In today’s lesson we focused on photoshop and how to create a mood board by using different elements of the app. We started by creating an A4 document and then added in 5 different photos either from our essay or that relate to our essay. After that we created a custom brush stroke. I chose to take Kenzo Takada’s face and make it into my brush so I could have his face blurred into the background of my mood board. I did this because I feel that it will help the viewer connect with it more as he is in the background. As a class we learned about the gradient tool and how to fill shapes with colours.
Author: maxhorner21
A mood board should:
- Have a range of different insights to the topic
- Have a selection of photos linking to the topic
- Have a colour theme-accents
- Keep it clear and concise – good placement
- Make sure that it all links back to what you’re trying to say as it is easy to go off topic.
- Make it 3D
Definition:
- provide (a book or article) with citations of sources of information.
- Mention or refer to.
A reference should include:
Names of authors (surname, initials of names)
Year of publication
Title of publication (in italics)
Edition number(if not stated,1st)
Place of publication (city, country)
Publisher
Page numbers (for journals/magazines only)
Fashion Channel. (2019). KENZO Spring Summer 2020 Menswear Paris . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28U9iuHFzZI
site this for me
What does visual language mean to you?
Visual language is communication through VISUAL symbols, rather than verbal or words.
Example: If you were to look at a door you don’t need to see the word door to know what it is.
Annotate, Analyse, Evaluate
Formal elements of design:
Components that form any structure within, art, design and fashion. These become building blocks of visual composition to gain understanding of meaning
Colour, line, shape, tone, texture, pattern.
Colour:
Primary colours: blue, yellow, red.
Secondary colours: green, orange, purple.
Shape and Form
2d, 3d, geometric, organic/freeform/natural
Tone:
Highlights to shadows
Light to dark (midtones/contrast)
Texture:
Surface quality
Actual texture
Visual texture
Pattern:
Motif
Continuous
Repetition
I have chosen to do the Kenzo SS20 show as I personally like the unique items that are used and I also would like to learn more about the brand. I like the way that it starts with models dancing a traditional dance whilst all dressed in the new Kenzo season. I like this because I think that it helps to create the atmosphere that they’re going for. Kenzo held their SS20 show in Paris this year for the close of the men’s fashion week.
The key looks from the collection are:
look 54, look 56, and look 67
I personally think that the designs in the first picture will be very popular as the style of having old art work on either a hoodie, t-shirt or shorts is extremely popular at the moment.
The washed gradient blue style crewneck is a very nice piece as it is simple and yet complex at the same time. This is good for a piece of clothing as it makes it a lot easier to style with a variety of other garments. This crewneck is also extremely popular at the moment as other brands such as supreme have been selling out of their stock with prices double that of Kenzo.
The all over print tri colour patch jacket is a very nice piece as it stands out whilst still being subtle. This would be a nice piece to wear over the top of a completely different outfit as it is very long.
The bags displayed throughout that are filled with holes holding a bag in the middle are an amazing idea, Off White recently created bags with holes in which the media loved but also ranted about as nothing stayed in them. Kenzo’s way of taking this style whilst keeping the original use of a bag is perfect.
Kenzo initially named his brand after the slur ‘Jap’, which went down terribly in America. He did this as an attempt to re associate the word with something beautiful. He eventually realised that he had made a bad decision and was better off renaming the label and storer ‘Kenzo’.
Kenzo printed as KENZO is a French luxury fashion house that was founded in 1970 by the Japanese designer Kenzo Takada. He was born in Japan and decided to move to Paris in 1964 with big dreams to launch his fashion career. He then became known for using Asian and Japanese influenced style with the construction of European fashion. He started out with a ‘Jungle Jap’ boutique based in Paris and decorated it in jungle inspired decor. He began hand making women’s clothing, then in 1983 Kenzo decided to start designing menswear and then kids clothing aswell. The brand Kenzo is now an international brand for luxury goods owned by LVMH who bought the brand in 1993.
Kenzo Takada is currently 80 years old and living in France. After being the creative director of Kenzo for 30 years he finally decided to pass on the title to Gilles Rosier in the year 2000, who then passed it on to Antonio Marras in 2004. Then in 2011 Humberto Leon and Carol Lim took over up until 2019 when Felipe Oliveira Baptista took over and he remains the creative director of Kenzo today.
During their time as the creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim they also became the head designers of the brand. They created a print of a tiger that everyone seemed to love, the tiger shirt and clothing has been seen on many A-list celebrities such as Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, Rihanna.
Kenzo’s magazine shoots normally stick to a similar theme as their runway shows yet are more simplified. They have block colour back drops and a central focus which lets the clothing speak for itself. Kenzo styling normally incorporates 1 print item with the rest in a block colour. Models tend to be bunched up with almost awkward poses to then create a visually interesting effect.
In 2016, Kenzo announced its collaboration with H&M. The Kenzo x H&M collection was released on the 3rd of November 2016. The fashion house also collaborated with Inglot Cosmetics who manufacture make-up products. On the 20th of March 2018 Kenzo revealed that Britney Spears would be the face of its new ‘La Collection Memento No. 2’ campaign. The collaboration, marketed as #KenzoLovesBritney, features a variety of ready-to-wear nostalgic denim pieces for men and women. This went down extremely well with consumers as some sizes even sold out! Kenzo Takada achieved most of his fame by making garments unlike anything Paris was used to. His first collection was presented in the spring of 1970 and it consisted of ‘kimono’ inspired pieces that rejected the streamlined space age shifts and slender suits that had dominated throughout the 60’s. He disliked the western practice of molding a garment to the figure through the use of darts, seams, and fastenings and instead decided to introduce the Eastern custom of wrapping loose layers.
