About Me
Hi I'm Eloise, a fashion design graduate from BCU
I am a womenswear designer who mainly focuses on ready-to-wear clothing that has a bit of a twist, I love adding my personality and quirks onto traditional garments and am inspired by stories of powerful women and female characters, translating their attitudes and passion into outfits.
My design process begins with a thorough investigation into my concept to unearth any textiles that resonate with my chosen narrative. I love using textures and surface pattern to further communicate the story and emotion to bring my concept into a collection. During my three years of Fashion Design at BCU I have acquired lots of new skills and have fallen in love with many aspects of the design and manufacturing process. My graduate collection is a love letter to the early mornings, late nights, coffees, fabric shop trips and experiences at university.
INSPIRATION
"All girls to the front! I'm not kidding." - Kathleen Hanna
Specialising in womenswear, I take inspiration from political and social movements and subcultures that were at the forefront of such campaigns. "Girls to the Front" follows the narrative of 1990's Riot Grrrls fighting to reclaim girlishness and what it means to be a woman through challenging societal norms at the time. This is mirrored in the deconstructive/ reconstructive nature of my graduate collection.
To echo the ideas and campaigns of Riot Grrrls, traditionally menswear aligned garments have been questioned and reworked into more feminine silhouettes through the use of drawcords and elastics to create more fitted shapes. The collection has a distinct, collaged and patchwork style which is a nod to the handmade, physical and photocopied zines and posters found in Riot Grrrl literature.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Girls to the Front Introduction
Research Page for 'Girls to the Front'
Second Research Page for 'Girls to the Front'
Design development of 3D heart elements
Design development of deconstructed outfits
Further design development
'Girls to the Front' fabric samples
Final line up
Looks 1 and 2 outfit breakdowns
Looks 3 and 4 outfit breakdowns
Looks 5 and 6 outfit breakdowns
Range plan
Alternate colour-ways
Looks 1 and 5
Illustrations of looks 1 and 5
FORTIFY research
FORTIFY origami shirt design development
FORTIFY design development
FORTIFY final line up
DETAIL
"Girls to the Front" Textiles Consideration
Within my Riot Grrrl research, I found an abundance of bright graphics and colours used in their zines and manifestos, even just in the brightly coloured paper they used to print their posters on. I took inspiration from this and the tartan prints found in punk fashion to create my own distorted check/ tartan prints using heat transfer vinyl. Heart shapes were removed from the vinyl before application onto fabric to create a negative space effect within the print. Colour was drawn from the coloured lighting at Riot Grrrl punk rock shows which also prompted the use of rainbow reflective vinyl to add an extra dimension and texture to the print, and give the atmosphere of the experience of attending a 'Bikini Kill' show. This print was also elevated by the use of topstitching to add texture to the check and a dogtooth pattern was sublimated on top of the vinyl to suggest the effect of faded ink in Riot Grrrl literature.
"All girls to the front, I'm not kidding!" - Kathleen Hanna, Lead Singer of Bikini Kill
Graduate Fashion Week in partnership with:
