AIW

Cant believe its been a month since i last blogged, the month went by very fast. Well heres a quick one.

So are we ready to open the door to wonderland??? I hope that was a yes/yayy. Ok so i chose the concept "Alice in Wonderland" because theres something very blossombymi-le'y about it.lol

My crit was today, Thank God that has been the best presentation i have had in school history.

Not one negative critcism was said, the closest to it was the jacket could have been a little bit more fitted.

The criticism from my last presentation(springing forth) really helped with is project, i took so much on board.

Had fun with the sketchbook it was more like a storybook, dont know if you remember those little children's books that have little figures that pop out or stick out when you turn the page.

I can only show a few pics because paranoia seems to be telling me not too share too many ideas online.

Ejeka ma lo(oya lets go) hehe

hehe stripy socks...allow it you need to have fun when you illustrate. Dont expect anyone realistically to walk out of the house that, except u want to why not..freedom of expression.

So the " hard to please" tutors really liked the little twist on tailoring and thought what was made reflected the concept. So i am happy with it, they are happy with! hope ur happy with it, so that we can all be happy with it lol.. if not well sorry thats Blossombymi-le for you.

Have a fantastic weekend and if you are into fashion, art or architecture and you're in london seize the opportunity this summer to visit the Viktor and Rolf exhibition at the Barbican, it was tremendous, well considering the fact that i love doll-houses but honestly its one of the greatest exhibitions i have been to.

p.s- cant believe i am not going to see this peeps again, Marie's going back to Belgium to study fashion journalism and Sho's going back to Japan. As for Mi-le shes still carrying on with school...

Have a great spectacular weekend people and try and have fun with fashion this weekend, experiment, do something different. loads of kisses, take care and God bless....bye

...................

R.I.P Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent (August 1, 1936 – June 1, 2008)

Master-mind at work

After the success of his first show at Dior( this pic is exclusive-thanks to the wonderful mini library in my room).

Often i think, my first collection.... (what would it turn out like).. ..Anyways..i am thanking God for the vision he has given me, now looking up to him to help make it happen.

Patiently waiting for that green light till then working in progress......

Signing out Blossombymi-le (BBM) x x x

Ivy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No poison intended........

Just as the ivy flower symbolises- fidelity........this post expresses my true feelings.....
Who really is a fashion designer???(someone that designs clothes DUH)!, lol but really it has to be more than just drawing clothes and bringing them to life i feel. Has it become a trend? A nice title- it sounds nice when you are asked... "what do u do"? I am a fashion designer!!

Just thinking... should a fashion designer have more meaning to its name ....there's so much more to designing i feel, looking for fresh new inspiration. Its time to start thinking outside the box...to everyone aspiring, does not necessarily have to be fashion design..
Anyway...i need to run lunch-break is over..... remember NO POISON INTENDED......

APPLE BLOSSOM!!!!!!

Was going to blog last night, felt soo inspired to but i cant remember why i didnt, o well i am blogging this morning its exactly 01.04 a.m now..

Basically, i felt a bit down a few days ago. I dont know if u ever get that feeling when u just feel empty for no reason at all, well that was me a few days ago and i prayed about it. Anyways, praying really works. How?

I remembered my old design tutor, when we got back from christmas holidays we were shocked to see the state she was in. She got involved in an accident and her face got deformed. It was a very tragic situation. She only stayed for two weeks and then left.

However, theres good news that her face would get back to normal, it would take two years for the healing process to be completed.

I really miss her, Lois situation reminded me that we have a GOD who would never leave us or forsake us. That got me back on point........

I drafted my first pair of trousers yesterday (although they are just plain) it was a good exercise to know how to construct a pair of trousers and put them together and i made it in calico(practice fabric), I am really digging tailoring even more now.

After feeling inspired i decided to put my emotions on paper....


Lets meet Apple Blossom, There she is all easy going and relaxed knowing that HE is in control, she symbolises hope and knows that HE is a harbinger- expecting greater things to come.

