Hat Design Research - Louis Mariette

The next hat designer I looked at was Louis Mariette. His designers are very extravagant and over the top. All hats taken from the designers website here and are from multiple collections.

His work is very much made for the cat walk and not ideal for everyday-wear. But I think with my hat, it can be fairly crazy and people will still want to want it because of the fear attached to the risks of not wearing it. It needs to toe the like between believable and ridiculous, which I think is a quality a lot of Louis Mariette's hats have. I'm glad I've looked at this designers work because although it is in the same vein as Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy's work, it is still a very good source of inspiration that I will definitely come back to when I started designing my hat.

Hat Design Research - Claudia Schulz

The next hat designer I looked at what Claudia Schulz. She is not as well known as the two previous designers and her hats are a little more suited to everyday wear rather than special occasions or the catwalk. Which I think is a good reason for me to look at her work because a lot of Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy's work is a little extravagant and outrageous sometimes. All hats are taken from her website here and are from multiple collections.

I like these two hat designs because of the zip detailing. Although putting zips on clothes without them being a functioning fastening is not a new thing, this is the first time I have seen them be used on a hat like this.

I also really like the modern twist the designer has combined here with the classic feminine cloche hat. Very suited to my project and all equally inspiring.

The two designs above are probably my favourite of hers. I like the small brim and the way the hat continues down the back of the neck.

This design is very much the epitome of the modern cloche. The tiny embellishment on the top also emphasises the bell-like appearance.

These three hats are also interesting twists on classic millinery styling.

I think it has been really useful for me to look at Claudia Schulz's designs because it has shown me a more commercial side of millinery. These designs were much more reasonably prices for the everyday person to buy. Plus they are also much more modest which makes them ideal for everyday wear.

Hat Design Research - Philip Treacy

The next hat designer I decided to look at was Philip Treacy. All hats are from his website here and are taken from multiple recent collections.

I chose to look at some of his more futuristic and simplistic designs as some of them were a little over complicated. I also only really looks at designs where alot of the head was covered, as this will be one of the basic design features of my hat.

The two designs above are quite futuristic and 'flying-saucer' like. They would be good bases for ideas.

 

 This hat especially reminded me of the tin foil hats in the film that I watched 'Signs'. Mainly because of the shape, but also because of the metallic fabric used and the wrinkly layers.

Looking at this designer has been quite useful for design purposes. His work can be at times as crazy as say Stephen Jones's but he does know how to tone it down more at other times. I will definately be taking his designs into consideration when I comes to design and make my own hats.

Hat Design Research - Stephen Jones

The first hat designer I decided to look at was the famous Stephen Jones. His design career started in 1979 and he has collaborated which many fashion designers in the business such as John Galliano,Vivienne Westwood and Karl Lagerfeld to create hats to go along with their clothing collections. He has also designed for musicians such as Kylie Minogue and Marilyn Manson. As well as films such as 101 Dalmations, Thunderbirds, Atonement and Coco avant Chanel.

All hats are from his wesbite here and are taken from several collections in his career.

I like this first design. It wouldn't be ideal inspiration for my project as it doesn't cover much of the head so wouldn't be very practical for protecting someone's brain from aliens. But it is still an interesting design to consider adapting.

I really like the simplicity of this design. Apart from fixings underneath, its probably just a draped piece of felt fabric.

I think the dsign of this hat is really beautiful. The waves of fabric look so graphic and yet so natural. I will definately be considering this sort of styling when designing and making my hat.

I thought this design matched well with my project as it looks quite futuristic and features metal elements that would potentially 'deflect the aliens mind reading rays'. However, the minimal pill-box design would not be ideal for covering and protecting the whole of the head.

This design also really interested me. It's like a top hat at the front but then extends into an open-ended swirled design towards the back.

This hat is made from recycled LP records that have been melted and curved into interesting shapes. This is quite useful inspiration as it uses an outdated product as its main material. This could be a factor I would have to consider when designing and making a product in a post-apocalyptic world.

I like the shape and form of this hat alot. It is an adaptation of the cloche hat from the 1920-30's.

This design also interested me. It seems to be a modern interpretation of a trilby-type hat. The colours make it feel especially modern.

This headpiece made to look like a shattered mirror also really caught my eye. But wouldn't really be practical for everyday wear.

I like the futuristic styling of this hat and the bright neon yellow colour. The flat cap design would be a good basic shape to expand upon when I make my hat.

This design was probably my favourite of those I found on his website. It features three interpretations of the top hat, all combined into one hat. A small high stylized metallic top hat which is inside a metal net top hat of a more classic design which is in turn inside a very large and loosely tailored top hat made from a very soft transparent material. Its quite a simple concept but is done to great effect and obvious with alot of milinery skill.

In my opinion it has been really useful look at some of Stephen Jones's hat designs as it has been inspired me and expanded my design horizons. Although some of his designs are a little outrageous for everyday wear, I can tone them down a little. But I think  slightly crazy designs will help add to the popularity of the hats I make.

Tin Foil Hat Research

I found a website here during my research that is all about tin foil hats, how to make them here and lots of useful information about them. This website however calls them Aluminium Foil Deflector Beanies.  It is most likely a joke website, but it certainly looks like a lot of effort has been put into it. This type of foil head gear is to stop the government infiltrating your brain and not aliens apparently.

