About Me
3rd year Fashion design student at Nottingham Trent University
I am a young, diverse designer who is ambitious and enjoys coming up with new ideas. Outside my design work, I have a keen passion for a number of different sports such as equestrianism and skiing. I have found that throughout my university experience while designing, I have been drawn to these sport-based activities for my concepts and design work.
Since a young age I have attended a number of different equestrian events. More recently I have discovered that at events such as Cheltenham races there is a big gap in the market for affordable but high-end, high- quality garments to wear. My FMP project is designed to target that area of the market, to come up with new and innovative designs that are smart enough to wear to such events. This is an area of the market I would eventually love to start my own business in.
INSPIRATION
Equestrian influence and culture - The evolution of horse riding attire over the last 200 years.
My project is inspired from my long-standing passion of horse riding and the equestrian world. Having come across old photos of my Grandmother competing in horse riding competitions last summer, I wanted to design a collection in memory, a sport that both me and my Grandmother have a passion in. I will compare what she worse on horseback to what I have to wear today. This will also include some of the different equipment, such as the saddle to prompt silhouette ideas and key details on the garments.
I will also investigate how side saddle style garments gradually became more masculine when women started to ride astride. This leads on to this style becoming an icon and showing how this new style hasn’t changed much overtime as it’s a timeless style. The traditional use of tweed was very apparent traditionally and is still very much apparent in today’s market as it is very practical and warm.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
FMP concept page
FMP toile page
FMP design development page
FMP lineup
DETAIL
Saddle shoulder shape and modernised houndstooth
In my project, I wanted to use traditional fabrics such as tweed but modernising them. I investigated contemporary ways of making tweed more modern in terms of the look. I used different fabric processors such as laser etching to create the tweed illusion on different types of fabric, such as wool, to give the illusion of tweed but modernising it to create a new dimension. I enlarged the scale of the houndstooth and stitched around it using wadding to create the padded effect as seen on some of the horse riding saddles. I will transfer this into my drawings to experiment with different outcomes. Throughout my collection, I have used either the laser etched wool or the wadded houndstooth. Most of my garments also have references to equestrian equipment such as the saddle shaped shoulders.
"Fashion fades, only style remains the same" - Coco Chanel
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