PORTFOLIOSIMRAN SETHI

Before designing outfits for any particular season, there are a couple of things essential forany designer to know. Fashion trends and design details play a vital role to determine whatthe consumers are expecting from the designers through their outfits in the coming season.Thus, in order to come out with a collection for menswear , I did a research on the menswearmarket in terms of designs available and the latest fashion trends before I could begin todesign my collection. Having understood the market, the next milestone to be crossed was tochoose an appropriate theme for the collection.

Since my target market was young working professionals in the creative industryI chose my theme to be ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ a 1971’s musical filmadaptation based on the 1964’s novel ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. The collectiondrew inspiration from the details extracted from the various settings of the film like theChocolate Factory, the Bubble Room and Egg Sorting room; clothes of the characters;candies and even from its illustrated books. The color palette was chosen to be bright andcolorful with a tint of pastel to bring out a happy and cheerful mood. Inspired by one of themain characters Willy Wonka, I even created a repeated ‘Hat’ pattern print using myPhotoshop skills to incorporate it in my designs as a shirt fabric. Similarly, I even created aSquirrel pattern.

Having done this project , I learnt about the minute details essential in designingmenswear which when compared to womenswear. is a bit different in terms of finishing .

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PROJECT 2: CHILDRENSWEARDesigning childrenswear was a challenge in itself. As a part of the project, I was given thetheme by my lecturer and at the end of the month I had to come up with a collection to bepresented to a client who owned a kidswear shop ‘Ariel Baby and Co.’ in one of the malls inSingapore. The theme given to me was ‘The Tin man’. Though the theme was fun and allabout robots, I still needed to be a bit cautious while creating my graphics because myclothes catered to 7-year old girls and boys. Taking inspiration from the Astroboy, Lego,Robotomy and various Robot films, I created fun and playful robot graphics using AdobeIllustrator and Photoshop, keeping in mind that the graphics don’t seem too vicious to thekids.

In course of my project, I understood that one aspect required to always keep in mindwhile designing for children is the way the garments are finished for which I did marketresearch by visiting the various kidswear shops in Singapore like Ralph Lauren, Cotton On,Zara, Gap and H&M as finishing of kids’ garments requires more caution so that kids don’thurt themselves while wearing these clothes. Apart from market research, I even did onlinetrend research in order to increase my knowledge about the various design details in trend toincorporate it into my collection

Last but not the least, I even acquired knowledge that one needs to be carefulwhile choosing fabrics for kids’ outfits too keeping in mind that whatever fabric we chooseare soft and light and don’t stick to their skin as children’s skin is too sensitive and prone todevelop allergies easily.

This project was a part of my final year fashion show in Singapore. Apart from designing acollection, I even had to come up with a brand and decide on its 4Ps in order to be able tomarket my brand in Singapore.

Based on the WGSN research I did for Spring/Summer 2014, Next Nature is one ofthe trends for the season. Hence, I chose ‘Corals’ as the theme for my collection. Theintricate textures found on corals of different species and the vibrant colors were my maininspiration which I incorporated in my designs through the use of Strong Textile Design andManipulation brought about through the use of embellishments, digital prints, silkscreen andpin tucks , giving it a younger feel .

My imaginary brand, ‘Teal’ provides smart casual wear with a street wear chic creedto its style; catering to the young, fun yet fashion conscious women. The color palettecomprised of both bright and soft pastel colors with accent of Turquoise and Coral Pink asmy main colours. The silhouettes are mostly flare and fitted constructed using an array oflight-weight fabrics such as cotton, chiffon and crepe georgette as it is not only suitable forthe Spring/Summer 2014 collection but also versatile and easy to handle, giving thecollection a softer, more feminine appeal.

Through this project, I have learnt that as a local brand, it is harder to break into theindustry yet I believe that through constant market and trend research and surveys, a brandcan gain a deeper understanding of the local market to be able to win the hearts of itscustomers by catering to their desires.

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For my S/S 2014 collection, I tookinspiration from corals under blueand bright light. The main colorsused for Spring/Summer 2014 areblues and vibrant colors with pastelaccents such as Lilac. Like mostpictures of corals I used Navy Blueand Dusty Blue as my featuredprincipal anchors – to bring out thebright colors such as Coal Pink andRaspberry Pink. No black and grey isused in the collection as ‘Teal’ isknown for its play with color;drawing inspiration from 2 colortrend forecast; Digital Dream andDark Diversions.

