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.

Factory visits

I have had to visit the factory on a couple of occasions. The first time was because we had issue with production and the garments weren't actually being produced so we had to change factories. The factory we changed to was in fact the one they used originally. This week i had to go by myself to deliver additional fabrics and trims. I find it really interesting to see for myself how a factory functions and the process behind production.

Celebrety influence

With the influence of celebreties being so powerful and significant in this day and age, HEMYCA have used this to their full advantage by dressing to name a few Cheryl Cole, The Saturdays, Pixie Lott, Lisa Snowdon, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Sally Hawkins. This has helped push the brand even further to be become more and more established. Above is an example of the band The Saturdays, one of which is dress in HEMYCA.

HEMYCA collaboration with Sony

HEMYCA‘s recent projects include a print collaboration with Sony on the iPod Sk8. Products as shown below. And developing designer bags for a leading UK Charity, age UK, to be launched nationwide in over 500 stores. Priced at £15, all of the net profits from every purchase go towards Age UK’s work to help older people across the country. Products as shown above.

Popular orders

With the made to measure products i have seen the changes being made to the patterns and i have now seen the finished products. From my time there so far everyone has been pleased with their orders and purchases. Above are images of their popular oders and best sellers. Especially the top coat.

Atelier - Made to measure

The Atelier Service is a modern experience that operates from Hemyca’s private and discrete London studio; offering clients, Celebrities, VIP’s and Stylists the opportunity to enjoy a “Saville Row” experience with our team of experts and designers. Hemyca aims to provide a more inclusive service, bearing no restrictions to the size or shape required by the client. I have witnessed clients come in for fittings and seen the amendments made on patterns. After experiencing this i really hope that i will be given the opportunity to work on an atelier piece myself.

Because i started towards the end of their s/s 12 collection i didn't get to make any of the garments from the start, however i did help with the finishings and amendments of a few of them. Above are images of some of the items i worked on.

I love the shoot they did for their S/S 12 look book because of its simplicity. The pictures are very plain which allows the clothes stand out for themselves. The use of bold colours and the detailing are the key points to why i think this is such a beautiul collection. Above are my favourite images from this collection.

HEMYCA debuted during London Fashion Week in September 2008 and has since taken part in both London and Paris Fashion Weeks. HEMYCA continues to gain recognition from the international media including Vogue, Elle Magazine, Style Magazine, Company, Stella, The Daily Mail, i-D Magazine and the Daily Telegraph. Above are examples of this.

This week my main job role has been to make sure the specification sheets on all patterns are complete. These sheets consist of the measurements required and accurate technical drawings, showing all the designs lines and detailing. They also state the different trims involved and how many pattern pieces are included, displaying how many linings, fabrics and contrast fabrics are needed. Above are examples of some of the spec sheets i did.

HEMYCAs show at the wool modern wasnt your typical fashion 'catwalk'. They decided to 'put on a show', by setting out the stage as if it were a studio. The stage had a table with a sewing machine on, a morror and a rail with garments on and the models were acting as if they were 'working'. With four on the stage one would come up the set of black spiral stairs, walk down the catwalk and swap with another model. The other model would go and get changed and the process would be repeated until the catwalk is completed. As i was greeting the guests and showing them to their seats i was lucky enough to witness the whole show. It was really interesting to see Helen and Myras vision come to life, and the show was a huge success.

London Fashion Week

HEMYCA are showcashing their S/S 12 collection at the Wool Modern for LFW. From what has been descirebed and from the research i have done into the wool modern i can see that it is going to be a small intemate show. They have decided to have two shows with only 30 seats available for each show. My role when there will be to help set up, sort out goody bags and when the shows start i will be greeting guest with drinks and showing them to their seats. I cant wait to be involved with this, and to experience the whole process of a LFW show.

Each season this design boared changes, but at the moment they have their S/S 12 collection displayed. This is the collection i am and will be mainly working on during my time at Hemyca.

Places

This week i have been hand delivering invitations for HEMYCAs S/S 12, London fashion week show. I have been to many places, some of these including Vogue house and The sunday telegraph for Stella magazine. It was really interesting to see where these places are located.