Rave Late: A Fashion Checklist

Recently at uni it was show selection for Level Three. This meant a panel of judges came in to decide who had made the cut to show at GFW this year. Alongside my own project I helped a third year finish her collection, a sort of tradition if you will at Rave.

A 'Rave Late' event was held and the judges gave a lecture elaborating on their experience in the fashion industry and what they thought where the most important qualities to make a successful designer. The speakers where Holly Fulton, Jean Pierre Braganza and Brooke Roberts so I thought I'd share the bits that jumped out at me the most, a sort of checklist for the young fashion designer. 

The talk opened with a heavy discussion on the importance of contacts in fashion. It was stressed that every designer should get out there and meet the people who would influence them the most.

Fulton expressed a like for hard copy portfolios.. apparently we are moving too far into a digital age now..?

Jean Pierre Braganza mentioned that from what he'd seen in the past, students needed to refine their technical skills from the word go and research construction techniques of luxury brands. I liked this, I liked the implication that you should be setting the bar as high as possible for yourself, pitting yourself against well-established brands in quality and technique.

All three agreed that the first initial presentation of both yourself and your work was vital. They wanted to get a clear snapshot of who you are as soon as they meet you. Personality is key: be bubbly, be expressive and be yourself. 

In addition they stressed that all designers need to find and hold onto their own unique vision, JPB stressed that as a creative you need to decide clearly what you want to say and say it well, pushing yourself to become the best at what you do. 

Roberts (who was my favourite speaker) also mentioned her past (and present) as a radiographer and how pulling inspirations from very diverse fields can make for very interesting work. She works over half her week at a hospital and the rest on putting pencil to paper and needle to cloth to bring her 'unique vision' to life. 

"It's a test of how much you want it and how dedicated you are" said Roberts. 

This lady does not take breaks.

 One of her anecdotes transported us to clinical surroundings, where Roberts said she had her 'eureka' moment studying the X-Rays of a brain. This moment, she said passionately, was pivotal to her career; she had found something she was truly fascinated and enthralled by. In my opinion I feel this is something we designers can't and shouldn't try to predict, it could ruin the surprise. One day you could be sewing and make a huge mistake, but instead of trying to fix it this could inspire something much more interesting. Who knows...

Art Wednesday, a lovely blog I read a lot did a great write up of her and her studio: http://artwednesday.com/2012/09/06/studio-visit-1-brooke-roberts/

The talk drew to a close with Roberts on her own attitude towards breaking into the fashion world:

"They don't think I can do it?.... I am gonna do it!"

A really great talk, and here is my outfit.

Wool blend jacket - Passed down from the Mother
Dress - Primark, 4 sizes too big
Tights - New Look
Earring - Topshop