Womens Fashion By Joanne Louise

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Project Catwalk Series 3 Week 6 

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer 

It’s week 6 and the competition to find the final three designers who will show at London Fashion week is getting tougher. 

This week the remaining designers were met by the design duo Nargess Gharani & Vanya Strok, the dynamic duo behind desirable label Gharani Strok. 

Gharani & Strok set this week’s challenge, one that was centred on a cause very close to their hearts and supported by many of the Fashion Industries greatest names. The challenge was for the designers to create an outfit for the charity “Fashion Targets Breast Cancer”, but, the designers would be limited to working with the charities signature material T-shirts and would have to work in the the very famous blue and white ‘target’ logo the charity has become synonymous with. 

It proved to be an uninspiring challenge for Tom, who he found himself at a loss in the work room. Viv on the other hand, who early on declared T-shirts were not her thing managed to find inspiration when Mentor Ben De Lisi came to the rescue. This didn’t go unnoticed by Chelsey who had made of point of expressing her dissatisfaction at the amount of help, she believed Ben to be giving Viv with each passing week. 

As always the twist came when the designers met with photographer Dan Stevens, whose task it would be to shoot the designers ideas in a very limited amount of time a in a plush London house. The designer’s tasks were to direct Dan and their models in a way that would convey the essence of their clothes and provide the most impact in the portrait. The subsequent shots formed part of the judging process for the week, alongside the outfits on the catwalk themselves. 

As Catwalk day approached, Jasper triumphed, again, with his mod/disco inspired dress, which very clearly exemplified the cause’s mission statement. 

Tom, Viv and Clinton found themselves facing the judge’s vote, with each having to defend their creations, before the judges went off for a lengthy and somewhat heated debate. 

Viv was given a reprieve because it was her first showing in the bottom three. However, the judges were divided on Tom and Clinton. But overall it was felt that what Tom lacked in passion for the competition, Clinton trounced in sheer creativity and so therefore, Tom was asked to leave the Catwalk much to Ben’s dismay. 

FIONNUALA’S CATWALK DIARY 

Project Catwalk Fionnuala’s Diary 

WEEK ONE! 

DAY 1
Entered the house, it was very daunting- met everyone. I wasn’t too nervous but it was very surreal, was nice to see some familiar faces; Chelsea, Viv and Katy. Very exciting. Am wondering what our first challenge will be? 

We were told to be ready for a half an hour but in TV land, that was about two hours, we went in a convoy of Land Drovers-so s**t hot, and filmed the opening shot for the series, walking down the road. Reservoir Dogs on acid apparently. I strutted my stuff in my mint sparkly green dress. 

Met Kelly and Zandra Rhodes, who gave us our first challenge, it’s to be all about ourselves-very cool! 

DAY 2
Ben arrived and told us a twist…. We had to pick our fabric from another contestant’s wardrobe! I got Jules which was awful and I grabbed whatever and thought what the hell can I do with this? Horrible print dress and polka dot thing? That I was ****** came up with idea for the dress- very simple, very limited though with what I can do because of your age-hardly any fabric such a joke I am worried this is gonna look so rubbish! I’m scared to be too crazy in case I don’t finish in time? 

I seem to be getting on well with everyone, wary of Debbie though she’s intimidating and very loud. Had to work away on design, meeting with Ben in the morning-I am scared. 

DAY 3
First crit with Ben was ok, he wasn’t that enthusiastic though, I wish he had have told me more! I was kicking myself for doing something soooo boring, but the fabrics threw me because they were so awful, it looks c**p and I’m worried. 

Debbie fought with Chelsea today-she shouted at her in front of the cameras. She is crazy, I think what a cruel bitch to shout at a young girl like that in front of the cameras. 

DAY 4
Catwalk day 1, Panicked myself again and again, so worried, although I think there IS worse than mine? I hate the dress even though my model loves it. It didn’t look too bad on the catwalk but I ended up in the bottom 3 anyway with Tom- we so didn’t deserve to be there. James went home-damn him ruining my new black jacket and favourite hoodie! His dress wasn’t great though-it was too boxy I thought - not enough design; it was not a proud moment surviving the bottom 3; it was a kick up the bum. I think Debbie should have been in the bottom 3, she brought a pattern from home for heavens-sake and the top of her dress was tic-taped on! 

