My job role within Christine collection will be working alongside with her by completing all the duties as her assistant which will be making garments for both clients and shows, helping at different events, cleaning, and visiting places such as fabric shop. As Christine doesn't hire a full time/ permanent worker I think she won't be looking forward in hiring anyone in future but I could be asking her to carry on helping out on my spare time which would be great for me in my future and will allow me to meet more people within the fashion industry.
The production chain from design to market product
Design and textiles
Christine designs are based on the Iconic Hollywood Goddess so she would always look up for some of the dresses and changing something e.g the style of the dress could be shorter, using different fabrics or adding more details etc. It's depending on the orders from her clients but if there are no orders she would make samples of her new designs to put up on her websites for the customers to see what she have to offers. She would also rent to photographers, show at events such as fashion show. The inspirations are basically the collection in itself so every costumes she produced would always work well together. Christine's would go to local fabrics shop for certain materials and fabrics as it's close and easy to get to for when she is in a rush such as Abakhan, others would be her usual companies such as pleated fabrics but she used the same fabrics company as Andrea's as they're mostly used similar types of fabrics. The fabrics used are mostly plain silky look, netting, pleated, sequins, fur or feather and gems. Gems will be put onto a garment carefully with hot glue which only be made for special orders as it takes a lot of time, other fabrics were already made by companies. She would create her own patterns by draping on the stand or use already made patterns then changed the shapes from the original patterns.
Pattern
Christine is usually draping on stand when she's creating new shapes or style, so most of her original patterns were cut out of fabrics. For others who come in to help her out will use already made patterns that she have bought some were made by Vogue etc. For her designs she would only do a quick sketch if she have lots of orders, this is for her to know and remember what she's doing. She would only use computer to look up for dresses to inspire her designs. I think if she is using CADs and CAMs software to create her designs and making patterns it will be a lot of work and would have to spend too much money because this is a very small company and she is always make similar dresses but may use different materials/ fabrics.
Production and Costing
Christine would make the orders herself unless she's very busy or some designs are very complicated she would call her contacts to come in for a day to do it for her. She uses mostly the same patterns and if she's have a new style of clothing she would create her patterns on the stand. On her normal daily basis she would only have 1 person working along with her so she only have 1 industrial machine which is her main machine use and 2 domestic machines for her partner Jerry and others.She have her little cutting table situated right in the middle which is a space that's enough to work for 1 person. All the designing and manufacturing process are all in one room so it's very to go from one and another area and all the fabrics are right underneath cutting table. I think the way she's running her company is very well for a small company as there is no space for big machinery and time for professional skills such as CADs and CAMs.
Quality Control
The quality is depending on the style, how much work she has put onto and materials used, all the dresses used simple techniques such as normal folded hem line, or blinding. As Christine uses mostly similar fabrics as Andrea so she used the same supplier as Andrea and using local it's cheaper and enable to find the exact materials she needed, also using the same company for pleated fabrics so they would have her details for next order. She would use normal wrapping, nothing special and send as normal posting at a local post office. If she was making a big order then it's better to order it overseas as the materials will be much cheaper. I think to improve the company she should have her label on packaging for when sending her garments to clients and professional bags for when they pick up their orders this will improve the look of her company quality and more professional. For the designing and making process I think it's fine for a small company.
Marketing and Promoting the product
As Christine Collection produced garments that are special wearing, it's not for everyday wear like Primark, it's depending on what the customer's are wearing the clothes for. She would targeted more onto actors and actress as it's would be used more for performing. Christine seems to make contacts with people such as other designers, show her clothes at the events, rent her costumes to photographers, open her show room and rent her show room for special convenience. She also promote her brands by using social networking such as Facebook pages, Twitter and Instagram.
