Blog 7

I want to look at historical influences in this blog.  Historical and cultural influences are strong components in fashion/clothing design.  I deliver a Level One NCEA course at school concerning this very premise, students research their cultural backgrounds, then design and construct a textile outcome which is inspired by it.  It's really interesting, as to the concepts they create.  I'll post some images further on in this blog.

Anyway, historical influences as they relate to some of my beloved CdG's recent collections.........

On the left is Marie Antionnette, wearing panniers, circa 1779.  Panniers originated in the Spanish Court, during the 17th century.  Panniers extended the width of the skirt at the side, leaving the front and back relatively flat.  Don't you think the CdG creations (from F/W 2010 RTW collection) reflect/resemble panniers.....but, in Rei fashion!

What about this one.........

This is a Tudor style.
The sleeves are slashed &
puffs of white taffeta are pulled through
the slashes.

                                                                                                                                                Can you see similar effects on this CdG                                                                                                                                                 creation?  There are openings, through
                                                                                                                                                which material is pulled.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                  

I have come across an interesting web site, which discusses crinoline and pannier influences on contemporary fashion, particularly Comme des Garcons and Yohi Yamamototo.  There are some good images of Rei's infamous "Dress meets Body, Body meets Dress" collection.
The crinoline is an interesting item of historical clothing.  It may be hard to understand it today, but the crinoline was considered a very liberating item of underclothing for women. Prior to the crinoline,  a woman had to wear a considerable number of heavy petticoats to produce the required bell shape.  The crinoline made it a much more "lightweight" affair to achieve that form.
http://agnautacouture.com/2013/06/09/body-modification-in-fashion-crinolines-comme-des-garcons/
Check out part 2 of body modification in fashion, it is fascinating...piercings, tattooing and scarification.
The scarification section reminded me of a student who based her work on this feature.  I have sorted a few images from her folder, as it was quite exciting work she undertook.  The class was working toward a fashion parade event, based on the theme of Africa.

I asked the students to explain their inspiration and influences concerning the theme.  I felt it would help some members of the audience to understand where the garment was coming from.  I have so often been to fashion design events where I overhear people say "I don't get it"

Experimentation & testing going on here...what can be done with fabric that reflects scarification...cool fabric manipulation or modification ideas.

The experimentation has led to the development of a t-shirt with manipulated shapes in the back.   The inspiration is from the fully scarred back seen in the student's explanation of her design.

Making her appearance on the catwalk, right in character, carrying a spear, picked up from Drama dept. props!  The hair and face markings were a nice touch, I thought.

 Here are some images from my class of Yr.11, 2011, and their outcomes concerning design concepts inspired/influenced by their cultural heritage......... (the average age of a Yr. 11 student is 15)

This creation is inspired by an Irish background.  The student wanted to create a shirt dress, and it was a challenging experience for her, but it is still a cool outcome.  She printed the celtic pattern onto the chiffon, which is effective.

This outcome comes from a Korean heritage..Hanbok garment inspiration.  This student had a good feeling for fabrics and how to use them.

 This garment is inspired by a Maori ancestry.  The student has used a Maori patterned fabric for the bodice and skirt hem feature.  I think it is a well balanced design.  I was sorry this particular student did not stay with school, as she had a lot to offer in my subject.

         This is a Pasifika inspiration.   You can see by the screen printed pattern around the skirt.  The student was working with her take on the pulatashi garment.  I think it is very pretty, well composed with the white sleeve and white screen print.  I  imagine this is a very appropriate dress to wear to  Sunday church.

And, here we have a cool hoodie.  This student has screen printed her own design.  Surname on the back, nice font, and on the sleeve is a pasifika image with a rosary bead.  This is a reflection of her ethnic and religious culture...I love it, she did such a good job with her printing.

