GRAP2792 Fabric to Fashion Assessment Writing Task (Week 1) - James Harden Hi, my name is James Harden. I’ve lived in Melbourne all my life, so I have not had to travel the same distance as others in this course have. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Melbourne University majoring in Mechanical Systems (aka Mechanical Engineering) two years ago. It was an arduous task for me to complete the degree by the end. I found the course itself to be quite isolating in the content and delivery style of the subjects. This coupled with a constant stream of looking and solving math's equations made me start to question whether this was the right life choice going forward. This ambiguity which clouded my mind resulted in me taking a year off to work full time in an admin role. I both wanted to see what it was like working a normal desk job and give myself time before I would have to commit to a two-year master's degree which would provide me with the necessary accreditation for working. During the year I contemplated other possible life and career choices I could make moving forward. An obvious one in my mind was pursuing something fashion related. As background, for the last 2-3 years I have bought and sold used designer clothes from Japan and resold them for profit. In tandem to this I created an online store through both an Instagram and a website to experiment in running a business. I have done everything myself from editing html coding on the ‘Shopify’ templates to taking product photos and running socials. I very much enjoy the whole experience and though it is still very much a hobby which makes money I always wanted and believed I could do more. When I reflected on what I could see myself doing or a goal that could act as a motivation for my career the idea of owning my own brick and mortar retail store always came through. I have had the privileged experience of being able to visit several other countries and it was instantly apparent to me that the Retail experience for designer clothing (especially for menswear) is extremely lacking in Australia. In my head I tried to map out why I couldn’t get to this end goal straight away and two main things jumped out. 1. Money and 2. Knowledge. Money has a very defined means of obtainability; knowledge is more flexible. Thus, as I looked for possible employment opportunities or available further education, I stumbled upon this course that of which the offered subjects really resonated with me. As I come from a limited fashion background, I want to absorb all the information supplied to me and try to learn as much as possible. Through the practical elements of this degree I think I can use my current entrepreneurial endeavours as a testing plate as well as a possible growth area as I learn the skills and knowledge to further my business. GRAP2792 Fabric to Fashion Assessment Writing Task (Week 2) - James Harden My favourite T-Shirt is from the brand ‘Affix Works’ Autumn Winter 19 Collection. I bought the shirt on sale at a store called ‘Eliminator’ in Daikanyama, Tokyo. It is 100% cotton (though there is a printed graphic) and made in Portugal. The design is quite basic, a photograph embossed with the brands logo, so it is more the context of obtaining the shirt which pushes it above others. ‘Affix Works’ is a brand created by my favourite designer Kiko Kostadinov and his friends. On the brands website it states that “The studio acts as a creative base for both individual and collective projects across various mediums “. Their first endeavour was as a segment on the popular online radio channel ‘Know Wave’ before they ventured into a clothing line focusing on utilitarian work and technical wear. The brand is usually outside of my price range for what is being offered but since it was on heavy sale (I’m sorry for perpetuating the culture) I decided to purchase it. The T-Shirt can conjure my experience of that time whenever I look at it. Japan has been one of my favourite places to travel especially regarding the fashion retail experience which is something I am both very interested in and looking to pursue. It is something that was discussed in the lecture about the semiotic properties T-Shirts can hold. For me the T-Shirt is not just something that I like the graphic design and fit on my body but it also represents a brand I am interested in and want to be associated with and is symbolic of an enjoyable time in my life. The ‘Planet Money’ T-Shirt story as well as what we have been learning in the Fibre to Fabric and Fabric to Fashion courses have made me much more aware as to what goes into the process of a T-Shirts garment lifestyle. This was especially true when the Planet Money podcast discussed the idea of forming the final product specifications and then working backwards from there. What has yet to be discussed and what I am particularly interested in is the pattern making behind different styles of T-Shirt's and what affect they have on the overall fit of the product. In regards to my T-Shirt shown above, I would like to know why it was made in Portugal as that is an area I don’t often see garments being made in and also if the print is adding other fibres to the shirt like plastics or dyes. The graphic is flat on the shirt so I believe it is just screen printed on, but my understanding of these processes is limited so I may be wrong. GRAP2792 Fabric to Fashion Assessment Writing Task (Week 3) - James Harden After finishing my Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Systems I was both burnt out and unsure if it was the right path. As part of Melbourne’s engineering school, you complete a three-year undergraduate and then