Critical Analysis
For the start I was panicking as I was unable to find my work placement over the summer holidays and my class mates recommended Christine Collection who they have been working for so I emailed her and was offered a place. It was very difficult for me as I will be attending to my lectures and working at the same, it was a lot of things going at once but I have managed to complete this assignment. The first day I went in to see Christine which was to introduce myself and talk about my availabilities because I could only work on my days off which was Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. I think it took me even longer as sometimes she was not in her studio and I have to take time off for my own personal reason. On my first day I was nervous as this was my first work placement where I will be making garments for a company and involved in working independently which I felt I don't have enough confident in making things for others apart from myself and my course projects. I was introduced to the working place, the building and the company which was very interesting. I think the working space and area is pretty suit her business as this is a small business and she only make garments when she have orders from her clients. Her clients mostly reached her through network such as Facebook, email and her website etc. but she also have a showroom for visitors to use for different conveniences. The first task on my first day was to tidy up the fabric boxes which were underneath the cutting table this is for me to know where all the fabrics are as all the boxes contained different type of fabrics. I think it was a great start as I get to know more where everything were and it was easier for to do my work. After tidying up I was asked to start on a new project which was used for the Urban Hair show and Liverpool Fashion Week 2014. I was very nervous because I didn't think I could work independently as she gave me an image of her design, patterns and measurements for the size and I have never make this sort of dress before. I have used my knowledge and skills I was taught, followed step by step and look back on the dresses that was made in her studio to help me knowing what I have to do. The task was completed successfully, she was very happy with the outcome of the garment, the measurement and the style of the dress. From the first dress I have made I felt much more confident and able to cope with the work. I think it was very easy as I already have the skills in manufacturing and knowledge in pattern cutting but it was just different shape and style of a garment. I didn't get to do any pattern cutting for the time being at Christine as she worked from pattern pieces that she have, to change the style she adapted the patterns to work along and get the shape she wanted or draping on the stand but I think it would be harder to work from those patterns without having any knowledge within patterns. I have also made a little jacket to go with the dress which was very competitive to put beads and fur onto jacket because I have to sew the beats between the lining and the outer jacket. I could mess it up easily but I took my time to make sure it's right and able to finish the jacket on the day. For this jacket I think adding decoration was very hard and took a lot of time as I also have to hand stitched the fur onto the jacket. After working with Christine weeks by weeks I have produced many garments for her clients and shows.
Apart from working in the studio making garments I also get experience in working behind the stage at different events, I may have worked behind the stage before by helping running college fashion show for my collection but it's different as this is a professional showcase. I think it was a great opportunity to be helping out, running around and doing fittings for the show like the Urban hair show and Liverpool fashion weeks as both of the events were so much different as the Urban hair was not well organised this has taught me a lot. At the Liverpool Fashion Weeks I was amazed and impressed to see other designers work as they're all different. There were different styles and ranges such as quirky, size matters, casual, evening dresses and jewellery. This has given me an idea of looking at the style for my final collection, the feeling I want to representing within my inspiration. Also sometimes I would have to visit fabric places such as Abakhan, Fabric Place and John Lewis to pick up samples and materials needed. I think it was a great journey as I have also found more places to look for fabrics to be use within my final collection.
However, working with Christine Collection didn't help me much within my designing path as it was just making garments but I have gained many skills and knowledge from the time working alongside with her. For me the style of garments she has been inspired from was completely different from my style but I choose to do this because I think it's different, I will be able to learn something new and explore into costumes which I could use this in future as an inspiration. I have gained my confident in working independently using my knowledge I have learnt from my first year until now within manufacturing. I have gained the knowledge in running business professionally and promoting in many ways such as working with magazines, attending different events, social networking and as well as making a gift like the hair bubble attached with the business card. I have also gained a lot of personal skills such as communication skills this involved in communicating with Christine about the designs, style, measurement and what the customer's want for when am making a dress as the garment wrong and save the time for me to keep asking her as am making garments. Time management as this is to make sure the task I was given is ready on time for her clients to keep her customer happy. I think being organise is very important too because if I am doing many different projects and ruined one it would ruined the whole projects. From these experience I felt much more confident and able to work in a fast pace, being able to use the skills and knowledge in everyday life and future career. I have also meet new people within the fashion industry such as designers, photographers, magazine writer and models which I think it will be useful for me in future. I think being able to see the differences between study and working in life is completely different, it's much harder but it's also fun and I seem to be doing different projects all the time. I think being able to cope and work in fast pace is a great start even if it's not within a designing career but I will be able to understand more about how the business run and the differences between a small business and a bigger company such as high ends. If I could go back and have more time to look for a different opportunity I would choose to be looking at working within designing industry as it is what I want to be doing as a career path after my graduation in BA . I think it would be much more beneficial and I will be able to know what I will be facing in future. I would also able to show my creativity and explore my style as this will allow me to know what's right and wrong for me. Overall, I think this was a great opportunity as I will be able to use my skills and knowledge in so many ways and I did enjoyed my time being at Christine because I get to do different things for a short period of time. I never thought I could be able to do much for her but it wasn't hard at all it was all about using my own knowledge and skills and how to put them together into a garment. Christine was a very easy going person and lovely to work along with, she's calm and easy to communicate as well as being a great leader. She's not a well organise person but she know what she's doing all the time, able to come up with new ideas pretty fast and friendly.
