Sunday, March 18, 2012

Construction

I always hesitate to write about some of the gowns, because I want to say too much.  This is the case here. 

Eliza and her mom Liz, came to me this winter.  They had a picture of a gown with some history involving one of my idols, Christian Dior.  The picture was of a gown John Galliano designed for Dior using the "The New Look" that so many of us swoon over, as inspiration.  This picture has been all over pintrest and it is so very incredibly beautiful.  Of course I had to tell them all about it.  I grabbed my Christian Dior book off my shelf and was saying, "I want to show you where Galliano received his inspiration for this gown".  I flip open to, not only the style, but the exact dress from the 60's!  Galliano re-invented the gown by bringing in some over the top structure to the skirt and amazing blue embroidery for under the hem.   

Anyway, I was lucky enough to build something like this dress for Eliza.  I viewed this experience as a painter does when they get to go to the Louvre and paint a "copy" of the great masters.  I learned so very much and have more respect for these great designers and the house that brought their gowns to life. 


This shot is the beginning of the under structure of the gown.  I imagine I put three times as much boning into this before I was finished.  The skirt was to go in and out, so just putting a poof skirt under would not have worked. 


This is for those who tell me I should post more about the process.  That is you, Jeanette.  A gown is put together and pulled apart so many times through out the process.  This is when I am checking to see if the texture has potential.  


A snapshot of the process.  I don't think I have ever worked with so much skirt especially so much skirt that needed texture. 


My kids call this the Pack Man dress. 

When you lay it down on the floor, which I had to do often, it looked like pack man.  They know to be respectful of the dresses I work on, knock on wood, but they couldn't resist getting eaten by pack man's mouth.  That is half of the skirt you are seeing.  I think the bodice is tucked under the dress, by Slade's feet. 

I promise to post the finished product worn by cute Eliza as soon as I can.



8 comments:

Steph Romney said...

So excited when you post. You are incredible!

Sherry said...

This was great, I'm glad you're pestered to show your process.

May I request a post on your design bookshelf? I have the Rizzoli Dior book, but still want more that focus specifically on him (as opposed to the looks at the time in general).

Jeanette said...

Thanks Melissa! It is so fun to see the process as it comes along! I love the shot of the foundation of the dress as well.

As for all of that fabric? It overwhelms me just thinking how you can feed that through your sewing machine,and not get lost in the fluffy goodness!

The Boyer's said...

ya! I'm so excited to see how this one turns out :)

Ker-Dog and the gang said...

So amazing! I've been so busy I have forgotten to check blogs so yours was my first stop tonight. I love seeing what you've been up to! I know I say it all the time but you are seriously incredible!

Katie said...

WOW! I'm so impressed! Thanks for posting the behind the scenes pictures. All your gowns are like art! I'm definitely in awe. :)

Autumn Day said...

Can't wait to see the final result! You truly are Utah's own Galliano (in the good ways:)

DEW said...

Hello, your blog is amazing, incredible nice work....
I'd like to know, how the under skirt pattern looks like. It's a full circle skirt, or something?
Thank you for sharing your experience.