Day 20

 

The term "geisha" is made of two Japanese words, 芸 (gei) meaning "art" and 者 (sha) meaning "person who does". The most literal translation of geisha to English is "artist".

We have posted this definition today as geisha’s and Asian culture are the main inspiration for Day 20’s design. This all began on day 19 when the team took some time away from the studio and went to a bookshop. We bought a geisha book and the Japanese Kama Sutra, these books are what inspired todays look.

Today we designed for a woman who is strong but sensuous and holds herself in a way a modern geisha would. The design today is close to the body, fitted and has a silhouette based on a kimono. It has small detailing that mirrors traditional Asian clothes.

This blouse is constructed of six layers coming down off the shoulders. Each layer is open, so if you were to pull them apart the body would be exposed. This is to play with hidden sexuality, in the form of a body that is covered up but so close to being free. Day 20’s blouse is our interpretation of flower leaves circling around the body. The design today is what a contemporary geisha would wear; it is elegant, strong, sexual and a moving piece of art.

Another inspiration for today was the presence of Isabell, Marinas long term friend. Marina and Isabell used to work together (Marina was her design assistant). So, they have enjoyed a close working friendship and having her around the project allowed for them to reminisce and talk creatively.

Isabell’s presence created a warm support today, there is a certain understanding between her and Marina, some would call it designers respect. This respect and the memories of designing together brought joy to the atelier and allowed for the facilitation of the blouse design process.

 

Day 19

 

Once again we created the design without patterns, giving the creative process more time. Which allowed us to get inspired by fabric.

Yesterday we were inspired by handcraft and how you can change and elevate a fabric! This inspiration was still strong today but interpreted in a completely different way. Marina took a fabric whose colour and texture she disliked and elevated it.

Day 19 was focused on distorting the integrity of a fabric to create a whole new look and texture. Today is all about how you can take a fabric and use it in a different way. We were confident with crafting a new fabric as day 18’s blouse had set the groundwork.

The design today looks like a dress, but is intended to be worn as a blouse. It is very feminine due to its mauve colour, fitted nature and the softness of the fabric. Day 19’s blouse is meant to be worn with trousers, to balance out its feminine aesthetic. Marina is unsure about how she feels regarding the design today, it is very feminine for her taste. However, she is sure of the inspiration process and playing with fabrics. The team enjoyed creating a new fabric and the design process today, which is uplifting and inspiring - This makes a lot of work feel like a little!

The blouse is made up of woven distressed strips of fabric. The design team took open edges a step further today, to create a light fluffy texture and feathered edges. This texture makes today's blouse look ethereal, elegant and exquisitely feminine. Day 19’s blouse is soft to the touch, the fabric is light, silken and very gentle in its broken state. One design team member described it as having a heavenly ice-cream texture.

Although Marina is uncertain about the final design today, she is pleased with the process and the way of thinking it took to get there. The project is developing day by day, each design affecting the next. But the inspiration and design process is constantly adapting and changing to create new elevated pieces.

One of our 30days / 30designs slogans is “Tomorrow we will not care about yesterday” - This allows us to free up the design process and create something new everyday. 

 

Day 18

 

Day 18 was a day of change, we broke one of our guidelines for 30days / 30designs. The idea behind this is to enhance creativity and the design experience.

The day started with the team meeting for breakfast, to get out the studio and get a different perspective. After a long deliberation the design team were set on creating a blouse based on stripes.

We returned to the atelier and started working, but suddenly it struck everyone - stripes again!? We were sick of stripes. The team unilaterally decided to scrap the original idea and think of something new. The designs over the past few days had been more abstract and today we decided to take that further.

Day 18 took some inspiration from an unlikely picture in our mood board. This image fitted the tone of our board, but we never thought it would define a design the way it did. This image ended up defining the rest of the project as well as today's piece. Everything is starting new in 30days / 30design. The creative process has hit a new level, which is something to be excited and curious about!

We decided to reduce the design construction period, by using day 8’s pattern. Breaking it down and creating something new. Today's silhouette is fitted tightly against the body, but this very tailored look is balanced out with volume and folds.

Today Marina tried a new design technique, open distressed edges. She had previously disregarded this style and did not associate it with her brand. But we took this technique and paired it with folds and layers to create a new ruffled silhouette. Instantly it became clear one of our guidelines for 30days / 30designs was wrong! Previously, we had let the label define the way we design, but now we want the designs to define the label.

We placed day 18’s blouse on the mannequin and started to create an open blouse, that is very different to what we have created before. Today was about taking a technique Marina was not used to using and adding handcraft to elevate a design

   

 

Day 17

 

In 30days / 30designs we are grateful to our family and friends, they have provided so much support and encouragement.

Today Marina’s close friend Khadija came over to the atelier. Alongside Kaleb, a producer and friend, who created our 30days / 30designs introductory video. Marina enjoyed a meal with them and they created a positive atmosphere, by providing supportive and flattering feedback. They were both in awe at what Marina and the team has done so far, and asked how it was even possible! - This brought a warm light feeling to the rest of the day.

