Evening Wear + Spandex Jersey Fabric + Stripes = ?!
About the Collection: The theme of this collection is inspired by the geographical locations we are associated to. Our environment, neighborhood influences our behaviour and actions. The concept of “Genius Loci” can be visually seen in this collection. My collection is inspired from where I come from which is Tokyo and Mumbai. I was born in Mumbai, India and at the age of four my family moved to Tokyo, Japan. Living in Tokyo for fifteen years has exposed me to a completely different culture and values whilst still remaining close to my Indian roots.
This collection emphasizes the blend of two different cultures. This is done by incorporating key elements of Japanese and Indian costumes such as, sleeve detailing and sari drapes. The collection also focuses on the architecture and infrastructure of both the metropolitan cities. For example, the various pleating directions on the evening wear dresses tries to show the hustling and bustling streets filled with liveliness of people. As the fabric is already striped, the pleating direction and drapes provide and evoking feel to capture the essence of growing up in a city life. Along with the striped jersey fabric, the black PVC/leather fabric provide a bold and confident feel to the garment. The use of PVC/leather evoke the feeling of a strong bold, confident and independent woman growing up amongst strong personalities in a city.
Overall, my collection tries to capture my upbringing and principles I have grown up valuing. Furthermore, the blend of characteristics from Tokyo and Mumbai are trying to be shown through fashion.
The chosen look for production. During the critique, a few changes were made to the design. For instance, the back of the bodice has buttons and the invisible zipper is only on the striped fabric. Also, the back silhouette has been changed to a razor back style.
Designers would know, sewing jersey fabric is not easy. It’s one of the hardest fabrics to work with. Jersey fabric is extremely stretchy, hence why sewing it is a big challenge. Furthermore, jersey fabrics cannot be sewn on regular industrial machines. Instead, an overlocking machine is used for production. The purpose of this project was to challenge ourselves with the jersey fabric and use the striped fabric in an interesting manner.
The process of creating my design was quite tedious because my first toile did not imitate the design. There were many errors in fit and style.
Here’s the toile process:
Completed Toile #1
Critique Feedback
As my garment did not fit well, I had to create a second toile piece that would fit well from the bust, shoulder and side seams. This all had to be done in less than three hours! (Had to stick to the class schedule).
The second toile fit much better (thankfully)! The dress was taken in at the sides, bust and shoulder which naturally gave a better fit.
The Final Look
Too see the full designed collection, here it is: City Girl – Evening Wear Collection November 2014
