About Me
Nadia Desai presents graduate collection "Royal Hodgepodge"
I am a womenswear designer that believes creativity has no limit. I resonate with the artistry of Avant Garde and conceptual design and embody that within the work that I produce. As a strong believer in women empowerment, I aim to produce wearable art that women radiate confidence in.
Four years ago, if someone was to ask me what I imagined my graduate collection to look like it, it would be this. Its fun, its light-hearted and its me. Designs full of colour and dramatic shapes that have slowly evolved into a lustrous and elegantly conceptual final collection. With the aim of bringing joy and playfulness to people’s lives, “Royal Hodgepodge” is unapologetically me. Often I draw inspiration from tailored garments and design them to be more cutting edge.
INSPIRATION
Turning Granny's knickknacks into regal opulence
If there’s three things your granny knows what to do it’s to love you, feed you and hoard dozens of ugly knickknacks. Granny’s miscellanea sit nicely polished in her glass cabinet and if carefully considered, they are placed in front of the floral curtain drapes that haven’t been changed since 1970. "Royal Hodgepodge!” is a concept initially inspired by the artistry of blown glass. Blown glass is a craftsmanship that I have learned to admire since watching the Netflix series “Blown Away”.
Inspired by photographer Martin Parr, blown glass knickknacks soon merged with floral curtain drapes and velvet quilted sofas that lay in the background of Parr’s visual arts. It is a quirky and playful collection that makes ugly fashionable and loud prints contemporary. Clashes of prints give the collection personality, and the rich colour scheme shows a story that is warming to the heart yet vivacious for your joy. A piece of advice though, never call granny’s knickknacks, knickknacks
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Introduction
Research Development
Research Development
Design Development - Blue prints
Design Development - Rust prints
Design Development- Cohesivity of prints
Textiles Development
Final Line Up
Outfit Breakdown - Look 1 and Look 2
Outfit Breakdown - Look 3 and Look 4
Outfit Breakdown - Look 5 and Look 6
Range Plan
Alternative Colourways
Final Outcome for Look 1 and Look 2
Final Outcome for Look 1 and Look 2
DETAIL
"Royal Hodgepodge" - Textiles Consideration
I started my textiles journey of this collection by considering how I could incorporate glass into my garments without using glass itself. Resin was a good alternative that would produce similar effects. The buttons used in the garments are resin, they are handmade resin buttons using a rose-shaped mould. The roses stemmed from the floral print curtains found in my research. The curtains also allowed me to innovatively use curtain tape to ruche my fabric and keep it cohesive. The selection of fabrics for this collection were stimulated from my research depicting the shine of the glass ornaments and jacquard of the curtain drapes. Duchess satin is the predominant fabric used amongst the collection as the jacquard fabric was introduced later to add texture and depth. My prints that I applied to the fabrics were all designed digitally. By using Adobe Capture and a happy accidental picture of my buttons, I was able to create various kaleidoscope prints that are now the backbone of “Royal Hodgepodge”.
“If I wore beige, nobody would know who I am,” - Queen Elizabeth II
Graduate Fashion Week in partnership with:
