Along The Lines F/W 2016
YES, I know, it's VERY late in the fashion world to release a Fall/Winter 2016 collection. I've been designing this collection since about January, but then got caught up in my last year of high school and so I wasn't able to do things in the time frame that I wanted. However, I'm glad I got to be able to accomplish something I've been wanting to do for a while.
This whole collection became my goal for Summer 2016. I wanted to do this for myself as a learning experience and to also give my closest friends a cool, memorable and fun experience since we're all heading to college within the next week or so. Here's what went down behind the scenes:
I ended up completing the whole collection in about a month. I actually bought the fabric back in March but didn't really start the actual construction until the beginning of July. The days leading up to the photo shoot, I made final tweaks and touches...I only had
three hours of sleep
the day of, so how I even pulled off this shoot
AND
did my make up nicely with minimal sleep is beyond me.
MY VISION:
I aimed for versatile, minimalistic looks that could go with your average "everyday girl". First, I was inspired by cutouts, lace ups, and strappy details...it's literally all over my Pinterest boards! I love the way simple additions like those can instantly spice up a simple piece. Zippers are a HUGE favorite of mine...I used to hate them, but when I played around with actually incorporating them into a piece rather than the functionality of getting in and out of something, it grew on me -- exposed zippers in particular. I also love pieces that are interesting when you look at the back. It's like an element of surprise once someone turns around, or it can instantly draw attention.
For the color scheme, blacks, whites, and greys are always my go to, so why not start off my first collection with my favorite colors? For the tinier details, the zippers and grommets used in the collection were gold (another all time fave of mine!). As for the fabrics, I began with a lace/leather combo, jean, and ponte de roma. Last minute, I needed one more fabric to tie into the whole collection, so thankfully the awesome team at Fabric Wholesale Direct emailed me just in time and sent some cotton voile (which by the way, you'll be seeing a blog post tutorial on two of the pieces!)
I knew instantly that my friends would be the perfect muses. I didn't have any look guidelines for them to follow besides having a makeup look and hairstyle that they feel the most confident in. I even let them bring in their own jewelry to match the pieces. I wanted them 100% comfortable with the way they look instead of telling them "you all need your hair up, wearing gold eyeshadow, blahblahblah." It seems much more natural that way, and I'm glad everything ended up looking cohesive!
And by the way...I had
no
model fitting before this. The day of the shoot was the first day everyone wore their pieces :-)
MUCH LOVE TO...
I'd like to thank my parents and my Tita Claire for supporting me throughout this WHOLE experience and driving me to the LA Fabric District and Mood LA...then waiting 10 hours in the fabric store waiting for me just to decide which shade of jean is better. You guys are the first to hear my crazy ideas, but you guys know I end up doing it anyway and somehow pull it off (like when I told you guys about this collection idea...yup I did that!). I love you guys!
EVEN MORE LOVE TO...
Melissa Gandara,
my childhood best friend since the 5th grade, for assisting me throughout the shoot. You've literally been there for every fashion phase I went through...neon skinny jeans from PacSun and all...and you handled that steamer well on the day of the shoot. :-)
Kiyele Ferrer
for stepping in to shoot the wonderful video, it came out GREAT!
And lastly, my models and closest friends:
Alyssa Agabon, Alaina Newman, Ashley Chang, Evanka Jayachandra, Melissa Gandara, Leiah de Groot, and Tyler Pavon
-- FIRST OF ALL, I've known you all since freshman year and I'm glad our friendships have grown! I can't thank you guys enough for being the ones who have made my vision come to life when you wore my pieces for the first time...and with no fitting necessary! I loved seeing everyone so comfortable and happy with what they were wearing (well...at least I hope!). I'm glad y'all were a part of this.
And a HUUUUUUUGE thank you to everyone who has been supporting me, including those who have been there when Along The Lines was just pocket tees! Whether it's a comment, a retweet of a piece that I made or an Instagram like, it really does mean a lot to me!
xoxo,
Ysabel Hilado...#DesignerYsabel