#InMyShoes: Darren Grimes - Killing Aspiration

Hi guys, I thought I'd make an update on something which I think will reverberate among all students aspiring to get into the fashion industry or any creative industry for that matter. I'm part of BBC's Generation 2015, a group of two hundred young people from up and down the United Kingdom hoping to give an under-represented demographic a voice in the run up to one of the most important general elections our country has ever faced. 

An issue I chose to raise with the panel was unpaid internships and how they're worsening social mobility and the chances for graduates to prove they have the drive, nerve and talent to make it in their chosen industry. Such internships, alongside the rise of nepotism - means it is no longer about what you know, but who you know. This to me is a great injustice and failing to give a chance to allow our young, British talent the opportunity to flourish is wrong. I don't want to live in a country that is run by the same stale type of person, is it any wonder fashion as a whole seems like show after show of carbon-copy. As Karl Lagerfeld said, "Fashion is an injustice", but it doesn't have to be this way.

The British fashion industry is worth £26 billion to the country's economy, according to figures published by the British Fashion Council. In an industry worth £26 billion I'm sure I won't be alone in thinking that they can afford to pay an intern a wage so they can afford accommodation, food and travel expenses. By continuing down this path we're killing aspiration, the government claimed to be one of aspiration, with more students than ever before at university. I'm afraid a degree is pretty much useless in a world in which those without the financial backing from parents or grandparents equals being unable to complete an essential internship. The talent is out there - it's up to employers to put it to good use, and put a stop to the unpaid interns scandal. If not, perhaps it's time for government intervention. Which as a liberal I deplore, however I deplore lack of equal oppurtunity more. 

DARREN GRIMES: VISCERAL SPORT: TWO PIECE COLLECTION

Hi guys, I just thought I'd check in and share my latest work. I know I post a lot of work from other designers which brings in the views but now and again I do like to put my own stuff out there. In the hope that one day as I grow my own personal aesthetic and knowledge, recognition will grow alongside of it.

This body of work was inspired by the visceral - it isn't rational, it is visceral. The dreamy hues, the energetic mesh, the foamy fabrics. All taking inspiration from the silhouette of insects, cocoons and the fabrics, proportions and silhouette of American footballers. I designed a collection for a guarded woman, a woman who isn't afraid to don sport luxe garments that exaggerate her shoulders, that guard her face in a helmet like fashion, or sweatpants with laser cut leather panels. I hope you guys enjoy the rather limited photographs I have so far, showing you the process from the customer story board to the specification drawing to the pattern cutting and then eventually a 3D finished garment. The garments are due to be modelled and photographed professionally soon which I'll also upload to the blog. 

Carven: Autumn/Winter '15: Review & .GIF Goodies

Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud
Upon hearing of the departure of Guillaume Henry last year, I was saddened that Carven was to be without the man who transformed the sleepy couturier into one of the most commercially viable brands in the luxury market. The brand itself began to die as soon as Madame Carven's trademark styles were no longer considered a dream worth buying into, unlike the clothes of say Saint Laurent which are still considered timeless classics today. Guillaume Henry pumped the brand with sport inspired garments and a subtle amount of sex appeal until retailers couldn't get enough, in 2013 Carven was sold in over 600 stores, not bad for a brand that has been sold on more times than Alexander Wang's barcode print.

With Henry's departure myself and other fans of the brand were apprehensive for the arrival of not one, but two fresh faces taking the place as Carven's creative directors. Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud. 

Liliac mini skirts, white organza shirt with cloud puffs attached repetitively

Caillaudaud previously worked at Marc Jacobs and most recently Givenchy, alongside creative director Riccardo Tisci, where he worked on shoes and accessories. He is mainly responsible for the Carven autumn/winter 2015 collection which will be shown in Paris this month, as co-artistic director colleague Alexis Martial joined the company later.

Martial was poached from Italian label Iceberg, where he was creative director. Previous to that the Parisian was the creative director of Paco Rabanne in 2012 after a stint at Givenchy designing knitwear.

Modern foam fabrics and floral jacquards

Martial and Caillaudaud's debut however was everything and more that I hoped it would be, with  Adrien Caillaudaud stating they had 'electrified' the brand, "She is a nice Parisienne, but now we want to give her a nice twist, to electrolyze her." Liliac mini skirts, white organza shirt with cloud puffs attached repetitively. The collection was updated with modern foam fabrics and floral jacquards. 

Martial and Caillaudaud met 12 years ago—on their first day of fashion school—and have long plotted to work together. If this collection is anything to go by, I can't wait to see just how far they can go with their 'electrifying' of Carven.

Presentation To Art & Design Foundation Students

Today I gave a presentation of my portfolio, explanation of my design aesthetic and a little background about myself to Newcastle College's Art & Design Foundation students.

The whole experience was very rewarding, looking back at the sea of confused, apprehensive students uncertain of which step to take next reminded myself of a time when I too was in that very position. The students are already specialising in fashion studies, but need to decide whether or not they plan on progressing onto university to study from a range of fashion disciplines. Everything from fashion design, textiles, communication to visual merchandising. Back when I was at the students level, I was filled with worries such as, will I be able to actually produce BA quality garments, will I be able to keep up with the work load, will I be able to get my head around pattern cutting?!

I began by explaining my portfolio is very digital, as it is the design handwriting and aesthetic I have developed over my years in education. Working digitally is a way of working which the fashion industry is finally adapting itself to, miles behind the rest of many industries. The students identified with this way of working and asked many questions about how I complete my line ups and specification drawings. What software is being used to produce them and how long it took me to get to the level I'm currently at. As I mentioned earlier it was nice to get such a response from the students and hopefully inspire and answer the questions many of them had.

NEOPRENE SWEATER WITH REFLECTIVE PANELS: CAMPAIGN

London Collections: Men Autumn/Winter 2015

I've been so excited for LC:M this year, more so than usual. It just feels like the hype around it isn't dying down anytime soon. I love the fact I find myself in the heart of menswear. 

I've created a few .gifs and wrote a little bit about what I've taken from the collection. If you'd like to see some previous posts from other fashion weeks, similar to this, click here.

Sibling A/W '15 

Psychedelic pinks with cobweb knits, knitted teddy bears in various hues and sizes. The Sibling show was the most exuberant amongst the crowd this season. Sibling showed an array of pink tributes to their idols: Bowie, Billy Idol, Paul Simonon, Brideshead Revisited's Sebastian Flyte. With influences evident throughout. 

Moschino A/W '15 

Moschino presented again in London, showing that London is continuing to build on it's reputation as the menswear capital of the world. This time around presenting a Jeremy Scott style winter wonderland. With block colour onesies, animal furs, sequinned numbers, printed denim and of course an overdosing of branded items.

Astrid Andersen A/W '15 

Astrid Andersen once again did what she does best, updating otherwise mundane pieces of sportswear. Andersen always manages to incorporate her beautiful logo within garments like no other, giving her younger customer what it craves. Logo mania in functional sportswear pieces. The furry numbers were especially good. 

CAD Module: Reiss/Linear Precision S/S '15

For our latest module we were instructed to complete a brief for any of three retailers. I chose to go with Reiss, the most luxury retailer of the high street selection. I thoroughly enjoyed researching Reiss and the customer and designing with that in mind whilst designing from a concept. 

Brand identity board 

Customer profile board

Concept board

Technical drawing board

Technical drawing board

 

Line ups

 

Final Presentation Board