Year In Industry <P> (Placement Details): Placement 1: Emily Brackstone

Detail:
Placement Location: “In House” (within the University)

Brief Description: Working alongside final year (Emily Brackstone) to produce a collection of accessories to accompany her final collection.

Placement Duration: From Easter (21st March) until 27th May 2005

Pay?: Voluntary Placement- expenses paid by Emily

Working hours: Varied, throughout period

Emily’s final collection was based on the New Woman silhouette of the 1890s. Emily had collected a number of vintage and antique textile samples that were both sentimentally important as well as financially valuable.
The collection was to contain 8 outfits, 5 of which would require headdresses and 2 of which needed bags to accessorise.
In addition, Emily needed assistance in organising a number of fashion shoots as well as preparing the collection for the Derby Show and amending any problems before London Graduate Fashion Week.
Following graduation, Emily planned to work in America over the summer teaching fashion to young people and had also applied to teach English Language in China.

My duties while working with Emily included designing and making the 2 bags to accompany outfits from the collection. After considering the inspiration for the collection, 2 final designs were decided upon. These would be leather and in the style of a vanity case.

In addition to this, designing and making the 5 headdresses was also part of my task. These were again inspired by the fashionable headwear of the 1890s but given a modern twist to match the outfits. Each piece uses samples of the fabrics used in the corresponding outfits as well as leather roses, cameos, chains and charms to bring the look together.

Following the completion of these tasks, it was suggested that I modelled 2 particular outfits for 2 separate photo shoots of the collection.
The photo shoots took place at 2 locations; Elvaston Castle and Markeaton Park, the latter of which proved the more successful.

Partaking in this placement involved a great deal of research. This is an area already enjoyed by myself and proved comfortable by way of a challenge. The research and design development side of the work was completed with aid of the Britannia Mill University Library and with the assistance of imagery already collected by the designer of the collection, Emily Brackstone.
Toward the beginning of this placement, my commitment was somewhat limited. My attendance was poor and workload was minimal. However, my attitude toward the brief set for me change dramatically about halfway through the period. My attendance returned to full time, I committed much of my spare time to the brief and volunteered to expand my workload.
My skills as a maker have increased vastly from working in a close environment with Emily, as has my understanding of and respect for different materials, specifically leather with which much of my work was based. I completed the work set and more within deadlines and, though I was already familiar with the workplace (Jackson’s Mill), I utilised it better than ever before and worked well with the people surrounding me.

Though this placement was quite short and in an environment with which I was already familiar, I believe that it has proved invaluable to me in terms of developing my own skills as a designer and maker as well as my communication skills and ability to work comfortably around others.
My confidence in my own work has increased dramatically and this period has enabled me to go into other environments with confidence in my ability. In addition to this developed sense of awareness in my work, I also learned technical skills in abundance. The way particular fabrics should be treated and specific details applied have been impressed on me for the foreseeable future. I am grateful to Emily for aiding in my development on such a grand scale.