YourView Competition

Entry to the YourView competition is now closed with 21 Contestants from 7 different Countries. A popularity contest open until June 5, 12pm GMT  will now decide who will win one of the three prizes offered by Laurence King Publishing. The top prize is £200 worth of vouchers to be used on LKP website; the 2nd and 3rd prizes consist respectively of 2 and 1 titles to be chosen from Laurence King’s Fashion & Textile books list. Final attribution of the prizes will be decided by Modeconnect amongst the three most popular contestants.

 How to Vote

Everyone can vote for up to three contestants. Note that the “Vote” button at the bottom of the page can be pressed only once. Make sure you have selected the correct profiles, ticking the number, before doing so. Your vote can reflect a number of factors: the interest of the interview, the quality of the work submitted and the merit of the designer.

YourView Competition is over, long live YourView

Keep tweeting images of your work including, #modeconnect, your name, age and city to see you work included in our favourites! YourView feature is sure to come back soon.

Thank you for taking time to help us decide who should win
Congratulation to all the contestants for their fantastic work
A big thank you to Laurence King Publishing for its support
A massive Cheer for the hundreds who have tweeted an image of their work, making our Tweet feed truly exciting.

 About Modeconnect

Modeconnect aims to Inspire Fashion Creatives. The Magazine section explores one city at a time;  its content is organised functionally in the Resource section. Three Blogs offer different running commentaries. Find out more About Modeconnect, Modeconnect Contributors and Summer Internships.

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Roxanne Jones is 20 year old from Hove, UK. She is studying the second of a three year BA course in Fashion Media and Promotion. You can contact Roxanne at Roxanne-jones@hotmail.com or via twitter at @RoxanneJones5 and follow her blog on blogspot and tumblr.

Roxanne what is the background of the work you submitted?
These images are the result of a Print and Digital Media project, a magazine, for my course showcasing my skills in photography, styling and art direction.

Can you tell us more about this project?
The project started as a group project. We had first to conceive an innovative magazine designed to fill a gap in the market and then follow it up working as an editorial team would, recruiting our own editor etc.
The magazine we created was called ‘Rise’ and meant to showcase British content, highlighting the talent, cultural mix, art, music, lifestyle and fashion within our small island.

My personal contribution to Rise was a series of editorial spreads which I styled, photographed and art directed. I am a big fan of the 90’s and chose to portray how the 90’s mashed up styles including Nu Rave, Grunge, Britannia pop and Punk. I wanted the photos to reflect this carefree rebellious attitude of the 90s. I chose to mix current trends to show that the youth of today don’t go by the rules; they will wear what they want. I created photos with a hard edge but also playful and fun.

What inspires you creatively?
I’ m a very visual person and can be inspired simply by the way things look or show on a page. I rely a lot on magazines, old & new for inspiration focusing on the styling, photography and art direction. The site usedmagazine.co.uk comes handy for this!
I find making mood boards very helpful, as simple as it is, even using simple tear-outs, it gives me a view of how things can be brought together and helps my ideas to grow.

Your favourite blog or website for inspiration?
Vintage Virgin, a blogger who inspires me to be creative with what I wear and experiment with all different types of styles.

What does Fashion mean to you?
It’s the future, my future. I don’t want to imagine myself not involved with fashion. It may sound cheesy but fashion makes me happy; I just want to do and see it all.

Roxanne Jones

So how do you imagine your future?
Creating a theme, a look and feel is what I’m most passionate about: I would like to work as a stylist. I like to imagine slightly awkward and weird things and bring them to life. I have so many ideas! I look at clothes and instantly think about what they would look good with on who and where. I need an output for all those ideas!

Your ideal internship?
I believe internships are the way forward. There is no alternative to experiencing the internal working of a company works and spending time, working, with people. I am currently interning at ASOS.com and I have learnt so much, it’s a great way to understand where you want to end up workwise. Next – I’ll be trying to do loads of internships over the summer – I would love to intern at House of Holland, one of my all time favourite brands.

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Brooke Tippett, 33, from Plymouth, UK, is in the second year of a 3 years Fashion Design BA course. You can contact Brooke at brooketippett@hotmail.co.uk or via twitter at @brooketippett80, follow her tumblr blog and check her portfolio.

Brooke, what is the background of the work you submitted?
Kaleidoscopic is a capsule collection I have recently created as a project for my second year on a brief entitled Odyssey. It is inspired by modern interpretations of Futurist Art.  I was in particular captured by the use Mark Adam Webster makes of colour and geometric shapes in a series entitled ‘Abstract Futurism’.

