“What are the
weaknesses in the teaching and learning of pattern making skills in South
Africa? “. Asked in 2004 by
the Pursuit Clothing and Textiles Magazine.
Now, 10 years down the line, are SA fashion
graduates better equipped in pattern making and fitting. But first, have a look at the 2004 article?
Let’s first go back to 2004 - Extracts
from Pursuit Clothing and Textiles Magazine, Sep/Oct Issue 2004.
“Marlene Oosthuizen, Principal of
North West School of Design and inventor of the X!act Design Patternmaker™ (that
was featured in Pursuit’ Oct/Nov issue of 2003), has strong convictions on the
topic of pattern making, particularly on the level of skill that is taught and
learnt at the tertiary level.
Although Marlene, as inventor of
the X!act Design Patternmaker™, believes that this is an excellent tool for
furthering skills in pattern making, she is still of the believe that students
should be taught to think and solve problems without falling back on solutions
handed out by lecturers.
Says Marlene, “A pattern is a
solution to a problem, and problem solving (not only relating to patterns) is
an underdeveloped skill in South-Africa”. Her concern is that some of the
institutes are ‘skipping over’ the crucial elements of pattern making.
“With our recent market research,
whereby we focused on tertiary training institutes to include the X!act Design
Patternmaker™ in their syllabi, we found that so many colleges have excluded
the drafting of basic block patterns from their syllabi. This came as a very
huge shock, and I’ve discovered that learners who have qualified from these
institutes are themselves frustrated as to realise that they do not know how to
draft the most crucial part of a pattern. ”Pattern making requires a technical
approach rather than a creative one. I
say this because, in clothing design, our object of study is actually the human
figure: To dress the figure. This is the technical aspect, as we’re working
with a figure that is a 3D form, but the pattern is a flat form. Our aim is to dress the figure, firstly to
cover it (the technical aspect), then to dress it in order to beatify it (the
creative aspect).
With drafting basic block
patterns, we create a replica of the figure, taking into consideration the
shapes and forms of the figure. To develop this technical aptitude students
have to analyse and study various figure types and proportions to really
understand standardised sizing and the distribution of size. Ultimately, if at
the stage of basic block drafting, they develop the skill of size analysis, the
tuition of grading (sizing) of patterns becomes easier. When we omit the basic
block from training, we are not developing the technical process. A pattern is
a solution to a problem, and with no technical ability or frame of mind, the
student cannot solve the first and most crucial problem, which is the fit. The
next problem is to ensure the style of the pattern result in a garment that is
made according to the original design. Adding the style lines and flair to the
patterns is the creative part, which is the easy part.
Marlene has also found that
lecturers supply students with complete templates of basic block patterns,
already drafted to a standardised size. “From these templates, students add the
style details, learning and practicing thousands of style combinations. The
problem is that again, they’re not relating to the figure, only to the style of
the garment. Institutes that do however instruct students on drafting the basic
block pattern, do so by letting student draft block patterns according to their
own measurements. The style patterns are then practiced using these blocks. The
student then only develops the fitting criteria based on his/her own figure. By
the time they qualify, they’ve only learned to solve fitting problems for their
own figure type”.
Whenever Marlene raised this
issue, she gets the same response, that basic blocks are not used in the
industry. “Indeed”, she says, but notes that industry is not only made up of
the large manufactures. “Any person who makes and sell a garment for profitable
gain, forms part of our industry. Not
all design students end up working in factories, many of them become
self-employed and their pattern making (fitting) abilities are crucial to their
professional reputation. Should a student not have learned to develop patterns,
constantly keeping fit, form and function as focus, they would not be able to
develop successful style patterns with a perfect fit. This affects sales figures,
because the costumer is firstly attracted to a garment due to its style, but if
the garment does not fit, the sale is lost. This applies to mass produced and
exclusive garments “.
Back to present
Has pattern making classes changed in training
institutions?
According to Marlene, there has
been some change but not enough. With
the closing of so many factories, more fashion graduates enter the Couture game
where patternmaking skills for the individual figure is of utmost
importance. The South African Couture
market is so big with the majority of matric farewell (prom) and bridal gowns
being exclusively designed and made. To
enter this market, the designer’s skill in fitting and styling is more advanced
than in ready-to-wear garments.
Karlien wearing Anel Botha Couture Anel Botha Couture
Roelien wearing Anel Botha Couture Wearing Anel Botha Couture
Karlien van Jaarsveld wearing Anel Botha Couture at Huisgenoot Tempo Awards 2014
Gert Johan Coetzee using the X!act Patternmaker
Sylvester Falata with SA Singer, Lira,
Lira wearing Sylvester Falata
Marlene adds that some tertiary
institutions still do no teach basic block patterns and those that do, use long
complicated metric methods.
What do our students say?
“Fun, exciting,
confidence-boosting, time saving and easy are but a few words that are now
synonymous with my experience using the X!act Patternmaker™ - Stacey Grant,
NWSD student. To read more CLICK HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment