WHAT IS IT?

My graduate collection is a 6 look, 18 piece collection appropriately titled Anthropological Approach. My references are images taken of strangers in Hackney, with the collection covering the topics of what it feels like to be part of a community, with modular elements within design stemming from the concept of being more than one person and adapting to the conditions of metropolitan life as woman. 

Studying a design degree and wanting to achieve a high standard of work means spending a large sum of money, which my student loan cannot cover alone. The past month, coming towards the end of my degree, have been tough financially, with the next big spend being my photoshoot. With my references all being outside imagery this means that I can also shoot my collection outside, which saves on studio fees; however there is still the looming cost of models, film to shoot on, developing the film, along with photographers and stylist budgets. 

My idea behind my photoshoot is to hire a zip car van and transporting a model, myself, photographer, make up artist and a stylist to different locations around Hackney, with the backgrounds ranging from plain brick walls to shots on the underground. The zip car will allow us to go from each location quickly without damaging the clothes and would give us a space to get changed. To save costs I will use one model per 2 looks, with minimal make up working out to around 3 hours per model, saving on model hours and not paying more than 1 at a time. 

Where will the money go?

The funding will be focused on post production costs, such as:

• Photographer (£100)
• Film (£100)
• Printing (£150)
• Stylist (£100)
• Models (£100) x3 
• Accessories budget (£50)
• Travel - zip car van hire + fuel + public transport costs (£150)
• Hair and Makeup (£100)

This totals to: £1050, a large sum for a student, a sum that I don't have. I have kept my costs realistic and considered all ways to bring this down - I have a background as a freelance stylist, often working on set for editorials for magazines or working on e-commerce, and feel that this is a realistic cost for the standard of imagery I want to be produced. 

Funding my minimum costs would allow me to pay my photographers film costs without causing financial detriment to myself. If I were to receive my full target, my photoshoot can be completed to a high standard, the same standard that my design work is being completed to. Extra funding beyond my target would offset some of the material costs of throughout this term such as extra fabrics, threads, labels, toiling fabric and the travel expenses I have from travelling from Hackney to Kingston daily. 

As my project progresses I will be regularly posting on social media to build an online portfolio of my work which you can follow to see where the funding leads to, attached below are links to where I will be updating: 

https://www.instagram.com/briannapaiden/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannapdennis/ 

MY story

This final year of studying has been very financially difficult for me. The cost of living crisis has not only effecting living costs but University material costs, such as fabric. Knowing that I would not be able to cover the costs of my fabric choices, I worked hard to achieve relationships with brands such as Schoeller, YKK, Clothing Insulation and Shindo to receive fabric and trim sponsorship for my collection. I want to make sure that their product is captured the best to show my gratitude for their kindness, which means I need the right team and the funding behind me to do so. It's important that my collection is captured correctly to also show my perceptions of London, in particular Hackney which is where I live, I would love for my collection imagery to be exhibited at the Hackney Archives in Dalston after my work has been submitted.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and engaging with my work, hopefully there will be some donations to follow :)