The beginning construction phase for the "How does your garden grow?" Dress

I first started off by choosing a mannequin to help me map out how I wanted the muslin to sit upon the body. I decided to go with the Princess/Empire core set top. This required me to make individual pieces that would fit along side one another using the Princess guidelines across the upper bodice of the mannequin. With any corset top it is sleeveless and shows much more of the upper body such as the collar bone, shoulders, shoulder blades, and arms of the person wearing it. It just gives off that sense of beauty and clean sharp appearance when seen from close up or from further away. I decided to dip the back of it lower so as to create more of a alluring effect. At this point I went with a straight pencil skirt that would hug the hips, and upper thighs and would attach together at the waist. As for the pleating went I had in my mind it running asymmetrical diagonally across the upper left to lower right of the body.

Inspirations for how does your garden grow? project

Being that flowers are delicate in nature and soft to the touch. I wanted to create a dress that did not have too many rough edges I visited the Botanical Gardens to obtain more knowledge and to figure out exactly how to go about taking a flower and drawing from in a concept for a 3-D dimensional garment for a model to wear. This was no easy task mind you. There were several ways to go about this. I could do the shape and form of the flower, or focusing on one part of the flower for example the pedal. I then decided to just stick with drawing inspiration from the flowers colors. It would appear early on in the planning stages of the garment that I may run into problems trying to find an exact match of colors. So I have to Joanne fabrics store which is close to home to see what what colors they had. I also had to take into consideration what type of material to use to construct this garment out of and how I wanted it to lay upon the model. I feel the right color choices that I had picked out along side with the fabric choices which is delicate and soft gave me that look and feel that I had thought about earlier for to constructing the dress. I also wanted to add another ingredients to the draping of this garment, so I went with the idea of pleating. I looked through magazines and online to gain even more inspiration about the best way to go about and integrate the pleats on the garment. I seen countless ways how other designers used pleating to make their dresses flow soft and delicate while still having a somewhat of a sharp edge to it in route with regards to the pleats.

Madame GRES

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MADAME GRES TAKEN FROM THE INTERNET.
Germaine Émilie Krebs (1903–1993), known as Alix Barton and later as "Madame Grès", launched her design house under the name Grès in Paris in 1942. Formally trained as a sculptress, she produced haute couture designs for an array of fashionable women, including the Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Dolores del Río. Her signature was cut-outs on gowns that made exposed skin part of the design, yet still had a classical, sophisticated feel. She was renowned for being the last of the haute couture houses to establish a ready-to-wear line, which she called a "prostitution"

The name Grès was a partial anagram of her husband's first name and alias. He was Serge Czerefkov, a Russian painter, who left her soon after the house's creation. Grès enjoyed years of critical successes but, after Grès herself sold the business in the 1980s, it faltered.

At first glance of her work it was quite obvious that she more than knew her way on handling fabrics of all sorts. The way Madame Gres took pleating and made custom designs is beyond what many other designers have not even begun to try. Only a handful of others could come close. Her attention to every last detail in each of her garments makes her an inspiration to aspiring designers.

My own attempt at pleating with muslin on a manikin bodice.

In the draping class that I attend, I tried my hand at pleating. It was an interesting experience to put it simple. I stuck with the basic accordion pleat style since it was my first time attempting such a task. Fanning the pleats out makes it look very artistic to say the least. It almost seems magical the way pleats can run in so many directions and versions.

Bauhaus/Geometric inspirational dress lay out.

I choose to go with the same color palette as in one of Piet Mondrian paintings. Blue and Red on a bright white background with black/noir lines bordering each section. I decided to use Kona cotton a mid-weight breathable cotton that holds it's form rather nicely. The front of the dress has a lot going on so to keep everything balanced I did not touch the back to much. A center back zipper and a 2" black band wrapping around the waist to look like a belt. This gives the back a little more to work with. All ideas were worked out on muslin first than cut into individual pieces and laid out on pattern paper to be traced with a 5/8" seam allowance.

Inspirational images for the geometric Bauhaus dress.

