Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's design and technology lesson.

My name's Mrs. Fletcher and I'm here to guide you through this lesson today.

Today's lesson is called Virgil Abloh and Hat Design, and it's part of the textile pattern pieces, hats and caps unit.

In this lesson, we'll be looking at the influential design of Virgil Abloh, and we'll also be using his inspirational design to help us come up with our own creative hat designs.

So, let's have a look at what we'll be learning about today.

The outcome of today's lesson is I can identify decisions made by a designer.

And we'll be looking at how an actual designer works, and then we'll be using that information to help us make important decisions in the design process when we are making and designing a product.

There are some key words and phrases that we're going to see quite often in this lesson.

So, let's have a look at those together before we get started.

So first of all, we've got the phrase fashion designer.

A fashion designer is someone who thinks of new ideas for clothes and accessories and accessories are things like bags, and belts, and hats.

Then, we've got the word architect.

An architect is someone who designs and plans buildings and other structures.

Then, we've got the word milliner.

And a milliner is someone who designs and makes hats.

And finally, we've got the word aesthetics.

And aesthetics means the way something looks.

It's being concerned with the way something looks.

So, those are the words we need.

So, let's have a look at how the lesson will be broken down today.

There are two parts to today's lesson.

First of all, we'll be looking at the design of Virgil Abloh, and then we'll be moving on to looking at hat design in particular.

So, let's get started with the first part, looking at the designer Virgil Abloh.

Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and businessman.

He worked with many different designers, artists, and musicians in his career.

He's best known for bringing his streetwear style to the luxury fashion market.

Virgil Abloh was born on the 30th of September in 1980 in Illinois, which is in the United States of America.

His parents were originally from Ghana in Africa.

His mother Eunice was a seamstress, so she would sew for a living.

And his father, Nee, managed a paint factory.

His mother taught him how to sew when he was a very young boy.

Virgil Abloh originally studied to be an architect.

So, that's someone who designs and builds buildings and other large structures.

And he actually gained qualifications in civil engineering and architecture.

While he was at college, he became interested in fashion and he began designing and selling t-shirts in his spare time.

He also produced a blog online talking about fashion and design, which he also did in his spare time.

Virgil Abloh first became known for his artwork and he worked with many different musicians and DJs to produce artwork for their album covers and posters.

He even gained a Grammy nomination for his artwork in 2011.

He later opened a gallery and a clothing shop to promote and sell his own designs, showing that he could bring his streetwear style and inspirations to the luxury fashion market.

In 2013, Virgil launched his own fashion label called Off-White, and he described the brand style as the grey area between black and white and that's because he was mixing two different styles.

He was mixing streetwear with luxury fashion and high-end fashion.

The brand was known for screen-printing onto hoodies.

So, he would print his own designs onto lots of different hoodies.

That's what they became known for.

As well as other clothing and accessories that were popular with the youth culture.

He worked with many famous brands at this time as well, including Nike and Ikea.

And he added his signature designs to their products as well.

Even though he was an architect, a fashion designer, an artist, and a DJ, Virgil Abloh didn't want to be described as just one of those things and he simply described himself as a maker.

And he believed that the same principles, which are the ideas behind design can be applied to anything.

He also believed that there should be more diversity in the fashion industry, so he believe more different types of people should be involved in the fashion industry.

So in 2020, he founded his own scholarship fund, which was to help people, particularly young African American men, to follow a creative career pathway and to get into those different industries, such as fashion.

His design inspiration took ideas from a whole range of sources, including music, history, architecture from which he'd done a lot of study of and he made them his own.

He once said that a creative only has to add a 3% tweak to a pre-existing concept in order to generate a cultural contribution deemed innovative.

For instance, a DJ only needs to make small edits to innovate a song and likewise, a designer would only need to add a hole to an iconic handbag to leave his own mark.

So, he's saying that you don't have to completely redesign things or come up with completely new ideas.