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For my S/S 2014 collection, I tookinspiration from corals under blueand bright light. With my maininspiration being intricate details oncorals and its textures; using theblending mode in Adobe Photoshop Icreated repeat patterns. Havingcreated these prints, I used digitalprinting through heat transfer andsilkscreen printing techniques toincorporate these prints into mycollection to give my entire collectiona young, playful and vibrant look.Each piece is playful yet temperedto allow the consumer to create itsown statement.

Apart from pursuing Diploma in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing from NanyangAcademy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Singapore and Access to HE Diploma in Fashion Media andCommunication at London College of Fashion; I gained some real world experience toowhen I interned with a Nagpur based Indian Designer label ‘Pinnacle by Shruti Sancheti’for six weeks in the summer of 2013.

Pinnacle by Shruti Sancheti launched in Nagpur in December 2009; is a ready to wear,retail only label offering elegant and classic styles at competitive prices. With itsdesign philosophy being distinctly refined and feminine, the brand portrays an underlinerespect to Indian craftsmanship and tradition; with a fusion of color, style and glamour. Thecharacteristic feature of this brand is that though its styling is contemporary, its soul isinherently Indian which can be seen through the extensive use of Indian textiles, weaves andsurface ornamentation along with in house silkscreen, block and foil prints and embroideryin its each collection.Through the course of this internship, I assisted the designer in writing her press release forher Winter Festive Collection 2013 ‘Saaj’ to be showcased at the Lakme Fashion Week Indiain August 2013 along with handling her fabric printing unit and seeing to it that the outfitsare ready prior to the deadline. I even gained experience in the various kinds of fabricprinting like block, silk screen and foil printing creating various samples for the same tobetter understand the techniques required to make the prints look presentable in order toattract the costumers to buy the merchandise along with learning how a fashion label runs.

Using a shoe polish brush as myprinting block, I applied paint toit and then press it hard at 1point against the cloth; androtated it to create these swirls;giving it a rough texture. To giveit a dramatic touch, I used 3different colors to fill the entirecloth with repeat prints of theseswirls with some overlappinganother.

Using mesh stuck to a square woodenblock as my printing block , I appliedpaint to it and by using the techniqueof base block shifting, I kept pressingthe block against the cloth withdifferent forces to create a fadingeffect as well as to create someprominent mesh textures over thecloth. In order to give it a dramatictouch, I used different colors to fill theentire cloth with repeat prints of thismesh texture with some overlappinganother.

Crumbling a lot of newspaper togetherI created a huge paper ball to act as ablock for me to create texture on thecloth. Making sure that the paper ballis intact, I cello taped the paper ball Icreated and compressed it flat before Icould proceed to apply texture to thecloth. I then applied paint to it andkept pressing it against the cloth withdifferent forces to create a fading effectas well as to create some prominenttextures. In order to give it a dramaticlook, I used 2 different colors to fill theentire cloth with repeat prints of thispaper texture with some overlappinganother.

This print is created using 2techniques. Firstly, I divided mycloth into 4 parts and then using abrush with light colors I paintedthe base with 3 different colors.Then using one of the block fromthe many available at the printingunit of the designer, I filled theentire cloth with repeat prints ofthat block. I used this technique ofapplying solid base color and thenusing block printing to createrepeat patterns to fill the entirecloth in order to make the printlook striking .

This print is created using 2 techniques.Firstly, I applied texture at the base byusing the technique of base block shiftingby making use of an abstract print blockfrom the many available at the printingunit of the designer; to create a rougheffect. Then by using one of the silkscreentraditional Indian motif print from themany available at the printing unit, I filledthe entire cloth with this print using thesilkscreen pigment printing technique. Iused this technique of applying basetexture with block printing and then usingthe silkscreen pigment printing to fill andoverlayer the entire cloth with the Indianmotif print in order to make the print lookstriking and to give it a dramatic effect inaddition to experimenting how acombination of two printing techniqueslooks.

This print is created using 2techniques. Firstly, I applied papertexture at the base to create a roughlook. Then by using one of thesilkscreen print from the manyavailable at the printing unit of thedesigner, I filled the entire cloth withthis print using the silkscreenprinting technique. I used thistechnique of applying base textureand then using the silkscreenpigment printing to fill the entirecloth with that print in order makethe print look striking and to give ita dramatic effect.

This print is created using blockprinting technique. Each block print has2 blocks: one for the outline of the printand the other is same print but calledthe fill used to fill color inside theoutline Firstly, by using the fill block ofone of the traditional Indian motifsblock from the many available at theprinting unit of the designer, I filled theentire cloth with repeat prints of thatblock. I then used the outline block overthe previous repeat prints I created inorder to enhance the entire look. I usedthis technique of using the outline andfill block to create repeat patterns to fillthe entire cloth in order to make theprint look striking as well as to give it afinished look .