Day 5
Down Day, transformers and primark for pyjamas. 

WEEK 2 

Day 1
We were told we were to make a dress for a celebrity-we went into a hotel room and had to guess from racks of clothes who the celebrity might be - I guessed Nancy Del’Olio and I was right. 

Keira Knightly walked by in the hall, we wished it was her. We had 15 minutes to design a dress and pitch it to Nancy, it was awful I couldn’t think, I went blank, I think mine was a bit O.T.T- went home and had a big pyjama party! Kelly arrived to the party with us- we all looked so funny in our P.J’s. Then Monica and Giles from last series arrived. It was cool to talk to them they understand what it is like. Got a bit drunk and danced like a stripper. What’s new then! 

Day 2
My design wasn’t chosen but that’s ok I’m working on Viv’s with her- great laugh we have the same weird sense of humour. Viv’s dress was a tad complicated and it was up to me basically to figure it all out. I was in charge of buying fabrics and I did a really good job- Kingfisher Blue, very classy and sexy worked my ass off to prove myself. 

Crit with Ben went really well he said it was ambitious and brave I have a really good feeling about our dress-finally something I can really stick my teeth into! Worked my ass off; majorly. 

Day 3
Catwalk day, Nancy made me feel less like a woman and more like a blob - the way she draped on her chair she is so sexy. I had no worries and we got top 3, really good feeling. I think judges were impressed how I had worked; the dress did look amazing even with raw edges! Ashley is a great model and a fantastic walk on her. 

WEEK 3 

Day 1
Had a fight with Debbie, she jumped down my throat and all I wanted to know was is if she wanted shepherds pie, got called a child and rude! Oh, my, god! She is the rude one and extremely immature. I was the one who handled it like an adult- got so angry. 

Day 2
Set day, met with Gary from Mackintosh, (Coats and Macs) I got very excited I love coats- but I’m scared how the hell can we do this in such a short time? But there was a twist of course… which I loved! 

Male models! Oh yes! Oh yes! I got the sexist one called Damien! Wow! So hot! Made me blush and we got to measure him - inside leg please! 

We went straight to work in the studio. I’m thinking reversible a Mac on the 1 side and sporty on the other. 

Day 3
Crit went ok, only ok! Ben didn’t seem too excited, but he liked the reversible idea- work, work, work to get it right! It seems to be going really well though. 

Day 4
MY BIRTHDAY!!! Yeah we only had till 12pm today to finish but it was ok we got it done. 

We had to go pitch our ideas to Macintosh. Hated it, they weren’t nice to me at all – not positive. 

Made me feel so c**p and on my birthday, I was under the impression they wanted a new direction? Obviously not! They wanted the same old thing! Had a cool birthday though-Jasper DID Tina Turner he is so good: got to talk to my mum, dad and Steve! 

Day 5
Catwalk day, Damien looked so good and I felt really confident about it. The whole reversible thing worked really, really well, Damien DID me proud. Katy’s model was hilarious - Thor - crazy hand gestures and a crazy American Accent… he’s from Norway! Didn’t get top 3, but they said it was very tough this week! 

Debbie went home, I was glad about that! I didn’t see a lot of her talent if she had any?! 

DAY 6
Day off. Bowling plus the lads flashed their asses to a whole beer garden- hilarious it shocked people’s faces! 

Fionnuala Diary  

WEEK 5 

Day 1
Set day –we were driven to the East End? But for what? We met Henry Holland who set our challenge. We basically had to set a trend- whatever that was though?! Very exciting going around Beyond Retro – with 75 pounds to spend!! 

I got a tutu and military jacket plus some lingerie thingies?? Not sure what I was thinking yet- possibly-maybe 40’s inspired Dior new-looks esque? A lot of Burlesque- pin up girls sprang to mind but used them in a whole new way??? Something clean and fresh? A lot of thinking to be done?!!!! 

