Progress, progress.

Finally at the half way mark of the semester, our fashion presentation/fashion show is showing some progress with everyone doing their part in putting together an awesome event. It was quite pressuring for us degree students since we will be competing against our juniors whom will also be organizing an event. To be honest, I have to say that I am pressured to compete with the juniors as they managed to collaborate with a big brand like Samsung in getting VR devices sponsored for their event. I've even shared some modules with the juniors so I'm pretty aware of the amount of talent there is from their group. I mean, you should never be too sure of yourself and underestimate any of your competitors as you never know a small misstep may end up in casualty. Okay, that sounds too exaggerated but you get the message I'm trying to point out here.

This week, we discussed among our teams to decide on the venue, designers and a back up theme just in case. Having to get designers from Raffles, it was not easy finding collections that would suit the theme. Therefore, its always safe and better to have a backup plan just in case. Thankful for the styling team, we were quite spoiled for choice as there were many outstanding designers to choose from. I'm not going to reveal which designers we're getting because where's the surprise then? All I can say is prepare to be wow-ed!

Other than settling for the designers, we also had to pick out the venue we'd be organizing the event at. The show team did great selecting almost 10 venues which all had their strengths and criteria that would suit our theme. If we had enough budget, definitely the bigger space the better so we can accommodate more people and everyone can roam freely and comfortably throughout the fashion presentation. But with what the budget we have, it's also a good test to how we can make the most out of everything despite the monetary limitations.

I remember when I did my Fashion Coordination and Promotion module in Raffles Kuala Lumpur, our college did not even sponsor us any money so we had to fork out around RM200 (S$64) per person. We even did fundraising activities in college aside from selling tickets. I remember everyone was gathering contacts for free helpers, models, sponsors and performers which helped us save heaps. Me being the show producer, head of decorations and naturally super good with calculations only spent slightly over RM100 (S$32) for decorating the entire venue because we DIY-ed everything from recycling what we have. In the end, we were the only batch (back then) that actually made money from our small scale event! That experience made me believe that it is possible as long as everyone really fully utilize their resources.

Anyway, lastly, we also had to decide on our poster and ticket designs. Since I was in charge of the graphic design work, I assembled a mood board just to give everyone a main idea. I only found out to do a mood board the night before the presentation as I figured that I can only do it once the theme has been 100% confirmed. But it was fine anyway because as I did my research on androgynous fashion, I found out that it comes in many different types and not just edgy which is a common misconception on androgynous fashion.

The first mood board is inspired by the edgy, fierce side of androgynous fashion that most people know and associate it with. Inspired by censorship and cut outs, I found it very fitting for the androgynous theme because they tend to be a bit of everything, just like a collage of cut outs. Edgy androgynous fashion leans towards being pretty revealing so it has to be censored for PG reasons, which lead to this idea. With the main colours being monochromatic, I decided to add in a pop of yellow and purple because purple is commonly associated with androgynous and yellow is its complementary colour which helps it stand out better as well. The androgynous symbol would also be implemented into the cover photo just to top the icing on the cake in case it wasn't clear enough that it was an androgynous themed show.

The second mood board was inspired by a more colourful and graphic side of androgynous fashion. Just imagine David Bowie as his Alter Ego Ziggy Stardust. Inspired by lines and doodle styled graphics, the poster would show the characters of an androgynous person as well as lines across the face to show both genders. Designing this poster would be more fun as I'll get to do what I'm good at which is draw, but with a graphic and bold theme I don't have to worry about it not being able to stand out. The only thing I worry is that it may be over powering and hard to read as there will be a lot of doodling involved. Even so, I'm quite excited to work on this as I've got some ideas on how the ticket will be done too! Not revealing too much but let's just proceed to mood board number three!

The third and final mood board is polar opposites from the first two as it's more sophisticated and reserved, suited for a collection with sleek and high fashion pieces. Inspired by the combination of illustration and photography, this sophisticated mood board is something that is very my style to design. I've always loved the idea of merging illustrations in real images, so this idea could truly show what lies behind an androgynous person and who they are through drawings (something like the picture on the far left). The main colours for this theme is monochromes and a touch of millennial pink. Pantone describes millennial pink as “a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure”. It reflected what they described as a “gender blur” and more unilateral approach to colour is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity. (Jones, 2017) Which sums up why I chose that colour not because it was pretty, but it's the latest addition to the androgynous colour book.

All the three mood boards are different in their own ways. Personally for me, I really love the third mood board because designing wise is very my style, but it requires the most work among the three. But in the end of the day, it's up to the majority and whichever suits the collection we will be featuring, will be the chosen one. So which is the chosen one you ask? Stay tuned for the reveal! :P