Final Assessment

The images below are the outcome of Laila's final assessment creating my final design i was very happy with the final outcome. 

I feel my partner Laila took direction well after discussions and practices of the final look. She appeared to really have an understanding of what I was trying to create within the hour and a half she had to complete the look.  I was very happy with the final outcome of the assessment and feel she really brought my look to life. While in the assessment, she took her time to make sure every aspect was done perfectly and to the standard she had practised it to without ever having to revert back to the step by step instructions. I found her time management was very well managed, often looking at the clock to keep track of where she was within the creation process. Because of this Laila had completed the whole look within an hour and 15 minutes, she then used the remaining time to make sure everything was in place. She did this by securing the hair thoroughly and making sure the makeup covered any imperfections while further using her initiative to bring the white foundation down onto the body for the portrait photographs. Although I did find that Laila could have blended the contour line with the blusher to create more of a seamless effect. Also she could have added more bronzer to the contour of the cheek and socket line to create more of an impact that would be my only criticism. Laila’s overall practical skill was excellent, particularly within the hair design which created exactly what I had imagined it to look like, a New Elizabethan design. 

Final Assesment Instructions

Step 1: The Back Section  

1.       First Section the hair from just slightly behind the ear and bring to the front to clip out of the way ( this hair will previously be crimped)

2.       Taking the back section using the pin tail comb section the hair diagonally across the head leaving an even amount of hair on each side, with the bottom section clip out of the way.

3.       Starting from the far right hand side of the head begin to French plait following around the side of the head and bringing around at the bottom making sure the hair is pulled tight at each section.

4.       When the hair has run out in the first section begin to take hair from the other diagonal section you had clipped out the way tip the head down and plait upwards to the crown of the head.

5.       When the hair had run out keep plaiting then tie off with a clear band and pin into place making sure all pins are hidden.

Step 2: The Triangular Props.

1.       Middle part the front section.

2.       Taking the previously crimped hair plait two small anchors for the prop to sit on towards the front of the head near the ear, and pin into place.

3.       Pin the prop to the plait with the bun pins securely into place.

4.       Back comb the back of the hair that will cover the prop, place the hair over till the prop is covered and pin into place at the back.

5.       If there is and loose hairs that are too small to pin pull out of the way to the back that will be hidden by the fringe.

6.       Hair spray fully!

Step 3: Finalizing- accessories

1.       Clip the fringe at the crown of the head in the section that the head band will sit on top.

2.       Apply all diamonds to the front structure being careful not to knock the props, and apply the leaf to the middle of the head pinning into place.

3.       Put the head band onto the middle of the head and pin into place to stop slipping. Again hair spray the whole structure. Make sure all pins are hidden.  

Creating Accessorize & Fringe

I created the leaf for the center of the design above i got a real leaf and painted it white and applied diamonds down the center.

clip in fringe 

I brought a synthetic fringe that you could use heat on, after deciding that i would crimp the whole front section of the hair i needed the fringe to blend, i crimped the hair in section then placed it and cut it to the style i wanted. Within my initial deign the fringe was more geometric and different sections were different length but i decided to keep the fridge all one length as i thought the look may be to busy if i cut the fringe. 

The foam props i had previously made 

Creating the Head Piece

when creating the head piece initially i had to stick card board on the back of the structure to make sure it held in place, when i decided i would use this in my final design in assessment i wanted the structure to look effortless in hold on its own. Seema had suggested PVA glue or a strong hold hair spray, i wanted to experiment to make sure it would stand.
Further i also adapted the design of the head piece to fully create the effect my final deign had the plaits going around the whole  of the head to create this wreath like feel, i added two more plaits worn around the back of the head to do this.

I bought a material head band so that the wool would stick onto it easily compared to the metal one i had started with, i began by created a structure that all joined i began getting smaller pieces of string and tieing the plaits together at various points along the surface, so all the plaits joined. I also tied the plaits to the head band so extra security. 

I began playing around with the pva glue covering the back in the glue i left this for a day and the glue wasn't strong enough so the structure would just flop over. I then used the hair spray but began to realize i needed something a little stronger but still didn't want to stick anything on the back of the head band. I came up with the idea of using something to skewer through the woolen structure i looked around my room and decided to break up some hangers and try that this worked well i then tied them in place at points so they were secure and thoroughly hair sprayed this then stood up perfectly. As i the bottom of the design was sitting behind the neck i didn't want this to be structured so i just left this loosely tied. 

