Two Things

First, here is a photo of one of my skirts from Escape, featured in a photoshoot for Elle Magazine SA. The Photoshoot was done by Elle New Talent Search fashion photography finalist Gerhard Coetzee.

Second...

I WON OPTIMISTIC REBELS! YES! A big thank you to all my supporters who voted for me and put up with all my annoying begging and bugging.

Jessi

Fashion Show Dreaming

So.. The big night is over. Escape has been released. Sorry this post is so late, I've literally had to force, drag, excavate myself out of the lazy haze brought about by post fashion show exhaustion! Suddenly everything seems so... slow... it's like there's no urgency. It's really very disorientating. I'm still trying to get myself back onto my running plan. Before the show was a nightmare week of no sleep, showering or sanity. There was time for nothing except fashion and preparation. Living on Red Bull and Bioplus Booster, I've heard, is very bad for one's health, which is why I'm currently on one extreme detox plan. But all complaints aside, one body and mind sacrificed, it was all so worth it.
Escape was received very well by the audience and judges, I went to bed that night with two cash prizes! I had one audience member come up to me during interval and confess that my first outfit had her in a near-tearful state of emotion. This, my dear readers, is satisfaction, knowing you designed something that spoke to the heart of a stranger. And people call fashion "superficial". I am fully puffed up with pride.
I designed a range meant to speak directly to the needs of the wearer, psychologically and emotionally. We had a discussion in culture of fashion class the other day about what a design really expresses, the intent of the designer, or the intent of the wearer. I said that truly good design will reflect both, or rather, the intent of the wearer guided into skillfully conducted beauty at the hands of the artisan, the designer. This was a year full of doubt, at times it was very difficult to see wether I was on the right path. Working so hard on something, for so long, and with so much debate from hard-headed lecturers, one tends to get discombobulated and discouraged. It's hard to keep focused and remember your goal. After the show, though, with the responses I got I know I must have done something right, having my audience understand my vision is true satisfaction.
So now the question remains... What comes next? How do I take Escape out of PE, and penetrate the global fashion industry? I guess it's about looking for the opportunities rather than waiting for them. Cliched but true. Here goes nothing.

Jessi

P.S. Escape is on show at Sliced Bread, Richmond Hill, Port Elizabeth, for anyone interested in checking it out and making orders!

P.P.S I'm still waiting for the photos from my photographer. She must be caught up in the post-show laziness too. But I will post them when I get them.

I'm Bringing Art Back

So, I've entered Converse Optimistic Rebels. My entry is all about what I'm doing in the fashion world, and how I see illustration in the industry. Give it a look!
http://www.optimisticrebels.co.za/bioscope_vote/view/70/

Also check it out on my friend Tim's blog!
http://www.utter.co.za/2010/10/converse-optimistic-rebels-–-im-bringing-art-back/

Votes would be much appreciated :)

Jessi

Expressive Illustration

I actually did this one a while back. It's about my showstopper for my range, Escape, which is made of the most gorgeous (expensive!) ribbon-rose emellished mesh cloth. I will post photos when they become available.

Jessi

How to Wear the Denim Shirt

An illustration I did last night. I also submitted it for the art exhibition. Let's hold thumbs!

Jessi

Experimenting with movement

Here is one of my more recent illustrations, playing with movement instead of a static pose. Hopefully it gets chosen for the university art exhibition next week!

Jessi

Work in Progress

 have a confession... I'm pretty new at the whole digital art thing. As in, I started a few weeks ago. I've been working with traditional media all my life and it's something I'm very comfortable with, but the idea of drawing on a computer somehow leaves me feeling a bit like the rug's been pulled out from under my feet. So many buttons, shortcuts and layers become very confusing to one who has become at home with simply a pad and pencil. 

Tonight I started a new digital illustration project. I love portrait drawing, and wanted to try something similar, so I went hunting on Deviantart for some inspiring reference. Many thanks to *Eliara who provided me with a most stunning photograph. Check it out here: http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/people/emotive/#/d1bqezq.

Anyway, I got started and found that naturalistic drawing is a whole new story armed with a Wacom Tablet and Photoshop, rather than with a pencil or charcoal and paper. A big issue I have is forgetting about layers, I mean, I'm used to erasing if I make a mistake, not deleting the layer! I know it's really a great tool to have when one knows (and remembers) how to use it properly, but getting into the habit is going to require quite an altering of my mindset. The other thing that really bugged me was having to change colours and pen size/hardness every time I needed a new line or fill as opposed to just altering the pressure of my pencil. About two hours of battling to remember shortcuts and where to find all the impossibly tiny buttons for the different tools left me with an okay-ish face section, but the hair just became an impossible feat, and I decided to leave the rest of the drawing for a night when I don't have an essay due the next morning. 

At the moment, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed and out of my depth with this trendy new medium. Tonight really proved to me that it's going to require a complete flip around of my skill set to go digital, and I must admit I didn't expect it would be this nerve-wrecking. But hey, digital is the path modern art is taking, and if my goal is to become a renowned fashion illustrator then I have no choice but to jump on the bandwagon and start practicing. So for now have a look at my portrait in progress, an let me know if you have any tips or advice on the issue at hand. 

Jessi

Illustration Theory

We learnt one day in class that a fashion illustration does not necessarily have to show the garments in order for it to tell their story. Here is an exploration:

Comments?

