Final Major Project Review

REVIEW OF FINAL MAJOR PROJECT (FMP)


Student Name: Maximilian Raynor Pathway: Fashion and Textiles 

Final Major Project Title: ‘Hang ‘em up to Bleed’- A project on Veganism 

1. Briefly describe the final outcome of your project and the progress you have made, and if applicable how it differs from your original Project Proposal:

My final outcome is in the form of four separate pieces, two sleeves and two dresses (one dress styled as a third sleeve), shot and styled in contrasting ways, on both a female and male model. I have progressed from intending to heavily focus on fact delivery/ slogans to a far less literal final outcome. The references in the pieces are subtle translations of my primary and secondary research and the development conducted from it. I had proposed to make a collection but decided not to spread myself to thinly.

2. What methods have you used to show how your learning has effected your project e.g. FMP Blog/ FMP Plan/ sketchbooks etc., and how has this helped with development of your work:

By documenting my learning process in a blog, I have been able to better evaluate and reflect on my work at each stage. This constant self-evaluation, whereby I actually have to put my thoughts and decision-making process into words, has helped develop my work profoundly, in that everything I do must have a reason/rational behind it. This consequently means each idea is well considered and grounded in my research. The use of a sketchbook is primarily an invaluable presentation device, yet it too acts in the same way as a blog. The blog ensures a translation of ideas to writing, whilst the sketchbook ensures the consistent translation of ideas to the visual. This visualisation process becomes the project in itself and where the majority of my creative decisions materialise. By having a plan I was able to develop my work at a steady and aforethought manner, rather than approaching it at point blank. The plan gave structure to my project and was referred back to at the end of each week. Without this structure I do not believe my project would have developed the way it did.

3. List the targets met (from the original FMP Plan and any that were added later):

I intended to “explore ‘Veganism’ via firm concentration on the negative impact of the livestock industry producing meat and dairy and the ethics behind our treatment of the animals we use for food”. I have met this target with all my extensive research into the industry and the translation of that research into textile samples, silhouettes, colour palettes etc. I have achieved my target of encouraging “debate through my work” as many peers and tutors have engaged in the subject matter presented, some even re-evaluating their consumer decisions. I met my target to use more textile and sampling processes, as my project contains interesting, tactile ideas throughout. I met my target to find modern alternatives to leathers and suede, namely with my discovery of the 100% recycled microfiber alternative to suede “Ultra suede”. The material is expensive but both ethical and sustainable. My desire to be confrontational too with my project has been effective- many have been shocked and disturbed by my research and development. I hope this shock invokes more of a conscience in those that see the project and that this informs their consumer decisions. I was “adamant” my project would not “fall into the aesthetic of recycled trash” and this target has been met too. The project outcome is expensive looking and sexy not neutral and drab.

4. Reflecting on your overall final major project, please discuss any developments which have contributed to the final outcome:

I firmly believe every single sketch, drawing, stand exploration and so on informs the final outcome. Not one piece of research is pointless, as that which is discarded, has still influenced the edit of material. This edit pushes me towards discovering what it is I am inspired by and want to use. That said, there are inevitably certain developments that contribute more obviously. Key developments include my work with calico on the stand, pleating, stuffing, pinching, tucking, draping and darting. The silhouette and design details explored during this process were highly informative, namely the voluminous, pleated sleeve exploration, that translated directly into my final look. This exploration was derived then from another piece of key development- my primary research photography. Inspired by Alex Van Gelder’s ‘Meat Portraiture” I photographed my own series, later named ‘Meat in a Plastic Bag’. The pictures of squashed meat in shiny plastic informed my stand work in terms of silhouette, as well as textile and fabrication decisions when sourcing latex and PVC, to mirror the texture of the plastic bag. A third piece of key development was my secondary artist research and the paper stand work developed from it. Paintings by Lovis Corinth and Chaim Soutine inspired my interest in the shapes and structures of the animal carcass. The bony, lumpy, contorted imagery inspired me to develop creased, structured silhouettes on the stand. This work later informed my decision to use paper stuffing in the final sleeve, as well as to use liquid latex texture on the neck, which mirrored textures seen in the Corinth art. My colour developments all came directly from my research. One specific combination of surgical turquoise with deep blood red was developed from secondary, exposé/ docu-film research. This colour development is bold and jarring and was translated directly into my final latex dress (shot as a menswear sleeve).

