JOURNEY BOOK
By Iva Karabobeva
LIST OF CONTENTS
ABOUT ME
Who am I?
Over the past 2 years, I studied fashion communications (social media) at the University of Chester. As my time on the course progressed my skills improved and I was able to find the area of the fashion industry I want to further my career in. I am most interested in fashion management/business and PR so my aim is to work in these areas and really narrow down where I want to work. This book will explore my final major project from beginning to end.
INITIAL IDEAS
This chapter is about the very beginning. My initial ideas for the project showing what led me to my final decision. I had to really investigate who I am and what resonates me to find my concept.
At the very start of this project. I had to answer questions about myself such as how I was brought up and what influences me. This was to really understood who I am and why, I felt like I was doing a therapy session with myself as I had to really dig deep and analyse my answers considering the what,why,who,how of each answer.
These are some moodboards I made to visually answer the questions. I was brought up christian and taught to believe that there is a reason for everything even if it is not clear in the moment. Growing up I was always told to take risks and not be scared to go for what I want because it’s better than asking ‘what if? I was taught not to take life so seriously and to live in the moment. My family is very social and love spending time with friends, seeing these friendships impacted me and what I need from the people I choose to be close with.
After completing all the questions, I wanted to explore the idea of basing my project around my heritage. Bulgaria is known for beautiful nature landscapes. I created a moodboard showing some of these places. I have always loved going to the beach as it is where I feel happiest so I liked the idea of looking at nature as a main theme for my project.
Looking further into the theme of nature, I researched the Bulgarian Rose, the national flower. The flower is known for its many benefits such as youthful skin, reducing acne, relieving pain, reducing seizures and many more. It is used in medicines, skincare and fragrance all over the world. Petals must be harvested while morning dew is still visible and must be distilled in the same hour. Due to the very specific harvesting process, the oil/water made from the flower is valued more expensive than liquid gold. This led me to look further into the luxury market and I decided against using my heritage as the main theme in my work as I felt I had more ideas for using flowers and wealth.
While I was trying to figure out a way to incorporate who I am and the idea of luxury into my project. I saw a trend on TikTok about romanticising your life. The concept behind it is to live your life as if you are the star in your own movie and to really take in everything around you which I felt resonated with how I try to live my life and how I was raised to be as present as possible and not take things or people around you for granted. Essentially the luxury of the everyday.
RESEARCH
Once I had settled on my theme being ‘Romanticism’ I started researching into the history of this concept. I also looked at designers and people who embodied the key characteristics of this movement which are individuality, nature, emotion and imagination. This helped me understand it better and allowed me to develop my ideas moving forward.
Now that my main theme for my project was romanticism I wanted to research it further. The romantic period originated in the early 1800s and many adapted this movement in their work such as JMW Turner who is known for his use of light in land and seascapes and William Turner regarded as one of the best poets. Writers like Jane Austen, author of Emma and Price and Prejudice and Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein are also remembered for their classic novels of the time. The emphasis on emotion and individuality at this time is something I related to in regards to how I was brought up to appreciate people and things around me and live true to myself.
To research and develop my project further I looked into Galliano who often uses themes of romanticism throughout his work. He is known for his storytelling through clothes, he doesn’t just send models down a runway, he creates a whole story and narrative behind each collection and then debuts them on a beautifully detailed catwalk. He creates a performance that captures the viewers attention and brings them into that world. Galliano has worked for Dior,
Oscar de la Renta, Givenchy and is currently at Maison Margiela but at each label he created many memorable looks that kept his element of romantic historicism but adapted it to each label’s individual identity. I wanted to incorporate his storytelling and this idea of a fantasy to be drawn into in my project.
Another designer I felt embodied romanticism was Christian Dior. In 1947 he debuted ‘The New Look’ which reintroduced glamour, romance and femininity nto women’s fashion after the war. He is regarded as one of fashion’s best couturiers and it is easy to see why. His aim was to make women feel happy and beautiful in his clothes. Although he unfortunately passed only 10 years after his debut his legacy lives on and his commitment to elegance has continued on and inspired many others The sophisticated and feminine silhouettes were something I definitley wanted to use in my project as I felt they represented romantic fantasy perfectly. I wanted my project to feel like an escape to a fairytale - esque landscape and this silhouette fits with that idea.
Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France wasn’t knwon for her leadership qualities but she is famous for her collection of extravagant ballgowns. Although she died a a few years before romanticism became what we now know, I still wanted to research her as her love of ornate dressing has inspired many, even to this day including Galliano. Together with her seamstress they designed gowns that were very feminine and romantic through the use of pastel shades, ruffles satin, bows and flowers.
I wanted to look at current artists who incorporated key characteristics of romanticism within their work. Lana Del Ray is a singer/songwriter that I have followed for a while and she is someone who I feel has romantic elements in her music. Her raw and authentic lyrics paint a visual story in the listeners mind and rreally enables them to understand what she is going through in the song. Some of her songs depict her experience being in an abusive relationship and because of this she was accused of glorifying it. However, many who have been in those relationships said that the songs describe exactly how they felt and are able to relate on a personal level. This unapologetic way of writing about her life is what romanticism is about, it is the unwavering fear of being true to yourself even if others may not agree.
