An exercise in remaking, working from an image.
Yanni Vlamos (2015).Spring 2015 Ready To Wear[Online image]. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2015-ready-to-wear/comme-des-garcons/slideshow/collection#10
I was tasked with recreating the above garment, from the Spring / Summer 2015 collection by Comme des Garçons. This was a complex item for me to drape, as it stands so far away from the body, but I had said that I wanted to try working with irregular shapes in the previous module. I managed to find catwalk footage of it, which was helpful to see how it moved. The trouser leg sections appeared to have no trouble bending or moving, and kept their shape throughout. I guessed that the left leg had some sort of boning in to maintain that circular shape at the knee.
The crotch had to be extended in order to reach around the leg. This gave rise to some questions about how it could attach to the right leg, but I thought this would perhaps become apparent after I had made the second leg.
I used a medium weight calico, when obviously the original was made using a stretch material, but I wanted to first get an idea of the exact length in a non stretch fabric. After having made the second leg, I couldn't find any way of attaching them that didn't affect the movement when walking. I did more research to see if I could find better pictures and came across this auction listing, where they were described as "chaps". This made a lot of sense to me, as chaps are not connected at the crotch, and are all about protection. In this garment, one leg is protected by space and the other by volume. It meant I didn't have to join the two legs, but I did have to finish the inseam in the same manner as the rest of the leg.
I decided to fully line these, in order that I could hide the boning between the 2 layers. The leg sections were also interfaced to give them a bit more weight.
Close up to show the lined insides. I used a red satin, so that there was no friction when walking:
For the top, I used a red power mesh, and elongated the sleeves to match those in the picture. I tapered as far as the wrist then took the lines straight down.
I didn't finish the edges on this - I wanted to keep the lines smooth as possible, and the sleeves of the Comme des Garçons piece also appeared to be unfinished.
Back view. The straps are made from the same red twill fabric used for the main body.
The hoops that go around the leg are much better in a stretch fabric. I took the pattern pieces from the draped pattern and reduced their size by 20% to allow for the fabric to expand once padded. I calculated this on the basis that the fabric had 20% stretch, knowing that I was about to stuff it.
For the stuffing, I experimented with using polystyrene balls as they are so light, but their texture could be seen through the fabric, and they distributed themselves too evenly - I needed the rings to be more densely padded towards the outside of the leg and thinner on the inside leg. I ended up using toy stuffing as it could be manipulated more easily. I do think the end result is too heavy, though.
I am pleased with the overall garment thought. I think it comes quite close to the original.
REFLECTIONS
This is a garment that is all about balance - both in proportion and substance. The parts I thought might be difficult (such as the leg with boning) were relatively straightforward. More complicated was getting something with such volume to hang level with something that was not a mirror image to itself. As ever, the insides were just as vital as the outsides when it came to making this work.
I've also learned a lot about padding. I was disappointed that stuffing with polystyrene didn't work, as this was the lightest filler I could find. I feel I could do more research in types of filler, but I also want to look at ways of bypassing it altogether, and getting volume through pattern cutting.
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