Work Placement with Omar Kashoura

Firstly I would like to apologise for how extremely overdue this post is. I intended to write a weekly blog detailing my day to day account of all my duties and experiences, but found that my days became very busy and the blogging never happened - so for that I apologise. I did on the other hand take notes to remind me of all that I learnt while working with by far the most gifted and interesting person I have ever had the good fortune to work with - Omar Kashoura!

My work placement started on the 4.1.11 at 10:30am (my kind of start time) which worked out lovely for me because it gave me a chance to organise my mornings as to what time to get up, how long does it take me to get to work etc etc. Of course I was 30 minutes early for my first day as I could no longer wait any longer to leave for work.

On arrival I was met by Omar himself. Omar is a very busy, hectic character who seems unable to stay still for more then 10 seconds but is on the other hand very warm and polite, full of smiles and good conversion. I instantly found him easy to converse with and felt very welcomed into his studio/world. I was then introduced to Paulo his studio manager, a strikingly handsome man with a chiseled physique and beautiful Brazilian accent. He to was interning but at a much higher level - he was already gifted at what he does but went all the way through our fashion education system so that he could have the qualifications to back him. I was then introduced to Kirstie, also a degree intern, she was from a London University and in her first year - not that you could tell - she had already been there a few weeks before me and I felt like she new everything, she nicely bestowed her knowledge of the studio and Omar's working ways over to me very early on so I felt like I had been there for as long as she had.

The studio was very busy but self- contained and surprisingly very well organised. It was between two floors, on the top floor was the entrance and more like Omar's office space. There is the giant desk that doubles up as a second pattern cutting table, a wall length shelving unit with all the fabric one could need - from everything form linings and bondings to all calico/toiling fabrics that could create any and every garment one could dream of - to all previous collections fabric including his very own printed fabrics right up to all the current collections fabrics in use. Above these were draws dedicated to zips, buttons, buckles, trimmings, finishings, threads, fabric paints etc etc etc. All had their rightful place, so that it made it very easy to locate a particular object and therefore cut down numerous hours of searching for things - Omar always said that you should always been extra organised, putting things back from where they come from especially while working in a small work space under each others feet - he knew where absolutely everything was in that studio.

Downstairs was the main studio, and where we spent most of our time. As Omar pretty much works 24/7, in the studio is a bed so that when he does stop for a whole hour or two he has somewhere that he can rest and can always jump straight back to work. You are also met with rails of clothes, shelves full of interesting and strangely fascinating books, stacks of magazines, rails of pattern blocks, sewing machines and over-lockers, mannequins and of course the main pattern cutting table. Downstairs, as well, is also the kitchen - the main thing I loved about working at Omar's is that we all took turns in cooking a freshly made lunch for each other. We all sat around the pattern cutting table on high stools and ate, drunk tea and talked about everything un-work related - it was brilliant.

When it came to work, there were no duties that I did not get to be apart of. My first duty was cutting 40 150cm x 3cm strips for bonding, from this I went on to pattern cutting and learning a few tricks of the trade for wool and jersey, and in fact general tricks of the trade when it comes to cutting out fabric with tailoring shears - did you know that when cutting, if you are right handed you should cut clockwise for a closer, starighter and overall better cut? Nope, I didn't know that but it's true - stops your cutting looking like it has been cut out with a fork!! I also learnt that in the industry you NEVER cut on a fold. It is never as accurate on the under piece, so her I learnt my second lesson - how to read the patterns! 'Cut One' means you cut one of the pattern piece, 'Cut Two' means you cut two of the pattern piece but on the same side, as if layed next to each other and 'Cut Pair' means you cut one on one-side, flip it and the cut one on the otherside. Sounds pretty basic and things I should already know but then I suppose this is what comes of never working in the industry.

I learnt a lot about pattern cutting with Omar. I feel that in education we are kinda of taught the neccessaries and that the little things kinda of get over-looked and you end up having your own way of doing things and therefore never really know the correct way of doing them. They may be small things but I always like to know that I am doing things correctly and not just doing it. For instance, always marking the wrong side of the fabric with a red cross so that you and others always can tell instantly what side it the wrong side, how to properly cut on the bias and why and when cutting a centre back piece on paper/card to draw half the piece, cut out to the centre line fold over and then cut around to get the second half. I never knew the proper way to cut with Jersey. Such as steaming the fabric first, really steaming it so shrinks up, laying paper underneath the fabric, properly laying it out so that it is perfectly flat, and pinning it to the paper; having the pattern copied onto paper with wide edges and the pin (very closely) to the fabric and paper - therefore reducing how much the fabric can move. It was here that I also learnt that when pinning if you are not repeatedly stabbing yourself in the finger every single time you put a pin in the fabric - then you are not pinning right. This is why I know longer have fingerprints and instead have some lovely shinny tips!!!

Another of my many duties was dropping off and picking up. I travelled quite widely around London going to many factories, seamstresses, knitwear designers, button emporiums, dry cleaners and specialist coat makers - carrying everthing from pattern pieces to 10 kilo bags of wool that where about the same size as me. At one point I was carrying this giant bag on my back through the pouring rain through Bethnal Green and I swear I looked like a human snail! I had a talent of making it suddenly down pour whenever I had to go out. Even with this I enjoyed my travels around London. Omar would give you clear details of who you were going to see, what with and what to discuss with them once you were there (I found it hilarious telling these large factories how to make things - so ironic!) I would be given a map and a direction to head in - the rest I would have to figure out myself. It was very exciting and I felt immense joy knowing that I could travel around London all by myself and after a few trips out started to recoginse certain areas and almost felt like I blended in with the crowd - I even got a Londoner paced walk.

One of my main duties was the Buyers Manual that went out to Paris with Omar. It is the book that holds everything to do with his Autumn/Winter 2011 Collection from perfectly measured, cut and present fabric samples (which we had to cut out with immense detail and precise accuracy - they had to be perfect) to sizes available and their measurements, fabric content, style of each garment, name of each fabric, colour name and pictures of the front and back of every garment (Omar added the prices later on). Omar stressed to us how important these books were and the buyers that would be looking at these would be the same buyers that would be going to see Burberry, Gucci and Versace. So there was automatically that pressure of knowing that you were up against books from companies that could afford the best photoshopping wizards who's only job would be these books (me and Kirstie would just gulp at the pressure). Of course with all this we tackled every aspect of the book to the perfected standards that Omar wanted and along the way learnt many a new tricks on Photoshop - I now feel quite comfortable and competant on it.

Overall, when it comes to working in the industry I don' think I could of got a better placement. My job role gave me the chance to see all aspects of how to work in the fashion industry and I have learnt so much and mainly got a glimpse of what my future holds. I am very excited to see how it turns out.