This was the first piece of work I did in my second year at university. The theme is ‘the sidewalk is your catwalk’ and it was a piece of work for ‘the young designer of the year competition 2007’.
We were to base our designs on New York New York Brooklyn . I looked at the Brooklyn stereotypes like the two men, graffiti, hoodies and I have translates these things into my designs…
My strong use of colour has come from graffiti as seen on my moodboard, and I have used graffiti prints and graffiti-style logos on my designs. The yellow tie-top design was inspired by the neckerchiefs worn by the men on the moodboard, and I’ve included the baggy trousers worn low on the hips. I wanted all my designs to be cool, young and hip with an urban, street feel.
This is my final design. It has the hood, the tied sections and the striking, abstract graffiti print on the back and on the matching tights. I am really proud of the design and I can see it being worn by somebody like Rhiannon or Alicia Keys to a music award ceremony or premier of some kind. I have not made this outfit but I have done the working drawings ready to do the pattern cutting.
The competition was sponsored by Maybelline New York and they requested a makeup and accessory board. I picked out the colours of pink and yellow that focus prominently in my design for the makeup palette and I have designed these colourful stiletto-sneakers to be worn with the outfit.