Partner Laila's Practice of Final Design

I first talked through will laila the look and showed her my final hair charts (the final altered one for the back from after this session is seen below), while going through how to create each section we did make some alterations to adapt the back section onto my hair and using crimping to create a thicker base to work with at the front of the head.

When practicing the back of the hair design we realized that i didn't have as much hair as the girl i had practiced my idea on so we had to come up with a design that would work better on my hair, i decided to create a double plait around the head to give the same effect and pinning the smaller plait in the middle this didn't looks as strange as the design we previously tried to replicate. In the final assessment laila will make sure the pins are hidden and i will provided her with the correct colored pins.

Laila seamd confident when creating the french plait and the time for her to complete this was in under 15 minutes although this was her first time at creating the look. When she Practiced the design again after it only took her 10 mins to complete the whole back section.

With the front of the hair i created to triangular props made from sponge and covered in black tights for laila to experiment with, they will be the same props for the final assessment. With our first try at the front of the hair we came across another issue as i have a head band the props have to sit very far forward meaning that she can only section a certain amount of hair from just in front of the ear. This then meant that the hair was not thick enough to cover the whole prop this is when i decided to crimp the hair as from my final design idea anyway i had initially wanted the front to by crimped but it was not until the crimping workshop i realized how well this would work on the front section. After laila had crimped my hair covering the prop was much easier and more time efficient though i need to make sure for my final assessment i get bun pins as this will help hold the prop in place better. Laila and i have decided she will crimp my hair before hand to save time in the assessment.  

I feel after this session laila is confident with my design and feels as though she is able to carry out all elements of the design well and in the time she has. We will be meeting up early morning of assessment day to practices and communicate the design as a recap.

Presentation feedback

Presentation feedback from Seema: > Very Impressed with idea, took breath away> Try incorporating wool in final design, maybe try using wire for strength to hold up the structure. 

I thought the presentation went well and when getting the good feedback about the woolen head piece i began to really picture an idea of the look in my head further incorporating this in with my makeup designs which have taken inspiration from tribal war makeup similarly to how the Elizabethans would paint on their faces to be seen as more wealthy etc... furthermore this will also save time in dyeing extensions and more time on communicating with laila on how to carry out the design. Although i will need to experiment on using either glue or a strong hold hair spray or even wire to make the structure stand on its own. 

I need to experiment further with this and also create the final hair charts and a step by step explanation on how laila my partner will carry out the design. 

Final Experimentation Process

I was planning on buying synthetic hair extensions but wanted something i could practice with in the mean time i thought about using wool as it was similar to hair and i could work with it in the way i would have done with my extensions, i created the structure similarly to in my initial design image and recreated the different colours within the plaits to see what effect this had. although i wool wouldn't stand up by itself i had to add cardboard to the back, i like the textural effect this has and i worked well in allowing my to gain a better understanding of how the other components within the hair style would work with the head band in the middle.  

When testing the front section i took on board the comments sema gave me when choosing my final design about how i would create the triangular effect at the front rather than the more rounded structure i had created when testing initially. I tried to tease the hair into a triangular shape using pins and a sock stuffing the tights so one end had more in creating a similar shape, as i couldn't get hold of any foam which was the material sema suggested i use. I would like to experiment using foam as i think this would hold and stay allot better as the sock seemed to be quite heavy in the hair and i had to use allot of pins to hold the prop up, furthermore i need to make sure that in my final hair charts it is clear the prop has to sit further forward neither to the ear and hair line as otherwise the headband will not sit properly.

When testing the back styling of the hair i had initially in my practice plaited lots of sections of the hair and wound them around although this created a textured look i felt it looked to messy and it was quite heavy and falling down. I improvised with the hair and found french plaiting the hair within this way created a lovely textured plaited shape, but still looks neat and tidy unlike my previous practice this also was very time efficient for my partner laila to do in our final assessment. 

I love the texture with the hair plaited and the woolen plaited head band, they work well together. and think that when my extensions arrive i want to experiment with the colour to look similar to the colours within the wool i used. 

