Mai Timmins BA Fashion /BA Fashion Design and Technology Manchester Metropolitan University Final Project – “Haruhi” I was given this kimono by my sensei when I was 18 and I wanted to utilise it within my Foundation Year Final Project. I named the project “Haruhi” based on my middle name. This is because Japanese people rarely have middle names, therefore, this is a symbol of my unique cultural identity. Inspired by this, I wanted to make a kimono that embraced a mix of English and Japanese culture. I conducted a great deal of research prior to commencing the project as I did not want to waste the expensive fabric used in the garment. Since Kimonos are entirely hand stitched, I learned the traditional sewing techniques to sew it back together after deconstructing it. Final Design: two - way jacket (tie in the middle or the side) I was drawn to the above image of a dress designed by a Japanese designer. It’s a simple dress but I was very fond of the pattern and silhouette. It acted as the inspiration for this collage. The mood board on the previous slide, along with the material experimentation that I was doing at the time, inspired me to make this weaving board and the designs below. Research and Material Experimentation I received this beautiful ribbon bouquet for my graduation. I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could utilise it within my designs. My initial plan for the skirt involved having the flowers on the outside, but I noticed that there was a risk these would get caught on objects and fall off. To stop this, I changed my plan and added an additional outer layer. For my sustainable project I picked out these two garments from my closet that I never wore. The idea was to give these garments a new life and transform them into something that I would actually wear These images relate to a project called “Figure it Out”. I was tasked with creating sketches and patterns inspired by random objects. I used different elements such as hair rollers, rubber bands and rope to create initial sketches which later turned into fashion illustrations. Materials, textiles experimentations