You can add your own stamp onto things that are already out there, and that's exactly what he did with his fashion design.

A quick check then before we move on.

What did Virgil Abloh describe himself as? Was it a, a collaborator? Was it b, a maker? Was it c, an artist? Or was it d, an architect? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said a maker.

So, he didn't want to be described as any one type of creative.

He wanted to just be described as someone who could make anything, and that's what he did.

Virgil Abloh made history in 2018 when he became the first African American to be appointed the artistic director of a luxury fashion house, and that luxury fashion house was Louis Vuitton.

For his first collection, which was shown at Paris Fashion Week, Virgil attached classic Louis Vuitton accessories, such as bags and belts, onto his own brand of streetwear.

And you can see here this example is one of the bags from the Louis Vuitton men's collection shown at that Paris Fashion Week, which is in the classic style of Louis Vuitton, but with a Virgil Abloh design on added onto it and paired with Virgil Abloh streetwear as well.

Sadly, Virgil passed away in 2021 at the age of 41 after privately battling cancer for two years.

Through his many projects, he was able to show that you don't have to be limited by labels when creating new things.

Styles can cross over, and the only limitation is your imagination.

So, Virgil Abloh was very successful in his lifetime after being born in 1980 and going on to graduate with a Civil Engineering degree in 2002, gaining a Master's in Architecture in 2006, founding his own Off-White fashion label in 2013, and becoming the artistic director at Louis Vuitton in 2018.

Those were all the highlights of his life that led to him being such a successful and influential fashion designer before sadly passing away in 2021.

A quick check then before we move on.

Which of these would a fashion designer design? Would it be a, electronic devices, b, buildings or c, clothing? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said clothing.

Exactly, fashion designs are interesting.

Clothing and accessories that go with that as well.

Well done if you got that right.

Virgil Abloh was known for mixing styles and t-shirts are something that are usually parts of streetwear or sportswear.

I would like you to use your imagination to create your own design on this t-shirt.

I'd like you to try and include some unusual elements.

So, I'd like you to try and include colours or designs that are from other styles in of fashion, so not usually associated with streetwear or sportswear.

I'd like you to try and include something unexpected.

So, something you wouldn't normally find on a t-shirt.

And I would like you to try and include an accessory, so something that you can add on, such as a ring or a bag or a watch.

Something that you would not normally find attached to a t-shirt necessarily.

So by choosing those three different elements, you'll be really changing the style of a t-shirt, just like Virgil Abloh would've done.

Pause the video while you have a go at this task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? Did you let your imagination run wild with mixing up those styles on your t-shirt? Hopefully you did.

Sam has created her own design on the t-shirt.

You can see here she's saying she added two smart neck ties, which are usually worn with a shirt or a suit.

She added those onto the t-shirt.

And she also puts a zip up pocket at the bottom to put things in.

So, she's really mixing up those styles there of sportswear with smart business wear, as well as some utility wear there as well with that pocket.

Well done if you managed to complete that task.

Let's move on to the next part of the lesson.

In this part of the lesson, we'll be looking at hat design in particular.

So, a hat is an accessory that we'll be looking at in a little bit more detail.

Fashion designers design all types of clothing and accessories, but some designers do specialise in just one area.

Designers who design, make and, sell hats are called milliners.

That's one of our key words.

So, a milliner is someone who specifically focuses on designing and making hats.

A hat is any kind of item of dress that is worn on the head.

Hats come in lots of different styles.

You may already be thinking of some now as we talk about them.

We can have a baseball cap, a visor, a fez, a top hat, a beret, a straw hat, a bucket hat.

Can you think of any more? Talk to your partner or your table.

How many more hats styles can you think of? Pause the video while you have a think.

Welcome back.

How many different hat styles did you manage to think of? There are lots and lots that you could have chosen.

Now, hats are used for different purposes.

Sometimes, they're worn for special occasions.

Sometimes, they're worn as protection, for example, from the sun.