HE really does put a smile on my face :-) Take care people hope HE gives you something fantastic to smile about this weekend... ..

Signing out Blossombymi-le x x x x

DAYLIGHT..continued...........

Hey guys, hope ur good.. So this is a follow up on Daylight which was posted last month. Anyways here's a little sneak peek of casual clothing for men that i randomly worked on.

Basically i got inspired by this......

Yup, thats right! car production lol :-).....Anyways heres a little peep show:

So i decided to keep the front of the cargo pants plain but its detailed with a patch-pocket thats been dropped down, well its more like a fashion pocket, but u've got ur functional pockets at the top.

The back of it has the car part panels patched on it(in fabric oooo, we're not that retro) lol!

So this one is a spin off the first, its got zips instead, so u've got ur functional open zip thats top-stitched and theres the zip at the bottom which is more of a fashion zip! :- ) The two little drawings are the rear view.

Hopefully u'll see more of this pretty soon...stay cool x x x Now back to my tailoring garments which is what i should be doing more of in the first place.

Take care and God bless, signing out BBM for men x x x

A DAY IN SUN!

Today went so well,so i just thought to share it with the whole world.. :-) Ok so got to school about 30 minutes late :-( thanks to my ever so soft bed.

Anyways... i was on point in my pattern cutting class today(eer not that im not on point everyday but lets just say today was extra special) well it is a complicated module:

Can you see why?

Anywho's then we got some good news that my school is no longer a college its now part of the University of Northumbria(one of the top for design-automotive,interior e.t.c in the country) :-)

After that i got my grades, i had moved up a grade in three modules...:-) :-):-) (one for each). In all honesty i wasnt really expecting to do that well, my creative director is great isnt He?

Me and the girlies had fun in the sun(ha freestyler..lol)

I was given the green light to go ahead with menswear so i got me a little book,which i am so loving at the moment..Allow the advert picture..

And my design tutor took us on a little field trip this afternoon which was rather interesting....overall score for today 10/10 thanks to the Guy upstairs..He is so awesome wwhhhaaa........

So people are having exams at the moment just ask Him, He will share that workload with u, do your bit and just trust Him..u'll bear so much fruit(ripe that is lol)......Take care and God bless....Signing out......

Blossombymi-le x o x o.............

HEY DAHLIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you soon.....Blossombymi-le (BBM) ...x x x

DARLING BUDS OF MAY!

Hey guys, hope you're good. I haven't abandoned my blog, i love it too much if i say so myself. Hope u've had a great week so far.Its the first day of may, which means we are drawing nearer towards summer oouuuuii(french for yes lol).
Since you last heard from me, this is what i have been up to other than coursework.

My friend has a 50th birthday party to attend(groovy huh)?She wanted me to come with an outfit for her. However, i couldnt choose the fabric personally as they were using "aso-ibi(hope i spelt it right lol) for the party.

So there i was clueless wondering what the fabric would be (weight-wise/color)She brought the fabric, it wasnt really what i had in mind, cos personally i am not really ankara's greatest fan and i was hoping the colors would be bright, they werent bright however they were bold(so i found potential in that).

You know lately i have been on about stepping out of your comfort zone so that seemed like an opportunity to do so.
So i showed her a few designs and she chose the one she liked most, and then i got cracking.

What i love most about the outfit is its versatility, in the sense that she is not restricted as to how she can wear it. Pics below x x x x

As a halter-neck,overlapped unevenly or as a sash

As a laid-on collar....or she could even take if off completely.
And give it a little vintage twist with a bow-tie.

I had so much fun working on her outfit especially the embroidery work (hand stitching the sequins).

I'll keep you updated have a great weekend,(try and step out of your comfort zone this weekend, it might just lead to something great). Signing out.

Blossombymi-le x x x........

DAYLIGHT!

So initially i thought to blog once a month, but a few people advised me to do more of it...well here it is......

Its the first week of our tailoring classes. By tailoring i mean outerwear(suits and jackets) not the nigerian perception of a tailor(sew me my up and down lol)just joking ooo.