I widen my exploration on the notion of Futurism, looking into technology, visiting The Science museum, photographing car engines, watching SciFi films – in particular The Fifth Element – but also investigating technological fabrics.

I wanted to create a forward looking collection through shape, colour, print and use of fabrics. In the end I settled for Neoprene material which allows bold, colourful and bouncing silhouettes.

I have been designed my garments relying on mirrored panels, using construction techniques and fasteners typical of wetsuits. This is particular evident in my leggings, created from different coloured Neoprene
Circular features are a hallmark of this collection. Both my Orange and Pink coats have been designed using conceptual shapes from my research into technology. Their circular pockets have been created with padded rims and lined with a Digital Print I created also inspired by Futurist art. It started as a collage manipulated in Photoshop to create a psychedelic pattern which led to the title of the collection Kaleidoscopic.
This collection allowed me to experiment with fabrics, textures and prints.

What inspires you creatively?
Everything and anything really, but I do have a particular passion for the Theatre. I especially like the choreographies of Matthew Bourne, such as Cinderella for its contemporary take on the fairy tale and the sets and costumes.

A View from Brooke’s Window

Your favourite blog or website for inspiration?
Pinterest is a great site for inspiration with an unlimited stock of images.
I also like Show Studio, Nick Knight’s website, for its quality & inspirational content which makes industry professionals, fashion film and runway shows accessible to the general public.

What is hot or new in the world and/or where you live?
Living and studying in Plymouth is quite exciting at the moment as the council put in a bid to become 2017 ‘City of Culture’. Plymouth offers a vast choice in creative and performing arts, both professional and amateur. Being recognised as a ‘City of Culture’ will raise the profile of the city and stimulate its cultural output further.

What does Fashion mean to you?
Fashion is personal choice; it is about experimentation and about longevity. It links self-expression and aesthetics.

How do you imagine your future?
I’m not too sure what the future holds for me as I abide by the belief that no plan is a good plan. I keep my options open and I am willing to take risks. I know I want to design. I am very interested in Textiles Print and Surface Design; I also enjoy designing Womenswear. I am fairly experimental but I am also eager to learn and develop professional techniques and would love the opportunity to work for a Couture House. Eventually I would like to set up my own label.

Brooke Tippett

Your ideal internship?
I would really like an internship in Print and/or Textiles with a prestigious company like Basso and Brooke or Zandra Rhodes – I just love the exciting prints they create. – An experience in Haute Couture and/or Tailoring where I could learn some of their exceptional artisan techniques. I think internships are very important.

You wonder…
I am interested to do internships abroad. Are there specific places to look for them?
Also do you feel it would be more beneficial for my future career to focus on a particular area of fashion or is it important to develop skills in different areas?

What do you think? Why not tell us in the comment section below.

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Jasmine Corona is a 24 year old fashion student from Vajont, Italy. She is completing a BA in Fashion Design. You can contact Jasmine Corona at corona.jasmine@gmail.com or via twitter at @jjasminecorona and visit her portfolio here.

Jasmine what is the background of the work you submitted?
The images I submitted are from designs created for my thesis project, a capsule collection of womenswear consisting of three silhouettes. It is called
[Copy> Paste> Flip] which also refers to the ritual by which the collection was created: a series of steps, folding and unfolding, mirroring. This process was born from a creative research on volume with paper collars, 3D structures that I’ve made directly on the neck of the dummy, simply with paper and tape.

The act of mirroring is loaded with contradictions and multiple significations. The mirror and the reflected image; the mirror image becomes an obsession, a distorted image narcissistic and depersonalized.

Those modern ruffs distort perception of the body, detaching head from shoulders. The mirror of Narcissus becomes that of the Uncanny; the ritual folding and unfolding, originally a design methodology, becomes a visual prosthesis.

The woman of my collection is a female Dandy, wearing large white collars on contrasting dark square silhouettes. Semitransparent dresses imbue a contrasting light.

Naked flesh, the legs, are revealed by shorts, signifying the vanity of those who put their body on show, feeding an  appetite for hedonistic auto contemplation … the looking back at oneself permitted by mirrors … mirrors signified, hidden inside the exaggerated duplicated collars, the ruffs.

