Inspirational Displays & Activities
Creative Studies in Fashion 7900 , part
2 , Silver medal of excellence .Before
turning to fashion Karine spent 8 years working on cruise ships.
Karine
started stitching when she was preparing to get married. She searched in
vain for a perfect wedding dress and decided the only solution was to
make her own ! Karine believes she can understand women's lifestyle
demand and can " capture their body on pattern " Her designs
are " real clothes for real people "
Future Publishing September 1999
The world of high fashion and
haute couture is the destination for one Norwich couple planning a mid -
life career change. Their backgrounds are not what you might expect for
a pair of budding designers. Scott Farley reports.
Previous experience as a
soldier in the parachute regiment may not sound like the ideal
preparation for a career as a fashion designer. Nor would a career as a
cruise ship officer or a background as a builder. Yet this is the
unlikely curriculum vitae shared by would be style gurus Karl and
Karine. The husband and wife team from Norwich decided on a complete change
of direction after their marriage and are now learning the tricks of the
trade.
Karine 39 completed a city and
guilds fashion course at city college in July and Karl , also 39 is due
to start studying for the same qualification this month.
It was preparations for the
couples wedding ceremony which proved the catalyst for the career
switch. After searching in vain for the perfect dress Karine decided
there was only one solution - to make her own.
She met the challenge and
gained the confidence to go on and design and make several outfits for
the big day. " I had never sewn a stitch before in my life
until my wedding, " she said " But I made everything - my own
dress, the bridesmaids and my husbands suit . " my family
were dreading it. They thought " oh no , what are we
going to wear ". " But I couldn't find what I was
looking for so I started with just a bra and hung bits of fabric
on it. Then once I had made my own dress I had the confidence to
do the others. "
Before turning to fashion
Karine spent 10 years working on cruise ships and it was during a visit
to Puerto Rico that she first encountered her future husband and
business partner - although she failed to realize it at the time. In
1982, during the Falklands Crisis, her ship was commandeered to help
transport British troops. " we were talking about it and we realized
Karl must have passed by me. " we met properly six years ago
at a bar in Drayton. It is an amazing coincidence. " Although a management
role on a cruise ship did not exactly encourage her flair for design,
the job did offer the chance to travel the world and observe different
cultures. Such experiences helped generate plenty of ideas which
Karine has incorporated in her designs to date. They proved
so successful she won a prestigious City and Guilds Silver Medal for her
efforts at college.
" I have been to countries
where men have never worn trousers so I had no pr-conceived ideas about
fashion and I found design was really easy. " I would see
everything from the glamour at captains dinners to casual beach parties
so I had an overflow of ideas. " if I had chosen to do design
at 16 I don't think I would have had any and I see that as a problem
with some of the younger designers. The master plan now is
to bring the ideas to life through a combination of both Karine and Karl's
talents. Despite the apparent irrelevance of his previous training
in the parachute regiment, and as a builder , Karl believes his
experience will actually equip him quite well for the technical side of
the business. While Karine is the creative force her husband will
help with fabric cutting and material shaping . She
said " when we set up in business we are hoping to prove a
good combination."
Evening
News October
1998
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Congratulations on receiving your City & Guilds medal for excellence.
Our gold , silver and bronze medals
prove that you are an exceptional candidate and have achieved an
extremely high standard of performance in your qualification.
You have been awarded this medal because
your overall performance was amongst the very best of those entered for
your subject. An achievement to be proud of. City
& Guilds 1998
Milan , Paris , Rome ...
now haute couture is on the catwalk in our fashionable city.
Sea Theme : Karine models
a stretch catsuit in sea green and blue .
The spotlights were on them and
their designs were held up for public scrutiny.
Fashion students from City
College held a show at The Assembly House on Thursday and modeled
clothes they had carefully created themselves. Some modeled hats ,
others jackets and trousers and some wore whole suits they had designed
as part of a course.
Third year student Karine hopes
to start her own fashion business next year. She modeled a green stretch
suit and her one year old son modeled a 1950's outfit !
News desk Evening
News July 1997
Trend-setting designers Karine
and Ricci are all ready to party as they celebrate their college's
annual fashion show.
Around 50 City College Norwich
students modeled their own garments, carefully created over the
past year , at a catwalk show at the Assembly House , Norwich ,
yesterday. Creative studies co - coordinator Ruth Hughes explained
: " They are all part-time, whether they're studying for a City and
Guilds in fashion or machine knitwear or an A level in textiles. "
Among the classic trouser
suits, the chic shirts. the wide skirts . the colorful cardigans and
patterned waistcoats were several innovative pieces.
But while many of the styles
did dare to be different, the emphasis was on the quality of
manufacture. " Pattern cutting and production are just as
important as design, " said Ms Hughes . W we make sure they know
the basics."
Eastern Daily
Press July 1994
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From glitzy evening wear to
stylish rain wear, the cities future fashion designers have put their
work up for show.
Students from City College
Norwich took center stage at the Assembly House last week and parade
their careful but stunning creations.
All the clothes were made as
part of A level , City and Guilds and GNVQ courses at the college.
And all were modeled by the students themselves, friends or family.
Many of the students plan to
start up their own design businesses at the end of the course.
As well as those pictured ,
there were some wonderful theatrical styles. Garath Lucas head of
creative arts at City College Norwich , said " It has been a great occasion
- a wonderful opportunity for our students to show their family and
friends what they have achieved and to try out their designs on the
public in the setting of a full-scale fashion show. Many of these
students will now be going on to careers in the fashion business. "
Evening News
July 1998
The ingredients are clay and clever
colors, a few sparklers , strips of leather or suede and plenty of
imagination.
The result is jewelry which is bold,
distinctive , individual and very definitely different.
Its the work of Karine a Norfolk woman
who has used her skills to launch a new business called ARTWEAR.
Her ceramic jewelry has its roots in her family background in Pottery.
Karine's jewelry is large with shapes
which often swirl in waves or take floral forms. It's colorful and it's made to be worn as a decorative fashion statement.
She makes rings , earrings and brooches
as well as more unusual items such as the " Sling - it
". These are large ceramic and crystal brooches attached to
long pearly chains which you wear as you like , perhaps slung diagonally
across the body or twisted , necklace fashion.
Karine also uses her ceramic designs
together with strips of suede and braid to dress up sweaters. The
decorations are detachable for washing. She also works on hats
and ornaments such as mirrors.
She uses modeling clay which she colors
before she shapes it and completes her designs with a host of other
materials and textures.
Karine is currently taking her work to
fashion shows and craft fairs and finding it striking a chord with
people who seek an individual look. She is particularly keen to
make pieces to order to suit both her customers personalities and the
clothes they plan to wear to parties or special occasions.
Her work can be seen at the Christmas
Craft Fair at St Gregory's Pottergate , Norwich , for two weeks from
Monday December 9.
Evening News 1994
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