industry knowledge in one day then I have within a month of uni. I have learnt some things that I have been doing and or sewing wrong through listening to Ivor talk about his experiences and through observing how he does things in his studio. 

Bolongaro Trevor Or Industry Placement

After going through the interview process I decided to continue to apply for internships through emailing companies I had an interest in whilst also looking at internships and placement through websites such as fashion Workie and fashion united. I wrote an email to a company that I had a real interest in as they were offering to teach bespoke tailoring using the traditional methods that are used in Savilerow. I thought the placement would be perfect for me and I was hoping for the best. The image on the right shows the response I got, and it was very positive. 

Although getting an internship would be the ideal situation as I would be in a fresh environment getting a real sense of what it would be like to work in a job I truly enjoy, I also started to open up to the idea of doing the live project with Bolongaro Trevor.

On Tuesday the 1st of March we had a briefing for the live project, Kait Bolongaro joined us mid morning and stayed for the rest of the day, she spoke about the brand history, it's origins she showed us some past and present womenswear collections that the brand have created. The image to the left shows an example of one of the garments Kait brought in to show us. Throughout the day my enthusiasm for the live project began to drop drastically as I found it very difficult to get excited about the project when I just really disliked the style /look and feel of the brand. It is hard to work on a project when you can't see anything you remotely like about the brand. 

I decided that the live project wasn't for me and sent an email back to Ivor Nylander (the potential placement opportunity I had) to try and set a date for an interview. I set a date for Monday (7th March) at 11am I have everything ready from my last interview and this time I felt more prepared as I now know what to expect. 

Design Enterprise and Innovation

Before starting this unit I had desperately been searching for an industry placement focusing mainly on luxury menswear tailoring. The initial hunt for a placement was extremely difficult especially as I didn't want to settle for anything less then something to do with tailoring. I began my search by looking at quite high/ very well known tailors in Savilerow, I emailed a huge range of tailors in Savilerow as well as calling each company up. After not having much success I decided to print off my CV and cover letter on nice paper and in envelopes addressed to each company I wanted to see, I then headed off to Savilerow to hand each envelope out personally the experience was great as I got to see what the environment, the standard and the people were like in Savilerow as well as getting to speak to a lot of tailors personally which for me was one of the best experiences as everyone was very encouraging and welcoming. 

Walking into each tailors when in London was at first very intimidating, however after plucking up the courage to go into several different companies such as Gieves and Hawkes, Welsh and Jefferies, Cad & The Dandy, Ozwald Boateng (just to name a few,) I began to feel more confident and sure of myself. While handing my CV and cover letters out I went into Oswald Boateng's shop as one last quick attempt to get a placement, while I was there a women called Nadine asked me a few questions about where I study, what I do etc she briefly spoke about the company before offering me an interview for the following week (Thursday 11th of February.) I was over the moon and immediately went back home and started to work on creating a professional looking portfolio (shown in image above.) I uploaded my portfolio on Issue and printed an A3 hard copy using nice paper and the best folder I could find to present it in. 

During the interview I spoke to Selom K Amoa who is the senior Design and Art Director for the company. The interview went well as he really liked my work and thought I was a great designer, he complimented me on my designs and technical drawings, he asked whether all my drawings/designs were hand drawn and when I said yes he told me that this was impressive and that not many people hand draw designs anymore and that I am clearly a good drawer. Overall the interview was a huge success and Mr Amoa said that my CV and portfolio were perfect except for one thing, and this is experience he continued and said if I had more experience I would have been perfect. Initially I felt slightly disappointed however after having time to reflect on the process I released how huge it was to have such a successful person tell me that they liked my work and that it was good I now realise that to even get an interview with such a respectable company in the first place. 

Example of one of the emails I sent out

After my interview Selom emailed me with some links to books and websites that would help me learn more about tailoring which was really nice. The whole process has been a great learning curve and an enjoyable experience that reminded me how much I would love to get into tailoring.
https://issuu.com/savannahhall/docs/portfolio_final_b4767785f5a8f2