What inspires you creatively?
I’m inspired by strong women, solemn … untouchable. One of my muse is Frida Kahlo. I find her strong fragility, magnetic … bewitching and powerful. Hiding her vulnerability under her clothes, she re-created herself as an Aztec goddess. She is the product of her own self-deification.

I also love the ironic solemnity of the Nuns; I am fascinated by the contrast of white on black. My sketchbook includes detachable collars, clerical garments, figures such as the school boy wearing a black apron and a white collar, housewives with white lace aprons, portraits by Rembrandt and Franz Hals and Rogier van der Weyden.

Canadian artist Steven Shearer pins down my attraction to such visuals when he explains: “Even in my poems I see within the context of medieval illuminations and the universal history of persecution and torment. They’re humorous too because the language is so mannered, overwrought and, in a sense, baroque. I like the strange contrast between the bodily, grotesque phrases and the clean, orderly, austere graphic quality of the black and white graphics. It’s unreal and funny.”

A view of Jasmine’s Window

Your favourite blog or website for inspiration?
At the moment I’m doing an internship at A.N.G.E.L.O. Vintage Archive in Lugo, near Ravenna; it is better than anything on the net for inspiration! The collection consists of about 100.000 garments from the 1800s to the 80s. There I assist international style studios in their research. I find it incredibly stimulating to be able to see, touch those garments instead of simply look at them in fashion history books.

I can have a dress from the Twenties in my hands, for example and study it in every detail, how it is tailored, decorated … imagining who wore it and what her story was. This is incredibly new and amazing for me.

What does Fashion mean to you?
The expression of moments in life, of specific moods through the creation of clothes. Garments contribute to the story; they express a mood that people use to express themselves.

What is your ideal Fashion Project?
Every new project! When I start a new project I always believe it is the ideal project. When it is finished I often feel that I could have done more, worked better… With the project I have moved on, my ideas and the concept I was searching has inevitably evolved and already I am thinking about something else, something new.

Who would you like to work with?
I would love to be surrounded by people knowledgeable of fashion and be able to assimilate as much as I can of their knowledge. This does not need to be related to work, to my job; it would be wonderful, beautiful if it was possible in everyday life too.

Jasmine Corona

How do you imagine your future?
I imagine living and working in a Studio apartment, in my own organized creative chaos. This is what I’ve chosen for myself, this is what I would love to achieve.

Who would you like to work with?
I really like my internship and working with Style studios, so a job with a Style studio would be great. Labels that inspire me are Rick Owens, Damir Doma and Jil Sander and I would also love designing for such brands

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This year’s annual School of Fashion Symposium welcomed 2013 Guests of Honor, Max and Lubov Azria, the creative forces behind global fashion house, BCBGMAXAZRIA, as well as esteemed journalist and style editor for the International Herald Tribune, Suzy Menkes. Thursday, May 9th at the Morgan Auditorium, the floor was open for discussion for our three prestigious guests and the Mistress of Ceremonies, Gladys Perint Palmer, Executive Director of the School of Fashion. The group discussed sustainability in the fashion industry, the beauty of Herve Leger and why the west coast is doing fashion better.

With a design team of over 500 employees, BCBGMAXAZRIA has established itself as one of the largest and most successful fashion houses in the industry. Max Azria, designer, founder, chairman and CEO is the consummate businessman, with none other than his wife/partner in crime, Lubov Azria, as the company’s chief creative officer. At the symposium, the duo embodied the ultimate power couple, as they sat nestled between Gladys Perint Palmer and Suzy Menkes. Max wore a tailored black suit and tie, complete with dark-tinted sunnies, while Lubov wore a body-con dress, stilettos and her black bomber jacket effortlessly draped over her shoulders. Both Max and Lubov seemed equally invested in their hopes for expanding their company’s market, as well as reengineering their focus on their acquired couture line, Herve Leger.

Suzy Menkes,Max & Lubov Azria BCBGMAXAZRIA,hosted by Gladys Perint Palmer

In both the publishing and fashion industries, Suzy Menkes is a “household name”.  She is revered for her honest opinion and wise musings when it comes to all things fashion, and how it translates into the wider culture. She has worked for the most noted print publications, from the New York Times to Harper’s Bazaar. For the Q&A discussion, Menkes was enthusiastic and responded thoughtfully in her British accent when the topic turned to the matter of “fast fashion” overtaking the market.

