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For this project ‘Self-identity’, the goal is to explore different ways of self-expression to communicate my unique identity. Identities can evolve and adapt as we gain different experiences in our lives, and can mean different things to everyone, such as appearance, culture, or religion. I personally interpreted the theme of self-identity as my interest in horror, since it appears in multiple areas of my life.

The reason for horror being a big part of my identity, and the reason I chose this for my projects theme, comes from various factors. First of all, for my fascination with the unknown. For me personally, horror serves as a gateway to exploring all sorts of mysteries. The genre provides a place to experience fear and adrenaline without real danger, allowing me to engage with my curiosity about the darker aspects of existence. It serves as a source of inspiration for my artistic and creative expression. I find that I'm drawn to the genre for its visual aesthetics and its opportunities for exploring complex themes and narratives, which I'd like to portray through my fashion designs. Moreover, as a person that suffers with anxiety, I've found horror to be very beneficial since it allows me to confront my fears in a controlled environment, providing a release for pent-up anxiety and stress. I'd also like to express these emotions through my designs. Overall, horror has become a central aspect of my personality and social identity, since I'm fascinated by the fashion and media. It's my biggest form of self-expression and belonging within a community of like-minded individuals.

This project will require researching in multiple areas, so I’m going to research current trends, visit places to gather inspiration, research inspiring designers, and discover more about my target audience. I'll be exploring different ideas, experimenting with fabric tests and creating different designs all surrounding my chosen theme.

Requirements and parameters -

The final requirement for this project will be to use all of the planning to produce a wearable garment for me to walk in that will then be showcased at two end of year fashion shows. The first fashion show will be internal and held in CAVC, and the second will be held in the WMC Cardiff. My personal aims for these fashion shows is to be able to communicate the ideas behind my garment and emit the feelings I want to convey successfully only by showcasing it. I could do this by assuring that I keep my final outcome aligned with my themes and inspiration, the music I decide to walk to, and how I decide to walk. I also plan on creating a short (15-20 second) video showcasing my garment and the inspiration behind it.

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I created this detailed project plan to help with my organisation skills and to keep me up to date with my weekly aims throughout the entirety of this project.

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I knew that I wanted my project to surround the theme of horror, however I felt that this was still very broad with multiple routes that I could go down. I narrowed it down to four ideas: ghost ships, surreal nightmares, haunted mansions, and shadowy forests. After expanding on each of these ideas through considering colour palettes, fabrics, aesthetics and silhouettes, I felt that the one most personal to my identity was the theme of a haunted mansion. I chose this since dark colours, gothic architecture, gothic fashion, the supernatural, and  Victorian fashion are all things that I’m very interested in.

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I created a mood board for each of the 4 ideas I came up with on my mind map so that I had a clear visual of each one.

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The 10 Key Spring/Summer 2024 Trends To Know Now

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Pithers, E. (2024). The 10 Key Spring/Summer 2024 Trends To Know Now. (online) Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/spring-summer-2024-fashion-trends

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Pithers, E. (2024). The 10 Key Spring/Summer 2024 Trends To Know Now. (online) Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/spring-summer-2024-fashion-trends

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The most talked-about collection at the spring/summer 2024 fashion shows was the one that wasn't there. Phoebe Philo, yet to unveil the first fruits of her eponymous line, which had been originally slated to debut online in September some six years after she departed Céline, dominated the fashion news cycle throughout the month. As the spring/summer 2024 fashion trends piled up, designers waited nervously to see if their collections would be eclipsed by a spontaneous digital drop from a woman many revere as fashion's messiah.
Read more: Met Gala 2024 Red Carpet
Her cult status as industry saviour was only heightened by the news that the spring/summer 2024 show would be Sarah Burton's last collection for Alexander McQueen, with Gabriela Hearst also departing Chloé. Incoming: Sabato de Sarno at Gucci, Peter Hawkings at Tom Ford, Peter Do at Helmut Lang, and Louise Trotter at Carven. Does fashion have a woman designer problem? At LVMH, the world's largest luxury conglomerate, only Dior and Pucci have female creative directors, while Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo are eponymously run. At Kering, the second biggest fashion conglomerate, not a single brand is helmed by a woman, nor a person of colour.

