Derrell Womack

                                                                                12/12/13

 

Medieval Men’s Wear

 

In this collection I became inspired by London, England. I remember a trip that I made to London, England a well years back and I knew that I wanted to create a collection that would display my experience there. I wasn’t of the actual direction that I wanted to go in but I was sure that whatever I did was influenced in some way by royalty. So that’s what I did, I began looking into royalty. The Queen and past kings and Queens and the armor that was worn.

I started to become fascinated by the shape of the armor and the structure and I knew somehow I wanted to use this idea in my collection.  So the idea took flight I began take those shapes and manipulating them into clothing form. Testing ideas, seeing what they would look like in clothing form. But I also had a concern, my concern was by using this elements they could possibly be perceived as costume design. After realizing this I began to rework my collection by just using the elements of armor but more controlled. A high collar would represent a shielded plate of metal used in armor as a face guard. The engraved metal would represent a cool print used in a blazer or pant. Under armor garments such as tunics would be represented but in a modern way.

 The ultimate goal is to create a collection using a hard element like metaled armor and giving it a modern look, with staying in boundaries of the ready to wear requirements. The fabrics are also very controlled I decided to do a Fall/Winter collection so I wanted to use heavy and warm fabrics that would appeal to the everyday male. Simple cottons and denims, some knits and woven materials. And I came across this a gold and Iron brocade that I thought would work well with the print design that I was thinking of developing which mimicked the engraved metal that I researched on armor.

 

 My color is very reminiscent of what some believe to be medieval times, gold and grays. But there’s also a lot of burgundy and greens and purples and burnt oranges that really add a modern element. I really enjoyed working on this collection and also thinking more of the costumer and less of what I would wear. I hope you enjoy it as well.