When I joined her she had already designed and constructed a few of the garments, so she threw me straight in to helping out with pleating, pin tucking and aiding with the construction of others. I was the only person there to help that day, as she worked from a make shift studio at her parents house, so there was little room. I could see how hard she had worked to start her business and build it up to be making her first collection, she seemed really excited. When she told me about how she'd gone about setting up Beau Couture, I was really interested as it made me consider the possibilities of doing something like this myself in the future. I could see how stressed she was over it all going to plan, but also the enjoyment she still got from doing it.
I went for at least one day a week for the duration of the holidays, so over all about 2 months. I helped with many things from smocking, pin tucking and pleating, to toiling, cutting out patterns and garment construction. I enjoyed all these different elements, as it showed we a wide variety of areas and processes that have to be taken to create a collection.
Whist I was there I also had the opportunity to go with Natasha to a photoshoot. It was a great rush, when I arrived that morning Natasha had heard back from London Fashion Week and wanted imagery of her collection. So we had to hurriedly find models, a photographer and a location. Thankfully the people at the Enterprise Pavillion at AUCB were a great help and gave us the number and address of where we could find a photographer and a studio. When we got there we had to sort through all the clothes and iron them all, before dressing the models. Natasha was very pleased with the location as it was in a basement, so the walls were peeling and unmaintained which contrasted nicely with the raw calico that would be photographed against it. The photoshoot was a great experience as, although a smaller scale to those for bigger fashion houses, etc, I was able to see the process of dressing and styling the models, positioning the models and seeing what looked best in the camera, then the finished product. Although a busy and hectic day the photographs came out really well, and only needed a few little touch ups before being able to send them off.
In the last few weeks of helping Natasha she was organising a manufacturer to be able to help her with making the garments once she got orders. She had chosen a local manufacturer called Remploy, who employ people with disabilities and learning difficulties to give them a job in the community. I was lucky enough to go in with Natasha one afternoon where we were teaching the employees how to smock and pintuck, ready for when she needed garments to be made. Although sometimes it was difficult for them to grasp, they were all progressing well and were mastering there disciplines fairly quickly.
Beau Couture's main focus is using sustainable materials and ethical fashion. This threw up many difficulties when sourcing materials and finding local manufacturing facilities. But it also taught me that if you research well enough you can get past these hurdles, find places and produce something that coincides with your original aims and ideas.
Overall my time working with Natasha was really enjoyable, as I got to do a bit of everything and see the pros and cons of starting up your own business. It also gave me an insight in to what processes you must go through to make your own collection and present it to buyers, as well as the help you can get from around you, for example the Enterprise Pavillion at University.
www.beau-couture.co.uk
