About this project
I created Belindabilly in 2007 when I was still in school because I just couldn't wait to start. Since then, I have grown a lot and so has the company, but this next step I can't do alone. With the help of Kickstarter, I will create a twelve-look collection for Fall 2012, made completely with organic and fair trade materials. I want to show that eco-friendly fashions are both possible and fashion-forward. The collection will be presented on the runway of Columbia Style Week in Columbia, SC, and I hope to show at the emerging designer competitions at Charleston Fashion Week in Charleston, SC and Jacksonville Fashion Week in Jacksonville, FL.
Producing a twelve piece collection not only takes a lot of time to create - from concept and fabric research to pattern making to sewing prototypes to fittings to sewing final garments - but it also takes a lot of money, especially for organic and fair trade materials. I have already completed the designs, the fabric sourcing and textile design, and will have completed the patterns by the funding deadline. Your Kickstarter funds will be used to purchase and ship the fabrics and supplies for the collection, as well as cover the cost of a sewing assistant and a fit model.
About the collection
This is my fall 2012 collection and is called Night Flight of Dread and Delight, after a surrealist painting by Skunder Boghossian. Though the clothing from this collection is meant to exist in the same dream world as the painting, I also used many details from a Yoruban ceremonial dance garment called the egungun, including the movement of the garments and the more simplistic geometric patterns. The last detail that I added to the collection is a printed wool inspired by a photo of a gold miner splattered by gold mud that was printed in an issue of National Geographic magazine.
Organic and Fair Trade Materials
The fabrics in the collection include an organic wool twill that I will hand-print with water-based inks, an organic and fair trade hemp and silk blend that will also be hand-printed, open knits that I will create from organic wool and cotton yarns, Indian Khadi organic and fair trade cottons dyed and printed with vegetable pigments, hand-woven organic and fair trade Indian yarn-dyed cottons, and finally digitally printed organic cotton fabrics using images from the Boghossian painting.
Rewards
Your pledges aren't charity. You will get exclusive rewards as a thank you for your funds. I will be updating with images of the Kickstarter-only designs of the Belindabilly cards, printed scarf, and a sample of the watercolor illustrations.
Remember, only fully pledged projects get funded, so we appreciate any amount you can give! And tell your friends!
Thank You!
Update: Here are the designs for the $25 pledge - Organic cotton jersey scarf. It measures 7"x42". One side has a digital print used in the collection and the other side is screen printed with a quote from one of the Surealists. This first one is from the writer Andre Breton.
"Objects seen in dreams should be manufactured and put on sale" -Andre Breton
"One Day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened as reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams" -Salvador Dali
This last design is screen printed on both sides rather than a digital print.
"Give me two hours a day of activity and I'll take the other twenty-two in dreams." -Salvador Dali
You may choose any one of these three designs for your $25 pledge.
Update: Here is a sample watercolor illustration for the $50 pledge.
This is just a sample; each illustration will vary in composition and character. You may choose any outfit from the 12 piece collection to be illustrated for your $50 pledge
FAQ
-
1. The fabric itself, totaling at just over $1,000. The most expensive part of the project is the fabric, especially the digitally printed organic cottons at $24.30/yd, and the organic wool twill at $39.75/yd.
2.Shipping costs. Some of the fabrics will come from the U.S. and some from India (where they preserve traditional craft). Each shipment ranges from $10 to $50, plus customs in some cases, and each fabric is coming from a different company.
3.Hiring an assistant seamstress. With a twelve look collection, I will be making about 24 garments, and less than 2 months to sew them start to finish. So, in order to make sure everything is finished on time, I'll need help sewing.
4. Hiring a fit model. In order to make sure the clothing fits well and looks good on a person, I need to have a fit model try on the muslin versions of the garments while I make adjustments.
5. Miscellaneous supply costs. This includes thread, buttons, bias tape, pattern paper, beads, etc.
6. The cost of showing at Columbia Style Week and traveling to Charleston and Jacksonville. I will be driving to all three of these shows to keep costs down, but I will still need gas money. Columbia charges $150 to show on their runway.
7. Each pledge must also pay for its reward. I wouldn't raise any money if I didn't also raise the money to pay for the rewards!
-
The card design is in the video. Check the updates page for more images and photos. More scarf designs will be added before the closing date.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
24
Backers
$2,687
pledged of $2,425 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on November 28.
Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more
A thank you on our Facebook page and a personal email.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
Snail-mailed handwritten note on a Belindabilly designed card.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Printed organic cotton jersey scarf with exclusive design for Kickstarters, plus all of the above
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Original, signed watercolor fashion illustration of one of the looks from the 2012 collection (your choice), plus all of the above.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Invitation to Belindabilly's private wrap party in Raleigh, plus all of the above.
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
Ticket to the runway show and thank you in the designer write-up, plus all of the above
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
Permanent thank you on our website, plus VIP ticket to runway show (includes reserved seat plus one free drink), plus all of the above.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
Your choice of a piece from the collection, custom fit, plus all of the above.
Project By
Has not connected their Facebook account.
I am a young fashion designer and artist. I started Belindabilly as an online one-of-a-kind clothing store while attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since then I have began producing limited edition and seasonal collections, as well as putting my clothing in stores. Though my company is very small, my dreams are big. My goal is to live simply off my fashion line, which is based on the idea that clothing can be both trend-setting and environmentally friendly.
