english - Design 1o1

LETTER no.27
Monday, December 7, 2015, Offenburg, Germany
on iversity / on design 1o1 redux website
Part 1 - Myself / Week 06 - My Clothes
Greetings from Offenburg!
Have you ever heard of the
BurdaStyle Pattern Store?
In 1950, Aenne Burda published
the first issue of “Burda Moden” magazine.
People immediately loved it!
And then (two years later),
the magazine became even more popular
because it included patterns to make clothes.
“My aim is to put together practical fashions at an
affordable price that can be worn by the largest
possible number of women,” said Mrs. Burda.
Today, the magazine is published in 16 different
languages and spread all around the world!
Question of the day:
Dressing up for what?
“Dressing up. People just don’t do it anymore.
We have to change that,” says John Galliano.
Cutting famous patterns, fabricating clothes, marking
the seams, the darts, the notches, the buttonholes…
Collecting pieces to be put together...
When searching for the definition of “to dress” or
“to dress up” in the freedictionary.com,
we found that it can refer to many things.
It can refer to the act of putting on clothes,
to cleaning fish, to cultivate plants,
but also to get into proper alignment with others.
That’s a quite interesting thing for a designer,
if we think about it...
What will I do today?
This week is called “My Clothes” and you will
spend it “dressing up” in order to get into proper
alignment with yourself (and with others).
;-)
Yes indeed, on this last week of our Design 1o1 Redux,
Part 1 (Myself), you will plan and make an outfit
that tells something about yourself.
And then, you will “dress yourself up” as a little person and
(on Friday) organize a photoshoot for all of us to see.
We say “little person” because, in this part of the course,
we won’t be dealing with the full human 1:1 scale.
We choose to go for an easier challenge and make an outfit for
a little “paper doll” (please see the week’s schedule below to
better understand what we mean).
Ok.
Now is time to get inspired for this “fashion” week
of ours and search for references. Think about this
special “outfit” of yours. Think about where you could
have seen something like it in the past.
Then, you will need to draw a pattern for your outfit.
Lean and simple. Something on a white background would
be best. Here, for example, we can see many of them.
We even found a clothing patterns 101 course!
:D
This course is for professionals working on full-scale models...
Remember that we work simple things week, at a much smaller scale…
But, at least, it can help you get a general idea.
:-)
Once you have your reference and drawn pattern ready, share your
2 images on Instagram (in 2 individual posts) using the hashtags:
#DressImpeccably and #Design1o1Redux. Then, in the caption
section(s), write something important to accompany your image(s).
And finally, you will prepare yourself for the week.
This will be our schedule:
Monday: search for references + draw the pattern for your
outfit (proportions, lines to cut…)
Tuesday: choose the fabric(s) for your outfit
Wednesday: print / cut + make a paper model of your outfit
Thursday: choose the person that will wear your outfit + print &
cut him (or her) out into a paper doll
Friday: dress your paper doll + organize / make the big
photoshoot!
What will I learn doing this?
To think and discover more about the world of clothes.
Clothes to look at, to draw from, to prototype,
and to even wear.
Why do we do this?
Because we all wear clothes.
And because our clothes say something about
ourselves, about our personalities.
It’s not about being the hippest kid in town.
We don’t care about that.
It’s about finding things that fit us.
It’s about feeling and looking good.
“I am attracted to people who make this effort in knowing what
suits them - they are individual and stylish.”
“If you wear clothes that don’t suit you, you’re a fashion
victim. You have to wear clothes that make you look better.”
(Vivienne Westwood)
Something to remember:
How you dress is a
language in itself.
Further inspiration
We mentioned Vivienne Westwood.
Now (of course), we have to add Coco Chanel.
Another fashion-designer, icon, superstar,
who generated lots of nice quotes and aphorisms.
Three nice things she said:
“Dress shabbily, they notice the dress.
Dress impeccably, they notice the woman.”
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only.
Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do
with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
“Where should one use perfume?” a young woman asked.
“Wherever one wants to be kissed.”
And finally...
An app Giulia found for us to play with
(not one to make this week’s homework, but still fun stuff!).
Today’s Postcard References
Franz Burda II and
Aenne Burda
Vintage Burda pattern
Burda Pattern
Design 1o1 Redux is run by the Design 1o1 crew.
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