Menkes proved to be the perfect foil to the dynamic of the two head designers, as she addressed the fashion industry’s much-needed involvement in sustainable practices. On the one hand, Menkes believed that “fast fashion”, or the commercial mass marketing of inexpensive clothing in the United States, was indeed a hindrance to sustainable growth. She stated, “Everywhere there is a demand to bring the prices in fashion down. It’s unreal and it’s unsustainable. If you actually look at the prices of clothing now, you will find that it costs less to buy a swim suit currently than it did twenty years ago in spite of the fact that prices have gone up. (Namely the prices in [resources] and especially food.) However, [in terms of fashion] ‘artificially’, the prices are kept down.”

Yet, Menkes assured her audience she was not against the buying of clothes from the likes of an “H&M”, but rather, the lack of forethought and awareness on the part of the consumer. “Even if one person in this room goes out and says to themselves, ‘Yes, I like buying new clothes, but maybe this time I won’t buy the cheapest of the cheap, made by the poorest of the poor, and [by those] who are going to die making these things for me.’ I think if at least one person can say that, then this was all worth-while.”

Lubov Azria agreed with Menkes saying, “I do think that awareness is so important, especially in fashion. When I go to the Gap even, I want to read about their product, so that I can buy into something that I believe in. I think that awareness in and of itself is a practice of sustainability, and that’s how we are going to change the world.” Pretty thoughtful stuff, especially coming from a spokeswoman of a design house where it’s all too easy to fall into the commoditization that comes with branding a label. I was impressed with Lubov for holding her own when it came to her vast knowledge and memory, from minute clothing design details, to what pieces from which collections she planned on marketing to different countries around the world.

The conversation turned to Max and Lebov Azria’s efforts in rejuvenating the Herve Leger brand, which the BCBGMAXAZRIA house took over in 1998. Lubov explained the iconic Herve bandage dress, and how it truly molds to a woman’s shape due to its single stretch bandage fabric, pinned and hand-sewn onto a dress form, as opposed to being made with a cut and sew technique. Herve Leger by Max Azria has definitely pioneered the bandage dress look, garnering celebrity favorites, from Rachel Zoe to Kim Kardashian.

Max also presented as very involved in every aspect of his enormous company. He explained the differences in the design turn around from the U.S. to Europe. He thought the fast-paced American designer was cutting edge and organized, with his ability to produce several collections a year, while the European based designers favor bi or triannual collection releases.

Max concluded the discussion, paying the School of Fashion a major compliment.“When I first came into this school, I was absolutely shocked,” he exclaimed, “This school is amazing….I don’t even have to see the fashion show today, I am already sure of the talent here.”

The event was a brief, yet exciting discussion of the fashion industry today, provided by the leading players in fashion design and journalism. The event closed with an open student Q&A with Menkes and the Azria duo, concluding a very successful School of Fashion Symposium.

Written by Alex Suarez, photographs courtesy of Aldo Carrera, first published in The Fashion School Daily Illustration by Gladys Perint Palmer.

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Ivan Vos, 19 lives in Cape Town, South Africa. He is studying the second year of a 3 year Fashion Design Diploma. You can contact Ivan Vos via twitter at @McQueeny_IV and visit his portfolio on Deviant Art.

What is the background of the work you submitted?
This lingerie project led to an exploration of the notion of beauty and the idea that something aesthetically pleasing can also be seen as grotesque. The objective of this course project was to create 8 lingerie designs, 4 corselets and 4 nightgowns. I took inspiration from bizarre beauty, dark imagery and Punk subculture. I was also influenced by garment construction shown in late 18^th century French fashion. The theme of ‘Rococo Punk’ remained consistent in each design.

I did this project in the space of two weeks in April 2013, using the first 2 days to do the mood board and the remainder of the time to do the designs and illustrations.

What inspires you creatively?
My main influence comes from the work of the late Lee Alexander McQueen. I identify with his design aesthetic of characters and stories created for his runway shows. Like him I aim to design armours for women to wear and feel strong and powerful in.

A view from Ivan’s window

Your favourite blog or website for inspiration?
Definitely DeviantArt. The level of creativity and talent from different art and design disciplines simply astounds me and inspires me to push my creative limits.

What is hot or new where you live?
I don’t really keep track of the latest trends, but South Africa seems to be catching on to the European trend of wearing one colour from head to toe. It seems to be a new twist on 80’s power-dressing.

What does Fashion mean to you?
Fashion is an outward expression of an inner persona. What you choose to put on and wear can define your mood and who or what you want to be in that moment.