Day 2
9am to 9pm today, a lot of work to do- crit with Ben- didn’t go too well but I think he says all that to me to get some fight in me! It’s a good side to me to be honest I get good work out of me then! I stack to my guns and did what I feel was right! I was really liking the dress I was doing; Ross gave me a really good idea to turn the collar into a waist coat-spot on Ross! It looked ace! 

Day 3
Had to be finished today by 4 O’clock but why?? Well we were told about a party. So I worked my ass off! Christina came for fittings and for a little bit I didn’t think I would finish but I did! It looked really well in fact I loved the colours together and the contradicting shapes! Christina looked great in it, it was definitely modern and fashion forward and the journalist loved it! I asked from above if I could use the petticoat I had bought to style my outfit and I was told yes because it was a styling aid and that I wouldn’t have time to make another piece (I already made 3! Yes 3 pieces!) If it was such a big deal to other people I wouldn’t have used it! No skin off my nose it was not a main piece in my outfit it was just out of colour. I had incorporated it in to my garment. 

I think Chelsea and Jasper needed to cop on to reality and realise they are young and are coming across looking bad on telly. Bitchy even! I said it to them though if you have something to say to me then say it to my face! I do not appreciate being spoken to on the front steps and told to be ready to defend myself tomorrow, worry about your own Jasper. I am confident about mine don’t try and back hand me I’m a cat, hear me roar (how sad is that) I’ll stand up for myself always and say it to my face, I hate high-school, back-hand, bitching. It will all be judged on the catwalk tomorrow…

Womens Clothing 

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Project Catwalk Week 5 Series 3   

Fashion Future The remaining designers went East this week and were whisked off to Brick Lane, the trendy heart of London’s East End - where they were greeted by the multi-coloured designer du-jour, Henry Holland, famous for his extravagant printed t-shirts featuring risqué slogans. 

Henry‘s challenge for the team was to ‘divine inspiration’ and create ‘fashions next big trend’ by reinterpreting ideas from the past. To start them on their fashion forward journey, he took the team back in time to vintage clothing emporium ‘Beyond Retro’. Giving each a budget £75 to spend in just 20 minutes, on items that would inspire them or could be re-worked in to something that was truly ‘cutting-edge’. Jasper instantly took to some silver netting and conjured up an idea based on a ‘1950s - future robot’. Confused? So was Viv, who was at a loss of where to begin, realising that this challenge was one that would require her to start thinking outside the box and come up with something original. 

Back in the work room, Fionnuala was feeling confident with her design and colour choices, a grey and red military tailored dress, until mentor Ben De Lisi brought her down with to earth with a great big, thud. His critique of her military coloured layered dress was so savage it left her in tears. The twist this week, came in the from of a party thrown by HH at a hip London club, at which the designers would present their models in their designs to a fashion journalist, who would be critiquing their work, and then writing up her thoughts on the style site vogue.com, which frankly is almost like getting into the hallow magazine itself, right? 

But not everyone’s ideas of where Fashion is heading struck gold with journo Louise Roe, Clinton’s disappointed her, as too much metallic was not her thing, but her article the next day revealed she liked Viv’s “Audrey Hepburn” style Dress, with a modern take and Jasper’s design was something she had never seen before. Poor old Ross didn’t even get a mention in the review she wrote, for it seems as the amount of alcohol consumed by the young man had taken its toll before she made it round to him and he could explain his notions of body-architecture.  Judgement day saw Clinton and Fionnuala in the bottom two, Clinton’s jacket saved him just, whilst his harlequin-esque jumpsuit was derided for being, ‘just bad taste’ by judge and mentor Ben DL. Fionnuala’s take on military tailoring also failed to hit the right target for the judges , although she defended herself to the bitter end, but it was never going to be a battle she could win and for her the Project Catwalk campaign was over. Meanwhile, Tom’s avant-garde reworking of the classic white shirt, dazzled the judges and he sailed through to his first blinding victory. Get in!

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Week 4 of project Catwalk Series 3   

  Fireworks with Firetrap 

This week the gang found themselves working in groups of three to create a mini- collection that would appeal to a female musical festival goers. Sophie Clinch from the high street store “Firetrap” set them the challenge, with one member being the head designer, the second a fabric buyer and the third the pattern cutter, this gave the gang a chance to show off aspects to their technical ability. Angie came back with some fabric that would put “Joseph and his Technicolor Dream Coat” to shame, poor Fionnuala and Jasper almost had a heart-attack when she presented the two with her fabric choice. Not the best colours, but nonetheless they soldiered on with what they had. 