Sometimes, they're worn for safety.

Sometimes, they're worn as part of a costume.

Sometimes, they're to keep us warm.

And sometimes, they're just worn purely for fashion to make us look good.

Different countries and cultures have their own styles of hats as well.

So, you may see different styles of hats like this one in China.

Traditional hats that have been around for hundreds of years in some countries, like this traditional hat found in Wales.

Hats that are parts of a country's costume or celebration like these ones found in Spain.

And traditional hats that are worn every day, like these ones often seen in India.

Some traditional hats, like I say, do date back for hundreds and hundreds of years.

There are three main parts to a hat that we need to think about when we are thinking about how a hat is made.

There's a crown, which is that top part.

A side panel or band, which gives the hat its height and its structure.

And then a brim, which is often goes around the bottom of the hat.

A brim or peak, sometimes known as a visor, extends out from the hat.

And its job is to shield the face and the neck usually from the sun.

Sometimes, it can be from the rain.

There we can see an example of a peak of or a visor on a baseball cap.

And those are all examples of a brim, which extends all the way around the hat, which is slightly different to the one on the baseball cap, which just extends out at the front.

A hat can be made of different combinations of those three parts.

A kulfi, for example, is a type of hat that has a crown and a side band, but it has no brim.

So, there's no part that extends out from the hat to shield the face.

A baseball cap has side panels and a peak, so there's no crown that is a separate part.

Those side panels are connected and joined at the top to form the crown.

So, it doesn't have the three individual parts that we saw on that first example.

And a visor is a type of hat that has a band, which is the side panel and a peak at the front, but it has no crown at all.

So it's open at the top, as you can see there.

Quick check then before we move on.

Which of these hats does not have a brim? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said a, the first there is does not have a brim.

It has the crown and it has that side panel, but there's no part that extends out to provide that protection.

Well done if you got that right.

Now, some hats are shaped from one piece of material when they're made.

And traditionally in the past, Milliners has used a shaped wooden block called a hat block to make the hat into the right shape.

And they could do that by hand or they could also use a machine like this one here.

So this is a hat shaping machine that was used in the Hatworks factory in Stockport in England as far back as the Victorian time.

So, traditional hat making was often done like that.

And you can still find traditional milliners who still work in those similar ways as they did in the past.

A milliner will choose the shape and style of a hat based on the way it will be used, so its function or its job.

So if we think about this style of hats, a visor style hat that has a band and a peak, but no crown.

Why do you think that those types of hats are often used in sports? Pause the video or you have a think or talk to your partner.

Come back when you've got an idea.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well, sports are often played outside.

So, this hat would help to shield the face from the sun because it has that peak at the front, but it also allows heat to escape from the top because it has no crown, which would also help you to cool down if you are overheating as well.

So, there's a couple of reasons why it's often used in sporting activities.

Well done if you said something like that.

Now, milliners need to think about how the hat will be used when they're choosing which material to use to make it as well.

So for example, they might choose wool if they want to make a hat that's going to be used to keep somebody warm.

They might use straw because it's lightweight and provides protection from the sun if they were going to make a sun hat.

And they might choose a cardboard material to use if they want to build structure for a hat that is going to be part of a costume, such as that magician's hat there.

Some hats are made just to be fashionable or decorative.

So, the material that's used or chosen for those types of hats are chosen just for aesthetic reasons.

So, that's just for the way it looks.

So, you can see here's some examples of some very fancy hats that might be worn for special occasions for fancy dress or as part of a costume.

And decorations are often added to improve the aesthetics, the look of these types of hats as well.

So, you can see there we've got some gems. We've got some trinkets and feathers and things that have been added on just to, just for the way that they look.

A quick check then before we move on.

What do we call someone who designs and makes hats? Was it an architect, a milliner, or an artist? Pause the video and have a think Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said it was a milliner.

Exactly, a milliner is someone traditionally who makes, designs and makes hats.

Well done if you got that right.

