This is a tad late, but many have asked me to share more about the Parsons program I did in Paris this summer - what kept me up until the wee hours, what I liked about it, etc. so I want to show some of the work I did. It was such an interesting experience because I came in with literally no knowledge about anything we were doing in the class; by the end, I felt I had discovered an untapped source of happiness, something that was always within me but only now had a chance to come out. I know I'm still a beginner, but I was proud of what I accomplished in my four short weeks!
I have to give beaucoup de credit to my teachers, David Leung (design concepts) and Vasilija Zivanic (fashion illustration) - Vasi's website is http://vasilija.com if anyone wants to check our her awesome work - for bringing me from the girl who hadn't drawn since 4th grade to one of the more dedicated and passionate students. Basically, Vasi taught us a lot of techniques and important aspects of illustration for fashion design before we could actually create anything in David's class, where we learned what qualifies as a cohesive yet varied collection, how an inspiration or mood can translate into clothing, what defines a designer's style, and how to bring ourselves and our identities into what we created. All of it was so much fun and I am looking into taking a fashion drawing class in Chicago during a different semester when I have more time. It was artistic, eye-opening, liberating, and... pretty much just a blast :)
Here are a couple of things that can give an idea of the projects in Vasi's class, from the first days to the end.
Learning to draw a fashion figure; that's mine on the right
Can you guess which is mine :)
Some combination of my work and Vasi's... She did the face, duh
Drawing denim
Stripes
Large florals... using water with markers for a "bleedy" effect - that's Vasi's word (this is a drawing of a runway image, I don't know who the designer is sorry)
Understanding color groups and the color wheel
Just for fun :) Also done from working off of a magazine cutout
Now, in conjunction with drawing, shading, coloring, and painting, we needed to use these skills and apply them to real ideas. Every week, we had to design a collection - based on an inspiration or theme, we had to think up and draw 20-30 pieces. Monday or Tuesday we would tell David our theme and show him our mood board (a collection of images mounted formally onto a board that presents your color scheme, silhouettes, and the overall inspiration for your designs); Wednesday we'd have to show him our full collection, just drawn in our sketch books, and he would approve (or in some cases disapprove) of our work; and Thursday we'd present to the class final finished illustrations of 3-5 of our best designs that, together, were representative of the full collection. This was A LOT of work!
The first day's assignment was just rendering other designers' pieces from runway images. This was for David and the class to see what types of styles we each chose and get an idea of who we are.
I chose a combination of Badgley Mischka, Oscar de la Renta, Temperley London, Chanel, and Stella McCartney. David knew immediately what defined my style :)
The first collection assignment was decade-inspired. I chose the 60s and sort of fused mod with hippie, using geometric shapes but also a large paisley in many of my designs. I won't show my mood boards for anything except my final project... just the finishes. A lot of the sweat though was in those first 20 drawings, but you can see the fruits of that labor!
First attempt at using color for my croquis, very streaky eek. And I think the photo is tilted a little, I didn't draw them all leaning to one side!
Using the first collections for reference, the class chose a designer each of us was sort of like and another one who was our opposite. David and class decided my work was Roberto Cavalli-esque, based on the decade project, and hence I was assigned Michael Kors as my opposite designer (I was crossing my fingers for Jil Sander). Collection #2 was to be done as if I worked under Michael Kors. This was meant to be challenging for us, and it was! Many students found it extremely frustrating to put their own style aside, but it is imperative when you're taking instructions from a designer above you.
I did a winter collection for MK, and here are three of my finishes:
I was critiqued here for not including a suit in my final presentation, and my lavender skirt ought to have been black or charcoal. Yes, this affected my grade. Oops!
Next was a group project, so six other designs were presented but Sharon and Rachel took theirs home and I don't have pics of them right now. Together, we had quite a good collection and ours was chosen for the final exhibition. Group work is a bitch, I think we all can agree on that, and it's even worse in creative pursuits. Ultimately, we came up with a Middle Eastern/Arabian theme, and we successfully designed a unified and beautiful collection, in my humble opinion ;) Here are my three finishes:
We used a vibrant color palette of red, orange, Prussian blue, cream and gold, as well as inspiration from Arabic lettering and Islamic architecture in our designs. The class approved!
