Hi! In the last few weeks I moved to Basel and started studying fashion design here, so I've been quite busy. So far I love it! I'm hoping I can blog more regularly about my projects now because I'll really be focused on fashion for the next few years (no more musicals to distract me... for the moment).

The reason I found time to blog is because I'm sick with sinusitis... no fun! But I'm almost better and I can go to school again tomorrow :)

I wanted to share some pictures from my entrance exam to the course, because it was really interesting. The first part was an assignment we had to do at home and send in. We had to film an "autoportrait", no longer than 1 minute. It was really hard to show yourself, what inspires you, what you've worked on in the past all in under 1 minute! We had to send the little film, a one page "essay" about our approach to fashion and some sort of "packaging" for the CD or memorystick.

Above is the pouch I made for the memory stick. I used the same wool fabric I used for the Armor Jacket (I love this stuff!) and leather. I had just watched Moonrise Kingdom and I felt like making something that looks homemade and boy/girl-sout-y or like one of those knicknacks you have left over from your childhood but can't remember where you got it. Also, I only had an afternoon left to make it soooo... and I was sick. But I really liked it! Unfortunately I forgot to go pick it up from the university on the two scheduled days so it is gone forever...

A few weeks after I sent in the autoportrait (I don't feel like showing it because watching myself on film just makes me cringe, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about...) I was informed that I was in the next round! Yay!

The second part was a practical exam that took 2.5 days. The first day was kinda like project runway (no srsly). We had to bring along different materials and then after looking at a huge moodboard full of pictures, we had to create something on a mannequin without sewing! So just glueing, stapling, etc. We also got to use this see-through plastic they gave us.

So yeah, that's what I made. The bottom part is a bit of a mess, but I'm ok with how it turned out. Obviously it's not something I'd wear like this, it's more "art" than wearable. Plus, just like the pouch above, this thing is longe gone in the garbage...

The second day we had to photograph what we'd made, and in the afternoon it was time to draw! I was more nervous about this part. But it was ok! There were two models and and first we only had like 1, 2 or 4 minutes to draw them, then we had more, 8 or 10, the longest was 18 minutes I think. Then we had to pick our 8 favorites, rank them and turn all of the drawings in. I only photographed the "top 8" and these three are my favorites:

The last half day of the exam was the written part. It wasn't fashion history or anything, more about our thoughs on fashion, where it's heading, our favorite and least favorite works of art/design/music.

I think it's worth mentioning that sewing skills weren't required to be accepted to the program. Also, we didn't have to send in a portfolio (we could take one along to the interview if we wanted to), the first step of the application was really just that 1 minute video and it's packaging. Pretty smart I think, because making a video like that forces you to create something new, and it takes additional effort apart from putting together a portfolio, and that extra effort might already "weed out" applicants that aren't really passionate about the subject. Plus looking through 1 minute videos is faster than looking through hundreds of portfolios. They let 50 applicants attend the exam, and now we're 23 students.

So many people were surprised to hear that the exam was so thorough, they'd be like "what? for fashion design?" - Yeah man, for fashion design. I think it was good to have such a long exam, it helped me get a feel for the school, and it just seemed like a place I'd enjoy studying at. So far I'm right!