THE BRISTOL ADVENTURE

Today I went on a little adventure, today I visited Bristol for the first time.

I decided to go to Bristol for research for my new project which I will be blogging about this week, as a starting point for my research I went to Bristol Aquarium. Ive never been to an aqaurium before and I'm so happy I have now, it was utterly inspiring and visually stunning. 

I got up close to all different species of fish, underwater creatures and plant life such as coral and seaweed (doesn't sound that interesting, but trust me it was). I was stunned at the beauty of the jellyfish on display, I could see every little detail, the way they moved through the water was enchanting. I saw small sharks, countless varieties of fish and a huge octopus! That was slightly scary, even though inches of reinforced glass stood between us.

I think it's pretty!

After my research I went exploring, got completely lost and I loved it. When youre lost, you dont know what you will find or who. I found some great shops, especially some vintage shops where I bought myself a  (very) early birthday present.

A gold necklace, which looks like a snake wrapping itself around your neck, I absolutely love it!

I found the Cabot Circus shopping mall that I had read about, it was huge, more impressive than St Davids in Cardiff, because it had a huge domed glass roof and it had a Harvey Nichols (so much I wanted, so little I could actually afford).

It was a great day, my feet are absolutely killing me now though, it was struggle walking back to the train station! This little adventure was great, i really should go out and explore other cities i havent been to yet. Trips to unknown places are always so inspiring and I cant wait for the next one.. I'm thinking maybe Birmingham? 

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METROPOLIS #3

Finally, here is the illustration for my Metropolis project! I wanted to do something different and try something new with this illustration, I usually just render my illustrations in felt-pen and color pencil.

So this time I scanned my sketch and cleaned up in Photoshop, I then rendered it using different textures like a real skin texture for the skin and leather texture for the leggings. I used my original inspiration of the Selfridges building in Birmingham (the studded walls) and used a picture of it to illustrate where I will stud the fabric. I think this turned out really well and I think I definitely want to carry on and experiment more with digital rendering for my fashion illustrations.

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The Clothes Show Live '09

Ok, I know this is a bit late, but here are some of the pictures I took when I went to the NEC, Birmingham to see The Clothes Show Live! (Sorry for the lack of photography skills, I hadn't used the camera I used before so the settings confused me, a lot)

Ohmigod, Barbie! 

Ride em' cowboy!

Wonder what she's pointing at? 

Dolce & Gabanna 

 The whole day was just unbelievable, I was having so much fun I forgot to take loads of pictures (ah well, I have the memories) Im definitely going to go again next year!

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December '09

These past few weeks I've been so busy with college and other fun stuff, on Tuesday I went to The Clothes Show Live in the NEC, Birmingham, which this year turned 21 and had a Winter Wonderland theme. It was amazing. I saw clothes up close from designers such as D&G, Vivien Westwood, Burberry and Missoni. More on that in a later post with pictures of the day.

Yesterday I had a photoshoot! It was for a friends photography coursework, she wanted a fashion shoot and I was her first choice of model. The shoot was so much fun, different outfit changes, poses and we managed to take about 150 pictures in just 90 minutes. We are continuing it today, with more outfits and some great accessories. As soon as the shoot has finished and the pictures processed I will be uploading them here.

Also I have been researching personal sewing projects, such as embellished (crystals, studs and rhinestones) headbands, ruffled cuffs and neck pieces as seen in the Chanel Fall 09/10 collection, and working with frayed materials for a deconstruced chic look. I don't sew much for myself but starting from now I will, going to The Clothes Show Live has given me so much inspiration and a renewed vigour to get sewing and rock my own unique style (as should everybody else too!)

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