Themes that I have come up with are 

1. The Aufheben of Baroque architecture and rectangle shapes in fashion
2. The End of Spirit, psychoanalysis of self-identity

I cannot be confident to start the project with either of them. The first one is too much complicated and do not really make any sense. The second idea is interesting for me to explore, but obscure about what I begin researching with. Although I have a statement that I want to visualize, I have no idea what it would be like. 

Thanks to the tutorial, I kind of sorted out the second concept better and now I have three pathways of development. I think the pathway about self identity is the closest idea to what I want to visualize. 

[About the concept, The End of Spirit]

The initial title is the End of Spirit. This is about the lost of our Ego identity (not Identity) in 2018. Ego identity is called Spirit in my project and regarded as a positive definition of yourself. For example, today, when Materialism is extremely overwhelming human’s ideology, what we believe is not necessarily what we believe. The reason you took a specific action is high potentially attributed to the context behind your existence, not your spirit. When it is so, can you believe that there is your spirit inside your body ? That would be my question.

I was absent the lesson because I was ill. And so I didn’t work at all.

Gallery and Museum Visit

1. Clarendon Fine Art (Gallery)
2. Richard Saltoun Gallery; AKTION:CONCEPTUAL ART & PHOTOGRAPHY (1960-1980]
3. Tate Modern; Public, Private Secret (Talk)

I visited some galleries in Green Park in the morning. I am a little happy that I encountered a few works which might be relating (or I might be able to relate them) to my project.  →Research File

The talk in Tate Modern was helpful for me to understand more about the transition of configuration of Identity these days. I felt it is interesting thoughts that Selfie is changing the notion of Identity and that Self is no longer private and it is the era of "Devidual”. I think this idea would be a part of my visualization.

Action Plan 

• Analyze the work, She observed her reflection in the glass, with linking to the configuration of the identity
• Quick drawings, inspired by them
• Make a conclusion, define the relationships between identity configuration and mass consumption within Fashion

[Tutorial]

• Section 4 (First action plan) should be more concrete
• The concept is general, so narrow down the target (ex: Influencers vs Followers)
• It might be useful way to do “Chapter 1”

I agree with the opinion that the concept is too big to complete within 5 weeks more. I should choose a specific situation or group. Now I am thinking about to focus on Fashion tendencies (community, movement, hashtag...) on Instagram. I maintain that Self-actualization for ordinary followers of fashion influencers is now duplication of such influencers. And Fast Fashion brands are interfering their process by providing them with cheaper fashionable clothes which are basically copying expensive clothes that influencers can afford. Now I can connect mass consumption of clothing to configuration of the self for these followers. 

Action Plan for tomorrow is 

• Figure out the fashion tendency of fashion on Instagram. (Hashtags ?)
• Visualize the process of Self-actualization linking to fast fashion.

 [Contextual Practice]

Contextual Practice today was to sort out the contents of the project. The practice allowed me to see if the project is well balanced, which means wether or not I am taking inspiration widely and the project theme contains political or cultural interests that are somehow relating to my discipline. I think my project is wide ranged enough, which I am happy about, according to the practice sheet. However, indeed this practice was quite helpful to understand the project contents precisely , I am a bit worried about the idea of final outcome, because it did not give me ideas about practical works afterwards. I know it is fine not to have a specific idea of final outcome, but I am just a little anxious about that.

Absent the lesson 

[Model Making Workshop]

I joined Model Making workshop in the morning. The purpose was to inspire myself by making some samples which are relating to my project theme. And I expected it was helping to do experiments in Stitch workshop afterwords. However, I am not happy with the works I have done. None of them were reflecting the concept well, because my design was just piles of faces, one of representation of the Self, which was inspired by She observed her reflection in the glass (Research File). I won’t use the works for the project.

[Stitch Workshop]

I have got the idea to stitch three garments together, inspired by Louis Vuitton Spring 2019 Men. It has three versions to wear and I recorded how they work on an actual body. I like that it presented different casualties, depending on a top wear.

Action Plan

• Buy random shirts for draping tomorrow (second hand shop ?)
• Design (roughs) one outfits for each draping today

 [Contextual Practice]

-Material analysis

1. Viscount Tartan (fabric)
2. Jeans Black (fabric)
3. Polyestr Cottton White (fabric)

Material analysis made me realized how I usually approach materials. For instance, in terms of fabric, apparently I tend to take texture seriously more than slight difference of colour. And I used to ignore industrial use or social values of materials. Not only about historical and cultural context, but also I would like to be aware of other contexts such as sustainability, typical method and/or people’s perceptions of materials.

Action Plan

• Design development; 5 different outfits based on the draping last time
• Refer to brands logos, patterns, catch copy for own statement

[One day Workshop]

Beforehand the workshop, I have decided to make some collars and cuffs. 

