Co-oproduct...

This is one of our final pieces for the Co-oproduct section of the project.  It is a kimono style cropped top made from woven strips of maps trapped in between two layers of interfacing.  It is fastened using safety pins as Amish ladies fasten their garments with pins.  We also styled it with a necklace made out of ring pulls.

This is he second of our final pieces; and Amish inspired piece made from plaited newspaper. 

Fabrics...

•All soft fabrics ideal for summer

•Lightweight, whilst mixing organza/see through with thicker satins and silks.

Detailing...

Detail ideas taken from ring pulls and air vents.

Conservative Pleats taken from Golden Palace, Thailand and a photograph of a simple air vent.  These details can be interpreted in many different ways and used for pockets, neck pieces, cuffs, shoulder additions and could also be used for texturing a garment.

•Contrasting stitch details taken from accent colours in colour palette.

•Metal accessories to bring in urban influence

•Simple fastenings, mostly buttons, hook and eyes and poppers, avoiding zips.

Styling...

These drawings show how the silhouettes would be styled.  The idea is to mix fit with flare to make simple shapes more interesting and to mix revealing shapes with conservative ones to show the urban and Amish influence.

Silhouettes...

These are our silhouette images inspired by Amish clothing and simple architecture.
Cropped styles

Cropped sleeves, and tops

Collars must be loose and opened. 

Higher necks

Longer sleeves, not  ¾ and not capped.  Sleeves are baggier, funnel shaped   tops are loose fitting. ,

Capes are a major shape,  however they are  short, the hem finishes before hitting the waist.  And also covers only ¾  of the arm

Some capes to have cut outs around the body and can be more fitting than usual. 

•M split shape skirt, flattering , ideal for s/s 

•Shorter skirts contrast with the amish views, urban influence 

•Tighter  fitting skirts. baggier ones need to have good draping.

•High waisted in all of them,  Pinnifores  worn  high therefore, waistline is naturally high. Also keeps in time with the modest approach, no low rise.

•No tight fitted trousers,  they are kept  baggy and loose, for easy wear, Lengths of trousers vary, a shorter Capri Pant and then ankle rise pants

These are images to show the inspiration for our silhouettes.

Final Colour Palette...

This our final colour palette along with the names that we have given each colour.  We have used one of our silhouette designs, based on the Amish, as a way to present our colours. 

Co-oproduct samples

As part of our project with Co-oproduct, we have all made samples from everyday household waste items.  These are our favourite ones as a group and those that we thought we could develop further into our concept:

Map Sample
We really liked this weaved map sample held together by interlining made by Gemma.  This would be a really easy thing to reproduce as maps would be an easy thing to get hold of in large quantities.  It also lends itself really well to pattern cutting and making it into a garment.  We also thought that it could represent the fact that Amish communities wouldn't use sat navs or Google maps and would have to use traditional maps to get to new places.  The fact that this map is a map of a city brings our ideas about the urban environment into the fabric.

Sweet Wrapper Samples
We liked the shape created by Yvonne using these Lindor sweet wrappers.  They are really nice delicate samples and we thought that they could be used for fringing a garment or for detail.  Also, the red parts of them fitted with our colour palette.

Ring Pull Sample
We really liked this ring pull sample made by Rachel as layering all of the ring pulls created a really great effect.  The ring pulls could represent the urban environment as I doubt that they would be something used by the Amish and other similar cultures. They make great fabric and could also be sewn on to things individually as well as how they have been done here.

Plastic Bottle Pieces
These small plastic pieces made by Morta from an Evian water bottle are really effective.  Heating them up changes the properties and a harder plastic is created.  These look good on top of Gemma's sample and they could be stitched on to create nice details.

Newspaper Sample
We all loved this newspaper piece made by Yvonne.  It is woven and plaited together to create a really sturdy intricate sample with a lot of possibilities.  We thought that it could possible be used as a head or shoulder piece.  The head piece would represent the bonnets worn by the Amish.  It is also very similar to the straw hats worn by the men.