Katherine West - Portfolio 

As the Research Fellow on the Emotional Fit project led by Dr Katherine Townsend (Associate Professor in Fashion & Textile Craft), I was responsible for managing the final stages of the research project, including the preparation and construction of the final collection of garment prototypes. The project has used geometric cutting to minimise the amount of wasted fabric in the production process and to produce versatile and adaptable silhouettes. Fabric selections (all natural fibre fabrics), textile prints and colour palette were developed in response to the groups' aesthetic preferences and desire to use sustainable materials.  I experienced working within a team of fashion, textile and knitwear academics and lecturers to collaboratively finalise the collection. This included further textile print pattern development, selection of print, colour, fabric and design for the final garments, as well as managing their cutting out and construction. I worked with Fashion Design lecturer Karen Harrigan, to develop all aspects of production of the final pieces, including how to best use the co-developed printed fabric designs within the garment shapes and silhouettes.

 

I gained group workshop experience with the research participants; contributing to the planning, facilitation and evaluation of workshop sessions that were to try on and experiment with the fit and styling options of the garments. The aim of the garments of the collection was to be able to accommodate a range of different body shapes and sizes and to also facilitate individual expression through the many different ways the garments can be tied, adapted, ruched or styled.