a two-year masters to receive your engineering qualification. After having my doubts, I decided to spend 2019 not studying, taking a full-time job and working out what I wanted to do with my life. The engineering that had originally appealed to me had worn me out with a lack of creativity and critical thinking and instead was dominated by never-ending equations. Parallel to my interest in engineering was an interest in fashion. It is something I have always loved and strived to learn more about but perhaps conservatively never thought about it as a potential career. However, as I was increasing my knowledge of modern fashion history, I saw that there was a way to make my hobby profitable. Over the past three years I have run my own online store buying and selling vintage designer clothes on my website https://kaizenstore.com.au/ and through other online fashion marketplaces. Doing everything myself from sourcing, buying, taking measurements and product photos, site design, customer interaction and shipping has given me a unique experience into how running an online retail store works. As my interest in fashion grew and engineering wavered, I found an aspiration that this was potentially what I wanted to do but I was two years into my degree and did not have the knowledge what steps to take next. It is now that I had a year to think about it that I realised I should take a risk and go for what I cared about. All the way back in 2013 when I was lucky enough that my parents took me to America and specifically New York and I was able to visit Carson Street Clothiers, a shop I had only seen online, that the idea of opening my own store crept into my mind. Having grown up in Melbourne (And Australia’s) extremely limited retail spaces this was like a whole new world to me. My favourite designer brands stocked the shelves ready to try on, coincidentally one of my favourite songs was playing over the speaker and incredibly friendly and welcoming staff made the experience one I still remember to this day. Thus, as the lofty aspiration of opening my own store sits at the back of my mind, I thought out the steps to get me there. Apart from the money needed, my general knowledge of fashion retail from a business side was limited. Thus, I looked at potential courses which could provide me with a strong base of information as well as developing skills and experience needed for future projects or employment. With my experience in my own entrepreneurship endeavours this course immediately sprung out at me. The core subjects coupled with the electives would provide a rounded structure that would bring me a step closer to my goals and benefit me in several ways. The industry and practical sides of the course (which have unfortunately been affected by the virus) would allow me to develop an understanding of the fashion world that I did not already have as an outsider. My current goals are to complete this degree to the best of my ability and look for potential employment areas to get further to my dream of owning my own store. While I also want to develop myself both physically and mentally and continue to experiment running my own online business and creative endeavours. This is a scary time economically, but it will also birth opportunity for something new in the future. GRAP2792 Fabric to Fashion Assessment Writing Task (Week 4) - James Harden My fashion influencer is Stephen Mann who is a stylist and creative consultant based out in London. Mann has now worked as a stylist for many brands most notably a long relationship at Missoni and currently working regularly with Kiko Kostadinov, Nicholas Daley and others. Mann was formerly the creative director of two major print publications being Inventory Magazine and The Green Soccer Journal. He has also been a creative consultant for Arc’teryx and Aitor Throup. More recently Mann has launched a utilitarian workwear brand with partners Kiko Kostadinov (Soon to depart) and Taro Ray. As well as these Career achievements Mann also ran the very popular menswear blog ‘THENONPLACE’ which featured on Tumblr during the large boom of online menswear presence from mid 2000’s to 2010’s. The blog coupled with his unique sense of style, which resulted in his continuous features in ‘Street Style’ photography allowed him to build a personal brand of influence before the term was even established. It was predominantly through his associated brands and own personal style which resulted in my own following of Mann. His ability to seamlessly blend more rustic or Americana inspired Japanese brands, technical outdoor wear and harsh avant-garde garments made him stand out in any crowd. Alongside his obvious contributions Mann has made through both his roles as a stylist and creative director and his own personal brand, I think he was a true representation and realization of what menswear at the time represented. As it has only been in the last 10 years or so that menswear and the idea that men can care about fashion and their clothes has really permeated into the mainstream a lot of those who were interested in fashion at the time went online. It was truly a perfect storm of this niche group of people who a lot of the time had no outlet to talk about their passion and the rise of the internet. It took the form of several different forums but most notably Stylezeitgeist and Superfuture. On these online forum boards individuals from all over the world would share their knowledge of the growing number of brands out there. Even online there was a strong idea of elitism and it was expected for you to go off and read 100’s of articles and posts about designers before you were taken seriously