Workshop was quite intense and I did not have enough time to develop the design after making the maquette. I think I was able to have a new idea for a possible designs of a final outcome, thanks to draping today. However, I felt the necessity to research a fashion designer who used similar ideas, collars and cuffs.

As for designs, I think it is a bit too much. Or maybe the tartan shirts and the white shirts are not harmonizing well. I would like to re-think about patterns on the garments from the aesthetical point of view.

Action Plan

• Experimentation of fabric printing
• Design development; 5 deifferent ideas

[First page]

-Article about PRIMARK’s economic growth on BBC online paper

-Nick Waplington exhibition 

-PRIMARK tags

-Collage of previous works

First page is about clarify my pathway, because I changed it from fashion collection to Installation.

[Second page]

-Nick Waplington exhibition

-Issey Miyake display

-The initial idea of the final outcome

What I have been struggling is not to waste my previous works. I kind of reset my mind and have to produce something totally different. Although the theme, my statement, is same, the way I express them will not be the same. I would like to produce something extreme and dynamic, not to play with the details of the garments like before. However, as the one big project, I felt, I don’t want to ignore the previous works. That has to be solved.

Action Plan

• Find the way to use previous works, designs
• Visit PRIMARK and respond the primary research with some visual works

I hanged my work on the wall and placed two models to get some ideas to coexist the collage and the garments. I can possibly use either way to put works next to each other or to let the wearer interact with the collage. 

I felt it was not strong enough to tell audiences my statement. Moreover, I couldn’t see the relation/interaction/communication between the collage and the garments so far. It might be better to have same design detail for the garment to correspond it to the collage.

Action Plan

• Design 5 garment designs for the Installation
• Think about the way to display them without a wearer, for a possible situation of exhibition

• In Design for making the exhibition poster

I used InDesign to make the poster. It was my first experience. Frankly Speaking, I feel comfortable to use InDesign, probably because of my designing style, tidiness. Although I couldn’t understand the specific difference about picture’s quality between Photoshop, I was able to think about the layout of poster much better with InDesign

[Contextual Practice]

• Poster Critique 
• Hat Workshop
• Scamper Workshop
• Self Assessment 

[Poster] comments/reviews

• Layout and Description is well considered
• Should leave out the white margin of the reference picture
• Should plase my own work (=the photo I want people to see in the very first sight) in the biggest size
• Title (font and size) is not capturing attentions

The critique let me clear about the priority of layouting a poster. Rather than title, visual elements appeal people first. When I present my work, the most important information is “what my outcome is like”.

[Hat Workshop]

Among the 6 hats to reflect on an own practice, I felt Green and Blue hat is the most useful activity. When it comes to the other 4 hats, on actually doing every time I reflect on my works or I have a tutorial with a tutor. But Green and Blue hat is about taking the works to further stage, not just understand the status quo of myself; planning and thinking about alternative ideas. It helped me to look it broader, thinking about other options and pathway including future business, and to look closer, planning and prioritizing next actions with possible alternative options.

[Scamper Workshop]

It sounded like the extension of Green and Blue hat activity. I think I was able to be specific more about the contents that I thought about in Hat workshop in this activity

[Self Assessment]

To be honest, I couldn’t make the most of this activity. Nevertheless I figured out what University Education Level requires us to achieve, I couldn’t become sure about the grade. For example, researches need to be wide ranged, but how much? How deep?. Of course I have a variety of areas in the research file, but I was not sure if or not they are simply enough. So I am kind of waiting to go through it once and will know if my expectation is correct.

Planning The Photoshoot

Model: Larisa (Tartan Dress), Anna (PRIMARK Dress)

Location: CSM Archway 2nd floor/ white background and floor (PRIMARK Dress)/ Black background and floor (Tartan Dress) 

Make up: Normal or Without making up

(Free Resources online)

Props: iPhone X white (PRIMARK Dress)

Mood:

(Gucci Pre-Fall 2011, Gucci)

Tartan Dress, sophistication, luxury sense, high fashion, imaginable brands are Gucci, Louis Vuitton...

(Louis Vuitton Resort 2012, Louis Vuitton)

PRIMARK Dress, playful, teenager, posting a photo on Instagram (iPhone), casualty, pop...

Action Plan

• Personal photoshoot with white wall
• Photoshoot from 12:50

• 60 words description for the final outcome poster (first draft)
• Making the poster 
• Writing the Final Evaluation

It was simply hard to summarize within a few words. Especially my theme has some different aspects and thus took a big word count. 

Action Plan

• Finish writing the final evaluation by the end of today
• upload the draft on the Workflow
• Print out the poster and the final evaluation tomorrow morning 

This practice is previously reflected on the Workflow