Set against that demoralising disparity, and an equally sobering economic and political backdrop, designers played it safe for spring/summer 2024. The palette was muted, with black and white blotting out the colour-box brights that typically come to the fore for summer collections. Retina-searing red was one of the few tones that managed to make it through the muzzled colour wheel. The post-pandemic era of body positivity - and the nude looks that came with it - has largely faded, and with it the broader variety of body types that had begun to populate the runways.

Statement gowns are out and discreet chic - buoyed up with wardrobe staples including trench coats, pencil skirts, trouser suits and good jeans - is in. At the fashion search engine Tagwalk, which scanned more than 11,000 images from the spring/summer 2024 shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris, looks that were tagged "minimalism" were up 46 per cent on the previous spring/summer 2023 season. Logo-tagged looks, meanwhile, were down 52 per cent, while '90s-tagged looks were up 42 per cent - the latter was also the most searched tag. With the 25 th anniversary of the untimely death of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy coming up next year, meanwhile, the Succession-fuelled "quiet luxury" trend is segueing into something that more closely resembles the understated '90s-New-York elegance of the former Calvin Klein publicist.

What will you be wearing next year? The good news is that you probably already own most of spring's key elements, and that clever styling - a splash of red here, a crisp white shirt there - will serve as easy updates. Ballerinas and Mary-Janes are going nowhere, nor a well-cut blazer. And carrying a full-to-bursting bowling bag stuffed with last night's high heels, a spare pair of socks, your notebook, wallet, keys and some paracetamol, is no longer anything to be ashamed of, thanks to Miuccia Prada and Miu Miu. The designer said her show was an exploration of modern beauty: "Not beauty, but beauties, an embracing of unique characters, the joy of life." Momentarily, it gave us something to smile about.

Short shorts

If you can coolly observe the trend for short shorts without your mind immediately replaying that '1957' song by the Royal Teens (or the Homer Simpson homage), well, you're more culturally robust than we are. Micro shorts pumped down the catwalks in Milan - most memorably opening the new-look Gucci show, now under the direction of Sabato de Sarno - and filtered into Paris, too, at Chanel, Alexander McQueen and Isabel Marant. Think of it as the logical conclusion to autumn's no-pants predilection.

White noise

Will you say yes to the white dress? Ranging from diaphanous and sheer to embroidered and densely-worked, designers signalled a clear shift away from the euphoric shots of colour and frothy pastels that come around every spring with a bevy of swan-white dresses.

High-rise trousers

Trust Jonathan Anderson to define the season's silhouette. At Loewe, the designer celebrated his 10-year anniversary at the Spanish house by ushering in a new super-high-waisted trouser shape - so high, in fact, that the trousers came with an in-built corset to hold them in place under the bust. The good news: they're an instant leg-lengthener, as Anderson's contemporaries at Alaïa, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent will attest.

Smell the roses

Romance was in the air at Simone Rocha, where fresh, pale pink, long-stemmed roses were trapped between layers of tulle that comprised the prettiest of party dresses. That rose theme curiously persisted across fashion's four main cities for spring. Olivier Rousteing, feeling philosophical after most of his Balmain collection was stolen several days before his show, quoted Gertrude Stein's 1913 poem 'Sacred Emily' with its famous line "Rose is a rose is a rose" ahead of a floral-bedecked outing; meanwhile Sarah Burton closed out her Alexander McQueen tenure with a collection partly inspired by a blood-red rose and female anatomy. Spanning rose prints, floral embellishment, three-dimensional appliqué, or petal-shaped silhouettes, designers from Rei Kawakubo to Richard Quinn are feeling, uh, thorny.

Polo club

If Mrs Prada says the polo shirt feels right again, who are we to disagree? With Miu Miu riding high as one of the most influential fashion shows on the calendar, prepare to see a lot more of the humble collared cotton style, which was styled with everything from men's board shorts to ruffled micro-mini skirts, gold brocade shift dresses to sequin-embellished blouses. That country club mood persisted elsewhere, with rugby shirts making an appearance at Dries Van Noten and DSquared2, and flip-flops and spa towels accessorising looks at Chanel and The Row respectively. The key to making it feel effortless? Just remember to muss up your hair. No one likes a prim prepster.

Transparent skirt

After several seasons of sheer wafting gowns and lingerie-inspired details, the sheer skirt takes spring's spotlight as a racy look to trial for day or night. Altuzarra lent it ladylike edge, pairing sheer pencil skirts with soft crew-neck sweaters and top-handle bags, a combination that showed up at Carolina Herrera, Coperni, Givenchy and Carven. If that feels a little frou-frou, double up sheer layers and style it with a bomber jacket and chunky belt, as seen at Louis Vuitton.

