Lauren Broome

I just finished studying BA (hons) Fashion Design at the University of East London. I specialised in my final year into 3D pleating for my final major project, after discovering it while on placement. After working with these processes in industry I wanted to develop them so I could do it from the studio. So I began to experiment and make my own pleat patterns by hand as well as my own steam box. This enabled me to create the 3D effect in the studio without outsourcing the pleating. My pleat patterns varied in design from 4cm to 10cm and these pleat patterns (7 in total) could take from 1 to 3 days to make fully! So each design was methodically thought out to be ready at each development point of my collection.

These pleat designs became a core element of my collection mixed together with my research which is derived from family photographs I found in the loft of the whaling stations on South Georgia which my step dad took while in the Navy. I was captivated by these photographs and I took forward the blazers the sailors wore on the whaling voyages and merged them with the craft of 3D pleating to come up with my collection identity. The relaxed silhouette was based off the research and blazer drapes while the pleating shape gives a beautiful lustre in different lights with the use of satin fabrics. All the properties work together to create my final collection.