Session 5: Injecting Colour

For our design session this week, we began adding colour to the designs we had formulated in the last session. I enjoyed this step of the design process as it went beyond the process of mark making and I felt my artist research came in very handy, as Ed Ruscha uses a lot of colour in his works. We also looked at fabric choices in this session, and how they could also relate to our artist choices.

To begin, we used an app called Pantone to create colour stories from our artist research. I ended up with three completely different colour stories, each based off a different artwork and each containing a different atmosphere. Originally, I tried to use the photos I had taken of my research to extract these colours, but found that the colours were not coming up as graphic as I would have liked them too, so switch to a digital copy of the artwork in order to extract the true colours of the pieces. I loved how these ended up, as I felt it gave me plenty of colour variation to use within my designs.

The three colour palettes I ended up with
Off my printed research
Off a digital image from the internet

After this, we had to select one and create different colour combinations and proportions onto one design multiple times. I chose palette three, as I liked the variation of colours within it and began testing multiple combinations to see which colours best complimented my brand Gucci. I discovered through this, that many of the combinations related to the various creative directors Gucci has had/ has, particularly the likes of Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele.

I saw inspiration from Ford within the yellow and black design as I could picture this sleeveless coat garment to be diagonally cut with faux leather, with a yellow silk perhaps residing on the other half. I think these fabrics came to mind, as during my research I found these materials used within Tom Ford’s collections, (particularly in the Fall 1995 and 1996 collections). I also felt the leather would connect the garment to Gucci’s iconic Italian craftsmanship and historical use of the fabric, while remaining cruelty-free, as the brand has launched initiatives to cut out the use of fabrics sources from the cruelty of animals.

I also liked the top left design, as I added in a little zip detail through collage and also feel the “sleeveless sleeves” could be made from a mesh material which could be an interesting use of fabric, if the other materials used were more opaque. As for the other designs, I don’t necessarily dislike them, but resonate and feel more inspired with the other two.

While I was researching Gucci, I found I really liked the creative direction of Tom Ford and the glamour he injected into the brand. However, I also admire Michele’s work and like the more fantastical elements of his designs, as well as his bold use of colour that I can see being very relevant to my artist choice as well. In curating these designs, I plan to create a collection that blends the two; combining glamour and imagination. I have doubts in my ability to directly convey this notion visually, but I hope to also thoroughly present my ideas within these blog posts to the tutors to be able to fully understand where my ideas and design choices are coming from.

As I finished this task slightly early, I also started experimenting on another coat I had drawn up, using colour palette one. This particular garment I can imagine being faux fur, but still incredibly luxurious, again inspired by Ford’s collections. I particularly like the first design, with the bold red being used primarily, with the idea that the fabric choice speaks volumes for the garment as well, as feel it has a fantastical element to it (as to me the garment reminds me of wings), reminding me of Michele’s FW 2018 collection where he involved dragon designs. I am not sure if this idea is too simplistic though, but could be made up for with the other designs in the collection.

During this session, we also created fabric boards, which is where I was able to collate my fabric ideas for these garments.

Going forward, I look to experiment more and continue to try and add colour to different designs, while also matching them up with the right textiles and further creating those links between these pieces and my chosen brand. I also look to create maybe one or two more colour palettes to engage with a wider range of colours, as my artist does and will further design onto full figures with full outfits, as I have recently bought a printer and am able to print out figures to draw on, as drawing bodies is a weakness of mine that I feel tends to hinder the look of my designs as a whole.

After viewing the works of my peers on Padlet as well, I saw how my colour palettes may be too varied and will perhaps experiment with more complimentary colour stories that show a tonal range of colours to create a more connected and concise collection of garments. Overall, the biggest takeaway I have moving forward with the SDS task is EXPERIMENTATION and trying every single idea because the more ideas I put down onto paper, the more likely there is to be some winner designs!

Another doubt that I have is the plain shapes of my designs and lack of details or embellishments, stemming from the lack of shape in my artist research. I hope to possibly add a detail here and there, like a zip or pocket where I see relevant to heighten my work, but also would like the idea of simple features with luxurious textiles, mimicking Ford’s ideas.

Using these new tools, I hope to keep extracting shapes from my research until I have exhausted all my ideas and will hopefully have a solid collection of 6-8 garments by the 25th of January when our next design class is. I really like the freedom this design task brings, and knowing that this isn’t my chosen pathway helps me to take a lighter approach on my work and really just invest in expressing my ideas, mistakes and all.

References:

  • Ruscha, E. (1984) The Music from the Balconies [Oil paint on canvas]. Tate, London. (Accessed: 11 January 2021).