Fashion Design School of Design Uncategorized
Imogen Vaughan
My name is Imogen Vaughan and I’m graduating this year with a Ba(hons) Fashion Design specialising in menswear. I feel that some key elements of my design work are colour and a sense of humour – I like to create designs which are uplifting and colourful and make people smile with concepts which are unserious and whimsical. Colour has always been important to me stylistically and I love to dress in colourful outfits to express myself in day to day life, however, using humour in design is an idea which has developed following my experiences studying fashion on exchange in Kyoto in 3rd year, where fashion in youth culture was treated as a way to have fun rather than blend in. Through my designs I hope to push boundaries in UK menswear to make men’s fashion less serious!
I feel it’s important to work in a way which is sustainable in current times, so I like to push myself to use lots of upcycling and preloved materials in my designs. I’m really passionate about fashion illustration and love to create fun depictions of my designs to reflect my inspirations and experiment with different mediums. My designs this year have included lots of hand embroidery and hand sewn quilting techniques to inject a handmade quality into the collection which I feel is important in times of overconsumption to give personality to the clothes we wear and bring the focus back to slow fashion techniques. My graduate collection is called ‘Off Duty Celebrities’ and is inspired by the dress sense of celebrities on their days off.
Portfolio: ‘Off Duty Celebrities’
Inspired by the dress preferences of celebrities on their days off, this menswear collection attempts to humanise the celebrity muse by painting them in a comedic light; demonstrating that even those who the population idolise can have days when they look unkempt. Muses who have inspired the collection include Justin Bieber, Adam Sandler, Matt Damon, Shia LaBeouf, Lynn Yaeger, Helena Bonham Carter and Leonardo DiCaprio; I have inspired my pieces around images taken by the paparazzi which have caught them off-guard. My final year collection uses uplifting colours inspired by the street art around Glasgow and favoured colours worn by muses who have inspired me. The collection has been created sustainably and is made from mostly second hand fibres upcycled from around the home from bedding, clothing, blankets and pyjamas – creating the sense of a lazy day around the house. I’ve also used denim as a fibre in the collection as I feel it represents an equalising fibre in society, favoured by celebrities and the public alike as the perfect casual, comfortable and fashionable fabric for wear in our down time. There are pieces featuring wonky hand embroidery and quilting to give a homemade, cosy feel. The collection has elements of humour such as yellow y-front pants emerging from trousers to give a messy look, while hooded design details create a sense of anonymity for the wearer, peeping through eye holes to help them hide from the paparazzi!
