'Making Connections' E/P Project Melissa Lüning: 2008

Saturday, 10 May 2008

reflections

This project reminded me that I wanted to travel back to London again. I am even more intrigued by the city and its fashion, compared to New York. I think that I gained more friendships and a better understanding of our individual projects. It felt good to vent.

I guess that's it. Thesis is over and I am graduating this week. Parsons will soon be behind me, but I am more than ready for the next ... next what?

This is me, signing off for now,

-Melissa Lüning

(Remember my name.)

Tuesday, 22 April 2008

woohooo!

i got in the show!!

Sunday, 13 April 2008

is this really happening?

Friday I turned my thesis collection in.

This Friday I present.

Is this really happening? I have been going through withdrawal all weekend. I feel like I left my baby with the babysitter for the first time. I don't know what to do with myself.

Friday we all went out for somewhat of a celebratory lunch, then I hoped in my car and drove to my boyfriend's because his band was playing their first show. A big day for both of us I guess. I was merch girl again, but sitting at the merch table for hours was apparently a bit too much for me so I escaped early to nap in my car. All of Friday was a bit of a blur, I don't think I have ever been so tired.

So Friday is coming quicker and quicker. I still need to figure out my outfit, hope that my beads are ready in time, and finish up the other jewelry... oh yeah and I need to figure out the 'choreography' of my presentation.

Is this happening?

Sunday, 6 April 2008

20 stops in ny

Yesterday was my photo shoot for the collection/line sheet. We have to photograph all of our looks and lay the images out on one sheet of 8.5x11" paper. They are then given to teachers and whoever is on the panel for our final presentation. The photos are amazing and I LOVE the photographer. You will see them soon! The shoot went on all day, 9-9. It was really exciting, but extremely tiring. I drove into the city yesterday and I all I wanted to do was fall asleep on the way home, but that is quite impossible. By the way, who needs sleep anyway? ...right?

So onto the top 20 list of fashionable NYC. Unfortunately I have no life lately, due to thesis, so I couldn't tell ya where to get a cheap good drink, but I can tell you where to shop etc. Here we go...

1. Opening Ceremony,

Amazing shop in SoHo

2. Comme des Garcons, Chelsea

3. Barney's NY department store

4. Bergdorf Goodman department store

5. Chelsea Market,

Cool place to get some food while in Chelsea/Meat Packing

6. Century 21,

It's right by Ground Zero and sells really cheap designer stuff, but you need some patience because it is always busy

7. Chelsea Pier,

For my birthday we went bowling there, most amazing bowling alley! They have everything from tennis, golf, to skating.

8. The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Spend a whole day here! PS Don't pay the whole price, they 'accept donations' so give them change.

9. FIT Museum,

I hate promoting FIT, but they have great fashion exhibitions. (free)

10. MoMA

11. Chelsea Gallery District,

It's free! Walk around and into various types of galleries.

12. Dia:Beacon,

I have never honestly been there, but I heard it is a must-see. Also the train ride there is supposed to be nice.

13. Balenciaga store, Chelsea

14. Prada store, SoHo

15. ABC Carpet & Home,

It's like an international bazaar, check out the silk trading in the back

16. Zakka Bookstore,

Amaaaaazing design books

17. Habu Textile,

Small, carries various threads and yarns mostly for weaving, but can be knitted too. Most items are directly from Japan.

18. School Product,

Yarns, if you like to knit of course!

19. Mood Fabrics,

3 floors of any type of fabric you might want. It is kind of 'sold-out' because of Project Runway, but if you are looking for something, 75% of the time they will have it. That's pretty good.

20. St. Mark's Place (8th St.),

It's a busy block of punk stores, mini bars, and people selling various paraphernalia on the street.

I wish you all from London a safe and fun trip, see you all in about 2 weeks!

Sunday, 30 March 2008

first sneak peek

Here's an idea of some of the textures in my collection, all by hand of course!

two weeks left...

Thursday, 20 March 2008

hands full of... dirt and problems

I have problems. I received a package yesterday with the wrong fabric. My infamous soy fabric continues to haunt me. The company sent me hemp instead of soy. How did this happen? I would love to know. My low-impact dyes have not arrived yet and neither has my organic cotton jersey and hemp/silk charmeuse. I feel like I am at a stalemate.

I have two more garments that need to be sewn, but I have no fabric for them to be made from. Though, yesterday I started knitting socks out of cashmere, yum! so soft!

I did, however, stop by my high school today to see my old art teacher. I now have some clay for my jewelry. I hope they will get done because I need to return with them dry and have them fire them in the kiln, THEN glaze them and fire them again. Can I do this in the next four weeks? I also had someone there cut out some wood pieces in the wood shop which now need to be sanded.

I need to go get my hands dirty!

Saturday, 15 March 2008

spring break(?)

