Culture Project

For my two cultures I chose Victorian Britain and Modern Japan. I chose them because they have very distinct similarities and differences. I noticed that Victorian British clothing and design was very ornate and decorative, whereas in modern Japan it is very streamlined and functional. I also noticed that a lot of contemporary Japanese street fashion like the 'Gothic Lolita' look is inspired by Victorian British style with its heavy petticoats, delicate lace and voluminous sleeves.

As a staring pint, I looked a Victorian dresses, sketched the details and explored how I could translate them into more contemporary designs.

I then looked at the more simplistic silhouettes of the type of kimonos worn by women in modern day japan and created some designs using them as inspiration.

I then decorated these designs with contrasting Victorian detailing such as ruffles, lace and puffy sleeves. As research, I visited the V&A and was particularly inspired by their ceramic section. The act of afternoon tea was and important part of the culture of Victorian Britain and is also a tradition in Japan, so I focused on the tea-cups of each culture. I made sketches and the developed them into prints and embroidery details to use on my designs. I was also inspired by the floral patterns Victorian teacups to use a soft, pastel colour scheme. 

I thought that these designs were a bit too voluminous, almost drowning for my liking, therefore I used them as the basis to develop a collection of separates.