A lot of the examples of this type of hat are really ugly and boring, apart from this first example I found. 

Some crazy people even put them on their cats...

So I think my next steps will be looking at books and websites about historical and high fashion hat design. As well as artists who predominantly design and make hats. I may also look into some artists who are inspired by the theme of aliens for some extra inspiration. Maybe even artists who use metal or metal foil as their main material.

Apocalypse Project Proposal

I've just finished writing my project proposal and uploaded it to moodle as requested by my tutors. I didn't complete it as early as I would have liked, but I've still sent it in with plenty of time to spare. So here it is.

Apocalypse Scenario

In the year 2017 aliens suddenly invade earth and immediately declare war. Although the fighting only last a few days and humankind do their best to defend themselves, over 3 billion people have been killed and half the globe has been reduced to rubble. Planet earth is devastated.  But as quickly as the aliens arrived they disappear again without reason.  After the initial shock of such an overwhelming event, the earth and its people slowly begin to put their lives back together. 

5 years later the earth is still a shadow of its former self. Crime and corruption blight everyday life more than ever and the human race are struggling under the weight of post-apocalyptic living. Paranoia is at an all time high and conspiracy theories are always the main topic of conversation. Extraterrestrial and UFO sightings are through the roof, which rapidly fuels the suspicion and terror among the general population.  Amongst the more terrifying theories in circulation, rumour has it that the aliens have such advanced mental capabilities that they can read your thoughts. Some even say that they have machines that can influence your actions by remotely infiltrating your brain. 

 

My Task

To design and make a range of defensive headgear that people can buy to protect their brains from psychological invasion. The head covering must not only function as a shield for their brain and make them feel safe and secure. It must also help give them a feeling of normality and not hinder their everyday functioning. If the headgear is also to be marketed and expected to be purchased, it will need to be visually appealing to satisfy people’s vanity. Also fashionable styling will no doubt help sales and bring in customers that don’t necessarily even believe the conspiracy theories.

I am quite pleased with it and feel it represents my ideas well enough. I just hope the things I actually make live up to the standards set out by this proposal.

Film Research - Aliens

I decided to do some more film research concentrating more on alien themes to help me come up with the context I need to base my project on.

District 9

I first looked at District 9 (2009) directed by Neill Blomkamp. An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.

I had seen this film before so knew the storyline and that it would be useful to watch. I only watched it again in order to get screen shots for reference purposes.

The main character Wikus van de Merve.

An Alien or 'Prawn', their derogatory nickname.

The scene always make me laugh because of the pink bra the alien is wearing!

Part of some alien equipment used to refine a precious liquid the aliens use for fuel.

When Wikus is sprayed in the face with this liquid, it begins the transformation process.

Inside the command module that has been hidden underground for 20 years. While this alien father and son collect enough liquid fuel to power it and the mother ship so they can return home

The command module after it has unearthed itself and is heading for the mother ship.

Some advanced alien technological weaponry.

This film was useful to watch because although it was not directly apocalyptic, it gave me some inspiration for my constructed scenario. Details such as alien appearance, specific alien weapons and also alien space craft were covered in the film so it has given me some ideas for my own story. These aliens are also quite unusual to what people picture when they think aliens which shows me I can pretty much be as creative as I want and it will still be believable. Overall though, this probably wasn't the most useful source of research as the earth did not experience an apocalypse and nor could the aliens read minds.


Mars Attacks!

The second film I watched was Mars Attacks! (1996) directed by Tim Burton. It is a normal day for everyone, until the President of the United States announces Martians have been spotted circling Earth. The Martians land and a meeting is arranged, but not everything goes to plan, and the Martians seem to have other plans for Earth. Are they just misunderstood beings or do they really want to destroy all of humanity?

This is a much less serious film than District 9, but still a valid source for alien research. I remember watching this film when it came out, I was 4 or 5 years old. I loved it back then and still enjoy it very much today.

The first eight pictures below show the appearance of the aliens. They are quite comical and hard to take seriously, especially because of the way they talk. However, they are still a little terrifying. They are much similar to the classic perception of what aliens could look like.

 

   

This is from a scene in the film where the scientific expert is discussing the speculated anatomy of the alien species. Although the aliens never display such abilities he theorises that because of their large brains, advanced mental functioning is highly possibly. 

Professor Donald Kessler - "The large cerebrum here...indicates telepathic potential."

Press Secretary Jerry Ross  - "You mean they can read our thoughts?"

Professor Donald Kessler  - "Potentially, Yes."

 This is useful for my project research because it shows me another example of aliens with the ability to read minds. It also tells me that the aliens I write into my story should have very big brains in order to allow for such abilities.

 These last three shots are from the last few minutes of the film and show the aftermath of what the aliens have done. Therefore it is the only true post-apocalyptic part of the film. I liked some of the imagery so I decided to take these screen shots for future reference.

Watching this film proved to be fairly useful as it has shown me the more comical side of an alien invasion. It has also given me some ideas for creature design and ways in which the aliens will contact us and proceed to destroy the earth. However, the specific circumstances of the apocalypse are not suitable for my project idea. So unfortunately I cannot base my project on this context alone.