Project Runway @SCGS

Finally! It's all done & we've finally set up our work for tonight's exhibition! Yay!

Well done, Gals! ;)

"This is a costume inspired by the long-nosed filefish and the sea nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha). Instead of using plastic or smooth materials to achieve a smooth effect to represent aquatic animals, I used chiffon. This is because chiffon, when scrunched together gives an interesting effect and looks like a flower or coral. I encountered a lot of problems while making the lower half of the skirt. Trying to make it less monotonous and more vibrant was hard, and I had trouble picking materials. I tried plastic bags, bubble wrap, chiffon and plastic sheets.  I finally decided to use yarn to make pom-poms for the lower half of the skirt. However, the final product is different from what I had planned for the skirt. If given more time and resources, I would like to add more details to the dress and maybe use more striking colours. Overall, the experience was something new for me. I had never made an outfit from scratch before and it was very challenging. Nevertheless, I gained experience on how to choose materials so as to achieve the best results." - Darelle Marie Lim Xi, 3GR

"Christian Lacroix’s, the haute couture maniac, use of frills and fluffs to glam up his designs never ceases to amaze me! I aspire to create work with such details like him. My design is based on the sea creature, jellyfish. I incorporated the flowy yet compact tentacles ‘feel’ into my design. The colours I chose for my design are black and yellow, with yellow being the base colour and black the secondary layers. I chose yellow because to me, it is a colour, which radiates warmth and corresponds to a condition of freedom and self-development. I hope this costume can reflect the wearer’s character as someone who anticipates change and the new. This ties in with my jellyfish concept, as the jellyfish has freedom within the vast ocean. I chose black as the secondary colour as I think it is a good contrast to yellow, and black, to me, represents absolute negation, a radical ‘NO’. Black, to me, also represents beginning of everything. It is often used as a chromatic icon representing elegance. It is a way of expressing identity. I used chiffon to make my dress as I feel that chiffon resembles the translucency of the jellyfish and the way it folds and forms is also similar to that of the jellyfish tentacles. It was tedious patching up the pieces to make up the dress. However, I gained many insightful experiences through the process."  - Thea Goetomo, 3CO

"I designed my outfit based on inspirations drawn from the patterns on a clownfish. The usual patterns on the clownfish would include stripes, and it being hidden between seaweed and sea anemone. Thus, my choice of recycled material, a piece of plastic canvas, striped with cheerful colours. The stripes represent those of the clownfish, and the colours of a cheerful looking clownfish. I also made use of packet drinks, mainly Milo packets, to act as an embellishment and also the representation of the green seaweed present in the ocean. I had problem fitting the material properly onto the mannequin, and had to sew hems and ducts, just like sewing an actual dress. My areas for improvement would be working faster to complete the task and getting my materials needed. Overall, designing my dress was indeed exciting because I get to create my own design. However, the time and effort required for the hands-on is tough and a lot of hard work. Nevertheless, it was a good experience, and accomplishing my task was really satisfying." - Chan Wan Lin Kimberly, 3DY

"The colour scheme for this outfit was based on that of the orca, and the design was based on male suits. The ruffles on the shoulders of the jacket were made from cloth stretched over a wired base. In the course of this project, the main problem I faced was getting the cloth to fit securely over the wire base, as the knots I made easily came undone. I solved this by using string to tie the cloth instead, which also allowed me to use less cloth, thus saving on materials. Through the course of this project, I have learnt that drawing inspiration from nature can really help to create the design of an outfit, and that an outfit does not require complex material to be made, nor does it have to be made from scratch. We can actually create our own interesting piece by modifying existing clothes with interesting commonly found materials." - Sarah Jean Mackenzie, 3GY

"This design was inspired by the jellyfish and pirates. The skirt represents the fluidity and gentle movements of the jellyfish. The vest is a toned-down version of a pirate’s coat to fit a modern age. The materials used include common things that we can find at home. For instance, the vest was sculpted with a black trash bag and black duct tapes, creating a leather-like effect. Overall, the biggest problem encountered was using such materials to create something wearable. It was a huge challenge to create a piece of clothing from scratch, especially with materials like garbage bag. However, with reference to pieces of clothing, the materials were able to come together to form this costume. All in all, this experience has been an eye-opening and an enriching one, which allows us to be exposed to new forms of art and not merely just drawing and painting." - Chuan Yun Xin Joanne, 3PR

"The inspiration for my project was the moray eel. What I was fascinated with was the fluidity and prints on the moral eel, as well as its sharp teeth. The elegance of the eel inspired the idea of glamour and refined clothing incorporating significant aspects of the eel. The outfit was constructed out of carefully arranged cardboard pieces wrapped in hand-painted aluminum foil. One difficulty faced was capturing the curves of the mannequin in cardboard due to its stiffness. To solve this problem, I used bands of cardboards to lay the foundation of the curves, thus causing the cardboards to stick to the contours of the body. Improvements that could be made would be using a more unique material for the skirt and creating more movement in it. Through this project, I realized how hard it is to transform an image into a 3D outfit, and learnt how to cope with the limitations of the physical world." - Lu Huijun, 3PE

"I started by doodling on pieces of paper for hours. I walked around the house, slept, ate and finally got my inspiration after reading a magazine. I chose images that appealed to me from magazines to be incorporated into my dress. The challenge thereafter was to piece them appropriately side-by-side without them looking out of place. After getting that done, I selected a white felt material and saved a bustier design as the base of my dress. With that, I hope the magazine pictures would stand out more. For a classier look, I added a shimmering white paper for that extra ‘oomph’. White portrays elegance, purity and innocence, while the darker tone of black as the ribbon and base portrays sophistication and self-confidence. It is exactly how a woman should feel when wearing my dress! One of the toughest parts of my process was to sew on the pieces so that my dress was the right fit. It was also extremely challenging to create the bends with the cardboard pieces to negotiate the contours of the mannequin. It has been a lot of hard work putting this together. Nevertheless, looking at my finished creation, it was definitely well worth the time and effort, and I will gladly do it all over again!" - Ho Xue Qi, 3CO

"I drew inspiration mainly from jellyfishes. I was drawn by the way their tentacles intertwine and that gave me the idea of braiding yarns to form part of the outfit. The bottom was just something I suddenly thought of, though I used the ruffles of some jellyfishes for the design. I wanted to create something extraordinary, and so I came out with an edgy shape that defied the norm. Getting the shape of the pants was a major problem and having to stick the pieces of slivered paper one by one onto the pants made my task seemed to last forever. Eventually, even though the results did not turn out as well as I had expected, it was all worth it." - Evelina Kok Li Min, 3PR

"The idea of pirates and sharks being menacing, ruthless and strong, inspired my work. To add to the effect, I used a great deal of reference to tribal tattoos. Also, the vest was created to look like an amour, similar to that of a sea turtle’s shelf. I used recycled materials such as cardboards and duct tapes to create a somewhat metallic effect. However, several problems were encountered in the process. It was difficult to achieve a polished finishing. I tried to improve by cutting the cardboards slightly smaller, before sticking the duct tapes so that I can use the duct tape to wrap over the whole cardboard so as not to expose the sides of the cardboard pieces.Given the opportunity again, I would really like to work on my workmanship and focus more on the details. On the whole, it was a memorable experience. It was a privilege to be able to make a costume out of my own design and showcase it on a life-sized mannequin!" - Elizabeth Low Ai Ying, 3PE

Even though Nadia joined us late & was not in time to be part of this Project Runway Show, Nadia has very generously helped everyone along the way. She was indeed a great help to everyone. Thank you so much, Nadia! :)