Below are several images that inspired and influenced the design of the geometric dress that I am currently working on in class. The crips sharp lines and geometric shapes fused with bold solid primary and a couple secondary color hues make for an eye popping attention grabbing appeal.

Issey Miyake Japanese pleat master.

Creation and Technology...
ISSEY MIYAKE INC.'s basic philosophy is the continuing focus on both the importance of imagination and the development of new technology in which to make clothing.
MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO was created by Issey Miyake in 1970. In the next year, ISSEY MIYAKE INC. was founded as a subsidiary to plan and manufacture clothes and related products for domestic and international sales.
ISSEY MIYAKE has regularly participated in Paris Fashion Week since 1973. The design concept challenges the conventional idea of garment making and strives to highlight the relationship between body and cloth.
Issey Miyake is an internationally renowned designer. Inheriting his spirit of innovative product creation with the goal of enhancing people's daily lives, Miyake staff constantly search for ways to incorporate the joy of life into the company's creations.
ISSEY MIYAKE INC. values free thinking that is unconventional - thinking that takes into consideration the spirit of creation, curiosity and love as a universal expression.
SOURCE: www.issymiyake.com

Get a load of how amazing this mans work truly is. I mean it is like seeing fantasy join together with reality and give birth to perfection when it comes to using fabric for pleating a garment. I am in awe with every single design. The way his pleats flow like water trickling down a stream, but also create sharpness without all the jagged edges.

Mariano Fortuny 1910

Statement of significance
Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949) was a Spanish artist and designer who registered many extraordinary inventions. His most successful patent was for the 'Delphos' gown, which he first designed in 1907. The finely pleated silk gown represented the classic, ideal form. It freed women from the constraints of the corset and now epitomises Fortuny's style.

The 'Delphos' gown was worn in the early twentieth century by some of the most avant-garde women in Europe and America. Fortuny was to repeat it, with only subtle variations, over the next forty years. Fortuny also designed exquisite gowns of printed and stencilled velvet with panels of finely pleated silk. He saw himself as an artist and had no aspiration to be part of high fashion with its constant change. He blended his love for medieval history and classical Greece with a fascination for technology and the skills of the craftsman. Working closely with his wife, Henriette, their work combined the ideals of the Aesthetic Movement and Modernism.

Henriette assisted Fortuny in the manufacture of unusual dyes and pigments and also made up the garments. They devised unique printing and stencilling techniques for the exquisite silks and velvets. Only the tiny Venetian glass beads threaded onto silk cord at the neck and armholes were made elsewhere. 'Delphos' gowns were dyed individually in a wide range of unusual colours. Delicate silk was processed on porcelain rollers to create fine, uneven pleats, one of his many innovations. The dresses were finally rolled up into a tightly twisted ball and presented in a small silk bag, perfect for travelling.

The production process took place at the Palazzo Orfei, the palace in Venice where Fortuny spent the most creative period of his life. His family had moved there when he was eighteen to relieve his allergy to horses.

In 1927 an American interior designer, Elsie McNeill, discovered Fortuny's work and asked if she could sell his goods in America. This venture proved highly successful until the second world war made imports impossible.

After Fortuny's death in 1949, Henriette persuaded Elsie to manufacture the Delphos gowns again and a revival occurred. Following an exhibition held in the Los Angeles County Museum in 1967, Fortuny's style re-emerged. His work was featured in fashion magazines and soon became among the most highly valued collectable garments at international auctions, a status they still hold today.
Description
Evening dress, 'Delphos', womens, pleated silk, Mariano Fortuny, Venice, Italy, 1910-1920

Full length evening dress of finely pleated vivid green satin-weave silk. Constructed of four pre-pleated pieces, hand sewn together into a cylindrical shape with short sleeves and a wide, scooped drawstring neckline. Laced at neck, shoulders and sleeves with a cream silk cord which is weighted with brown and white Venetian beads.

SOURCE: Powerhouse museum website.

Simply put Amazing detail when it came to the pleated DELPHOES dress. I mean just the way it sits/lays on the body with such simplicity of detailed craftsmanship. I would like to see this dress up close in person. Photography does not do this dress justice. The close up pictures only gave me a tease of how detailed and crafted this garment really is. Simply amazing.