We have been warned that tailoring really is challenging, it takes a lot in terms of the construction work, structure,cut blah blah

Had my first modelling class in tailoring today. The first pic was a demonstration by my modelling tutor, a basic simple jacket

I decided to take it a step/steps further, so heres my first ever modelled jacket yayy!!

So now we're focusing on tailoring-womenswear, but i have been wanting to get my hands on menswear for sometime now........

However, i have had doubts in my mind, cos doing that i would be stepping out of my comfort zone. Questions come to mind like:

1. drawing men? too used to drawing the female figure (love my curves).

2.The male silhouette? or do they have more than one?(rectangle/upside down triangle)

3. working on a different contoured body?

Okay so we've been warned tailoring is hard hard work, i really want to step out of my comfort zone but are all these excuses? Been reading this book, its called "Gods Leading Lady, out of the shadow and into the light"(dont really read books that much but been trying).

There's this bit called "Cues and Excuses", i read it today. Lord could you be talking to me?

So i'll leave it till tomorrow and hear what the(school people) say lol.

Daylight i need u, your will be done...................

SPRINGING FORTH

THANK YOU LORD !!!

So another presentation was coming up and i had to capture as many images as possible which i did and saved on my computer.

We were given the task to design and make formal day dresses preferably for a bank interview but none of us stuck to the rules we bent it a little. They probably gave us the bank interview as a guideline.

I dont know why "WHAT TO WEAR TO A FRIEND'S WEDDING" first came to mind, it seemed convenient enough, it is a formal event and it usually takes place during the daytime (duh)! lol!so...that was my guideline...

So i started my research and started working on the sketchbook, my design tutor thought it was looking a bit too evening-like. So i went back to drawing board again.

Next thing that came to mind was what colors to go for, i didnt want pastel colors because they tend to look too bridesmaid -like. Lets let the bridemaids do that.

I was after something shocking, so i went for electric colors, very vibrant reflective.

Started looking for fabric swatches, found some lovely jewel colours purple and green but they would automatically turn the designs to eveningwear so that was already a no no.

The hunting carried on till ALAS! found exactly what i was after, the only problem was it was slippery fabric which would make it difficult to sew arrghh! BUT I WAS UP FOR THE CHALLENGE!

The time came when i had to print out my images. My goodness my notebook(laptop) crashed and i didnt back up my files. I stored loads overtime and i could hardly retrive them. So i had to start again.

The moaning began, LORD WHY ME!!! WHY!!! lol, My research then took a U-turn which worked out for the better at the end to my surprise.

I started redesigning as i had to create something totally WEARABLE. It was time for garment production, tried to be easy going with manufacture as i had to control slightly slippery farbic which seemed to have gone pretty alright as Claudine( pattern cutting tutor) said the stitching was good phewww).

The evening before the presentation i was doing last minute stuff at school, thats when everything started going wrong, the freaking needle broke in my zip twice, then the zip wouldnt stitch, then i wacked my leg accidentally at the tables steel leg which still hurts till today, accidentally snipped past my seam allowance, at that point sweat and tears poored out. It really was frustrating. AGAIN, LORD WHY ME, WHY!!!!

I truly appreciate machinist, ahhhh it is serious work forget, they have to be the most patient people on the planet no jokes! I am not going to take my machinists for granted when i start off by Gods grace. Honestly it takes a lot!

We got a new design tutor and she was like do your mood board last, which i found odd but anyways this was how it went down

The beginning of the mood board

Wanted to give a 3D vibe so i went for a very reflective background and made a bow with some sample fabric

The examiners thought the mood board should have been churned a bit more which i totally agreed with but they agreed that it was very 3D so i was : - )

Jackie recommended that i actually make one dress as i still had a lot more designing work to do but i was so determined to do more than one and still catch up with the design work.

D-Day came, sunny spells all day yayy! This was how the day went

My dearest Natalie modelled for me!