Later that evening back at the house Fionnuala wasn’t impressed to hear the other’s laughing at her team’s fabric choice and made it clear in no uncertain terms, that she wasn’t standing for any jokes made at her groups expense. The twist in the challenge was for the designers to head to the Firetrap Flagship Store in London’s Covent Garden, and with their models standing in as mannequins in the shop window – they had to showcase their collection to members of the public. Mentor Ben Di Lisi also gave the designers the added chore of getting the public to vote what one out of three different collections they favoured the most. During a heated round of enforced voting Katy caught Angie ‘influencing’ the public to vote for her team, with or without having seen the collections they were to vote on. The two designers had a show-down over Angie’s ‘cheating’ or rather “politics” as Angie liked to say. 

Catwalk day saw two winning designs from Viv and Clinton. The judges thought both answered the brief and Firetrap’s Sophie liked their designs so much that she wanted to put them into production for the brands spring/summer collection. Angie was shown the door as her design of a mini-skirt at music festival didn’t cut it with the judges, and following her previous appearance in the bottom three show was asked to leave the Catwalk. Dresses

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Episode 3 of Project Catwalk Series 3 

Debbie Debonair This Weeks Loser 

After last week’s sad farewell to two much-loved members of the Project Catwalk house, Jules and Keko, the remaining contestants are in a reflective mood ahead of their third challenge. 

They travel to a swanky London hotel where they are to find out what the latest challenge will be and Kelly tips them off that it involves one of her favourite brands. They arrive and are met by Gary Bots, the brand manager for Mackintosh, who have been producing handmade rainwear for over 200 years. He asks each designer to do a quick sketch of what first springs to mind when they hear the word ‘Mackinstosh’ and write down any words they associate with the brand, before delivering their brief. They have to take Mackinstosh’s classic raincoat to the next level, and, whilst the brief is pretty limitless, Gary explains that they must retain the traditional brand values of Mackintosh and that their version must be commercially viable. 

Next a twist is revealed: the group will be split into two, with one half designing for men and the other, for women. This is great news for Tom, the self-confessed menswear expert, who finds himself in that very group. Viv and Debbie are daunted at the prospect of working with patterns, which is a weak area for the two self-taught designers. 

In the work room the cracks soon begin to appear as Debbie struggles to cut a symmetrical pattern for her coat and her lack of technical skill is apparent not only to the rest of the group but also to mentor Ben. He also casts doubts over Jasper’s beautifully made yet very ‘out there’ coat and his comments to Katy prompt her to ditch 5 hours of work and start again, much to her annoyance! 

After Day One the team return to the house and celebrate Fionnuala’s birthday with champers, cake and dancing, and later the talk turns to the impending elimination. The general consensus is that Debbie Debonair should be the next designer to leave as she has not had the formal training the others have, and Angie even goes as far to say that Debbie’s participation in the show is an “embarrassment to the show and the fashion industry!” Charming as ever, eh Ange? 

After another day of frantic sewing the group are informed that there’s a new dimension to the challenge. They’ll have to pitch their idea to Gary Bot from Mackintosh and 2 fashion buyers and convince them their design is the most commercially viable. Viv takes their comments on board and adds a mini jacket to her dress mac, whilst the panel are not at all keen on Angie’s green mac as they think it’s too young. 

After sending all their models down the catwalk, it’s Chelsey, Ross, Katy and Viv who are the judge’s favourites. The designers have impressed Gary so much that he announces there will now be two winners- representing menswear and womenswear and that they will work with Mackintosh on their designs! The winners are Katy and Ross, whilst Jasper, Angie and Debbie find themselves in the bottom two. Jasper was told his design was off brief and if he was going to survive the competition he would have to adhere to it much more closely next time. Angie’s green coat was described by Paula as simple B.L.A.N.D but it was risqué designer and all-round free spirit Debbie Debonair who became this week’s fashion victim. 

Jackets & Coats