Metallics

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The 10 Key Spring/Summer 2024 Trends To Know Now

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British Vogue highlights the key spring/summer 2024 fashion trends to know now and how to wear them in 2024. From metallics to the new prep, these are the standout spring/summer 2024 fashion trends from the runway collections.

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Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2024 Collection: A Tribute to McQueen’s Legacy and Empowerment — PhotoBook Magazine

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Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2024 Collection: A Tribute to McQueen’s Legacy and Empowerment — PhotoBook Magazine

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veryone at Paris Fashion Week watched in awe as the models strutted down the runway for Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection. The show marked the end of an era as it was Sarah Burton’s final collection as Creative Director for the iconic British fashion house.

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Christian Siriano Takes Balletcore to Fantastical New Heights | Essence

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Only former ballerinas know that balletcore is something that stays with you for years. It shows up in how you have an innate affinity for bodysuits, bows, high buns, and the hue baby pink as an adult. On a sticky and rain-ridden day, Christian Siriano decided to also take the trend for a spin in front of a crowd that consisted of Janet Jackson, June Ambrose, Laverne Cox, and Abbott Elementary's breakout star Quinta Brunson-of course, fashion lovers such as editors, writers and beyond were also there. If you were lucky enough to get some respite from the rain you were allotted access to Siriano's fantastical universe for your start of New York Fashion Week.

Pulling from his childhood ballet lessons, Siriano revealed looks that were exquisite. There was a section within the show in which some designs were so dreamy they reminded us of childhood moments that evoked joy: ballet recitals, piano recitals and more. These looks were intricately created with excessive amounts of tulle, and some of them featured bows, floral appliques, and even metallic pieces of tinsel. Accessories also hit Siriano's ballet inclinations right on the head: sky-high light pink bow heels and lengthy ribbons tied in the model's hair.

Elsewhere, in the collection, there were selects that were comprised of excellent corsets with intricate ribbon additions. Sessilee Lopez stunned in a black multi-dimensional dress that was a head-turner-Coco Rocha also broke out into a dance as she wore a pink gown created with tulle, this was juxtaposed against a Sia performance.

Siriano injecting his flavor into the buzzy balletcore trend provided some options for next year's award season. Perhaps stars will take his costume-esque pieces for a spin at the Grammy's? We welcome that as the collection was one part whimsical, one part experimental and also one part nonconformist.
Lead Image: Rodin Banica/WWD via Getty Images

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Christian Siriano Takes Balletcore to Fantastical New Heights | Essence

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Drawing inspiration from his childhood ballet lessons, Christian Siriano revealed balletcore looks with tulle, floral appliques, and tinsel.

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I created a customer profile to show the type of audience that my designs are targeted towards. I will look back on this throughout my project to assure that I keep in line with this demographic.

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For this section of the project I'll be looking into multiple different areas of research. To gain a better insight on what my audience are interested in, I'd like to look deeper into my target demographic and current trends in the fashion industry. For inspiration, I'd like to visit places such as Margam Castle and the V&A museum. I'd also like to research into a variety of fashion designers.

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After creating my customer profile where I decided that my garment will be aimed towards 16-20 year olds, I created a form for people in this age group to answer. The aim of this form was to see which shops people in this age range like to go to buy their clothes. I used the answers from this form to determine which shops I will later visit to collect primary research regarding current trends. This will be helpful to me since I'll be able to see what my target audience are currently interested in.

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Roses

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Roses

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More writing from ‘How retail stores interpreted this trend - Roses’ page

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Inspired by the trend of roses, I experimented with using disperse dyes to create a couple fabric samples with a rose print. I think this was an interesting technique to experiment with, however as of now I don’t think I’ll be using it in my final designs since it doesn’t align with the sort of garment that I want to produce. However, later on in this project when I begin my material exploration I'd still like to experiment with disperse dyes on different fabrics that I plan to use in my final designs, such as lace, to see the different outcomes I can achieve.

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More from ‘How I interpreted this trend - Roses’ page

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Inspired by the trend of roses, I sketched a dress that includes both draping and manipulating fabric into the shape of a rose and cutting fabric to create petal shapes. I really like how this design turned out, and would like to expand on it in my final designs. In future, I’d like to experiment with draping and manipulating fabric on a mannequin to create a rose skirt, similar to this design.