Your ideal Fashion Project?
I mostly work by myself, but working as part of a group collaboration with designers who share my anti-establishment ideas could be great. The idea of staging a fashion show featuring garments from worldwide designers and producing a fashion documentary of sorts from this is also very appealing to me.

How do you imagine your future?
Of course I simply want to take the fashion world by storm and shake things up a little, much like Alexander McQueen or Viktor & Rolf or Thierry Mugler did.

Ivan Vos

Your ideal internship?
Ideally, I’d like to gain an internship with a major fashion retail company to experience the day-to-day work. Another part of me would like to do costume design for theatre productions.

You wonder…
I feel like fashion designers don’t receive enough financial support to launch their own labels. The fashion industry makes a significant contribution to the economy, so why do governments not backing designers more?
Also, is fashion illustration often overlooked as a valid form of art? Why is it?

What do you think? Why not tell us in the comment section below.

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Ripping the lid off the fashion exhibition paradigm

Bata Shoe Museum

The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto is housed in a giant shoebox of a building — literally a concrete shoebox with a slightly tipped lid — and with the opening of its latest exhibition “Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture” has literally ripped the lid off the paradigm of an exhibition of fashion in the museum.

While most fashion exhibitions focus on haute couture or high-end ready to wear women’s garments or accessories, sneakers are an everyday fashion item, one that transcends gender, age, class, and culture. Making sneakers the subject of an exhibition is a bold choice, especially since they appeal to and are primarily collected by men.

“Men often assume that this museum has nothing for them and with this exhibition, we hope to appeal to a different demographic”, said Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack.  This different demographic is young and predominantly male – not your typical museum visitor — and turned the opening event into sold-out happening.

Elizabeth Semmelhack said she “was eager to do the exhibition expressly because menswear is somewhat neglected.  I was also eager to focus on sneakers because their history is so storied and their social meaning so nuanced. One of the things that interested me during my research was that the sneaker emerged from a desire to signify status and that today this aspect of sneaker culture remains strong.  I also think that sneakers are allowing men to participate in the fashion system to a greater degree. I am calling this the sneakerfication of men’s dress and I see it as part of a larger shift in the construction of idealized masculinity”. She also acknowledged the role of her advisory group, which included sneaker collectors Dion Walcott, Lee Joseph, Ken Yee, Chad Jones, Dee Wells, Thad Jayaseelan, as well as Mayan Rajendran, who came to the museum to look at some sneakers as part of his research as a grad student in the MA Fashion program at Ryerson University several years ago. It was Mayan’s observation that the Bata Shoe Museum had a small collection of sneakers that initially sparked the idea of a sneaker exhibition.

The exhibition design by Karim Rashid is sleek and mod, featuring sneaker pods that feature individual pairs of high fashion sneakers from Prada, Louis Vuitton and Christian Louboutin. The space is animated with film clips from Just for Kicks by Thierry Daher (also available below) and touch screens that offer additional contextual material. The south wall includes blow-ups of Nike sneaker design sketches highlighting the fact that sneakers are designed objects of fashion.

The north wall and east walls are ringed with glass cabinets that trace the evolution of the sneaker, from its earliest incarnation as a lightweight canvas upper and vulcanized rubber sole.

Although I attended the opening, I had to go back to appreciate the depth of research that went into this exhibition and I was surprised to learn that the sneaker had such a long history. Although there are several rubber shoes in the early part of the 19^th century on display, the oldest pair of running shoes in existence were made by Dutton and Thorowgood and date to 1860-1865. This pair features leather uppers and small heels similar to men’s dress shoes of the period, but include spikes on the soles, which make them into running shoes. The term “sneaker” was traced to 1873 in reference to the fact that the wearer could pad around noiselessly while wearing rubber-soled shoes. Initially, sneakers were only available in limited quantities and although seemingly humble in appearance, this footwear signified elite status since the owner had the time and the means to participate in sports and leisure activities. It was just over a century later, in the mid-1980s, when two pivotal events took place in sneaker history: Nike signed Michael Jordan and launched Air Jordan and Adidas signed Run DMC, and sneaker culture became mainstream.

