Introduction brief

Have been doing research on evening/bridal wear, looking at Elie Saab couture winter collection on www.vogie.it website. http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/haute-couture-fall-winter-2012/elie-saab Saabs 2012 Couture Fall Winter collection wa full of sparkle, golden prints, embellished with sequins and beads to give a very rich and opulent feels, which seems decadent during the financial times we are struggling currently. The fabrics were rich chiffon allowing flowing corolla silhouettes, with organza for stronger shapes. The colours where rich but subtle, with black being the only bold colour, else we see powder blues and soft peach, helping to create an elegance.

It would be nice to at least be able to replicate the finish even if the price ofthe fabrics is out of my budget, for this I will need to do the following
1) Research fabric finishing, how do you finish the raw edges of chiffon and organza to a high standard??
2) Need to research fabrics and see what I can acquire within my budget, and what thier properties are, what shapes can be achieve with them and how much interfacing will be required to acheive the same level of structure

Dennis  Basso has also captured heavy embellishment with his Spring Summer 2013 range of evening wear, http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/dennis-basso  however there appears to be a focus on simple silhouettes, with the use of interesting trims andd fabric manipulation to acheive an elegant look that is remenicent of water flowing. There is also a suggestion of a 1940's inspired styling details, such as the below dress found at an exhibition shown by National Museums Liverpool, and on thier website http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/craftdesign/costume/1950sdresses/index.aspx

made by Mandell Couture, London, about 1959, which mirrors that shapes of Basso's below

and the use of bias cut to wrap around the famale form, is the way that many 1930's evening wear did.

I will also need to look into the best and most professional ways to finish bias cut dresses, so that they are neatly and most exquisitely finished.

My favoutire evening and bridal wear designer, Marchesa, showed thier spring summer 2013 collection and immedialtey you are taken to india, with bold colours and lots of silvers and golds, rich silks, taffeta, organza and tulle, without forgetting braiding, sequins and lame, soft fabrics finished with sharp edges and beautifully draped full length opulent dresses. Many of their lines included a waterfull effect to the lines, reminicent of the asymmetric styles that were on trend for SS2012.

 http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/marchesa

This type of styling may not last yet another season, so it may be a good idea to see where it can be taken for next season and try and move on this detail, taking it in a new direction for AW2013/4 or SS2014
Finally, Douglas Hannant, http://douglashannant.com/ Spring 2013. Hannant used printed fabrics and although they are quite obviously meant for a very special occaission the use of print in this way seems interestingly new.

 This style above is very highly sculpted and looks almost like waterfall with the ripples of fabric behind her, or maybe a paper origami game of fortunetelling that you may have played whilst a child

I will look into the se of printed fabric as apposed to plain fabrics an will look at seeing where origami takes me for design ideas

hopefully I will have a few origami paper folds under my belt before the next blog!! reflect on how I've managed to kill a few tree and produce a pile of rubbish - hopefully not!!!