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Corsets

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Corsets

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After researching and gathering inspiration from corsets that are currently trending, I turned what I liked into my own designs. I experimented with corsets that strayed from the traditional purpose of a corset and sketched some unordinary designs, such as (bottom left) a corset that acts somewhat similar to an off-the-shoulder shirt but sits on top of the skin and is much sharper. I’m not sure if I like this design and I don’t think I’ll be taking it further, however it was fun to experiment with. I also experimented with designing under-bust corsets with very sharp tailoring, which I really liked the outcome of and would like to expand on in my final designs.

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Sheer fabrics

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Sheer fabrics

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How I interpreted this trend - Sheer fabrics 

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How I interpreted this trend - Sheer fabrics 

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Inspired by my research into the trend of sheer fabrics, I created 4 designs using watercolour and fine liners. I'm happy with the outcome of my design in the top right, and would like to use it in my final designs. I feel as if I could layer it with other garments to achieve an interesting outcome. However, I'm not too happy with the outcome of my design on the top left since I feel it doesn't align with my theme of horror and a haunted mansion. Although, I do like the long tulle skirt in this design and would like to incorporate and adapt it in my final designs. My design on the bottom right was inspired by the runway look I researched into that used TPU fabric. After trying to create a design using this fabric, I'm not sure I'll be using it in my final designs since it doesn't line up with my themes of gothic or Victorian fashion, but it was interesting to try designing with all sorts of different sheer fabrics. Nevertheless, I do like the sheer corset in this design, and would like to expand on this idea in my final designs. The last design I made inspired by this trend (bottom left) is a long chiffon dress with sharp sleeves. I do like the outcome of this design, however I feel it's a little simple compared to sort of garment that I want to create for this project. I could have fixed this problem by including layers of different sheer fabrics or using ripped fabrics, since this could add unique aspects but also better align with my theme of horror.

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Deep burgundy

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How retail stores interpreted this trend - Deep burgundy

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How I’ll incorporate Margam Castle into my designs

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A corset design and a fabric sample inspired by Margam Castle - 

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Gibbs reflective cycle - To create this fabric sample I did a lot of small pintucks only 1cm apart from each-other, then I did a sketch of how I would use this sewing technique in a design. I like how this fabric sample turned out, since I feel that the small 1cm gap I decided to leave between the pintucks really replicates the fine line details in the architecture of Margam Castle like I wanted. I also like how I used this technique for the corset design and feel like it could be interesting to develop further. Although I’m happy with the outcome of this fabric sample, since I used  such a small gap between each pintuck the making of it was very slow-paced and required a lot of carefulness. This may be an issue if I decide to use this technique later on since it’ll take up a lot of the time I have to construct my garment. I also think the black fabric that I used made the pintucks harder to see. To improve, I could have experimented with different gap sizes between pintucks, for example 2cm, to see the different outcomes I could’ve achieved. I also could’ve experimented with this sewing technique on muktiple fabrics. Knowing what I know now, in future when I begin my material exploration I’ll try using fabrics with lighter shades to see if the pintucks are more prominent, and I’ll also experiment with different sizes of pintucks. Since I figured this technique is very time-consuming, I’d also like to experiment with creating different designs where I use pintucks for smaller details, for example rather than a whole corset I could use this technique on only 1 panel.

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Victorian fashion history - My designs inspired by it

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Victorian fashion history - My designs inspired by it

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Gibbs reflective cycle - For these designs, I combined multiple eras of Victorian fashion history that I learnt about into 2 looks. However, being that my project theme is centered around horror, I feel that these designs failed to resonate with this concept, deviating from the desired tone and atmosphere. Despite this disconnect from the original theme, I'm happy that the process allowed me to experiment with Victorian-inspired techniques and design elements. I'm pleased with how both designs turned out, and I feel like I used the knowledge I gained about Victorian fashion well. I enjoyed learning more about the history of Victorian fashion as it’s definitely given me a better insight on what to include in my designs to make it clearer to my audience what the inspiration is behind the garment I’ll produce. Reflecting on the outcomes, it's clear that the designs failed to resonate with my theme of horror. I could have emphasized the theme of horror and gothic fashion in theses designs had I took the time to colour them in instead of only using a black pen. Moving forward, whilst designing for this project I've learnt that I must prioritize aligning themes to prevent similar problems. Later on in this project when I begin my final designs, I'll assure to include aspects of Victorian fashion, but also aspects of my other themes.