At the start of the design process, milliners will have lots and lots of different ideas for different types of hats that they can make.

They might not use most of the ideas that they come up with, but trying out different ideas helps them to see what might work best and might spark another idea as well.

One way to come up with lots of different ideas very quickly is to do lots of rapid sketches.

And rapid sketches are quick drawings to show a different idea, but it doesn't go into too much detail.

So rapid sketches do not need to be neat or finished drawings, because they can be improved or developed later on.

So, it's just a quick idea of the thoughts that you might have going round in your head.

It can be quite tricky to quickly when you're trying to draw your ideas, especially if you're not used to doing it.

So, we have some top tips for being able to work like this to come up with lots of ideas.

It's a good idea to set a timer and decide what you're going to complete in that time.

So if you set yourself 30 seconds to complete one drawing or a minute to complete a few drawings, it gives you a focus of how long and it helps you to work a little bit quicker as well because that time is counting down.

You can also try using different pens.

Now, sometimes it can be easier to draw more quickly with an ink or felt tip pen than it can if you're using a pencil or coloured pencils.

So, try out different pens and see which ones help you to draw quickly.

And another top tip is to not worry about any details of the design or the idea that you're having or trying to make it look right.

So, it doesn't matter if it doesn't look in proportion or one bit is too big or too small.

That can always be fixed later on.

So, that leads us onto the task in the second part of the lesson.

So first of all, I would like you to use that rapid sketching techniques, that quick drawing to help you generate some new hat designs.

So, we're going to use the timer.

So, you're gonna set yourself a timer for one minute and you're going to work on one hat design for that whole minute.

Then, you will reset the timer and work on a whole new design.

Can be on the same page, on the same piece of paper, but a new hat design maybe in a different style, different shape.

Try to make it completely different to the first one that you did.

And once the minute is up, you will repeat that until you have six different hat designs.

So remember, it doesn't matter if they don't look correct.

They don't look the right shape or size.

Just try and get the ideas that you've got in your head onto the paper, making sure you've got everything down in that one minute.

And remember, you can mix up styles just like Virgil Abloh would've done.

So, you can take two different hat designs and mash them together.

Pause the video while you complete that task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? It can be a bit tricky at first, but hopefully you have your six designs on your piece of paper now ready for the second task.

So, I would like you to choose your favourite design from those six that you did in the first part of this task, and I want you to develop it further.

So, this is why it didn't matter how good it looked in that first task because you're going to develop it now.

I want you to consider the aesthetics, so that's how it looks.

And I want you to think about the colours that you could use, any decoration you can add to complete your design.

So, the only limit is your imagination.

You can include anything on that hat design that you want.

You may already have included some of the those things, but I want you to develop it further.

Add some colour, add some extra details as well.

Pause the video while you complete that task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? Well, Alex managed to generate six new ideas for hat designs, and he chose his favourite one to develop further.

He's telling us here that he combined the crown and band from a top hat with the brim from a bucket hat.

So, he's used that technique that Virgil Abloh was famous for of mixing up those styles.

He's also telling us that he wanted the aesthetics to be colourful and fun, so he added some flowers onto the design as well.

Well done if you also managed to complete that task.

Well, we have come to the end of this lesson now.

We've found out lots of information about fashion designers and milliners in particular who focus on hat designs.

You got to let your imagination run wild while you're designing some brand new hat styles.

We've learn a few things along the way though that Virgil Abloh was a trained architect, who became a famous fashion designer.

We've learned that hat designers are actually called milliners.

We've learned that milliners must consider the function or the job of a hat when they are making their design choices.

We've learned that milliners also consider the aesthetics, that's the looks of the hats, when they're thinking about their design ideas.

And we've also been thinking about how evaluating hat designs can influence our own personal designs.

So by looking at all the different hat designs that are already out there, that can help us make some design choices for our own designs as well.

Thank you for joining me for this lesson.

I hope to see you again soon.

Bye for now.