I have to admit I was initially reluctant to see this exhibition since I have a deep affinity for historic costume and haute couture. Plus I am not a casual dresser and rarely wear sneakers myself, except in the gym, but, in the end, I was surprised by how much I liked the exhibit, especially a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers that look like they have Baroque embroidery on them and a pair of Nike Michael Johnson gold spikes 1996 in 24 karat gold covered material. To stay current, it is important to step outside one’s comfort zone. With this exhibition, Elizabeth Semmelhack has ripped open the topic of menswear and sneaker culture. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture
April 25, 2013 – March 30, 2014
Bata Shoe Museum
327 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario

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There is a common conception that moths are just ugly butterflies, but looking at them with greater attention I realised that they are actually as, if not more, advanced than butterflies; their patterns are often much more detailed.

This is where I got the idea for my print which is the black and white scaled down body frame of a moth, very detailed and elegant, overlaid with brightly coloured butterflies. I picked this design out of many I created because it fits with a ‘Sportswear’ theme which I would like to develop within my work. Over the course of this project however, my designs evolved towards sculptural fashion rather than of sportswear.

Once I had selected this print, I worked on the second image I submitted: the black and white print layered on the torso of a model. Personally I like this one very much! I decided to carry forward the very detailed black and white gradients and shading of my first print. I practiced with composition of the print and where my print would give maximum impact on the body. Then working with the print I started changing the gradients and colour balances to give a ‘disintegrating effect’.

This second print, the Moth Body, was digitally printed onto my final fabric, a tightly woven material. The print is placed at the bottom of my garment which was a plain shift dress with a separated draped bomber jacket with volumed sleeves as which is on my Final Illustration. Placing the print was quite complex; I had to consider the garment construction and think which pattern pieces would lay on top. The print had not only be seen in the right place but be perfectly balanced.

How did you go about finding your Muse?
I had a scrap file where I collected pages from magazine, quotes, blog posts etc. that I found inspiring. I used this file to pick my theme to work on. Collecting data this way is very interesting; it is a bank of ideas and also helps realise how much and how fast fashion actually changes over the seasons.
I really enjoyed this project because it was all about doing things you enjoy and creating whatever you fancied. It helped me however to find out my strengths and weaknesses, knowledge I will be taking forward me next year to improve on my skills.

Whose work inspires you?
Despite the fact that so far Raf Simons has mainly designed menswear and I enjoy designing womenswear, Raf Simons is very influential to my work. I find his aesthetics, the basic shape he uses and the silhouettes of his garments a great source for ideas. His Spring/Summer 13 collection for example, features a trench coat with a very colourful floral pattern which turns a classic into a new and upbeat garment suited for today’s market.

I have recently started to design some menswear but I am yet to make up my mind if I prefer designing for men or women. In a way I hope to be able to design for both, this would make my work more varied.

I also like to look at other students work. I find graduate work is fresh and rich in ideas and is also up to date in terms of techniques as students often use new interesting ones.

Inspirational work that kicked off this project

View from Bethany’s Window

What Websites do you go to for inspiration?
I really enjoy Pinterest. I think that to be creative you have to look outside the box and not just within on specific area of design. I think that Pinterest helps you do this and visualise and review other people’s work.

What does fashion mean to you?
I believe that fashion is for everyone, and that has their own view on it. Fashion is an everyday fact, even if you don’t enjoy the fashion of clothing; you will probably enjoy other form of fashion, like that of interior decoration. Whether you admit to it or not everyone is influenced by fashion. Without any form of fashion the world would be one huge blank canvas.

What would be your ideal Fashion Project?
I really enjoy working on the Stand, draping and manipulation fabric. I feel a project combining all of these would see my creativity explode; it would be so exciting! I’ve recently started designing sportswear and work with tailoring; I find working with traditional techniques and finding ways to Break the rules can lead to very interesting ideas!

I enjoy working with people who do not have the same level as me on a fashion subject or technique, whether they are more or less advanced. Explaining a process or having it explained to me helps me to understand it better.

What would your ideal career be?
My ideal job would be designing fashion. I enjoy pattern cutting and the technical aspects of fashion design but I love the creative outlet of actually designing fashion.

Bethany Smith

What kind of job will you be looking for when you graduate?
I think I still will have a lot more to learn about the fashion industry after I have graduated. I would like to gain experience with a working designer so I can discover what the day to day life of a designer involves.
I would also love to be able to visit a developing country and may be share experience, designing and producing garments that could be sold and earn some money.

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Anoushka Probyn is 19 years old. She is British and lives in London, UK, where she is completing a one year Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. You can contact Anoushka by email at Anoushka.probyn@hotmail.co.uk or Twitter @anoushkalila. See more of her work on Anoushka Probyn’s Portfolio.