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Chowdhury, D. (2020). The History of the Victorian Era Clothing. (online) Available at: https://vintagefashions.co/the-history-of-victorian-era-clothing/

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Chowdhury, D. (2020). The History of the Victorian Era Clothing. (online) Available at: https://vintagefashions.co/the-history-of-victorian-era-clothing/

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The History of the Victorian Era Clothing - Vintage Fashions

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Victorian era clothing can be divided into different periods according to the styles. But full gowns for women and suits for men were the common choices.

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Designs and sample inspired by Bella Pietro

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Designs and sample inspired by Bella Pietro

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After researching into Bella Pietro's work, I used what I learnt about her most used techniques, fabrics, and embellishments to create 2 of my own designs and a fabric sample. I'm very happy with these designs, and feel that the outcomes were personally satisfying since they resonated with my aesthetic visual for this project. I'm also happy that I was able to try sewing ruffles using lace, since this is a technique that often appears in Pietro's work. Looking back, I recognize the value of researching and drawing inspiration from unique designers like Bella Pietro since the experimentation allowed me to discover new techniques and approaches, contributing to my own artistic growth. Although I've found that the positive outcome of this experimentation has boosted my creativity, I acknowledge areas where improvement is needed, particularly in refining certain techniques, such as sewing ruffles, and exploring them more deeply. Exploring Bella Pietro's work gave me a valuable insight into different artistic styles and techniques, and as a result to my experimentation I've identified specific techniques that resonated with me and intend to further incorporate them into this project. To further develop my skills, I'd like to continue to experiment with different techniques used to sew ruffles, but also experiment with different fabrics to see the different outcomes I can achieve. I'd also like to include aspects these 2 designs in my final designs later on.

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This is a sample I created inspired by LeMAine’s gore textile. To create this sample I started with using a hot glue gun to make a layer of stringy glue. Once this dried, I painted it a dark red, flesh like colour. I then repeated this process, but painted this layer a slighter lighter shade of red. Next, I glued these two layers on top of each other. I repeated this process until I was happy with the outcome I like how this sample turned out and would like to continue experimenting with it in my final designs.

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Inspired by my research into John Galliano’s work, I created 2 designs featuring some of my favourite features that he often includes in his collections. I experimented with designing a babydoll dress, sheer gloves, a voluminous skirt and layering sheer fabrics. I’m very happy with how these designs turned out and would like to continue expanding on these ideas in my final designs. To improve, I would have liked to create a fabric sample thats often used by Galliano in his work, however after researching I found that there aren’t any reoccurring techniques that he uses very often since he’s constantly trying different things.

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Influenced by Alica Auaa's designs, I created 2 of my own. I experimented with layering sheer fabrics, using thin rope, and veils, since these were some of my favourite things from the collection that I researched. I like the outcome of these designs, and will to continue to experiment with them in my final designs.

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Designer research - Alexander McQueen ~ silhouettes

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Designer research - Alexander McQueen ~ silhouettes

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For this section of my project, I have used what I liked from all my designs inspired by my research and combined them into 18 different designs. I did this so that I could experiment with and expand on different ideas. Reflecting on the design process, I recognize the value of merging diverse ideas and concepts into corresponding designs. While some designs were more successful than others, the exploration of each one contributed to my creative growth and development.

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Design 1 - This design took inspiration from multiple points of my research. I incorporated aspects of Victorian fashion with the hand fan, the low neckline of the dress, and the corset. Moreover, for the detailing of the corset I also took inspiration from the designer Bella Pietro which I researched by including lace up features. Inspired by my research into silhouette trends, I including flowing fabrics and a short voluminous skirt. I also incorporated the LeMAine flesh textile into this design through dangling the textile on the legs.

Design 2 - Once again, this design took inspiration from multiple points of my research. The hat was inspired by both my research into Victorian fashion and my research into John Galliano, where he layered and draped sheer fabrics. The top and long chiffon skirt for this design was inspired by my research into sheer fabrics. For the sleeves I decided to experiment with flowy silhouettes, since this was the silhouette trend I predicted for S/S24, whilst also trying to keep them related to Victorian fashion.

