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To the Runway and Beyond...

14/11/2016

Life has been an incredibly stylish rollercoaster!

By Zee Iqbal

"From the moment we walked away from the presentation our ability to create was pushed to its limit..."

Hey everybody, welcome back to the final part of my journey toward becoming a fashion designer.

Since I last posted life has been an incredibly stylish rollercoaster! I want to share that journey with you by starting at the point we left off… the moodboard presentation.

From the moment we walked away from the presentation our ability to create was pushed to its limits, as we had to draw focus on the relationship between our concepts and the garments that would represent them.

It felt like a strange excavation; discovering the truth that lay behind the glamour that fashion is attributed to… Absolutely eye opening and invigorating to say the least.

I was advised by our tutor to select one of my five flowers to develop on as each one had a lot of information and would be hard to incorporate into one collection. After much thought, I chose the flower on the far left and it led the way.

I took a very open approach to creating my garment designs. I knew if I had to force it that it wouldn’t be what was right so I decided to allow the ideas to develop in their own way as I observed them coming together in my mind.
A recurring theme that found its way throughout the process was flowers. As obvious and stereotypical as it might seem, I found different contexts through my research that became fundamental to the designs.

They were the following:

Ikebana:
A Japanese art form of flower arrangement

Mediterranean tile work:
Floral demonstration

Tulips:
Type of flower

Each of the three elements came together beautifully, providing the foundations that would contribute to the completed collection.

"I knew if I had to force it that it wouldn’t be what was right so I decided to allow the ideas to develop in their own way as I observed them coming together in my mind."

Ikebana provided a divine sense of floral balance, looking at the connection between heaven and humanity and its representation through space and asymmetry. I used this concept to design the print I included in my collection, as well as the imbalance I incorporated into my garment design.

Mediterranean tile work provided a sense of completeness and illustrated delicacy that perpetuated the intricate designs inspired by Ikebana. This added the finishing touch to my print and also helped to me to embrace a sense of completeness with each outfit.

"Soft, graceful yet strong, they had the right characteristics for my line up..."

Finally, tulips were the model by which I presented my designs. Soft, graceful yet strong, they had the right characteristics for my line up and so I made sure that it was an apparent feature of the collection.

Weeks were spent between class and home working on the vision of my line up, followed by the technical application.
It was at this stage that I realised how important drawing skills and an understanding of human anatomy were in showcasing design.

I was super relieved to have put some time into improving these skills when our tutor told us to! I also allocated some time to collecting material swatches and other details to present with the collection.

The last few days (and nights) coming up to the presentation were intense, but it didn’t feel like a second before presentation day had arrived!

My presentation, called WOman: Tula, included the line up, each individual look detailed with line drawings, a swatch-board with different materials in different colours and accessory ideas, my moodboard and my research book, full of the developmental process that led to the final collection. This collection was one of my interpretations of the changing perception of women in society, and how there is an incredibly powerful paradigm shift occurring in the world.

At the time of presenting it felt like a dream, beginning with no experience, going through the challenges that come with the will to improve and completing this passion project. I was very proud of the journey that my classmate and I had taken to reach this point.

Our collections were met with much praise, and even more so with awe. We were awarded certificates of completion and tickets to London Fashion Weekend... what a way to celebrate this achievement.

"I felt a sense of accomplishment and gratitude, and if I ever felt driven to achieve something, it was right there, standing in the middle of this amazing event."

London Fashion Weekend was almost like a sneak peak into what our future could look like. To be in the Saatchi gallery surrounded by the innovators of tomorrow, seeing fashion live and breathe was inspiring, even more so because we knew what goes into the creation of the garments we were watching go down the runway.

I felt a sense of accomplishment and gratitude, and if I ever felt driven to achieve something, it was right there, standing in the middle of this amazing event. I envisioned my work one day hanging off the “Designers of tomorrow” racks, ready to change the world.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad to see the end of this journey arrive. It taught me the values of good intention, hard work, perseverance and self belief.

Do what you love, and believe you can do it with all your heart (super cheesy I know, but 100% true).

This experience has empowered me to follow my dream of designing menswear with a view to changing the landscape of fashion as do the super designers of the world (You can keep up with my developments on Instagram).

"I envisioned my work one day hanging off the “Designers of tomorrow” racks, ready to change the world."

Thank you so much to Heston West Big Local once more for providing this opportunity.

I’m excited to see what else comes out of this fantastic organisation and if something presents itself that interests you, JUMP IN HEAD FIRST AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

I’ll sign this post off with a quote by Mark Twain, in which he says “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”...

All the best to you!

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WOman: the Paradigm Shift

26/7/2016

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Zee takes us through his artistic, inspiring and creative journey!

By Zee Iqbal

Hello everybody and welcome back to my journey toward becoming a fashion designer!

Since my last post the class' developments have been incredibly strong. We’ve drawn our ideas together to create our moodboards, supported by a host of research that explores the concepts we’ve chosen which we then presented to the class... I can safely say that I’ve never felt more like an artist!

The process began in quite a obscure way. It was up to us to explore the possibilities with our concepts and how we would like to demonstrate them, with guidance from our tutor to help us reach our goals. It was quite daunting at first because there are an infinite number of ideas we could invest in, but I remembered my intentions.

This was the moment that I could create something that really matters, something that can challenge peoples perceptions. I asked myself the necessary questions and with all things considered my concept was born; WOman: the Paradigm Shift.

"I could create something that really matters, something that can challenge peoples perceptions..."

