Wednesday 16 July 2014

Graduate Fashion Week 2014 (And my first ever YouTube video!)

So a few weeks ago was Graduate Fashion Week 2014 and our university was one of hundreds to have their work displayed at The Truman Brewery in Shoreditch, East London. Although my collection wasn't in an actual fashion show, we had our final fashion show being played on a loop on four iPads as part of the wall display. My university is Norwich Univeristy of the Arts and our display consisted of mannequins with garments on, our portfolios on show, the changing iPads and a giant moodboard of our final work.


I was lucky enough to get my hands on a ticket for one of the fashion shows, which showcased the work of Norwich University of the Arts along with Bath Spa. I really wish I'd gone to see more as it's so nice to see other universities work too, but there are many more years to come and I'll definitely be going back to Graduate Fashion Week as I just love the buzz. The lighting itself was probably better for people on the front row, so I didn't get the best photographs and I wasn't able to film outfits go along the whole catwalk, but some of the collections were amazing - some of my favourites being Grace Weller from Bath Spa and Sophie Fisher from Norwich University of the Arts.


Being a graduate myself this year, I had a lot of fun looking at all the other stands and collections. Some of the work was literally incredible. There were lots of pieces I would take home and put in my wardrobe, and there was a lot of funky, bright pieces that were amazing to look at. It was really inspiring to see all the innovative work from the other universities and you could definitely see the difference from one uni to another.



There were lots of cool things going on throughout the week, including talks from fashion designers and many competitions. Below is the set-up from one of the competitions where you could style your own outfit using the clothes provided and win a whole photoshoot to be featured in a famous magazine (I can't remember exactly which one it was!) but it closed just as I was about to enter, nooo! Also remember the children's game of 'Guess how many sweeties are in the jar', well this game was 'Guess how many words are in these fashion books' and you got to keep the whole lot - jealous!



After a tiring, long day at Graduate Fashion Week, me and my friend Vic decided to go to the famous fish and chip shop named Poppies after a few recommendations, and I must admit that it totally lived up to its expectations! I went with chicken, chips and a coke, and it was soooo lovely! The whole inside was decorated like a little vintage diner - even the way you paid your bill at the end was cute! :)


And finally, the long awaited, first ever YouTube video! This was my first ever time trying to film and edit a video, let alone doing it with Final Cut Pro which is quite confusing even if I do say so myself! But after a few hours fiddling, I soon got the hang of it. It took around a day and a half to edit the whole thing, and I still have no real idea how to do cool editing, how to put on decent music (excuse the absolute cheese, it was all I could find!), how to do cool fonts etc! So if you have any Final Cut Pro tips, or general YouTube tips, feel free to leave them below for me, as I'm hoping this video will be the first of many :D






Thank you for reading :)
Did you get to go to Graduate Fashion Week this year?
Which were your favourite collections?
Please go subscribe to my YouTube channel as I'm hoping to make loads more videos this Summer!
Love Dani :)
x

Thursday 10 July 2014

I graduated from my fashion degree! :)

There have been a severe lack of posts on my blog lately, and that's because I've been a very busy girl! I finished my university degree and had the fashion show featuring my final collection, then I had to move all my things back home and prepare for my graduation! I found out just over a week ago that I graduate with a 2:1 from Norwich University College of the Arts and on Tuesday I joined all my friends and family in celebrating our graduation together! :)


Me and the fashion girls who have all been through blood, sweat and tears together over the last three years! I'm so proud of us all, I can't wait to meet up again soon and I'm gonna miss them all so much! You literally get so close with people being in the same studio together day in and day out, love you my rats and goats! :)


My dad, my sister, me and my mum :) we were literally so lucky with the weather on Tuesday, we graduated at 10am (so we were up at 6am getting ready, collecting our gowns and getting professional photos by 8.30am!) and the sun was shining for us! We had a little bit of rain around lunchtime but then the sun came out again for the afternoon! 


Me and my lovely boyfriend Joe :) we've been together five and a half years, but 5 of those have been spent at different universities and in different towns so I'm super happy to be going back home so that we can eventually be together properly! Love you loads Joe!


Two of the loveliest boys I've ever met! We were part of the Oak Street originals and I'm sure I'll get to see them over the Summer :)


Amy has been the only one who has been through my uni experience in the exact same way that I have. We've lived together and been on the same course as each other for the past three years and I literally could not have done it without her. All the stress has been worth it though and I love you my little Essex babe, excited for all the fun things planned this Summer! :)


My best friend Courtney, me and my little sister Liv. So excited to be moving back home so that I can be right near these guys, I've missed them so much these past 3 years! There are gonna be so many fun things coming up this Summer with these two and I can't wait! :)


I swear that the blonder my hair gets, the more me and my sister look like twinnies!



Getting to meet and shake hands with John Hurt was one of the highlights of the day. (He might be better known as Ollivander from Harry Potter to you guys..."The wand chooses the wizard, Harry.") He is the Chancellor of our university and he was so lovely! :)


Thanks for reading :)
I'll definitely be putting up another post once I've got sent the professional photos, and got the higher quality images from my boyfriend including ones with my housemates :)
Love Dani :)
x