To the Runway and Beyond...

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.
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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.
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"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!