Introduction to my final project

For my Part 3 project at the Fashion and Textiles Foundation in CSM, I planned to explore further all possible ways and methods of realization at the workshops. At the campus, I was pleased to work mainly at the metal workshop with the idea of making shoes for my very first time.

Firstly my Contextual Practice was based on following some ideas from Part 2 of the course in body exaggeration and distortion aesthetics. Accordingly, I aimed to give unnaturalism and deformity to the body silhouette using structured panelling and stiff materials to refer to the aesthetics of medieval tortures and prosthetics. I decided to create intricate garments that can provide both senses of constriction and physical dysmorphia.

Secondly, I directed my project to incorporate accessories and shoes that could look like weapons or tortures. In this way, by combining metal and wood, I developed making heels and underwear that can be uncomfortable or even harmful.

My new Coat design has been the most intricate this year in realization.

Using fine Grey wool, I deformed the body silhouette, exaggerating hips and shoulders and shrinking the waist. The intention of generating an extreme hourglass shape brought me to question the body proportions and muscle lines. I pointed still to give the garment a classy feeling and elegance as if the exaggeration is just about its silhouette. In this way, I designed it with pockets and rounded buttons that hold the double-breasted front, framed by a classic notched rever. It's paneled by following the harmonious muscle lines such as hips and scapulars, and each seam boasts thick black piping. From the inside, hips and shoulders are thoughtfully padded and interfaced to give good volume and structure.

For my final project, I aspired to make two looks, which I would have had accessorised. I finalized no more than one structured wool coat and two pairs of metal heels throughout this term. Objectively I wasn't fully aware of how long it would have taken me to prepare for my English test, which I finally passed at the end of May. It was two or three weeks of study, which took away such a crucial period off my project, considering a few days a week I had destined to my job as well. Unfortunately, I focused on such a necessary exam for my BA entry that I couldn't fully deliver what I had in mind initially for my final project.

Nevertheless, I'm happy with my test results. Moreover, from next year's BA at CSM, I'll keep myself on shift only one day a week, and I'm now more conscious of managing my time the best. I'm steadily aiming to produce all my future projects independently and with no more obstacles.

I decided to alternate work from home on my coat idea and work at Archway on my shoe ideas. The excitement I had for creating heels from scratch pushed me far to research these items' physical aspects and practicability. I first considered and studied several stripper heels I had in my closet as I've always been fascinated by their way of being empowering and vertiginous. Secondly, I took inspiration from movies’ aesthetics that 've been watching recently, such as 'Blade runner' or 'Hellraiser.' In connection with my Axe Jacket project from part 2, I decided to repeat the latter shape and translate it into a heel for my new shoes.

It was the connection point to create intimidator and outrageous shoes that remind of weapons or tortures. The design shows a distorted, broken heel ax-shaped, animated by a particular vulnerability caused by its tilted junction. In the same way, I choose to give the metal sole the steepest angle for a foot (nearly 12 cm height), similar to some mistress' fetish heels. Once I built the metal structure and tried to stand on it, I immediately felt what I was looking for: the extreme spiky heel and the steepness of the sole are still wearable, but it gives me the most discomfort as if it's torture. Likewise, even though they make me walk almost on my toes, they result in elegant, futuristic, and sophisticated matching with my new wool coat design. One of my first aims for this project was to relay the concept' Walk and leave a mark', which refers to and forecloses a fashion statement of catwalks and Couture shows.

I cut, ground, hand-bent, and welded 0,2 cm thick metal for most of my shoes' components, so even if they look dangerous and insecure, they are solid, and they wouldn’t ever break.

Beyond question, I didn't want to create something fragile, so using thicker metal allowed me to execute shoes that would last forever, even because I designed a way to unscrew the axe heel off and substitute eventually with a more stable heel. Anyway, I could even think of welding a ticker rod on it as it would make the bottom section of the heel closer to a traditional thickness.

I have been entirely self-taught during this experience of shoemaking.

I pointed to a high standard straight away for details' realizations, as I wanted to present something epic and never saw before. Still, I couldn't figure out how many skills I could have quickly learned at the workshop because there is just everything needed.

I remember it took a while for me to approach the welder, first because some of my tutors and mates kept warning me, saying that it's a hazardous and dangerous tool to use, so I was getting scared. Though I remember one of the last taught days at the campus, I just went through it, and literally, it has been the easiest thing I've ever done.

I'm unsatisfied with how much practice I missed on it, as I would have used this tool from the beginning to create more metal pieces and accessories. Nonetheless, I'm keen on discovering more ways to work with alternative materials such as metal or resin, and I wish to receive further training next year.

Research

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