Vendala, The Making Of The Collection.
I lot of people ask me the process of creating a new collection, it can be different every time, depending on what has been happening in work/life in the months before hand, but this is a little insight into how this collection came together.
A few months before the show I start to research for my designs, festival season was coming to an end and I was inspired by getting to spend a lot of my summer weekends outdoors, travelling with L.O.M, but I was working so hard and getting wanderlust too. I think this shows itself in the new designs and print.
Researching Tibetan landscapes and dreaming of far away worlds, the shapes in my pattern designs were psychedelic and nature inspired.
Alongside working on the new print I was thinking up new shapes and styles for the looks. Of course we would keep everyone favourites, the tassel tops and fill playsuits, but I wanted to bring in new and fun shapes, and a mix of affordable and high end pieces.
As I design, the collection changes, I start a piece, but once I begin constructing, new ideas come to me and the piece will evolve and change. Sometimes quite far from my original design, but you have to go with what feels right - there is no point sticking to a design on paper when your heart wants to take it in a different direction.
That being said, some pieces came out quite close to how I first imagined!
The collection took several weeks to put together, myself and my team also had to make sure that customers were still getting their orders in time, whilst working on new pieces that were often very time consuming!
There was lots of hand sewing, 100's of pom poms, tassels, sequins and beads to be meticulously stitched into place. Some of our tassels were made and dip dyed by hand in the studio.
I didn't get to meet my models until a few hours before the show, so there was no time for alterations or proper fittings, and there is also the possibility that you make something to one models measurements, and she isn't there on the day. This needs to be considered when designing for catwalk situations. We are quite lucky because a lot of our pieces are stretchy, but you have to be able to make sure that you can make alterations by hand on the day, without effecting the design.
Finishing a collection can be very nerve wracking, (we were literally still sewing whilst I was packing the suitcase to head to the airport!) But I am really pleased with how the collection came out, and really thankful to my amazing team, Ash, Kitty, Karen and our intern Poppy for how hard they all worked to get it finished in time.
