Since the Snafu Craft Fayre I have been a very busy bee! Two weeks ago I headed down to London on the Wednesday night on the Megabus night coach to attend the cast and crew screening of The Lost Boy Film. I was only in London for 27 hours before heading home on the Friday morning. 24 hours of travelling for 40 minutes of the screening. Totally worth it to see the finished production, it also felt so lovely seeing what all my hard work looked like on film! Adam Hales Walker is epically talented and I can see him having a very bright future in whichever aspect of the film industry he choses to pursue.
Arriving back to Aberdeen on the Friday night, I was off back to London on the Sunday, however this time I was flying down which knocked off a good 11 hours of travelling if I had chosen the bus. This second London trip was for the fourth year fashion and textile students at Gray's to go down and see whats on offer. I was told that I could join them on the trip as I had personally never been fabric sourcing in London before and knew it was going to be beneficial to me. Alan Gallacher, the student mentor on the trip secured us some fantastic visits to design houses and post grad courses.
On the tuesday Alan met us and took us to visit Jonathan Saunders studio. This was most definitely the highlight of the visit to London. Jonathan seemed so laid back, and took us all into his meeting room with its walls covered in spec sheets and fabric samples for his next collection, very exciting to get a sneak peek. Whilst telling us his story of how he got here, giving us tips along the way, his dog zig zagged her way between all of us before settling upon Jonathan's lap/shoulder. It was great to see this rather homely feel to the fashion world. Since I've not yet completed a placement I had never been in a professional studio environment before and this was refreshing to see that it is not always as warehouse like as my presumptions were. Jonathan is an ex student of Alan's from when Alan worked at GSA.
We also saw the Tim Walker exhibition at Somerset House. Incredible photography, really inspiring and glad we went for a visit there. Whilst in Somerset House we went to see the Valentino exhibition and the attention to detail in the garments was insanely beautiful. Downstairs from the exhibit there was a table with all the different techniques that Valentino uses and lots of smaller scaled samples of these techniques. Truly beautiful!
On the final evening a group of us went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and I was blown away by how shiny it was! I really felt like I was in wonderland, it was pretty. We went into a Fun House sort of thing and slipped and slided until we got to the end. Moving floors can be pretty scary!! But nonetheless it was a great end to a lovely trip away!
I am back to my own studio practice this week as most students will be heading home for christmas over the next week. I aim to finish my design work by the end of this year so I can begin making up toiles in January. I also have my first ever meeting with a client this thursday, and I am being commissioned to design and manufacture three bridesmaid dresses. Lucky for me, my favourite thing to design and make are dresses!
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| Winter Wonderland - Wiggly mirrors |
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| Winter Wonderland |
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| A group of us after lunch at Somerset House's outdoor ice rink |
Aymee