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Design 3 - For the top of this design I took inspiration from my design I created inspired by Alice Auaa, however I slightly adapted it so that the folds in the layered fabric looks like ribs. I did this since I thought it could be a unique way to add an eerie atmosphere to the design. I also incorporated a lace veil inspired by my research into this designer.

Design 4 - This design mainly took inspiration from my research into sheer fabrics. I wanted to experiment with designing a garment with multiple ripped and layered sheer fabrics, which I really like the outcome of. I also used the LeMAine flesh fabric for details on the legs. I also incorporated some Victorian design aspects with the hat and pearl necklace.

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Design 5 - The main inspiration behind this  design was my research into LeMAine’s flesh textile. I thought it could be interesting to use this textile for a garment. I also took inspiration from my research into sheer fabrics and designed a long tulle skirt. I feel like this design resonates well with my theme of horror, however parts from my themes of gothic and Victorian fashion. I could have fixed this by adding more embellishments such as pearls or gloves.

Design 6 - This design was mainly inspired by my research into Victorian fashion. I included features such as pearls, a corset, a tiered skirt and a parasol. I decide a big skirt would also fit well with the S/S24 silhouette trends which I predicted.

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Design 7 - The main inspiration behind this design was my research into the trend of roses, and also my attempt at draping fabric to replicate the appearance of a rose. I decided to combine both the long and short rose skirts which I draped on the mannequin into one, which I really like the outcome of. I also incorporated some aspects of Bella Pietro's work, by adding lace up ribbon features to the front of the corset.

Design 8 - This design took inspiration from my research into Margam Castle. I added pin tucks to the corset to replicate the fine line detail in the bricks of the castle, and I also added a lot of arches to the corset around the bottom and sides to replicate the arches in the castle. The rest of this design took inspiration from Victorian fashion. I also used the LeMAine flesh textile on the legs to add an aspect of horror to this design.

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Design 11 - This design took inspiration mainly from my research into sheer fabrics. I wanted to experiment with a design that had multiple sheer fabrics layered on top of each other. I also took inspiration from my design I made inspired by Alice Auaa by wrapping thin rope around the garment. I incorporated my theme of horror by adding beaded embellishment designed to look like a big gash in the middle of the body.

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After experimenting with design ideas sourced from all of my research, I chose some of my favourite features and combined them into one final design.

I decided on the colour palette of burgundy, black, and white for this design since they're colours often associated with gothic fashion and horror. I also researched into the trend of deep burgundy so wanted to include this in my design. The hat in this design is round and oversized with pieces of burgundy chiffon draped over it. I took inspiration from my research into Victorian fashion, since it's an accessory that they wore often, and John Galliano, since I liked his technique of draping sheer fabrics over the head. For the top I used the design which I created inspired by Bella Pietro's work. It's also inspired by my research into sheer fabrics, since it has a variety of layered and ruffled sheer fabrics such as lace and chiffon. I wanted to include a corset in this design since it has been relevant to multiple points of my research, such as when I researched current trends, Victorian fashion, Bella Pietro's work and John Galliano's work. I've designed this corset to have sharp tailoring, since this is an idea I had when creating designs inspired by my research into the current trend of corsets. I also wanted to add laced up ribbon features and pearls to the corset since it's a technique that Bella Pietro often uses. I chose to make this corset an underbust corset since they often appeared in Victorian fashion. The sleeves in this design took inspiration from a couple of my initial 18 designs. I combined the ripped lace sleeves from my fourth design, and then the flowy, off the shoulder sleeves from my second design. I wanted the skirt to replicate the top, so I chose to once again use my design inspired by Bella Pietro's work. However, I want this skirt to be much more full and flowy inspired by my research into S/S24 silhouette trends. I also want to include pearls since they often appear in Bella Pietro's work and in Victorian fashion. Finally, I've incorporated my attempt at the LeMAine flesh textile by having it dangling across the legs.