in discussion. Although Mann does not act in any sign of arrogance or pretension he does still demonstrate this idea of knowledge and a valuing for function and design as king. This abstract meshing of different styles, textures and brands is still not replicable to the level in which Mann showcased fashion week after fashion week. He does not dress the same way anymore (Even showing a range of his wardrobe that do not fit anymore during the quarantine in the UK on Instagram) but he has such a knowledgeable understanding of style and a career enviable of anyone looking to get into fashion that I will always respect and consume anything he does. Podcast (Week 5) Podcast Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N4Kxbc3QWf-7Kv6H5GCW_ngqk3KZib_C/view?usp=sharing Transcript: Hi this is James and I'm going to record my podcast about my journey fabric fashion so far. For me it was quite a change is I switched from mechanical engineering degree at bachelors' level to a fashion Masters level degree. My mechanical engineering degree made up for doing a lot of breadth subjects as well so I got to experience arts subjects and also commerce subjects this coupled with a lot of the scientific report writing that we had to do in my mechanical engineering degree helped me develop skills that hasn't been too far or abuse to switch into a fashion degree background as a lot of subjects have been commerce or arts focused with the fashion component to them. Starting off I didn't really know what to expect from a no fashion background we had quite set subjects that we had to choose fabric the fashion being one of them that was what I originally drew me to the course was the subjects in the electrical an offer and although the first four really jump out of me I was excited to get started on that regardless it's been a pretty interesting experience a lot of work's been really interesting summer lectures not as much in fabric to fashion the historical fashion part is always an interesting knowledge to to gain and then learn about products Cycles is probably the the most exciting part as well as product specifications anything that's related direct the industry that I couldn't really do myself otherwise has been really exciting as low as $5 Fashion which feels a lot more like science subject than anything else fashion entrepreneurship is a good example of just re applying skills and give me opportunities to interview people lack Isaac Liu Rose she's one of the heads of my favourite brands Eaton power Corp focus on sustainability at the moment and I got a chance to interview him that I would have never done it not for the degree in fabric fashion as well building your own personal profiles always something of do but this is really going to meet modification to really start doing it as well as with the virus going on there's no better time to study and if I wanted to get into a fashion job regardless no one's really harem opossum only recently but yeah it's it it's been really good look at the industry sort of things and and more excited for the thoughts become I took on the digital communications intensive in in once they fabric Innovation studio was dropped and that's been really interesting and not fall on I'm doing this all while working 3 days a week almost full-time had to pull it back with doodle.com intensive it's been pretty full on and I'm someone who really needs the routine service but it's been good for me and comes up Republic productivity standpoint again I've always had an interest in fashion and I've run my own business buying selling vintage designer clothes from Japan and that's gone well I'm in fact the sales increase the Forrester I'm actually going alright In terms of the individual journal task have had experience to reflect on some of the reasons why I chose this course still get those those times when I'm thinking is just the right thing to do with a lot of money but when I take a macro point of view and look out it's really a stepping stone to me and I think even know what sucks for a lot of people and then I feel bad same as like a virus really shutting down opportunities is really elevated my decision that I think I made the right choice doing this course reflecting back on it looking at my t-shirt I'm looking forward properly making specifications for that in case I want to help out on any brand stuff in the future development skills in Illustrator and things like that it's all being points Improvement weather been falling into it or not they're all skills which I can take for going it's future my current goal is is to probably get an industry job either of us just retail casually my NDIS is toad mind store I've had experience selling online and selling second hand but that the real my real interest is in what's new in the current design as out there and I really think there's a missing market in Melbourne for individual menswear designers we have stores like a left who stocks on the designers I'm interested or ordinal min in Sydney but no real avant garde of slightly youth Focus designers that are really standing out in Melbourne I think there's definitely market for it then I want to learn skills before I commit then that's something I got when spoken to Isaac he said you just have to learn and Heat & Pep's interning with the next step it somewhere bigger or somewhere that will take my myself and all my enthusiasm but yeah currently I just want to do as well as I can and the subduction come out with strong degree and hopefully get up some connections to then further my career going thought it's been a great journey so far and I'm looking forward to what happened next thanks