Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about creative careers.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to design and make a festival headdress.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are: fashion designer, milliner, headdresses.

I'm going to say those again and I'd like you to repeat them after me: fashion designer, milliner, headdresses.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

A fashion designer is a person who creates original clothing and accessory designs.

A milliner is a designer or maker who specialises in creating hats or other headwear.

And headdresses are a decorative covering or arrangement worn on the head.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson, What a fashion designer is, and Designing a festival headdress.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to explore what a fashion designer is.

A fashion designer is someone who creates new clothes and accessories by coming up with ideas, drawing designs, choosing fabrics, and helping turn their sketches into real outfits.

A fashion designer may design clothing that is practical and comfortable.

Can you think of any examples where clothing needs to be practical? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, maybe you thought about winter and needing some nice warm jumpers or maybe even a hat or a scarf.

A fashion designer may also base their designs around innovation and creativity.

Fashion designers can create collections.

A fashion collection is a group of clothes and accessories that a fashion designer creates to showcase their ideas and style, usually for a particular season, like spring or winter.

All the items in the collection are made to go together, using similar colours, fabrics, or themes, like a story told through clothes or accessories.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

A fashion collection is an assortment of clothes and accessories with no common theme or coordinating colours.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said, "That's false," you are absolutely right.

Now why is that statement false? Can you explain it? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you discuss? Well, maybe you said something like: A fashion collection consists of clothes and accessories that share colours, fabrics, or themes designed to showcase the particular style of a fashion designer.

So well done.

Some fashion designers, called milliners, specialise in designing and making hats or headdresses.

They often create custom pieces for special occasions like weddings, royal events or fashion shows.

Milliners craft hats and headdresses that are both functional and fashionable, and they carefully consider the style, shape, and fit of each design to suit the wearer's personality and the occasion.

Some influential milliners might include: Philip Treacy, Maor Zabar, Misa Harada, and Victoria Grant.

Philip Treacy is famous for creating avant-garde, sculptural hats that push the boundaries of traditional millinery.

His designs have been worn by many famous figures, including Lady Gaga, Princess Beatrice, Kate Middleton, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Treacy's hats are often bold, dramatic, and sculptural, with some resembling works of art rather than just accessories.

He studied at the London College of Fashion and later at the Royal College of Art where he was mentored by Stephen Jones, a famous milliner.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Which example shows an item of clothing designed by a milliner? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said, "It's B," you are absolutely right.

The role of a milliner is to design hats rather than clothing or footwear.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to explore the work of your chosen fashion designer or milliner.

You might choose to research their life and influences, maybe explore some of the materials they have used in their work, and maybe even create your own designs based upon their work.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at exploring the work of your chosen fashion designer or milliner and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to research their life and explore those materials? Well, let's have a look at an example.

Hopefully you researched their life and influences, explored the materials, and maybe even taken ideas from their work.

Izzy says, "I really liked the way that this fashion designer was influenced by nature and the gentle palette of colours that they used.

I think they have incorporated dried flowers and pipe cleaners to make their work more sculptural.

I also really like the use of lights for a wow factor." So well done for having a go at exploring a fashion designer or a milliner.

This now brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to have a go at designing a festival headdress.

Festivals can be known for their exciting costumes and hats.

These parts of the costume are called a headdress, crown, or a headpiece.

Sometimes there will be a mask and headdress set.

Take a look at this image here.

Look at all of the elaborate design, the different colours and materials that have been used.

Headdresses form an integral part of the costume, often featuring some of the most elaborate designs that showcase the skilled craftsmanship of the milliner or fashion designer.

Izzy says, "When I went to a festival, I saw an amazing headdress, built from blue feathers and jewels.

It reminded me of a peacock." So you can see in this image here, the beautiful colours, the feathers, and the jewels that have been added.

In this image, the headdress has been made using a metallic material, making the designed bold and futuristic.

In this mask and headdress set, there is a sculptural element to the design.

This means that the shape or structure of the headdress is designed to look like it has a three-dimensional form, and this helps to make the design visually striking, not just flat or simple.