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Material exploration - Free hand embroidery 

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Material exploration - Free hand embroidery 

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More from ‘Material exploration - Free hand embroidery’

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Free hand embroidery on layered sheer fabrics

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Write up about ‘Free hand embroidery on layered sheer fabrics’ sample

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Material exploration - Stitch & Slash method

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Material exploration - Stitch & Slash method

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More from ‘Material exploration - Stitch & Slash method’

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More from ‘Material exploration - Stitch & Slash method’

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More from ‘Material exploration - Heat gun’ page

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Material exploration - Dissolvable fabric 

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Material exploration - Dissolvable fabric 

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The next technique that I decided to experiment with was free hand embroidery on dissolvable fabric. At the very beginning of this project whilst I was brainstorming on my mind map, I came up with the idea of experimenting with cobweb embroidery. I decided that using dissolvable fabric would be a good way to experiment with this idea. I began by sketching my design onto the fabric, and then using black thread to do free hand embroidery over it.

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Material exploration - Dissolvable fabric

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Material exploration - Dissolvable fabric

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I ensured that I went over the design multiple times so that when the fabric dissolves the thread doesn't come undon. However, I thought it could be an interesting detail to pay extra attention to a few lines of the cobweb and sew over these even more times to make them thicker. This is how the design looked after I completed the embroidery.

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Since I'm going to be sewing a lot of ruffles for my designs, I decided to experiment with different techniques of sewing them on different fabrics. The first fabric I tested sewing ruffles on was black organza that has had the heat gun used on it. To create this sample I sewed two lines parallel to each other 1cm apart across the top of the fabric. I then pulled on the bobbin threads which created the ruffles in the fabric. I found that the heat gunned organza was too stiff and left the ruffles looking very firm rather than flowy. I decided to try creating ruffles on chiffon next, since its much less stiff than the organza. I used similar technique to sew these ruffles, however this time I folded the fabric in half before sewing the ruffles. This fabric definitely had more of a ruffle compared to the organza, and I found that folding the fabric in half first gave the ruffles a thicker and better quality feel. Finally, I tried the same technique but with a smaller piece of fabric and pulling the bobbin threads more to create different size ruffles.

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I decided that it was important to create a toile for my corset, since it will allow me to test the fit of the garment before cutting into the final fabric. This will ensure that the corset fits correctly and comfortably, and adjustments can be made to the pattern if necessary. Creating a toile will also be a good chance for me to practice sewing a corset, since it's not something I'm very experienced in. Since the top and skirt of my design consist of fabrics being layered at random, I won't be making a toile for them.

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To begin the process of making the toile of my corset, I printed, cut and then taped the pattern pieces together. I’ve decided to use Aranea Black’s Nora corset pattern since it’s similar to what I had in mind for my design.

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The next thing I did was use my waist measurement to determine which size of the pattern I should cut.

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For my toile I decided to use calico, since its a cheap, tightly woven fabric that’s suitable for a corset. Since I needed 2 of each pattern piece for a corset I folded the calico in half before tracing around each pattern piece. I then added a 1.5cm seam allowance to my pattern pieces and cut them out.

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The next step I took was pinning my pattern pieces together.

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I managed to pin every pattern piece together, however this turned out take a lot more time to do perfectly than it should have since I forgot to mark where the waist line was on my pattern pieces. This is something that I’ll assure I do when I create my final corset.

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Before sewing the panels together I wrapped the corset around my body to assure that the size fit me correctly, which it did.

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Next I began sewing, along the outline of the pattern pieces. I decided to use white thread to sew since it blended in well with the calico.

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I finished sewing the panels together, which turned out somewhat successful. However, in some areas I didn’t pay enough attention to detail and sewed in the wrong areas which effected the way the corset sits on my body. This is something I can improve on in my final corset. I’ve also decided that for my final corset rather than cutting 2 pieces for the front panel I’ll cut the fabric on the fold, so that there’s no seam there.

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Since achieving the goal of my toile, which was to ensure the size of the corset will fit me, I will now begin working on the construction of my final outcome. I will have 3 weeks to complete my garment, so to keep me organised and on track I will be using my project plan.

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Constructing my final outcome - Planning

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Constructing my final outcome - Planning

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After experimenting with different fabric techniques, I decided to incorporate some of them into my design. I’m going to slightly deviate from my initial design and plan to use the stitch and slash method for the front panel of the corset. I chose to do this since when experimenting with the technique I found it looked similar to a gash/gore, which is another way to bring my theme of horror into my design. For the second and third panel I would still like to stick to my initial design and add the lace up ribbon details, but I’d also like to sew black lace across the panels underneath this. I plan on using this same technique for panel six and seven. I chose to add this to my design since I learnt from my research that lace is a fabric often used in gothic fashion, and I wanted to bring more of this type into my garment.