What inspires you creatively?
I can say I am influenced by my surroundings: I live in London where museums and art galleries, fashionable people and beautiful architecture are plentiful. My favourite place in London is the V&A; there always seems to be a new room full of artefacts to discover. It is so easy to get lost amongst all the ancient tapestries and precious china!

View From Anouska’s Window

Your favourite websites for inspiration?
For fashion I look to Liz’s blog Late Afternoon; it always looks so classy and well put together. When researching a project, Pinterest is my first port of call as with so many beautiful images to inspire me. Finally Trendhunter makes it easy to search fashion shoot archives.

What do you think is hot or new in the world?
For a while now I believe that, partially in response to the recession, fashion is retaliating against the decadence of the last decade. Though the models are still gorgeous and the clothes luxurious, glamour is no longer de rigueur. A decidedly anti-fashion feel abounds. This is illustrated by more arts-driven features in fashion magazines such as Pop, as well as the recent proliferation of grungy 90s looks publicised by the fashion industry and seen on the street. It seems that as the economy remains unsteady, fashion is keeping a low profile with ‘un-trends’  in vogue.

What does Fashion mean to you?
Fashion to me is the hard fought and little yielding battle to eradicate the armies of Uggs, Abercrombie and jeans clad girls who line the streets worldwide. It’s a tough fight but creativity will prevail!

Your ideal Fashion Project?
Whenever I have free time, I like to tinker with website coding. I would love to launch a fashion website devoid of the industry angle or the personal feel of a blog. I would love to find fellow fashion enthusiasts to collaborate with on such a project. A solid group of amateur stylists, makeup artists, photographers and journalists could create some really spectacular content.

How do you imagine your future?
I’m still holding out for an approach by MI6 for work in a James Bond capacity, but until they realise my worth I’d love to be part of an established multi-platform fashion brand or publication in a creative role, such as Fashion Director. However with the constant evolution of the relationship between fashion and technology it’s impossible to pinpoint a particular job – in ten years time fashion will be consumed in entirely new ways not currently imaginable!

Your ideal internship?
I’m considering taking a year out before continuing education at degree level, so I’m on the lookout for work experience within the industry. I’m interested in working on fashion concepts for marketing, promotion and communication, in a magazine or digital medium ideally within a company with standing in the industry such as Vogue or Net-A-Porter. However I would also be happy to get experience with a smaller up-and-coming company, where I could be more involved in the process.

You wonder…
How much scope is there for manoeuvre between specialities within the fashion industry? Can you do several things, such as journalism, styling, illustration etc, or is it recommended to stick to one specialisation and focus on excelling in that?

What do you think? Why not tell us in the comment section below.

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Helen Ha is a 20 year old fashion student from Brisbane in Australia’s Queensland. She will graduate this year with an Advanced Diploma in Fashion design and Technology, a two years full time course. You can contact Helen at helentuyetha@gmail.com or via twitter at @helenhavo and see the rest of her portfolio on Facebook.

What is the background of the work you submitted?
These images are from my A/W 2012 Caged collection created during my first year of study and showcased at the end of that last year. My course requires that during the first year we create a mini collection of 4 outfits showcasing our design abilities and the skills learnt during the year. My work usually tells dark stories, I find the best stories are the dark ones. The concept of Caged is dark. Caged is inspired by an emotional and psychological experience, by feelings of depression and great unhappiness. The collection portrays the effects of being restricted and constrained by those emotions, by those feelings experienced by someone who has suffered psychologically.

One of the starting points of this collection is inkblots. They inspired a fabric print around which the collection is built. I used garments as tools to convey emotions, the outfits of Caged are not usual apparel pieces.

What inspires you creatively?
Surrealism photography inspires me to be creative. The sense of something dark and obscure caught on film gives me the urge to create.

A view of Helens Window

Your favourite website for inspiration
Lookbook.nu is a great website source to get inspiration as it shows upfront the current trends and what people actually want to wear.

What does Fashion mean to you?
Fashion to me is a creative platform where I can express my inner creativity without any boundaries or limitations.

Your ideal Fashion Project?
I would love to collaborate with print artists and create garments based on either their prints or artworks.

How do you imagine your future?
I imagine myself living and working in a studio apartment filled with fabrics, desks covered with designs and empty cups of coffee.

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