My Work I have done at Christine's Collection
On my first week which was my first day I was introduced to her company, she has described about what she do and what her designs are about, who she's designing for, who is working along with her and about the department. Showing where the first aid kit is, health and safety, fire equipment and fire exit, show all the equipments and where are all of the materials are kept. She has also showed me some photographs that has inspired her on some dresses she have made and some that she has recreated to by making it into contemporary style.
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| This where keep all her Fabrics |
After the explanation I was asked to help out with tidying and cleaning her work space as this will allow me to be more familiar with my work place and able to know where things are. Then I moved on to do window dressing as she has decided to change the dress which was the recent dress she have made with Andrea's petticoat. I also got to know Andrea and able to see some of her designs which was very interesting as Christine has mention that I might be helping her out too. Through the day I was very exciting to start making samples which I could be practising my sewing skills on using the industrial machine and learn new techniques, this could be useful for my final collection.
My second week I was given a project to do which was making a sample of a dress, this will be using for the Urban hair show event and Liverpool Fashion week 2014. I was very excited to make the dress as it will be very competitive, I was asked to change the style of the original dress to fit well with Andrea's petticoat she have made. The petticoat has sort of quirky look as the bottom was uneven, the front of the skirt were shorter than the back, it was inspired by a pony tail. I used patterns that was given and changed the length by measuring on the stand using the length of the petticoat. I think It was harder because she wanted the dress to be size 8 to fit onto a model but the patterns were size 14 which was much bigger so I have to measure the size carefully to make sure that the dress will fit correctly.
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| Patterns used to make the dress |
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| Cutting out process |
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| The dress still in the process of finishing |
I found it was extremely competitive as it could go wrong if I haven't measured carefully to be able to produce this dress I followed the process I have learnt from my course within my pattern and manufacturing classes. I have to make sure that I have pressed all the seams to flatten up, after putting all the pieces together I then pinned up the dress to check the size and the length to make sure that the dress is fitting correctly.
The outcome of the dress was successful and Christine was very happy with the look of the dress and it finished on time and ready to be use at the show. Throughout the process of making this dress I have used my skills and knowledge independently, following step by step using different techniques such as, cutting, pressing, hemming and gathering technique, putting zip onto the dress, adding details and sewing on the lining. I have also learnt how to changed threads on the over-locker industrial machine which will be useful within my manufacturing lesson.
Week three I was asked to make a jacket to go with the Pony dress. She wanted it to be shorter at the front, adding beads and fur at the bottom of the jacket, neckline and the cuffs. I used same method as the pony measuring new length on the stand then marked up on the patterns for new shape. I think It was complicated when I was attaching beads on to the jacket as it have to be sewn between the outer jacket and the lining and for the fur I hand stitched onto the jacket as I could not sew onto the pipe.
Christine was extremely happy with the jacket outcome and it matching well with the Pony dress. I have completed the jacket on the same day which I was pleased with my practical skills as this was a fast process. Through out my time spending on making the jacket I found it was much easier than when I was making the Pony dress and I felt more confident in using the industrial machine as I was able to coped independently.
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| Full finished pony dress with the jacket I have made |
For this costume I found it was extremely competitive within my manufacturing skills especially when adding details such as fur and attaching lining onto the costume. I have improved my sewing skills and able to cope with working in a fast pace by completing the project on time which will be useful for my future career and for my final collection as I will be able to complete my garments independently.
After completed the jacket I was asked to completed the gift for the Urban Hair Show which was hair bubble attached with her business card using laces. I have made 100 of the hair bubble with the combination of fabrics style.
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| Full look of the finished gift |
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| Making process |
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| All the finished hair bubbles gift in the box ready for the show |
Throughout this project I found that making a hair bubble is very easy I could use it to make my own and ideal for gifting this could be useful for my future within business or branding.
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| The Leaflets of the Urban Hair Show |
Week four I was asked to help out at the show, I was helping out with fitting and repair the costumes some was the stripe keeps ripping off as it was too thin which was very fun. Unfortunately the show ended up starting at 9.00 pm and I have to leave for personal reason at the time but I have few images from behind the stage.
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| Christine and one of the model behind the stage |
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| Hair dressers are doing the hair style for the competition |
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| Model with the Pony costumes I have made |
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| Model with one of Christine's costumes |
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| Model with one of Christine's costumes |
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| Model with one of Christine's costumes |
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| Model with one of Christine's costumes |
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| Model with one of Christine's costumes |
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| Model with one of Christine's costumes |
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| The stage before the show start |
From helping out at the Urban hair show I was found it wasn't well organised which I could be looking at this for future when I have to run my own show etc. by making sure everything is well organise. Also they should have model fitting in advance so all the models would know what they will be wearing and they won't have to stress about not having the right costume and the chosen costume won't fit on well. Overall I think being there to help out was a great opportunity to see and learn as well as being to use these experiences in future.