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I began the construction of my corset by attaching iron on interface to the back of my fabric. I did this to remove the stretch in the velvet, since this isn’t ideal for creating a corset.

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I then laid out each pattern piece onto the fabric and traced around them using tailor chalk. I used the knowledge that I learnt from my toile and assured that I marked the under bust, waist, and mid hip lines, since this will help me with correctly pinning the pieces together later.

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After tracing and adding the seam allowance, I cut around each pattern piece.

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I found that the white tailor chalk wasn’t appearing very well against the velvet, so to fix this problem I decided to start tracing the pattern pieces using a highlighter on the back of the fabric.

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The next step I took was to work on the detail of each panel individually, starting with the front panel. I used the same method as I did for my fabric samples of the stitch and slash method, however this time instead of creating a square sample I cut it into the shape of the pattern.

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At this point I realised I’d accidentally used bondaweb instead of iron on interface to strengthen the fabric. I decided I should restart the process since the bondaweb wouldn’t be strong enough to keep the corsets shape once I started sewing. Unfortunately, this took up a lot of extra time that I could‘ve used sewing other aspects of the garment, and I’ve learnt to work extra carefully in future to assure similar mistakes don’t happen again.

This time rather than ironing a large piece of the interface directly onto the velvet fabric and then tracing the pattern pieces,I traced and cut out the pattern pieces on the interface and then ironed them onto the velvet. I did this so that there was no interface on the seam allowance.

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Next, I began constructing the lining of the corset. I used a tightly woven black fabric and repeated the same process of tracing the pattern pieces, cutting, pinning and sewing them together.

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After cutting out every piece I began working on each panel individually again, and I decided that I wanted to have a few panels that had lace sewn over the velvet. To create these panels I cut a big enough amount of lace to lay over the top of each panel. I then pinned the lace fabric on top and sewed it following the outline of the panel.

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I began pinning and sewing the panels together, assuring that the bust, waist, and mid hip lines all aligned so that the corset would sit on my body the way it’s supposed to.

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I finished sewing the panels together and I’m happy with how the corset is looking so far. I can see that compared to my toile this corset definitely has a better shape and curve to it, since I remembered to pay more attention to where I was sewing and to keep the waist line aligned.

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I began working on adding the boning to my corset. There are multiple methods to add boning to a corset, however I decided to follow the method of applying a casing. To do this I began by cutting 2cm wide strips of black fabric using pinking shears, so that the fabric wouldn’t fray.

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Next, I pinned the strip of fabric directly in the middle of the seam. The boning I used was 0.5cm wide, so to assure that the boning was in right the middle of the seam I measured 0.25cm to the left of the seam and sewed following this line from the top to the bottom of the panel. I then placed the boning along side this line of stitches and pinned it in place. Using a zipper foot, so that I could sew closer to the boning, I sewed along the other side to create a boning channel.

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Halfway through adding the boning I could see that it definitely helped with softening the creases in the fabric and adding more structure to the corset.

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I repeated this process until each panel had boning, except for the front panel. I decided that this panel didn’t need boning since there were already multiple layers of fabric keeping the structure.

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I was happy with how the boning turned out, since I managed to create strong boning channels which still looked nice on the right side of the garment. However, I could have benefited from practicing this boning technique on my toille since I found the first few to be a little messy.

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Before sewing the boning onto the last panel, I folded, pinned, and sewed it so that it was strong enough to keep the eyelets in place in future. I also decided to experiment with a different technique when sewing this bone in place. Where the fabric and had been folded over, I pinned a bone against the edge of the corset and once again used a zipper foot to sew alongside it.

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The next step was to add the grommets to my corset, however since I hadn’t use these before I wanted to create a small sample where I could practice.

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After practicing using the grommets, I measured small holes that were 1cm apart from each other and began inserting the grommets to the corset.

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Next, I began sewing the lace up ribbon details onto the second and third corset panel. I did this by hand sewing small loops using black thread and then weaving the ribbon through them.

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I found that this fabric was a lot easier to work with than the velvet I used for the corset, so fortunately I was able to complete the construction of the lining very quickly.

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After sewing the lining panels together, I started sewing it to the corset. To do this I pinned along the top of the lining and corset so that the right sides were facing each other. I then sewed following the pin line. I did this so that when I turn the garment inside out it will have a clean edge.