For the final, we had a truly thought provoking project, one that gave us an opportunity to show different aspects of ourselves and our creativity as well as interests in other areas of our lives. But it was not easy. Basically we had to choose a historical or iconic figure, real or fictional, and choose a modern day woman who embodies the persona or style of the original figure, then design a collection for your modern figure.. This was harder than it sounds. We had to do two mood boards, one for each person, and the designs had to draw upon inspirations from both, coming together to create one collection. So for example, people chose pairs such as Betty Boop and Dita Von Teese, Bob Marley and M.I.A., Marilyn Monroe and Scarlett Johansson, Jackie O. and Carla Bruni, you get the idea.
Well, me being me, I wanted to do Dagny Taggart. Yes, of Taggart Transcontinental! I love Atlas Shrugged! I'm such a dork :P David was very skeptical of this as Dagny is a fictional character with no physical representation; she's just someone in a book and no illustrations have been made of her, so what was I going off of in terms of determining her style personality? But I am so passionate about what she represents, and I also thought this would be a stimulating challenge for me because the designs would likely be a contrast to anything that is currently considered "my style." I originally thought Cate Blanchett or Hilary Swank were really good representations for the modern version of my character and was really excited. But this was not the assignment; we were not supposed to find people who would be cast to play this role well. I needed to think of someone who is like Dagny - strong, selfish, successful, possibly considered cold and ruthless. I was like ughhhh I dunno!
The class heard my frustration, and someone chimed in "Anna Wintour!" And it call came together. How perfect... especially for me :) So there it was. And here is my work, including inspiration boards:
Dagny mood board, depicting NY in the 20s, an art deco theme, hard lines, and an industrial feel
Anna Wintour mood board, showing her glamour and NY now, and of course, Atlas in Rockefeller Center
The finishes - I did six of them and was up until 7 am perfecting the details:
For work
For cocktails
For the Red Carpet
And I got an A! David told the class how hard my project was and that my dedication paid off. I was probably glowing :) Most of the details are not visible in these photos, but tried to be very meticulous with the illustration. The evening gown is supposed to be rectangular metallic plates strung together, with white sequins on the bust and in that slit in the back, and the black is actually supposed to be sheer, but I couldn't achieve the transparent effect, with a sprinkling of silver glitter. Very Dagny, very Anna!
Anyway, that's the gist of it. Passion-filled, rewarding, awesome. It was such an intellectual journey too, all of the creating, churning out ideas and struggling to have it all make sense. It was an absolute thrill to me. I couldn't imagine having to sell it too!
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On the very last day, a photographer who works with a lot of big-name designers and prestigious fashion media companies (Mikael Vojinovic - check out his work online) came to talk to us about the industry. At one point, he asked us, "Why do you do this?" Kat, a girl in the class, piped up, "We're in love." Other people began responding at once: "Love." "We love it." "I can't live without it." "I love it all!" This was not a shock to me, yet it was so poignant, it made me tear up. I was so happy. I had never been a part of anything like this. I felt so far away from the self and life I knew for so long, but it felt so right, it fit, it clicked, it was me.
That was the thing about all of this - they were in love. And I was too.
Unbelievable.
I adore the classic yet sexy look of this little white minidress by JLee Silver. The flattering silhouette of the slight-tulip skirt is always a favorite of mine. I think this piece is perfect casual day-wear, especially when paired with the vest, but can also have a subtle, quiet glamour to it. In my closet, please?
This Imaginary People ensemble was a highlight to me. It seemed to have a lot of elements of their signature artsy style. The high-waisted patterned skinny pant is refreshing and catches the eye, invoking a geometric floral print or fragmented glass. This is an awesome look to me, especially from the back! 
The ultimate party dress. Metallic and tulle with a flower petal print on the bodice - this dress stole the show for Tatyana Merenyuk. The additional fabric sitting right above the waist, folded beautifully in the origami trend, really made the design difference here to me. 
More Red Doll. Cute but edgy. LOVE IT.
Final Red Doll piece. This is elegant and beautiful, and I think the black really works with the cut-out silhouette, creating balance and making the dress wearable. (Sorry I didn't get better pics of it.)
This was the the other evening gown, and it was also gorgeous but with a bit of a softer look. The color, once again, makes the piece interesting and adds a little spice to a romantic style. The little redhead is the designer, Tatyana, and she's adorable! And extremely smart, as we can see from her work. I can't wait to her more about her as she blows up. I'm sure she will. 