Within just a few seasons of Kenzo’s shows the press, buyers and fans were selling out his over he top shows. Kenzo decided to celebrate a multi hued world that was harmonious throughout his outfits.
Kenzo was once told that it was impossible for a Japanese man to work in the fashion industry in Paris. Men weren’t allowed into design schools and being creative was not accepted in Japanese society in the 1950’s. And more than anything his parents hated the idea of him working in fashion.
By the end of the 1970’s Kenzo was considered the number one selling brand worldwide. Kenzo’s incredible career is celebrated in a new biography about him that is written and curated by his friend Kazuko Masui and her daughter Chihiro. The book was released in 1999 as a published collection of sketches which took on a more ambitious format after Kazuko’s death, when Chihiro took over the project. The biography speaks about the 30 years that Kenzo spent at the brand.
Kenzo will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
Overall I think that my t-shirt and trousers have gone extremely well so far, although I’ve had to unpick more stitches than have actually stayed on my garments I am definitely starting to get the hang of it.
I think that my t-shirt finished really well as it looks good and fits me while also holding my phone, earphones and wallet. I personally think that I could’ve improved it by adding a hood to it as then it would stand out even more and be even more innovative.
My trousers also went well, unlike the shirt my trousers went smoothly and I didn’t have to unpick many stitches. I would have liked to added pockets to my trousers and maybe a pocket that goes all the way down the side but unfortunately I ran out of time and couldn’t add them.
Pattern making: I have found an article called ‘Calvin Klein Pocket Bags.’ I personally think that this is a great idea as I also did this but on my t-shirt and not on an over-shirt. My pockets were smaller than the ones shown on the model as they were designed to fit my personal belongings and not the average persons.
The garment was first introduced at the Autumn-Winter 2018, it features a bulky pocket which looks like it would be a rough oval shape. At the top, with a curved edge along the zip line that continues in a circular seam into the armhole. It is shaped with darts or a gusset to give it a boxy shape.
Sewing and construction: I have found an article about Yeezy SS16. They talk about if it is good or not to have bad finishes, personally I think that it is good to have bad finishes as it shows that you’re human and people can relate to that tee or hoodie much more than a T-shirt with another T-shirt on it.
They talk about how the jacket has wavy zips and wonky seams which reach different lengths. They talk about whether the designer was technically wrong when making the jacket or if it was done by purpose, and as I am a fan of Kanye it was definitely on purpose. Kanye loves to make things that no one else is confident enough to make as they think it won’t succeed. He is guaranteed sales from his hardcore fans so he can put out anything stress free and know that it will sell. Luckily for him people actually really liked the distressed look of the wavy jacket which then lead to him releasing more as well.
Fabrics and textiles: I have found a post about the details in Stine Goya’s floral prints. Personally I really like these as they look extremely complicated to make but go really well with the overall vibe of the outfit. They compliment the other pieces because of the amount of work that you know they’ve had to put in to make them.
There is a lot of designers that make this style and yet get little credit for their making of the garments as the styles feel approachable and wearable which gives them a bigger market but unfortunately makes people look past what goes into them.
This anti social social club tee is very similar to the tee that I made last week, the only difference is that I went a step further and decided to add three more pockets on for my phone, earphones and wallet. I would like to create a t-shirt like this with my own print on so that I then know how to do it and can then go and start screen printing my own tees.
I have also made trousers now which were a similar style and fit to these supreme ones. I personally like this style of trousers and enjoyed making it but unfortunately they don’t look good on me when on.
This is a Balenciaga double shirt, it consists of two shirts sewn together, I personally really like the concept of this and would like to try it with different types of clothing such as a pair of trousers or maybe a hoody. I also think that attaching a shirt to the front of my t-shirt will hide the pockets and make it look way better.
Unfortunately the picture that I took of this bag isn’t amazing but I would like to have a go at making one and then branding it as I go. I think that it would be an extremely hard challenge that no one would complete but it would be interesting to see how close people get. Also I want to release my own bags so it would be helpful for that.
I would like to learn how to make a beanie as I know that a lot goes into making one and I wouldn’t know where to start. I would want to learn how to make one so that I could then go on to experiment with which materials keep in heat the best.
I would also like to use some different stitched on my upcoming pieces to make them stand out from everyone else’s.
Low rise trousers: Low rise trousers are trousers that fit quite low on the waist. Also called hipster or lowcut trousers, these are best to be worn by short or average height men.
Mid-rise trousers: Mid-rise trousers are designed to fall on your natural waist or very close to it. This style is meant for people with an average height body.
High rise trousers: High rise trousers have very high waistlines and generally fit better on men who are over 6 feet tall and who want to wear their jeans on their waist rather than on their hips.
Straight cut trousers: Straight cut trousers also known as “straight leg trousers” usually stand at your natural waist and are thin through the seat and the thighs.
Skinny fit trousers: Skinny fit trousers feature a very tight cut. Usually, skinny fit trousers look snug and look best on very thin men.
Slim fit trousers: Slim fit trousers are similar to skinny fit trousers, but are not that tight altogether.
Boot cut trousers: Boot cut trousers feature a cut that allows you to easily fit over boots, without having any extra fabric.
Relaxed cut trousers: Relaxed cut trousers that feature a relaxed cut are best for casual settings. They are very versatile and can be worn with pretty much everything. Jeans that have a regular cut can be worn by most body types.
This research will help me when cutting my trousers to the correct size and fit.
Fashion Blog by Max Horner 