This print is divided into 2 segments and iscreated using 2 techniques. Firstly, theabove print (1st Segment) is created byrepeated patterns of the texture createdusing shoe polish brush dipped in paint;which is slightly pressed on the fabric inorder to create a grainy texture.Whereas the 2nd segment print is createdusing the base block shifting technique byusing one of the traditional Indian motifsblock from the many available at theprinting unit of the designer; in order tocreate overlapping repeat patterns.I used this technique of creating textureon top of the fabric and repeat patterns atthe bottom in order to have a view of howcombination of 2 prominent prints lookwhen put together.

This print is created using blockprinting technique. Using one of thetraditional Indian motifs block printcalled Karvat or the temple printfrom the many available at theprinting unit of the designer, I filledthe entire cloth with repeat prints ofthat block. I created a smudged lookby moving the block up and downwhen pressed against the fabric inaddition to using 2 different strikingcolors with some prints in oppositedirection to fill the entire cloth withrepeat prints of these temple printsin order to give it a dramatic touch.

This print is created using 2techniques. Firstly, the entire clothis pinned down by creating equalpin tucks along the entire length ofthe fabric.Having done that, I then useddifferent outline block printsavailable at the printing unit; atdifferent position on the cloth tocreate an abstract pattern.After creating the abstract print,I unpinned the pin tucked fabricto see the outcome.I used this technique of creatingpin tucks on the fabric and thenusing block printing to create anabstract pattern in order to createand test how abstract prints atregular intervals with plain fabricin between these interval looks;thus, giving me an idea of howsuch prints are achieved in thefashion textiles industry.

Apart from experimenting how to create textures as well as prints using base block shiftingi.e. block printing and silkscreen pigment printing during the course of my internship atPinnacle, I even learnt a new printing technique called foil printing.

Foil printing is quite a tedious and time consuming printing technique. In order to achievethis print, I made use of the huge cushioned tables available at the printing unit as myworking space. Firstly, I carefully pinned the desired foil color with the right side facing thecushioned table on to the table. Then without letting air settle in; I tightly pinned my fabricwith the right side facing the table over the foil I pinned previously. After that using thedesired silkscreen print, I created the print on to the fabric using the silkscreen pigmentprinting technique. Giving it enough time to dry, I then unpinned the fabric and carefullyremoved the foil in order to see my final outcome.

I have always been fascinated to see such intricate foil prints over fabric in shops; andthus, I used this technique for creating prints in order to gain knowledge about foil printingand to give myself an idea of how such prints are created in the fashion textiles industry;hence, overcoming my curiosity to learn about it .

But foil printing has certain limitation too. In order to get the best outcomes, it can onlybe used to create prints on sheer fabric like georgette and chiffon. Also, it requires immenseamount of time to dry; and thus, would work best in hot climate rather than cold and humidclimate.

Creating exciting window displays also plays a vital role in increasing brand awarenessamong consumers. It is one of the easiest form of promoting the brand.

Through the medium of this project, I learnt the aspects involved by a brand to createexciting and eye catching window displays in order to portray their brand image to thetrespassers so that they are fascinated to enter the shop .

To understand the significance of brand image and the process involved in creatingexciting window displays , I as a part of the project firstly had to pick a brand and createmood boards portraying its brand image from my point of view. My selected brand was MiuMiu.

Having understood the brand image of Miu Miu, which according to me is that ofecstatic, refined and peppy; I created backdrops using images from the internet and myAdobe Photoshop skills portraying a similar feel as I learnt that for window displays to beinteresting not only the props and the merchandise need to be interesting but also thebackdrop to give it a complete look..

With my mood boards and back drops ready, I then with the use of various props,merchandise and backdrops created my own version of Miu Miu Window Display using myAdobe Photoshop and Illustrator Skills.

Elegant, Merry, Romantic

Elegant, Ecstatic, Vivacious

Rangoli is a decorative form of design , kind of more of a tradition followed by Indianfamilies to decorate their houses with colors during a festive season. Just as a part of a normalconversation , I told my art teacher in my secondary school, the basic essence of Rangoli inthe life of Indian families. Fascinated by what I told her , it was entirely her encouragementand confidence that allowed me to try out this tradition in school during our schoolcelebration “Our School’s Founders Day .” This was the first time I actually designed aRangoli all by myself.

Since then, designing Rangolis using flower petals and colorful powder during anyfestive season has become my favourite hobby.

Furthermore, I linked my this artistic interest with fashion by using some of the motifsfrom these Rangolis and the blending mode in Adobe Photoshop to create repeat patterns formy own fabric prints.

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