If you have read yesterday's blog you will know that we were more abstract with our design and styling. This abstract thinking became the inspiration for today. We wanted to take the designs and 30days / 30designs further. Our confidence had been boosted by the kind, warm-hearted words of Khadija and Kaleb. Both of which are people Marina trusts and is thankful too! As they have provided so much support, emotionally and creatively during this project.

Khadija is a singer; who Marina has known for a year. They instantly became close friends with an honest and warm relationship. This friendship and the warm light environment of today increased the design team’s creativity and allowed them to push the design process further.

Earlier I mentioned that we took an abstract direction today and this has been expressed with collars - Quite literally collars everywhere! Meaning that day 17’s blouse is not a traditional piece. We wanted to play with the unexpected and not be afraid to create something different. Day 17’s blouse is made up of several collars across the shoulders, waist and hem line making this piece striking and assertive, there is a powerful aura to this blouse.

As always we like to keep our aesthetic elegant, but today we wanted an abstract elegance. The design is something a graceful but confident women would wear, with an elegant ease. Simply today's design is a one sleeved blouse with collar details in unexpected places to create an interesting contemporary piece, with a slightly crazy silhouette.

 

Day 16

 

Today we revisited our mood board and immediately we noticed all the colours and vibrancy in its images. This caused us to think of the colours we have used so far in 30days / 30designs.

Unfortunately, we have limited range of test fabrics to create our prototypes designs so we have not had the luxury of experimenting with colours. So, today we go out assorted swatches of fabric and placed them on the mood board. We tried to picture a design that would work in a collar other our test fabric. This helped us think differently about the design and take a different approach to being creative.

The creative atmosphere allowed the design team to think about a more abstract silhouette. We looked back at the past 15 days of design and felt confident and this allowed us to experiment today and free in design and creating something new.

With innovating something new always comes a certain risk factor. But we decided that this project is about being inspired and creative, so it is ok to not to completely love every design as with each design we learn something new.

The idea behind today's blouse is a new abstract piece. That is completely open on the shoulders, with excess volume and cuffs placed disproportionally on the sleeves. There is a horizontal line across the midriff to break up the volume and define a shape. Marina felt the design flow out of her as she sketched todays piece and this made her feel confident.  

This created great atmosphere, the patterning was simple and easy for this piece as the design felt strong. But once the design was complete and placed on the mannequin there was a problem….

There was way too much excess fabric and the volume had not turned out the way we had envisioned in the sketch. Displeased with the silhouette Marina got inspired by styling and played around with different options.

First she tucked the voluminous blouse into a black pair of trousers but the amount of fabric made them bulky. So to compensate for this Marina had a new idea. She unzipped the trousers and pulled the blouse through the hole, to create a geometric black block and a new shape.

This stylistic choice made Marina feel more comfortable with the finial blouse and it created a new inspiration for today, a stylistic one. We have always focused on the blouse itself, but today we end up focusing on how you could wear the design. Therefore, day 16’s inspiration changed towards the end of day similar to the blouses silhouette.

 

Day 15

 

Yesterday we struggled, but day 15 is a brand new day and we had a brighter perspective and wanted to tackle the day with determination. Today is the official halfway point of 30days / 30designs and everyone involved has something to be proud of!

Today all the team went to exercise together and get in a healthy balanced mind-set before starting the day. On returning back to the atelier Marina and Lina had the conversation - “What are the moments in life you feel most comfortable?”

Before they knew it they were talking about family. Mainly the safety bubble you feel around family and close friends. As they know the true you and you can be yourself and relaxed. This developed into the conversation about the moments you feel most yourself.

We pictured a warm family evening and relaxing over a bottle of wine, in the freedom of being yourself and truly comfortable. This imagery and feeling is what inspired day 15’s blouse. The design for today is based around going to a family event and what you might wear. We considered comfort, but also dressing up to look nice for the people closest to you.

The design today is a double blouse, with raglan sleeves. The main feature and detail in this blouse is a double collar. One collar is open and the other is closed. Both the collars are different sizes and have different designs to create an intriguing shape and contemporary design. There is a low V-neckline to show a little skin, this represents being bare and vulnerable, but safe in the company of people who love you. Day 15’s blouse is about being playful, relaxed but still elegant.

Elegance is important to us at Marina Schwan, as it is not just a style, it is also a personality trait. Today was about creating elegant moments in comfort and feeling yourself in a warm family environment. Day 15 was a long day, but we took comfort in our strong inspiration and the warm feeling of family that inspired the day.   

 

Day 14

 

Day 14, was the first day we felt the enormity of 30days / 30designs.

Marina woke up feeling heavy and the weight of the project baring down on her shoulders. 30days / 30designs is physically and mentally exhausting. It requires late nights, early mornings, a lot of organisation and very little down time.

