Challenge 3 "Fashion Falls Apart"

This Challenge is all about all about the Fabric and your deconstruction of it.  Your challenge is to design a Haute Couture garment in the newest hottest style of deconstruction.  From ripped seams... to stringy hems ..to rumpled fabrics, slices of zipper and vandalized denim, this challenge is about how well you can design a garment in the deconstruction style while still keeping it Couture.

My inspiration for this challenge came from designer  Balmain, I love his jeans and his vision for his military jackets. For the jeans I used stretch white denim, black top stitching details,  real working pockets front and back and a tiny zipper.  I shredded the jeans in the front using methods for making fabrics look distressed.  For some glamour I glued on Swarovski crystals near the pockets.   For the military jacket I used black stretch fabric, I made silver satin piping to make multiple seams stand out, I love how that makes an outfit look chic.  Crystal buttons for added glamour.  For the back I made a silver satin distressed  bow.  Left the  bottom of sleeves unfinished. And used the same silver satin for the lining.  Braided ribbon was used for the detail in front of jacket.  And she had to have white hair, so I made a wig to finish the whole look.

                                     And this is my distressed look modeled on Samantha Herren

                                                               

                                           This is what the judges have to say:

Theme: 5
Originality: 3.5
Creativity: 4
Construction: 5
Judith
Clever contemporary styling for this outfit. Skillful detailing on the pants. The jacket works well, however the braid loops down the front could be a fraction smaller. They tend to overpower the panel seams and crystal buttons. I would also lose the back satin bow, it looks like it was put there as an afterthought

Theme: 4.5
Originality: 4
Creativity: 4
Construction: 5
Rob
You made couture!  Great!  I do see a few Deconstruction elements used, I think you could have pushed that further.  The military look is hot right now, and this captures that perfectly, had this been a military challenge, it would have been perfect. The overall design is basic, but the application is fantastic. The jeans are wonderful, the fit, construction, and detailing are really beautiful.  The jacket is beautiful, well finished and constructed. I like that you added the deconstructed elements with the bow, the sleeves, and the braided ribbon. Job well done, I appreciate the effort and work that you put into the details of the fashion. This is an example of if you use simple basic designs they need to be done to perfection, good job!

Theme: 5
Originality: 4
Creativity: 4
Construction: 5
Tom
I like this…it has an 80s feel (don’t believe, me? I wore something just like it in red and black), but there is a touch of modern, too.  Fashion is cyclical…so I don’t mind seeing 80s influences today.  I really want to hate that bow…but for some reason, think it’s a perfect little touch to this inspired jacket.  Very lovely, indeed

Theme: 4
Originality: 5
Creativity: 4
Construction: 5
Dal
I see the Balmain inspiration in your military jacket and beautifully “constructed” it is. No deconstruction there, I am afraid, except for the oversized braid ties that unfortunately may have worked if they weren’t so oversized and the sleeves which look more unfinished than deconstructed. I love the satin trim and details on your jacket but would have loved to see a slashed skirt paired with it instead of jeans or possibly a more unique style of “deconstructed” pant. The black and silver chains in the fab wig are a wonderful couture touch.
                                                      

                                                        

The work in progress:

I started with drafting a jean pattern.  I wanted to make white jeans with dark thread topstiching so It stands out.
I had this beautiful multi colored thread in black grey dark light thread called Storm Clouds.  It came out excatly as I hoped, as the thread itself looked distressed once stiched.   I stiched rows of stiching by the front pockets for some detail and glued on Swarovski Crystals as well.  This was my first try at jeans and they came out pretty good I think.  Then came the shredding fun!.  I made strategic cuts and sanding of the fabric and it worked wonderfully!  I love how they came out and they fit the model well.

My sketch, as usual I made some changes along the way.

Made the muslin sample first and did a fitting, they seem to fit nicely so far.

Adding the zipper to the jeans.

Shredding a sample fabric, this part if fun!

I love how both garments came out and they fit Samantha perfectly!