I modelled for me made the clothes in my measurement

So i couldnt help but add a little element of blossom, tried to give an allusion of the cap sleeve as a petal

The sketchbook....

Heres the good news the external examiner thought the drawings reflected what was manufactured and the proportion was she liked again!!

Jackie thought i should have put more research into my sketchbook, i dont understand what she wants me to do travel the whole world and snap pictures(well there are a few places of interest, BUT REALLY).

Lets see what my mates got up to.........

AND HERE'S THE REST OF THE CAST...............

Thats Sho in the middle he's from Japan, you should see him on a less stressed out day with his trucker hat,shades on top of it, his biker jeans and cowboy boots. He looks like he could star on an episode of ugly betty dressed like that, always picture him and his entourage walking into mode.

The pic above are monique's designs shes not in the pic by the way, She's from Thailand

Then thats Zee in the middle she's originally from Malyasia but she lives in New York!

(Goodness, this sounds like a beauty pagent)

Thats Nat looking all SPACEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we reversed and i modelled for Nat

Lastly Ayumi in the lighter shade of blue interned in Japan for 2 years then she decided to study fashion here, well heres her work, I HATE HER(only joking, shes too darn good at everything)!

Shes always like it takes time, practice bla bla bla. Ever so friendly, we're always sandwhiched on the tube together on our way home damn rush hour!

So thats all Folks was pretty busy so i couldnt snap everybody's work! lol But here's some of the fantastic people i school with......

Elena: has a degree from Saint Martins in ART and DESIGN, now studying fashion design and technology, her construction work is immaculate!

Iromi: Sri-lankan..studied interior design..now fashion design and technology..she's so tiny!

Anna: also has a degree in ART and Design, now studying fashion, she's going to be famous(i know it)! she's not in my year though, but she's cool and she's leaving us! (group awww people)!

My laptop crashed and all my files are wiped out(everything), out with the old and in with the new eh?

So i overheard two of my tutors say how well a lot of us have developed which was very encouraging, Spring is a season of growth, renewal. We see how the flowers bloom from nothing to something. Isn't that yet alone so wonderful. God truly is immense.

So i recieved constructive criticism, advice which i took on board,However, Maria(draping tutor) said i was able to work with difficult to sew fabric, now i can work with almost any other fabric...I was well chuffed!!!!!! However i am not the worlds greatest sewer lol

Have a great week, hope u spring forth this week and God does something new for you.

Loads of love, Blossom By Mi-Le....... x x x

YOU'RE THE FLOWER, WHO'S YOUR STEM?

Hi Guys, cant believe how quickly the week has gone by.
Everyone seems to be getting really busy at the moment but it is well!

Something that really struck me this week is that God's timing really is the best.
I remember after 'A' Levels i told my parents i wanted to attend fashion school and they didnt answer me.

Now that i reflect on it, i realised back then i was nothing near patient and for this course a lot of patience and perseverance is required. If my parents had agreed, would i have wasted the opportunity and taken another route?

But thank God over the years a better character was built, and he gave me this opportunity.

This week has been pretty challenging , trying to come up with ideas(designs) that are not too reminiscent of things seen before. It got pretty stressful and i got a bit demotivated. Asked God to help me out, and he did just that.

Someone had sent me something a few days back about blossom in my hotmail inbox that i hadn't noticed until last night, i saw it and it inspired me so much, that i hopped on the sketching wagon(lol) and sketched away! My prayer was answered.

So you're the flower, who is your stem? Who do you go to for support and elevation? Who provides you with new living tissues? God will answer u, if u desperately call on him. He knows your heart desires, he's just waiting for you to tell him now and not be anxious! He's timing is the best!

He is willing to share that workload with you, just ask him! Good luck with exams/work people.

Take care, hope u have a fun story to tell someone this weekend! x o x o.
By the way this tool rocks, been working on making my own blocks. Now i can start transferring my designs to pattern for my project. Wish me Luck, will keep you updated about my presentation for this term, when everything is all done!

BLOSSOM IT IS!!! YAAYYY!!

