My Last Day

On my last day i continued to work on patterns, but at four o'clock i had to go to the factory to pick up the most recent Atelier garments. One last trip before i leave. When i returned back to the studio i was greeted with a bottle of wine, a bunch of flowers a gift and a card to say 'sorry you leaving'. They wished me the best of luck, and it was a really nice way to end my placement.
I have thouroughly enjoyed the past three months i have experienced while working for HEMYCA, i have met some great people who i hope to stay in contact with. Also I hope i stay in contact with Helen and Myra and possibly work for them again in the future.

Industry Interview

When did you realise you wanted to work within the fashion industry, and why fashion? Helen's family worked in Saville Row and Myra's owned an Atelier in Italy so it was a way of life for us both rather than a decision, it was and is the most natural thing for us to do and we are devoted to the art of luxury fashion design.

Have you always wanted to start your own fashion brand? We met whilst studying at the London College of Fashion and our design aesthetic and vision is the same and so we started the HEMYCA brand as soon as we graduated. We had already worked for leading designers and international brands which gave us the skills and confidence to launch our own label.

What were your inspirations to creating HEMYCA? We wanted to create collections with a strong focus on creating emotional yet functional clothing for dynamic confident women, regardless of size, age and shape. Clothing that transcends the usual fashion stereotypes and that remain timeless.

What have been the biggest challenges of running your own business? The business side and financial side of running a business is vitally important but unless you train in business as well as fashion then you have to learn fast and mistakes are costly! Fashion is extremely fast paced and evolving constantly and time management is essential to stay ahead and create a viable brand which is not just pretty clothes on a hanger. It is a lot of hard work!

Where does your inspiration come from for your collections? HEMYCA is fascinated by the struggle between dark and light in everything and everyone, historical female icons, themes explored throughout their collections with a strong focus on complex cutting, precision tailoring with exceptional detailing and a distinctive edge.

Where do you hope to see HEMYCA in the future? We started HEMYCA with a vision to create a globally recognised brand synonymous with luxury and quality and this year Fashion Press Week awarded HEMYCA “the brightest and most directional fashion brand in the UK”, this accolade confirms that we are going in the right direction and achieving recognition for our hard work!

Fitting and altering

After constructing the shirt with only one minor issue, the customer came in to have it fitted to her so it can be altered appropriately. I had to take it in at the shoulders and open the back darts at the bottom so it fit better around her lower back. I have never altered or fitted a garment before so i had some help to do so. Above are images of the process of making the shirt, unfortunatly i did not manage to get a picture of the finish garment before it was sent off to the customer.

Fabric sourcing

Shepherds Bush^


This week i was asked to go fabric sourcing for some wool suiting and wool crepe. I went to Shepherds bush and Berwick Street to compare the quality and price. The fabric i sourced from shepherds bush was the prefered fabric and was half the prics of that sold in the iconic stores of Berwick street.

I have been given the opportunity to make a shirt for one of HEMYCAS customers. The pattern has been altered to her measurments and i have cut out the fabric and next week i will start making it. Im excited to work on something entirly myself, i thought i would be nervous but im looking foward to the challenge more than anything. Above is an image from their S/S 11 collection and the shirt is the one i am making.

Visiting Harvey Nichols

This week myself and one of the other girls went to look around Harvey Nicholes to look at the current collections of other brands. We went to get idea of trims, fabrics and detailing for their A/W 12 collection. We also went to look at the amazing window displays. The images above show some parts of their window display.

Fabric suppliers

Everyweek we get through samples through from various different fabric suppliers. From various countries such as the UK, Italy and Paris. I have taken photos of the different suppliers that caught my eye i think may be useful in the future. Above are images of my favourite suppliers.