February Recap
Moving all the while
So last month escaped me in the sense of finding the time and topic for sharing my thoughts and process with you all. Due to my capstone paper and the collection I put together in 2 weeks for a show last weekend…my hands were pretty full among other things.
But I’m back!
Here’s a recap of all the things that happened last month (crazy to say that we’re mid-week into March already).
I’ll save the research goodies for last as I’m sure you’re more interested in the redesigned pieces I created for this collection.
I may have mentioned in my last entry that I would be participating in two shows within the same day. Well, we got through it! The first, I pulled some pieces from various collections of mine, and quite a few of them from my collaboration with Rae Miller back in September, for a set of 8 looks.
I literally, opened the show, waved, and dashed to the next venue, where we still had some down time until getting ready for everything to begin. Luckily, we had time to network and mingle with attendees for an hour before the event got started. It was packed with a number of great panels discussing how to express style through clothing and interiors.
After I ran to our next location to set up for FUTUREGLOW hosted by the Cincinnati Opera Young Professionals, we had a bit of downtime to organize and prepare our looks, as well as double check for any fit issues. But let’s get into some of the making of these fits.
Majority of the collection, I redesigned from pieces I either made back in college or pieces from my donations inventory. Unfortunately, I didn’t get photos of everyone in their pieces…(The worst thing that can happen, but I’m sure photos and videos are floating somewhere.) But! It was a fun challenge and expanded my artistry in how I think about my process. I went into this months ago, planning to take my time and sketch things out. I had two looks in mind I wanted to design and finally sketched them out back in January while I was caught in Dallas. Well….fast forward. The fabric had different plans for me. I was still struggling with what I wanted to design and I was down to four weeks to get everything done and two until our fittings and preview.
When I tell you, I was sweating, I was feeling a bit crazy haha but I also had a plan. I pulled the fabric out about a week and some change before our fittings, and all of the ideas came rushing to me. Lucky for me, I only had six looks to make, which ended up dropping to five, however I already made the first one by the time I heard the news. So I planned it out that if I at least made two garments a day and got them to the point of fitting, I could finish the fine details the week going into the show to be finished by Thursday. Can I tell you that I met my goal? All minus a few hooks to put on the morning of the show. So what about the other juicy design details? Alright, alright. Here we go!
Two of my favorite pieces besides the pants I made (because you already know pants are my absolute favorite things to design and sew) were a romper and jumpsuit, both redesigned. The romper was redesigned in two stages. It was a pair of pants I made for another show a few years ago that had been waiting around for something to happen. Well the opportunity came! I cut them into shorts first and took them in, knowing the model was petite who would be wearing them. Then, I took the bottom of the legs apart and reconfigured them into a racer back open sash bodice. The inner shawl collar was added from a nightgown I used for two other pieces. This romper gave sporty and flirty at the same time. Plus, to stay on theme by adding a lighted element, I added reflective tape to tie the sides closed.
Next up, what we call Emerald City! The model and my friend that I put this together for named it this and it’s very accurate with a bit of mermaid thrown in. I was working with one of my other friends one night trying to figure out what I wanted to design. I had this amazing sequin fabric I got from my coworker back in October that I was trying to figure out what to do with (mind you, I don’t really ever work with sequins and these are long, straight ones as opposed to the normal circles). As I’m talking to my friend, it came to me, especially with some denim I had in my donations stash I hadn’t figured out how to use yet. Instantly, I saw this jumpsuit with a denim bodice, denim middle section of the pants, and a shawl collar, keeping it in my inspirational theme. So I got to working on deconstructing a few pairs of jeans. This was also my first time in a while making a full figured outfit and jumpsuit nonetheless. Luckily, I remeasured the model to get more specific measurements, as we only received a comp card (a model’s mini portfolio that has their basic measurements, i.e. height, bust, waist, and hip measurements). Outside of the feeling of seeing what you design on a live form, the next best feeling is experiencing someone else’s joy when the garment fits and goes on smoothly. I constructed the pants first so I could make adjustments before getting into the bodice. After getting through the sequins, the next hardest part was sewing sequins and chiffon together. But we made it! Again, carrying my inspiration’s color and silhouettes throughout the collection, I added an inner shawl collar for contrast.
I don’t want to leave you hanging, but since I’m missing the rest, you’ll have to stay tuned for more photos. However, I can tell you that this was the best event of the day and it was packed. With performances by opera singers and the opening by an amazing writer, Tifara Brown, it was a night full of light.
For a quick update on the flip side of things. My last semester is on its way and we are doing a lot of research on the most sustainable option for grocery and produce bags made from three polymer types, considering polyethylene (PE), biobased-PE, and poly lactic acid (PLA). There’s so much to read and even more to write. Now that the double header is finished, I feel like I can get back on track with everything else I’ve got going on and find rest at the same time.
Next up on my calendar going into the summer includes Draping 101, Columbia Fashion Week’s Met Gala event, graduation (dancing a bit), and hopefully a well-deserved vaction.
Until then, be safe and keep sharing your light.
What fun! I loved seeing all your designs. And I’m super interested in your research on the different types of bags.