5. Please state what advice you received from others during your FMP, and discuss what you found particularly useful: you should refer to group reviews, one-to-one tutorials and feedback from evaluation groups

Group reviews and tutorials have been highly advantageous to my final outcome. Without the advice of peers and my primary tutor Sarah Thomas, I would not have developed the way that I have. Through the constructive criticism and hyper attention to detail of Sarah, I have tapped into a realm of design potential, previously unmet in my creative education. I have been encouraged to be exhaustive in my approach. A solid example of this thorough application is in my stand work. I had become content with a small range of paper developments and was ready to move on to black line sketching, when Sarah forbade me sketch and instructed that I should only use calico on the stand. I spent the following three days utterly immersed in the process of calico draping and the developments created because of this informed my final outcome profusely. An example of informative peer advice came from a group ‘crit’ where multiple peers expressed their desire to see larger textile samples in my sketchbook, beyond the relatively small, knitted samples I was producing. This led me to create a vast array of samples, exploring processes from gluing and melting, to surface stitching and dying. The samples eventually informed colour palette curation and fabrication sourcing and one paint sample inspired me to use liquid-latex, which was then ultimately used on my final neckpiece.

6. Key points to take away – things to change about my approach (give at least 2) e.g. improve time management, what skills you have developed and how this will affect your future course/career and things to continue doing and to build on (give at least 2). What are you going to do next year? (NOTE – you may find it useful to refer to this document at the beginning of your next self managed project.)

This project has been deeply constructive in helping me discover who I want to become as a designer. I have discovered new-found love for processes like calico stand-work and textile sampling, whilst in the final promotion stage I identified a keen admiration for styling, recognising its ability to transform a final look’s presentation. If I were to do the project again I would endeavour to have found more exhibitions and galleries related to my project, where I could see the work in person, as much of my artist research for my Final Major Project came from the internet or books. I would like to have allocated more time at the end of the project to organise some kind of personal presentation, be it a mini show, public statement or video screening. I would like to have been able to afford for my final garment to be 100% recycled Ultra Suede and therefore ethically and environmentally sustainable, but must be content with the disclaimer that if I were constructing for the industry, with a higher budget, the collection or final piece would fulfil my desire to be entirely eco-friendly. I do feel somewhat hypocritical that the final material is synthetic polyester, but at least the desired intention/concept remains. I was the student that thought they didn’t need a foundation, using the course as merely a stepping-stone to BA. I could not have been more wrong. The course has changed my approach to design utterly. My referencing process, even more so since FMP, is better considered and more wide-ranging. Art and literature play a bigger role in my secondary research collation- for this project writing by Carol J. Adams and paintings by Aertsen and Corinth have been influential, whilst my colour palette is refined and referenced, as apposed to chosen impulsively. My greatest development, I believe, comes in regards to silhouette development. As previously mentioned, the process of calico draping, that I have explored and developed within FMP, will go on to aid me in all future design projects. The shapes and cuts resulting from it are more conceptual and lend to a more unique aesthetic- uniqueness and concept being crucial for BA fashion study. On my BA fashion degree I will focus on the word ‘process’ as I have learnt to do on this foundation. I will be sure to use a vast range of processes, to make for better project outcomes. Draping, cutting, gluing, melting, stitching, heat- pressing, dying, stuffing, quilting, beading, shredding... the list goes on and on. Without these informative and fun methods of design, I would remain with similar, repetitive design outputs; with these methods (and many, many more) I push the boundaries of what is possible in design.