FINAL DESIGN

In class we presented our three final design ideas with our final development this was the main image that most people liked as it was the most contemporary with its own style while still incorporating the Elizabethan techniques and feel to the look. This is also personally my favorite design i feel that i have incorporated all aspects from our initial research and practical lessons creating a design using the Elizabethan techniques we have been shown. 

The design i feel represents the new Elizabethan the large structure as used by queen Elizabeth to represent power and wealth while the layered plaited structure takes elements from today's Afro Caribbean culture of which i have previously researched furthermore the geometric fringe influenced through my research of the tight precises feel of the Elizabethan looks, designing a style that mixes two cultures recent and pasted and creates a new experimental look.

Crimping [Technical Workshop]

Step 1: Section the hair starting from the bottom working your way up the head, clip the other hair out of the way. Depending on the hair type if it’s in bad condition or rapidly died use a lower heat.

Step 2: crimp starting close to the scalp and work your way down the section. And repeat all over, once crimped you can create a candy floss texture by brushing the crimp out.

I liked the crimping workshop although I have heard of crimpers I didn't realize what nice texture and versatile structure it gave the hair this also made the hair very easy to work with afterwards as it made the hair a lot thicker to wrap around the prop and held in place easier when pinning. I liked the final look was very simple but effective. 

Padding [Technical work]

Step 1; to make a prop stuff a pair of tights to the shape and size desired, use black for dark hair and nude tights for blonde hair, you can stuff them with either couch role or a wadding.

Step 2; section the front section away from the back making sure you leave enough hair to cover the whole prop if they have very thin hair leave more to cover. Plait or French plait the section of that you want the prop to sit on to create a strong base and to stop the prop from slipping down the head.

Step 3; Pin the prop onto the plait piercing through the tights for more support wrap hair around the prop and pin at the back pinning into the prop again to hide them.

Or

Step 1; starting at the top of the section of hair role the prop down into the hair and pin at the back

I found this technique really easy and quick although i found i didn't have a thick enough section to cover the whole prop.I liked creating the patterns with the curled hair onto of the prop structure and will look to use this technique within the final design as it would create a large structure quickly. 

Testing Design ideas 'Wild'

I used the technique we learnt in class to create the large heart structure on either side rolling a sock into the hair and pining in place, i began pin curling the loose hair at the back but ran out of pins so had to stop, but this effect would continue over the whole structure, i further began experimenting with objects to use as shown in my design using necklaces and a belt i feel gave it a more contemporary feel.

Testing Design ideas 'Plaits'

I experimented using my hair extensions plating then and wrapping them around my head pinning in place, i was testing out attaching the hair to the hair band as i had previously looked at but i would have to use glue so if i decided on this i would buy a new set and glue them creating a larger structure. I also would use geisha pins to create the crimped effect with the front section of hair. although i like the more curved structure of the fringe almost like loose pin curls. 

Experimentation of hair techniques for image designs

In today's lesson we got shown how to create crimped, fizzed sections of hair also wet and volume pin curls. I loved the texture you could achieve with such a simple technique using the geisha pins to twist the hair around in small figures of eight then using heat on them before leaving to cool.Furthermore how you can then manipulate the hair into large structures easily. This idea i would love to incorporate into one of my ideas such as the front of my large plaited structure, using this as the basis for the hair texture and structuring the hair as shown in my deign into a more geometric shape for the fringe.

We also began testing out how we would actually achieve our looks onto our models i began looking at one of my favorite looks and how i could plait the hair into a similar structure shown in my planning images i began using french plaits around the head but found that the exposed scalp looked more harsh and tight i wanted the plaits to look layered i then began plaiting the sections of hair and twisting them into a circular shape around the head as seen above. When talking to Seema she created a similar look when working she used an Alice band and used hair extension sticking on the sections individually building up this structure as seen in her image below. I would like to experiment using this technique to create the larger structure but as for creating the design for the back of the hair this technique could work quite well if hiding the pins.  

http://seemachopra.com/Volker-Koch

When working on the plaited hair i found the outcome was reminiscent of Afro Caribbean ladies hair with all the corn rows also finding also similarities within the styling in Seema's image. I find there hair styling very inspirational using similar techniques as the Elizabethans but in more of a experimental and fun way.