BA4 Reflective Journal

1st Week of BA4 Project

This week was all about research and starting my sketchbook - basically getting a good head start on the project!

First off, I looked deeper into the history of my families' clans - Clan Stewart and Clan Campbell of Loudoun. Sadly, it was not much help in giving me fashion context, due to it being just general history, however, it did help me to discover the traditional Stewart tartan:



which everyone is aware of as it is the most common one today. Because of its popularity, I decided I would make the suit out of this tartan and have this tartan as design aesthetics:

Later on that week, I looked into modern designers such as Rag and Bone, known for their heritage style, more specifically at their A/W 2011 collection:



Rag and bone used tartan in different textures and with different colours to bring the tartan out more, plus the accessories used in the catwalk were items like bowler hats and cravats - in reference to Sherlock period dress, making me realise that combining tartan with this period of dress will work.



With Jean Charles de Castelbajac's A/W 2011 womenswear, even though it was womenswear I still found design elements that ca be included in menswear. Such as, the red trim outlining the white jacket gave me the idea to include leather as a possible trim to frame the tartan jacket and give the whole design a modern look. Also, the stand collar feature above also gave me the idea to include a stand collar as part of the final design, as this will give the overall final garment a more relaxed and casual appearance.

Margeret Howell was more a research into modern tailoring - featured was tailoring in reference to military relating to what Dr Watson (Jude Law) wore in the film. The images above gave me the idea to make the coat leaner and longer in shape and silhouette.


For Etro's A/W 2008 menswear collection, the use of extravagant silk scarfs and ties made me realise that my idea of clashing patterns sometimes works and that I could use a silk scarf as an accessory in the final garment.

Unlike Etro's past collections, their S/S 2012 collection, the style was less formal and more casual fitted with the unbuttoned shirts and rolled up sleeves - a completely different style from what we are used to from these designers. It inspired me to create my jacket in a way that can be both adapted to smart occasions and casual settings by including the option of a stand up collar and to make the fit of the jacket rather loose so that sleeves can be rolled up and the jacket worn comfortably.

Later on that week

I looked further into how the characters dressed in the film adaption of Sherlock Holmes:


Rachel McAdams character (Irene Adler) dresses like any other woman that day - elegantly in bustle dresses made of the finest silks, exquisitely made. But what makes her character different from the woman of her time, is that she dresses in colours that may have been perceived as being too extravagant (bright pinks) and that she will go as far to dress as a man to solve a case (something women never did then).

Dr Watson is a military man so his look was very crisp tailoring, very formal. He wore the classic fashion of the time - double breasted long coats, lounge suits, bowler hats, etc. The complete opposite of Holmes in fashion, yet somehow the same...

Holmes still dressed somewhat in his period of fashion, but not without an eccentric look and style. Seen wearing frock coats (that were going out of style at the time) paired with silk patterned scarfs and contrasting waistcoats adds to his erratic personality.

I took elements such as the frock coats, the idea of pairing my suit jacket with contrasting patterned silk scarves and waistcoats, but also adding some kind of military influence as well, to really reflect the film's costumes.