The shell of this coat is comprised of an Italian wool, boucle knit, while the lining is made of silk charmeuse. It is fulliy lined and faced, and the dress worn under is comprised of a cotton/poly blend twill with a custom laser cut panel on the back.
The laser cut panel shifts as the human form moves, which creates a very dimensional effect that embodies the inspiration of this collection.
My inspiration for this conceptual project came from a laser cutting sample that I created at SCAD. I was intriguided by the way the fabric became dimensional and transformed as the human body moved. The following pages are a glimpse into my process book for this project.
I was encouraged to focus more on my process for this project than the actual result, whether it be examining the way existing artists work, or developing my own unique process. I came across the work of Stephanie Baechler and was instantly inspired by her unique approach to experimenting with fabric.
Baechler develops her process by taking fabric and solidifying it through photos so that it still appears to have movement, but is stagnant at the same time. I adopted her process and attempted my own version. I took pieces of fabric and simply dropped them on the ground, letting them fall without interference, and then photographed them. From there, I collaged the fabric images together in order to analyze them.
From my collages, I focused on specific areas and sketched from these enlarged focal points. By zooming in and taking a closer look at my collages, I was able to come up with more interesting ideas than I did when looking at them as a whole.
Sketches from a couple of collage details.
Another way I experimented with my process, was by taking the shapes that I discovered through sketching and draping on the stand to create realistic silhouettes.
From the beginning of this project, I knew I wanted to incorporate laser cutting into my designs. This is one of the many samples I did, which ended up being the design I used in my final dress.
These were the three garments that I narrowed down from all my sketches. From these, I chose the center outfit, but refined it further.
My final sketches that I decided to move forward with.