Today there was no inspiration, no imagery and the thought of designing and going to the atelier was difficult. Marina decided to just sit down with and pencil and ruler and start developing the lines.

The words of Marina’s close friends buzzed around her head today - “you must be F*cking crazy to take on such a challenge” and this was the first day Marina agreed.

30days / 30designs is about designing and being creative everyday. But there are stages to turning a design into a finished blouse. There are steps such as pattern cutting and sewing and these take up a lot of time and resources.

Due to the flat challenging mood, today was the first day Marina designed a top rather than a blouse. As she felt like there was not enough energy to create an extravagant piece and detailed blouse. Day 14’s top is a combination of stripes, yokes and soft volume to create space away from the body. Marina noted that subconsciously stripes are her go to design detail on bad days.

Although the design team spent time trying to get in a positive mind-set, today was a struggle. However, we got strength in the knowledge that our project is the first of its kind. We received news that we had a following all the way across the world in Perth (Australia). That there are design students who are getting inspired by our project and applying it to their own work. Knowing this gave us drive and motivation.

We also wanted to take the time today to say thank you to all those people following and supporting our 30days / 30designs project!

   

 

Day 13

 

Sometimes you have to take a step back to see things clearly.

This quote is important for day 13. As the team is getting away from the studio, the project and our routine. We walked through nature and allowed the fresh air to clear our minds. The silhouette of Berlin city stood in stark contrast with the horizon, peaking through the fresh spring air. There is a certain magical element to be at the brink of spring, plants are starting to bloom and everything is starting afresh.

This clean freshness is the key inspiration for today. Day 13's blouse is made to look fresh and clean. The blouse is voluminous; however, it cinches at the waist, thus creating a contemporary feminine silhouette. The sleeves are open at the shoulders and play with volume, this mirrors the waist shape by cinching at the wrists to create balance.

Today's design is feminine and flirty with a low neckline. It is about the feeling of spring and the changes of season creating changes in silhouettes, heavy winter wear to light spring designs. We are nearly half way through our 30days / 30designs womenswear project and getting away from Berlin and getting a new perspective was vital at this time in the project.

 

Day 12

 

“When words fail music speaks” - Hans Christian Andersen

After enjoying an evening with Son Chu, the team felt confident, strong and ready to tackle the day.

Music and rhythm was the inspiration for day 12. This is becuase Marina is going to a jazz concert to see Jesper Munk. She speaks with passion about his stage presence and style, so much so that this will be the second time she has seen him live.

Marina thought about the similarities between music and clothing, and how each can change your mood and can make you felt confident and free. The team discussed this idea and thought about how a melody makes you feel and more importantly makes you move. The idea developed into how clothes move alongside the body when dancing. This image of clothes moving to music is what today's blouse focuses on.

However, there is also a focus on Jesper Munk himself, as he is masculine but sensitive and has a certain captivating stage presence and style.

Inspired by jazz music day 12’s blouse has stripes down the front to reflect piano keys and voluminous fabric to capture movement. To balance out these details the blouse has a simple strong back. This also mirrors Jesper Munk’s style with subtle, strong masculinity mixed with detailed feminine lines.

Today’s blouse has a sensual but strong nature. There are striking design features in the front heightened by an open area exposing bare chest. We wanted to add a certain risk factor to this blouse. The danger of one more movement causing the blouse to shift and expose the wears chest. This creates a flirty and dangerous element to day 12’s blouse, but in elegant, clean and powerful way.

 

Day 11

 

Day 11 passed in a flash.

Marina"s day began with a wellness treatment from her close friend, Silvana. Knowing that she had booked a treatment Marina immediately felt at ease. Silvana is a warm kind-hearted person and knowing this made Marina feel relaxed on waking up today

“Don’t worry my dear, you are in a good way” - Silvana

This statement was said to Marina in her wellness treatment and created a warm relaxed sensation. This sensation partly inspired today. But the main inspiration for day 11’s blouse, came from Silvana.  

Silvana’s day-to-day style consists of a blouse with a pullover, layered on top. You can see the blouses collar popping out of the pullovers neckline. Silvana also always wears her sleeves rolled up to reveal the blouse underneath. This image really inspired Marina, the whole silhouette of today is based on that style.

Day 11’s blouse, is all about volume and the aesthetic of a two layered pieces in one. There is a focus on double sleeves with lines and folds, mirroring Silvana’s style. Once inspected closely it is clear the blouse is just the one piece with subtle modern details in the collar to make the blouse contemporary and fresh.

The silhouette of today is round and voluminous. But due to the movement in the fabric, if there is a gust of wind or the wearer moves you can see the shape of their figure. Making today’s blouse slightly sensuous by giving a small hint of the wears shape.

In the evening Marina caught up with an old friend who she would describe as a mentor - Son Chu (designer based in London). Marina and him chatted over drinks and discussed the project. He expressed his interest and pride in 30 days / 30designs and the effect it may have for the Marina Schwan label.