So take a look at this mask and headdress here, look at all of the added detail.

Got a bit of a floral element on the side and at the top, and we've got that structural piece along the side.

Sometimes, a designer will incorporate a mask into their headdress.

Izzy says, "I think this makes the costume more mysterious and dramatic, like a story is being told through an actor." Looking at this image here, you can see that this mask is incorporated with the headdress.

The headdress is really quite big and full, with lots of different colours and elements.

Headdresses can vary widely in concept, materials and influences.

Some use traditional materials and techniques while others use more modern approaches.

A fashion designer or milliner does not have to follow previous ideas but can create something new.

This is what makes fashion an exciting industry.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

When a headdress is sculptural, it means that the design: is flat and simple in shape, has a three dimensional, artistic form, is made only of fabric.

Pause the video here and give yourself time to think about how you would finish this sentence and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that when a headdress is sculptural, it means that the design has a three-dimensional artistic form, you are absolutely right.

Fashion designers can use 3D shape and structure to create eye-catching and creative pieces.

Fashion designers might start by thinking of new ideas for a headdress.

They might be influenced by their own interests or the things they see in the world around them.

For Sofia, she says, "My festival celebrates rock music.

I'm influenced by my love of dinosaurs, as they roar loudly, just like the music, I would really like my headdress to incorporate this element." A fashion designer might draw their ideas on paper or on a computer to show how the design will look.

Sofia says, "I will use beads, pipe cleaners, and pompoms in my design to create structure and texture." Fashion designers pick the best materials, colours, and patterns that match their ideas.

Sofia says, "I like how the pipe cleaners add height to my headdress, while the pompoms make the design fun and playful." Fashion designers reflect what is popular, like colours, shapes, or styles that people are wearing now, but can also create the trends of the future.

For Izzy, she says, "I've seen a lot of orange around in shops lately, like a bright tangerine colour.

I think this suits my prehistoric dinosaur design." Now, you can use stitch or glue to attach your elements to your headdress.

So to get your pipe cleaners ready to be glued or stitched onto your headband, you can first of all, cut your pipe cleaner to your desired length.

Then bend your pipe cleaner in the middle, and then twist your pipe cleaner to create a loop.

You see that in the image there, the loop that's created at the bottom, we've twisted it round a couple of times.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Fashion designers ignore current trends and focus only on their personal style when creating new collections.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said, "That's false," you are absolutely right, but how do we explain that this statement is false? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you discuss? Well, maybe you said something like: Fashion designers keep up with what's popular, like colours, shapes, or styles that people are wearing now or might like in the future.

So, well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to design and make a headdress for your festival.

You might identify an interest or theme for your headdress, like the dinosaurs that Izzy and Sofia were looking at.

Maybe you'll draw your ideas before you begin and carefully consider your choice of materials.

So you could draw your ideas as quick sketches on paper, or maybe you can use a computer to put your idea together and think carefully about the different materials that you could use.

And also consider some current colour trends that you would like to include within your design.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at designing and making a headdress for your festival and press play when you are ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to create your design, thinking carefully about your materials and colour trends? Well, you might have used a theme for your headdress and carefully considered your choice of materials and hopefully considered current colour trends.

Now looking at this headdress here, Izzy's had a go at creating one based on her dinosaur theme.

Taking a good look, what do you notice there? What colours have been used? And what things have been placed in between, if you look closely? Well, Izzy says, "I really like the way my headdress looks.

It has a lot of energetic colours and a playful theme with the added dinosaur eyes and figures." Can you see those eyes and figures there, now we've zoomed in? She does say, "Next time, I might use longer pipe cleaners to add more height and drama to my design." That's a good thought.

Perhaps you've thought of something you'd like to do differently next time if you have a go at creating another headdress? So, well done for having a go at designing your own festival headdress.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about the creative career of a fashion designer.

A fashion designer is a person who creates original clothing and accessory designs.

Some fashion designers, called milliners, specialise in designing and making hats or headdresses.

Headdresses can vary widely in concept, materials and influences.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.