Jessi

Actually... Models are Important

I never really believed in the whole principle of the model speaking 90% of the message of your design. I always pretty much thought that good design speaks for itself.

Cue tonight, Free Creative Fashion Show first fitting. Unfortunately we student designers are still at that dismal point where we dont get to be picky and choosy about models, we get who we get and have to work with them. Tonight we were randomly allocated models for the first fashion show.

People, up until tonight I have been feeling confident about my range. But apparently the wrong model really can ruin it all. It seems that, taken off the perfect size 10 dress-makers doll these garments have been molded to, they lose all their magic and intrigue. And a too short model, even slighlty so, DOES in fact ruin the look! My skirts are not supposed to be knee-length!!

Suddenly Escape seems tasteless and frumpy. I need a miracle. Perhaps it just seems gloomy right now because I am tired. Maybe our next fitting will bring brighter things. Hope with me.

Jessi

Tailored Cashmere

So this week I'm working on another creation for Escape, a 100% worsted cashmere men's tailored jacket. The fabric is to die for; so lustrous; however, welt pockets are not. I already had to re-cut an entire panel, and I now no longer have cloth left over for mistakes. I'll post a related illustration shortly. In the meantime, wish me luck...

Jessi

Escape

Thanks to my dearest friend Nina for reminding me to post my first range movie, Escape, also made by Ross Charnock. It gives a very good feel for what my range is overall all about. My third year range (surprisingly, called Escape) is an exploration into the psychological experience of the clothes wearer, and what I've done is really tried to create a range that subconsciously gives off vibes of cool, calm and collected and allows it's wearers to feel like they are ecsaping the chaos of daily life. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel like much of an escape to the designer (myself), who has spent countless hours making patterns, sewing, writing theses and rushing around town to numerous fabric shops trying to find bits of this and that, cloth, buttons, etc. I must admit... I can't wait for the end.

Anyways, have a link: http://www.vimeo.com/12291524

Enjoy!
Jessi

It's Ready!

Check out my mohair fashion film here: http://www.vimeo.com/14173250 Comments and feedback are welcome.
Thanks again to the brilliant Mr. Ross Charnock

Jessi

Eight Weeks

My lecturer just waltzed into class and announced that there are officially only eight weeks left until our graduate fashion show, The Collective NMMU (Insert very perturbed face).

That means I have eight weeks to deal with two more outfits, two tailored jackets, a design journal, design thesis, range photoshoot, two presentations to Mohair SA, range mascot and a whole load of other time wasters like tests, assignments and organisational meetings. Maybe I shouldn't be blogging right now...

Fashion Film Update

My fashion film is nearly ready for viewing! In the mean time, check out these stills from the shoot.

Jessi

After the Shoot

One thing I've learnt about the creative industry, is that things never seem to work out the way you imagined them.

The location we chose for my fashion film was an open-air theatre in St. Georges Park, a quaint botanical garden in PE. The theatre area is simply gorgeous, with wind-beaten white pillars and cracked, faded brick steps laid into the grass. We chose this location to make subtle commentary on the fact that cloth architecture played a big role in the design process for the two particular outfits being featured in this film. The outfits are dresses made entirely out of mohair cloth, and I've really explored the capabilities and boundaries of mohair as a textile for this project. Anyway, enough design babble.
We arrived, film equipment and two mohair enrobed models in hand, at the location to find that our fashion film haven had turned into a hobo hotel overnight. The comatose man slumped in the corner; beer bottle still in hand; didn't quite lend us the mystic atmosphere we were hoping for. So it was back to the drawing board. We traipsed back to the car, slightly discombobulated and disappointed, but on a mission to find a new location before the models' make-up faded.
About an hour of driving around the outskirts of PE (with, from my side, only half a clue of where we actually were) led us to it. The Spot. An abandoned building project, which Stacy (one of the models) says has been in this condition for the past few years. It was quite breathtaking actually, seeing two white, soft and fluffy mohair creations placed curiously in this empty, discarded and saddeningly gray cement home. The contrast speaks volumes, and somehow the beauty of these two inquisitive models brings out the shy charm of the dutsy rooms and broken rafters, most of all the experience left me with a bee in my bonnet about the depths of inspiration potential to be found in unexpected places like that one. It was really something to behold, the flow of creativity from all of us in that lonely shell of a building.
While we wait to see the film, here is an illustration I did a few months back of one of my mohair dresses. It's drawn in chalk with a bit of editing in Photoshop.

Bucketloads of thanks to Ross Charnock; cinematographer and editor; who as I type is putting together this mini cinema masterpiece. Also thanks to my enthusiastic and beautiful models, Stacy and Phee, as well as Stuart who tagged along to look after camera equipment. The film will be posted as soon as it's ready! I can't wait!
Jessi

Saturday Morning

...very early. In a few minutes I'll be off to shoot a new short film for my third year range. Why do photographers like working so darn early in the morning? Anyway, I'm excited. I'll post the film as soon as it's ready.


Jessi

I'm a Newbie

I guess I should begin with something like this... Who am I? I'm Jessi, 21, a fashion design student living in the desperately small town of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Who do I want to be? Jessi, fashion illustrator, living the high life in Paris, New York, Milan, or some similar fashion capital of the world. So I'm here to show the world my drawings. Next year, when I have more time, I'm going to be doing an Illustration a Day project. For now, here's my most recent fashion illustration. Enjoy.