Week five I was asked to help out at the Liverpool Fashion week
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| At the Liverpool Stadium |
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| Behind the stage one of the designer's collection |
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| At the stage showing Christine Collection |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
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| One of Christine's costumes |
Other Designer's collection which I found it was very interesting, there were many different ranges such as over sized collection, quirky look, elegant look and casual wear which was great to look at and could be using within my finally collection choosing the look I want to go for.
My most inspiring collection which I was amazed and it's different from the other collection as it's quirky and unique. The collection was made by Brian Nohan.
From being at the Liverpool Fashion Week 2014 I was much more confident in working behind the stage then when I was at the Urban hair show, it was also much more organised every models have got their name on the outfit so I didn't get to much. I was preparing and changing the model clothing so I was able to take few images from the show. I think it's was pretty fun and I also get to see different ranges of clothing of many designers as well as the style of clothing which was a great idea to look at within my collection. Overall I see how a show run properly, being well organise and time management for each show.
Week five I was asked to help in making a costume for a writer Liz Taylor which will be taken for a magazine called Coco Fierce. The task of the costume was the look that's inspired by Cleopatra.
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| Cutting out the lining |
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| Finished lining |
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| The front skirt part which I have given the idea of using the fabrics usefully |
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| Full finished dress for the client |
The dress was made by me, Jerry and Christine the ideal was not to make the exact dress code but the look that show the inspiration. I was very excited as I was ask to sew up the dress together I started off by cutting lining and sewn them up together and Christine worked on the dress after finished up on the lining I then put the dress and the lining together. After joining the dress Christine couldn't put the front part together as there wasn't enough pleated pieces so I helped her by giving an idea of using the pieces of materials that Jerry have made by attaching them between the pleated fabric and the outer skirt which she was very impress. After completed the full dress Christine finished the dress by putting the zip onto the dress as there weren't a zip footer which I couldn't sew it on without using a zip footer. We managed to finish the dress on time for Liz to pick them up on the day. When she arrive and tried the dress on she was very happy with the look of the dress and the dress fitted her well.
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| Magazine page image |
From this project I found that it was useful as I was able to use my creativity within a short time and able to cope with rushing work/ working in a fast pace which will be useful for future such as when I have a problem with the fabrics or/and materials use I will be able to cope with it.
Week six I was asked to do window dressing in a different room and packaging a dress for her order which was pretty fast and then I was asked to start on a dress which was one of her order for a client which will be use for a show.
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| The dress ready to be send to her client |
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| Cutting out the fabrics |
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| Process in making the dress |
I think for this project it was very difficult for me as it was a very big size and it was a lot bigger than the mannequin she have so it was very difficult to do the measurement and the fitting but unfortunately I couldn't finish the dress on the day so Christine have to finish the dress. From this project I felt much more confident measuring and making a big size of a garment.
Week seven I was asked to unpick a suits which is for one of her client for a wedding but she she need to change the style.
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| Finish unpicked the suits |
Then I was asked to finish of a dress which will be taking a photograph to represent her new upcoming collection which is called the Prom show.
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| Adding zips and create the fold on the top part |
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| Side look of the top part |
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| Checking on the fitting measurement |
For this project I found it was very difficult as it was already sewn on I was asked to create the fold on the top, putting zip, finish off the hem line and a piece of chiffon which is detachable. I think it was very competitive for me when I was putting the zip and the fold on the top of the dress as she wanted the dress to be smaller than it was so I have to make sure that the measurements are equally and the fold is fitted right. I think I did the fold and zip well but it also took me longer than I normally take. For the hem line I have used a simple technique as she said she wasn't really bother with the perfection as it is a sample of the look and style for her Prom collection so I did the folded hem line. After I have finish and check up on the measurement I then start to finish off the belt part which I have not completed as it was very difficult to sew on, it was pretty thick. Overall I think I have gain a lot of confident in working independently and able to cope with different types of work and tasks within the manufacturing.
After completed my time working at Christine collection she has also offered me to help out on my spare time, getting involved in helping with the Prom show which she have organised and will be running in a couple of months time which I have agreed as I will be meeting new people, making connection with local and experienced people within the fashion industry and will useful within my future career.
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