The first two garments, Irish & Korean, are by 2 students who have gone on to further wonderful design study.  They are now at design school and doing very well.   Check out their web site  www.soarewe.com/blog/
and you'll see some of their work.  If you go to the fashion section, you will see some of the work they designed and created in other Fab. Tech. projects.  It is extremely fab.
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I've finished off a couple of skirts I'd been working on.  One is a black skirt that is inspired by CdG's 2013 S/S RTW collection.  This collection focused on a theme of "crushing" and contained a familiar feature, clothes on clothes or clothes coming out of clothes, which I often have fun with.  The "crushing" I undertook on my skirt was creasing and folding at the hem level.

I cut a very long A-Line skirt, double folded the hem edge and the seam edges, then began the creasing and folding of the hem section.  I started on the dress stand, but it proved difficult, so just took it upstairs and worked all the creasing on the ironing board with the steam iron.  Eventually I was satisfied.

Once I was pleased with how the hem was creased and folded, I pinned and stitched sections in place.  I like the uneven hem, and it is nicely weighted with the folded layers of fabric.

Here is an image of a garment from the actual collection, to get an idea of what Rei was up to

Fantastic crushing and folding with great fabric.

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The second skirt................take one rather plain ordinary pink skirt.... shorten it........ 

then, get a different fabric for an underskirt, (ended up with a stretch mesh because I wanted to match the colour of the original skirt  and the stretch mesh was all I could find that met that specification)....anyway...2 rectangles for the front and back underlayer, and long strips cut and gathered into ruffles, sewed ruffles onto front and back underlayer pieces, then stitched the front and back sections together with french seams....and I have an underskirt....

Next, put the 2 layers together and attend to the finishing, and I have a much more interesting skirt!

I know, it needs a bit of a press!
Ruffles are such fun and very CdG.

Look at some "bursting ruffles" from CdG SS14

These images come 'The Cutting Class", which is a great web site.

Here's a wee bit of fun to finish with.  In my 4th blog I introduced Lynn Yaeger, a fascinating New York woman who also loved Comme des Garcons.  I really appreciated Lynn's approach to her physical appearance.  I think she is an inspiration......look at this image.....

The one on the right is moi.......could we be related!!  And look at this cut and splice image....

Together, we are almost one!  Admittedly, Lynn's fringe is straighter than mine, apparently I just wouldn't sit still!

SLTSLTBsigning off for now.

Sixth BlogI

I want to begin this blog sharing some mood/story boards I worked on a couple of years ago.  They are a visual explanation of where I have come from re my clothes/construction/design passion.  Lots of fun making them, as it was a creative trip into my past.

First off, my Mum was the instigator.  She was a great sewer and helped deliver my ideas and desires, which was so good of her.  I love the dresses she made for my sister and me.  Both the same fabric, same colour, but we have different shaped collars, nice touch concerning individuality .  This is the beginning of my "village girl" approach (see my 1st blog).

Now, I'm doing more of it myself. My Mum gave me her old Singer sewing machine.  I've discovered cool patterns and fabric shops. I came across interesting designers through the pattern companies.  Kenzo, Betsey Johnson & Willi Smith to name a few.  Oxford bags, I loved them, made them out of calico for God's sake!  Can you see the beginnings of my love of the Japanese designers?   By then, I'd traded in the Singer for a Bernina!

Now, I am right into the Japanese designers...Issey Miyake was first.  I loved his work, his folds, his assymmetry, his pleats, his creating space within the garment.  He is a very skilled designer. I loved Vogue Patterns for taking him on as one of their designer patterns.  I think I purchased just about every one of them, until he let go of the reins. And those patterns I didn't manage to buy I tried to make myself...nothing's changed!

And now, all sorts of interesting designers and artists are exciting me.  I love sculptural shapes, paritcularly those designed by CdG....it really started with her wonderful skirt collection of S/S 2003, but I was excited by her work before that.  I have such admiration for the pattern makers who work for CdG.  They are very skilled, as they interpret her highly conceptual ideas, which enables the, sometimes obscure, concept to be delivered as a garment.   Martin Margiela, Maria Blaisse, Cosmic Wonder, Caroline Broadhead are also stimulating..... and I'm still into Bernina sewing machines.

