Unit X First Collection

Jewelled Couture 

Inspired by the way jewelled fabrics capture attention on the catwalk, and working alongside my original themes of ornate, rich, cultural and intricate, I have designed and created a couture collection of woven fabrics for a fashion-based context. My recent couture collection, has followed and developed on from the Practice Unit, and I have considered similar key themes as devised through my learning agreement however, I have moved my work on by thinking more laterally about my subject area. My earlier samples were largely chaotic, and for this collection I have considered the use of space throughout each of my designs. My research of couture collections, has left me wanting to recreate the same detailed surface qualities, which are so appealing to me. I have chosen to continue to be experimental at this last stage of the year, as I feel there is a lot I want to discover and Haute Couture is something which has always captured my attention, through its strenuous attention to detail and captivating colours. 

Far Left: Christian Dior Haute Couture 2005. Middle: Alexis Mabille Haute Couture Spring 2011. Top Right: Alexandre Vauthier Haute Couture Fall 2012. Bottom Right: Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2014-15.

In regards to my research, in the Practice Unit I worked directly from imagery, but for this Unit so far I have looked at a much wider range of resources, which I feel has added more of an interest to my samples. These resources have included gemstones and crystals, ornate carvings and gold printed covers on books in the Ryland’s Library, jewelry, Indian embroidery, oriental fashion and gold lame, mosaics and several couture collections. Keeping with my usual style, my samples embrace an element of embroidery; I wanted my samples to feel as though they were embellished with jewels, without having to be stitched on to. 

      Gold ink drawings followed by images from Dolce & Gabbana's
Fall/ Winter 2013 Haute Couture collection. 

              In order to begin my drawing, I looked at jewellery in more depth and began thinking about pattern making. I wanted my samples to feel ornate and fancy. Throughout this collection, I was particularly inspired by Dolce and Gabbana’s Fall/Winter 2013 Collection, which was encased in gold and based on ideas such as monarchy and made particular reference to their branding; the fabrics were encrusted with jewels and held beautiful rich tones. After looking so much into other collections, I realised that Haute Couture collections seem to always be hand stitched and I decided I wanted to experiment using woven techniques to gain a similar sophisticated outcome. I started my collection planning by developing surfaces and drawing in gold ink over mod roc; finishing by sprinkling gemstones over the top, to demonstrate the surface qualities of the type of style and elements I wanted my samples to have.  

              As I developed this idea I realised that in order to weave the extra weft technique, I needed to make and use simpler structures so that I was able to use the most colours for each pattern. Ultimately, I wanted to be able to use different colours for each section of pattern to give my samples more depth. After looking at jewellery more closely, I found that translating some of the vectored shapes within stones to be extremely interesting through my weaving.

Photographs of old rings, looking at vectored shapes within stones,
and developing structures and ideas for weaving using my chosen colour palette. 

             To create a surface comparable to jewellery and appropriate for a Haute Couture collection, I was careful to use the most fitting yarn choices in order to gain the desired expensive, unusual and exclusive outcomes. I chose from a combination of silk for high strength and known for its quality, a mixture of metallic yarns such as Lurex and unusual Indian embroidery threads, and lastly spun silk, which produces a huge amount of shine. My designs reflect my drawings in my sketchbook and design development.  I designed my samples on Scotweave, threading up on a straight draft over 24 shafts. I firstly made sure to test several strips before deciding on my final samples. Something that I found interesting about working on a straight draft was that when I had taken my work off of the loom, I discovered that my samples looked almost completely reversible. I ended up with beautiful ribbon like structures, patterns that I feel I could develop in the future possibly through my Masters Degree.

When considering the relation to the outside world, my collection is appropriately designed for its context, and could be used in the real world; I envisage my samples on elaborate jackets and skirts, or on ends of trousers or edges. I have taken into consideration that in Haute Couture fashion, designs are produced with extreme attention to detail and skills are essential. My samples were time consuming and considered carefully. If they were to be re made in the outside world, budget wouldn't be relevant as Haute Couture clothing is usually known as having no price tag and more luxurious yarns could be used.

My final samples for my jewelled couture collection.