Hey People, hope your week has been fine. I have finally decided to blog once a while, its a bit late right? Actually no its not, this is the beginning of something new, a new chapter in my life. Before i went to bed yesterday a lot dawned on my mind, i remembered seeing a saying the day before that "God's gift to you is life, what u choose to do with is your gift to God"! That got me thinking about a lot of things.


I know God has put me where i am for a reason, how do i know? cos at times your faced with situations and your saved at the last minute or you see signs(be it wordings e.t.c) that answer questions which ponder your mind.


So about Blossom......................, its something that has followed me for years now, it started off by randomly drawing flowers, that was basically only what i was good at when it came to drawing when i was younger (cheese right)!.

As years passed on i began to wonder if this had any symbolic meaning to my life and i have finally realised recently that it does!

I knew i had a good feeling about this year not just for me but a whole lot of people.

I believe everyone goes through a stage in their life where they start to grow into something greater than what they expected and we are given that grace by GOD!

Reflect on it, if u think it hasn't happened to you, believe me you have no clue what GOD has in store for u!

So Blossom became evident to me after i graduated and started school again in september which i was very pleased about(theres a testimony in both stories, serious trips but wont go there today).

It was time to choose our themes(inspiration) for the first term of school, so there i was researching and researching, i knew what i wanted, putting bits and pieces together but i could'nt quite find a name for it until i was like snap randomly on my way home from school it was "BLOSSOM" yaayyy!(everytime i hear the word now im like yaayyy).



So school was going great, started discovering fun shapes and ideas that i can incorporate in the future.

Term 1 rocked, remembered the last day of school where we had our first ever presentation.

They were really strict about our project, NO SILK, CHIFFON(ANYTHING SLIPPERY), NO EVENING WEAR(we are only beginners bla bla bla), NO STRETCH, JUST A SKIRT AND BLOUSE(must have sleeves and a collar) so must of us stuck with cotton(mix),viscose e.t.c but the design work was crazy they wanted 20 tops and 20 skirts, after that 8 illustrations out of the 40 designs required so for your illustrations your drawings had to be FYAH!!!!!



Goodness! they were right, some babe decided to do her own thing, she opt for silk, the sewing was a nightmare(she agreed to that)!

Anyways the day went good apart from that, everyone seemed to do well! There was an external critic who assessed us . Everything was kool apart from the fact that they made me go in before my time slot(about 2 hours earlier imagine!, i hadn't finished my hem so i had to pin it



PARANOIA struck me cos i was so particular about my sleeves and hem(skirt), sewing the sleeve into armhole, matching pitch points blah blah blah. and she loved it, i was pretty shocked, she loved the way it was hanging(sleeve), she loved the amount of gather, the proportion, she loved the silhouette of the garments.

Especially the skirt(which was draped), the top(blouse) was pattern cut/drafted/made(which reminds me i need to learn how to cut whenever i go back to NIGERIA apparently its a different ball-game)!
baby bloom skirt :-)
























My illustrations needed so much improvement i worked on it over the christmas holidays, practicing illustrations from magazines(poses, using a variety ofmixed media-materials) and getting proportion right(drawing wise).Goodness! they'll say the head is 1/8th of the human body, bla bla bla na wa oo


So i guess pratcising kinda of worked out! Here's why?
Here's a drawing i did that i saved a few years back and heres something i illustrated from a magazine to practice my drawing.(picss below)



















Other than that i practised draping(stand), patterncutting(made a pattern for mom), design-illustration, sewing during the holiday as i was in London. Its a serious mission consistently practicing each important aspect well theres GOD!
So first term rocked, now i can get my hands on more complex patterns!


So this is a starting point, hmm if i say the beginning of a journey...hoping my ideas build up by Gods grace,thinking of exploring the botanical aspect next( hmm to see what happens next)!

I believe every designer has a story, in which they grow.So here my story begins. Watch me as iblossom into something i never imagined through the grace of God.



Take care people, have a fab weekend! x o x o