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I want to go back to CdG's S/S 2014 RTW collection.  I posted some images of it in my 2nd Blog.  It was about objects that might be worn on the body....interesting concept.  As per Rei, she wanted to do something new, "something that hasn't existed before."
I am interested in how she did not follow the usual strict fashion show formula, e.g. there had been no toiles or fittings on the body.  There were objects that went beyond the body, which is an interesting idea for everyday wear.  A number of the garments are very theatrical...take a look at them (www.style.com).

The dresses I want to focus on are these ones.  Interesting shapes and design features

They have intriguing cutout sections and intertwining panels.  Remember, this collection evolved from the concept of objects that might be worn on the body.  Some people refer to them as "Sack Dresses". Remember, Rei was not focusing on fitting the body.

I think the middle garment may have led to this take on the idea

This is described as "A voluminous sculptural piece with a unique constructed flap collar designed to make a 2-dimensional statement". 

When you take a close look at it, it's like a rectangular shape has been stitched together (sack like, I guess) and then the various sections have been cut to enable the body to get inside...cool concept.  

If you look at this as a conventional shift style dress, the circled area is where the sleeve would be, but in CdG's, the arrow indicates where the arm goes.  That area is cut away to allow the arm to come through.    

                                                  

I have some old patterns that I could use to create my form of this idea.

Probably the Vogue one, because it is a little fuller, less of a angled line than 6215.  I'd take the line down from the sleeve edge and blend it into the side seam, and of course there is no neckline, the shape is cut out.  As I study the dress, I wonder if CdG's even has a shoulder seam.  Could the idea be one of "throwing" the fabric over the head, which is cutaway to allow for wearing?   I need to go looking for a suitable fabric.  Sometimes a fabric has a natural lining, more often then not it doesn't, so I would have to create one or, depending on the fabric, go without.

The way CdG's "sack dress" is cut, is a bit like a previous CdG I have constructed... this one, I call circle sweater.

When it's laid flat it has the look of a smiley face.  The waist area is cut away, as are the armholes.  The neckline is a little more trad.  I used knit fabric and lined it with a plain cotton knit to give it more weight for drape and warmth.  The opening for the arm can restrict a little, but I can work with that feature. I'll keep you posted on this garment as a colleague is wanting to create one for herself, so I'm going to take her through it in my Sew What Club. 

I've popped this image in because it shows a "circle skirt".  The image on the left comes from an amazing collection of Rei's  2009 S/S RTW collection.  This was a wonderful collection, as she worked with fabulous geometric shapes using hexagonal cutting and vinyl leather.  It was a return to her beloved "black".  Apparently she was pondering "what is the future of black?"  Rei established herself in the west during the 1980s and black was her total colour scheme.  I believe she once said, "I work in various shades of black".  Black has its' place doesn't it?  I love black skirts in my wardrobe.  The skirt on the right is my version.  I worked with a straight skirt block, using the darts and shaped it out into a circle style.  The opening for the hem area is the section that requires consideration, because of the stride of the legs for walking.

The angled arrows indicate where the opening is, but you also have to add a vertical split ( the horizontal bold arrow).  It allows for more opening to accommodate the striding legs.  I inserted pleated black mesh into this split, as it allowed for a bit more covering, which I wanted.  It's a bit of fun wearing a skirt like this, 'cos it's a very sculptural , that wonderful CdG feature that I love.

In a later blog I will share another garment I constructed which was inspired by this collection.  It relates to vinyl leather and "frilled edges on stiff plastic tectonic shoulder plates"....You'll understand when you see it.

Okay, I'm nearing my conclusion, and I want to finish with something that relates to the S/S 2014 collection, in a semi-connected way.  The 2014 collection operated from the premise of no toiles or fittings.  The 1998 collection was the opposite in certain respects.  It was all about basic pattern blocks, where dressmaking normally begins.  In this collection, Rei played with the basics of pattern making, and this really is my thing, pattern making.  She worked with the basic pattern blocks, bodice and skirt which create a sheath dress style, but Rei delivers it in her fabulous innovative way.  Hers's an image of the basic idea, followed by my take on it, and of course, there is a whole story relating to it...one fabric purchased in Wales, the other fabric bought in Auckland....