So it's finally spring break!! While normal people are going to Palm Beach, I am spending my time getting to know my sewing machine and dress form a little bit better. I currently have about 13 garments put together. I HOPE to have the last 4 ready by the time we go back. That week we will have a fitting, then a presentation rehearsal on Wednesday. We are supposed to have six looks done by then... meaning EVERYTHING, but I have seven. I need to bust my ass this week.

Since I am 'eco,' I am sourcing a lot of my fabric through companies on the internet; fabric stores in the city don't have anything organic. I have a whole binder of swatches at this point. I wanted to use an alternative fiber in my lining fabric for my coat, like milk protein or soy. I want one special fabric. I know it's just lining, but that is essentially what a person will feel when she wears this coat. I found ONE company that has soy jersey and it is mixed with organic cotton. No one sells milk fabric. The soy is extremely soft and is actually good for your skin. Soy fibers are made from soy waste product from the making of tofu. I just received their swatches and ordered what I needed and the color I wanted is out of stock. FABulous. I was forced to order a crazy color, I hope I can dye it to a color that will work.

Other than finishing up, I want to make wooden and clay jewelry and closures. I have contacted my high school art teacher and he is going to help, hook me up with clay, and let me use their kiln and wood shop. I will be hand carving the closure pieces. I gathered pieces of birch in the woods a couple of weeks ago. I love the look of birch, it reminds me of Sweden, it is really beautiful. I hope it works out because I have never carved wood before!

I love being eco!

Friday, 7 March 2008

London vs. NY

Compared to London, I think that in a lot of ways New York is more about business. I feel that British designers and others from Europe can be more innovative and take more risks in that way. It seems sometimes that New York plays it safe in order to roll in the money. You see a lot more bizarre shapes, fabrications, treatments, and drama in European shows. New York is more about runway to retail to street. This season, I did not see anything out of the ordinary coming from New York. Isn't New York supposed to be THE fashion capital? Does that mean we make the most money or make the most fashion?

Monday, 3 March 2008

BBC clip

Check me out on BBC, I'm the girl all the way to the right. Unfortunately they didn't quote me, but it was fun anyway!

New York is...

New York is a crazy city. You get a taste of everything from the many different cultures. It is a lot like a collage of old and new. I like to look at the buildings and their history. Many old buildings have been refurbished and are now used for something else. Others have been built right over old structures. Everything is literally on top of each other. For me, it is more interesting to look at these old buildings, rather than the new.

It is interesting to see how people use these spaces. Many things and places end up being used for multiple things. With the high population and the limited living space, people make use of what they do have in order to call it their own. I also think this explains a lot of New York’s fashion. There are multiple cultures and influences piled on top of one another to create one.

Friday, 29 February 2008

midterm journey

Yesterday was our midterm review/presentations in my class. It went well, I think. I am now midway through the construction process of my thesis collection. I have 17 garments, I now have 9 more or less completed.

Yesterday my mom drove me to school! Thanks to my making a fall collection, my garments MUST be packed into a huger than huge oversize suitcase for midterm. I could live in it. My mom felt bad I guess and offered to drive me instead of me attempting to lug it on and off NJ Transit.

Yes, I am living at home again to accompany my mom. It is not too bad, beside the fact that I lose an hour of sleep for the commute. My alarm goes off at 5 45am instead of 7 or 7 30, like when it did when I lived in the city. I either nap or sketch/sew/read/write/organize my life during the 40-50 minute ride. When I think about it, I can't believe I am commuting(I'm not a morning person). I used to live in New York my first two years at school, then it only took a couple of minutes to get to class. Now I travel about an hour and a half door-to-door. I'm not complaining, it is usually an interesting journey...

Thursday, 28 February 2008

this is me, signing on

My name is Melissa Lüning. I grew up in New Jersey, but my family is from Sweden. I speak Swedish at home and with my family. My culture has influenced a lot of my work and how I view things. I try to travel there once a year when I can to visit family. I am very inspired in the way the people there live, dress, and communicate with one another. It is a very calming place to be, especially surrounded by untouched forests, clean air, and the country’s beautiful history.

My father was very important to me. He passed away about a year and a half ago. He was very appreciative of where he came from. He was very close to nature and the traditions and stories of his family. For my senior thesis collection, and in essence the way I approach design, is very much inspired by my father’s outlook on life. I am very inspired by nature, the way people interact with it and each other, and also the feeling that a woman should feel when wearing a garment.

For my thesis, I was inspired by the book The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. It is a very fascinating study of what may happen to our built structures if our population suddenly disappeared. It is not a morbid story, simply one about nature taking over our structures and becoming again what it once was before our consumption of it. It has truly changed the way I look at life and what we live in. Imagine a New York with collapsed bridges, trees bursting through the roofs of buildings, and animals and vegetation taking over our streets.

I am only using sustainable fabrics and trims for my collection. At this point, I wish that there were more fabrics available to us as students, but I am only using natural fibers, organic when possible. I think that this is extremely important in today’s world. You cannot be selfish anymore. Everything you consume will affect someone or something else in the world.

Tuesday, 22 January 2008

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'Making Connections' E/P Project Melissa Lüning