The Porcelain Dress

I was surfing around the internet today and I found the neatest thing: a dress made completely out of blue and white Chinese pottery from the Ming and Qing dynasties. I thought this was so awesome because it immediately made me think of my Delftwear collection which was inspired by blue and white Dutch pottery. Li Xiaofeng, the designer/creator, definitely has a more literal and interesting approach when it comes to combining pottery and fashion.



To see more of Li Xiaofeng's work go here.

Fashion Show Pictures

I got a few more pictures from the fashion show!

The New Jocks, Ethical Fashion Project

Today was my final presentation of the semester! For my Product Development and CAD class we've been working on a semester long project with the knitwear company, Gildan and the Fair Labor Association. The class was divided into three groups, mine being the New Jocks, and we designed and produced ethical fashion. The goal was to create collections that are sustainable in ways different than just being made out of organic materials.

My group focused on several ways of creating a more sustainable collection:

• Two-in-one Look- Garments that can be worn in multiple ways, such as skirts that can be transformed into tops
• Versatility- Garments that are easily interchanged
• Waste management- many of the pattern pieces are rectangular so they can be placed next to each other and minimize scraps.
• Use of scraps- scraps that are produced are used within some garments in a knotting technique
• Large pockets- one cardigan has huge pockets that can take the place of a purse
• End-of-life- our company would produce a website that gave end-of-life suggestions to do with garments once they have worn out, such as latchhook and crochet t-shirt rugs. Also donation to charities would be encouraged.

Our collection was designed with Californian Hipsters in mind.

• 18-25, student
• conscious of world events, concerned with sustainability, educated consumer
• blogs and posts on forums
• off-beat when it comes to fashion, music, and culture
• laidback, casual but edgy
• feminine but not girly

The entire collection was knitwear. It was definitely a great experience and I learned a lot. I was the team digitizer, so in addition to helping with research, designing, and sketching, I learned how to use Lectra's Modaris. It was a very frustrating experience, but I eventually got the hang of it and I think it will be good to know the program.

To see some images and learn a whole lot more about this project go here: http://ethicalfashionproject.wordpress.com/the-new-jocks/

The exciting thing is that our collections will be showing at the Esethica Fashion Show in October.

More fashion show

I found these images of my models walking the runway floating around on facebook, so I thought I'd post. More photos to come! My uncle took a bunch of pictures at the show, but they are on my Dad's computer. Enjoy these for now.

Infinite Crescendo: The Synergy Fashion Show

This past Saturday was the culmination of my 4 years as an apparel design major. I showed off my senior collection at Infinite Crescendo, the fashion show put on by UD's campus club, Synergy. It was the first and last time I will have participated and it was amazing! There was very little drama, which I was thankful for, though a little hectic backstage. Everyone watching in the audience said that the show was fabulous and very professional.

It was definitely an experience working with models, but the ones I worked with were all very down-to-earth. Thank you Whitney, Billy, and Christine! Below is a link to the video of my collection on the runway, which can also be found on the main page of my website (http://www.erinamende.com/).

Delftwear Runway Video on YouTube

The programs were also very well-done with photos taken at a park in Wilmington by a team of photographers from UD's art department. Here is an image of my garments that was in the program:

If you'd like to read more about the fashion show, there is an article in UD's "The Review":

Synergy Hosts "Infinite Crescendo" fashion show

Thank you to everyone who came out to the show to support UD fashion. Also thank you to my fellow seniors and my professor, Dr. Orzada, and thank you to the Synergy Club for making the show possible.

P.S. If you'd like to see high-resolution pictures of my Delftwear collection then please go to my website and go to the portfolio section

iMusic II and Synergy fashion show

I just thought that I would share an article from the UDaily website that talks about the iMusic II multimedia show that I as well as the other students in my senior collections class were involved in. the article can be found here:

http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/apr/imusic042309.html

I am not mentioned by name, but I am in the group shot. I'm wearing a zebra print jacket and my model for the show, Shelby, is standing next to me in one of my Delftwear pieces. Each student in my class got to show one design in the show, put on by the music department's Xiang Gao, an expert violinist. The performance featured classical music and theater and fashion inspired by it. I didn't get to see it, but I heard the reaction was good. I had volunteered to stay backstage to dress and prepare the models. I did get to see them go out and watch from the side of the stage.

Also I thought I would remind that the Synergy Fashion Show is coming up on Saturday, May 9 at the Trabant Student Center. Tickets are $15 in advance and can be bought at the Trabant Box Office, or tickets can be bought at the door for a higher price (I think it may be $20). I think the time of the show is 8 pm, but I will get back to the blog when I know for sure the time and at-the-door prices. The name of the show is "Infinite Crescendo" and features the Senior collections of the Apparel Design students here at UD, as well as an open submission category for underclassmen and a blank canvas competition. The blank canvas competition was to create designs inspired by a particular genre of music, such as punk rock, country, pop, etc. Be sure to get a ticket and get there early because seats fill up fast and it is not uncommon for people to stand along the walls to watch the show. There will also be a panel from the apparel industry to judge the competition.

UDaily Article

I thought I'd update with the link to the UDaily article about myself and the team of students I worked designing and constructing ballet costumes for the Mid-Atlantic Ballet Company's production of Persephone:

http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/mar/balletfashion032609.html

This isn't the first time I've appeared in U of D news. A few years back an article in the Messenger Alumni magazine featured some undergraduate research projects, including mine on Sourcing African-American Art as Design Inspiration. The link is below. Scroll down until you reach the section entitled "Wearing ‘The Weary Blues’":

http://www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/06/03/studentresearch.html