My concept seeks to explore the perception of women in society vs how I perceive women as an individual. Recent times have seen women rise against cultural and traditional stereotypes seeking justice and equality in society. The movement is then reinforced by my personal experience of women. I’ve grown up with the most beautiful, strongest women who pioneered my life. Essentially they are the reason I am who I am, and it only felt right to honour them with my first collection.

My idea was first captured by a picture I came across years ago on facebook. It shows flowers erupting through concrete to exist in their absolute beauty. To me the picture represents the concept perfectly; the concrete is the traditional stereotypes that women have broken through to reveal flowers that are not disrupted in any way by the process they had to go through to break through.

Ever beautiful they remain, they represent the women who acknowledge the need to create this awareness, and they stand gloriously. The contrast between the delicacy of the flowers and the tough concrete and how aggressively it’s erupted is so fascinating to me and rightly demonstrates the power women possess.

I decided to use this visual as the template for my moodboard. It was a more conceptual approach to the work but I wanted to challenge myself to create something that could be considered an artwork in itself. I decided to make 5 separate flowers, each representing an important woman in my life.

That meant different identities, styles, colour schemes and pictures. Our trips to Portobello Market and the V&A Museum gave us a lot of content to use both as inspiration and as part of our moodboards, not to mention instilling the habit of taking pictures everywhere I go!

I spent the best part of two weeks working on the project. It was an awesome experience with a lot of uncertainty, but what I’ve acknowledged in the process is that you have to allow yourself to explore the possibilities, take risks and be unafraid of making mistakes. It certainly helped that I was working on my moodboard and research at night, when I was too tired to overthink! The end result is something I’m quite proud of and I couldn’t have imagined it that way... then came the time to present.

"I've learnt that art can truly be anything and it's able to expand your awareness massively. It has its own language which is understood by each individual in their own way..."

It was a surprisingly pleasant experience! We had encouraging feedback from our tutor, who helped us draw out artistic references from our work to help us with the garment design process which is to come (bring it on quilting and tapestry!). I've learnt that art can truly be anything and it's able to expand your awareness massively.

It has its own language which is understood by each individual in their own way, yet every different interpretation is truth... essentially it helps you to know yourself. It's going to be incredible watching my collection speak to its spectators.

Presenting felt like a celebration of what we’ve achieved so far. I'm really proud of my classmates because we’ve all worked really hard and we value the course greatly. Together we create a supportive, creative environment and it makes for an even greater course experience. I'm excited to see how we all develop and all the ideas we will come up with.

I’ll sign this post off with a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, in which he says: "Be the change that you wish to see in the world"... Till next time!

Follow Zee on Instagram: zshn

Our Big Local Fashion Project runs every Tuesday 2 to 4pm at the Brabazon Community Centre in Heston. For more information please click here.

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Follow Zee's journey to shake up the fashion world!

22/6/2016

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Meet Zee, 25 year old local artist and aspiring fashion designer!

By Zee Iqbal

Hello beautiful people! I'm Zee and this is my journey toward becoming a fashion designer.

My affinity for fashion began from a young age and truly manifested itself along side my passion for performance art. I was always learning an instrument or performing in a school production.
I took every opportunity possible to be a part of something creative and my discovery of fashion within all of this was a very natural and inevitable one. I found myself conscious of the clothes I chose to wear and I always wanted to dress in a way that made me happy. This interest continued to develop throughout my childhood and into my adulthood, where the power of fashion became very clear to me.

'Let’s just say if a picture tells a thousand words, fashion tells a million.'

I value the ability fashion provides to express yourself. It’s a symbol of culture and can unite people and create a sense of belonging. It can determine the way you feel and is indicative of your objectives for a time. Let’s just say if a picture tells a thousand words, fashion tells a million. It was in this light that when I came across the course Heston West Big Local was offering, I was ecstatic. These are the opportunities that will help people discover their abilities and allow them to work toward their ambitions. All we need is the chance, and with that you never know who you are enabling…perhaps the next super designer?

Through the course I intend to achieve a greater technical and practical knowledge of fashion design so that I can begin to work on my own collections for menswear and create a new style of clothing that reflects our ever-evolving culture; one that encompasses today's advancements in equality and freedom. I truly believe that art is the means through which change can be recognised and made, and I fully intend on using this platform to do just that.

To date I have worked with a friend to create a jacket that I designed. It was an amazing experience and a great precursor to the course.

'I truly believe that art is the means through which change can be recognised and made...'

The level of work that is required to create a garment is incredible. It’s one that I then underestimated and now value greatly. The course itself has helped me to begin work on my drawing skills and is starting to hone in on the different steps towards creating a collection of clothing. It’s been an eye opening experience so far and I’m really excited to continue to learn and progress through the remainder of the course.

'We hold the key to our future and it is with this understanding that we should invest in one another to become our best selves.'

This opportunity was only made possible because Heston West Big Local recognises how important community engagement is. We live in a world that at times can prove to be a struggle, but belief in our community is the way forward. We hold the key to our future and it is with this understanding that we should invest in one another to become our best selves. Everyone is great at something and if we can acknowledge that within our communities, we can give way to an incredible quality of life on an individual and united level. The next generation of superstars in every field is waiting to be discovered!

I’ll sign this post off with a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, in which she says: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”… Till next time!

Follow Zee on Instagram: zshn

Are you interested in joining our FREE fashion course? We still have a few spaces left. Please get in touch with Taz on taz.virdee@groundwork.org.uk or on 07702532710.

We meet every Tuesday 3 to 5pm at the Brabazon Community Centre in Heston.
For more information please click here.

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To the Runway and Beyond...

WOman: the Paradigm Shift

Follow Zee's journey to shake up the fashion world!

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