Christian Dior, SS15, Haute Couture, Paris.

In discussing some of the details from the Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2015 collection», we began to discuss how moving the positions of panel lines can affect your ability as a pattern maker to fit the fabric to the body. As it happens the Christian Dior Haute Couture collection for Spring-Summer 2015 included garments that pushed panel lines away from the bust point apex to achieve slightly different fit variations on one basic sleeveless silhouette.

If you are familiar with pattern making, then you will know that there are certain guideline measurements that help you to work out how far away from the bust point you can set dart points to achieve a good first fit. For example, depending on the size of the bust, you will normally set your basic pattern dart point at least 1.5cm, and up to 5cm, away from the bust point (BP). This seems like a wide margin of difference and it would be nice to think there was just one measurement that was guaranteed to work for every pattern, however if you think about the variety of body sizes in the world it makes sense that this measurement needs to be considered in proportion to the overall size of the pattern. The bust of a teen and the bust of a 60-something-year-old lady are probably going to require different types of bust shaping, and the distance of the dart point from the bust point will help to control this shaping.

These “guide measurements” aside, if the dart point placement is instrumental in creating a specific design effect then there are no limits - if you want to create a cone-shaped bust effect then by all means put the dart point directly on the bust point. If you wanted a looser, less fitted effect, then the dart points could be moved back to make the darts shorter or turn the darts into smaller tucks instead.

The basic idea of having dart points fall within a certain radius away from the bust point for a “basic fit”, also follows through to how far you can move a panel line away from the bust point before you start to cause fit issues. Again, there are guideline amounts for how far you can move a panel line away from the bust point, but ultimately you are going to have to test the pattern and fit a toile in a similar fabric to your final design to see how much distance you can comfortably get away with.

Basically, the further you move a dart or panel line away from the bust point, the less control you will have in fitting the curve right on top of the bust. In the example images from the Dior collection you can see that the busts of the models aren’t very pronounced, which gives the pattern maker more scope to shift panel lines around with less drastic consequences for the fit of the garment. However, you can still see that some panel line configurations keep the curve of the bust more easily, while other panel/dart/yoke combinations create different shapes or more flattened effects.

To give you a sense of this idea of panel lines passing within range of the bust point, bust point dots and circles have been added to the following images. You can then follow the lines of these panel lines as they pass through the rough circle that radiates out from the bust point.

Images from Vogue.co.uk» Diagrams by The Cutting Class»

Alexander McQueen, AW15, Paris.

The rose is a motif that often features in fashion design, but it was specifically the degradation of the rose that was used in the Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Alexander McQueen. The idea of petals becoming slowly more bruised and ragged was played out in the fabrics and textiles with shredded chiffon and shaded organza petals with torn edges.

Some of the references to roses in the collection were fairly literal with large roses appearing on coats and translated out into the pinks and reds of the colour palette. At other times, the use of the rose motif was more subtly embedded as part of the pattern of the fabric.

At times, the general curved shaping of stylised petals appeared to be translated in more graphic ways in garments that also played with the contrast between dusty pink and vibrant red. In these garments, it appears that panels of pink and red fabric were joined together along curved panel lines which were then pleated to form skirts with crisp ridges. The pleated skirts were shaped using contrast bands that ran horizontally around the hips and waists of the garments to control the amount that the pleating can flare away from the body.

These same dresses also featured necklines which were made square through the use of wide-set straps and through the shaping of the bust cups which were spliced clean and flat across the top, rather than curving around the tops of the breasts. These bust cup shapes were supported using specially shaped underwires which dipped slightly at the centre front.

One other detail worth noticing was the pattern cutting of a shaped sleeve that appeared on a couple of the jackets and coats. The sleeve shape appears to be cut to create a wide flared cuff that sits in the crease of the elbow. A line of topstitching that is visible from the outside of this sleeve appears to indicate how deep the facing is on the inside of the sleeve.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Proenza Schouler, AW15, New York.

The Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Proenza Schouler featured experimentation with fabrics and trims to create layers of texture within the garments. Two main experiments with volume were also at play from a pattern cutting perspective; at times the fabric was spliced and slit open, while at other times the fabric was extended out in sections to create panels that peeled back or could be tied together.

The splicing often happened on knit fabrics, with slits opening up the garments horizontally around the body. These garments appear to have been created with cut-and-sew knits or jerseys, rather than as fully-fashioned knitwear pieces. These pieces were often cleverly styled with stockings so that the gaps in the dresses opened up to reveal the holey stockings underneath. In terms of design lines, the garments with the horizontal splits often featured other strong horizontal design elements, such as the wide bands that were used around the shoulders on some garments to create an off-the-shoulder silhouette.

In terms of places where the fabric was extended rather than spliced, there were a couple of coats that appear to have been cut from a thick felt material. These coats each had two long extensions built into their front panels so that the panels draped back on themselves. This created a tailored effect with more movement than a traditional lapel or storm flap. It appears as though this felt may have been backed with a slightly more rigid material, or possibly fused for support, and this helped to create the crisp lines of the extensions without the need for bagged out edges.

One other point worth noticing was the use of panel lines as a channel to insert contrast trims into a garment. A few of the garments in the Proenza Schouler collection used V-shaped panels to add trims such as fringing and fur to dresses. This may be a technique that you could adopt for your own designs, rather than using trims only around the edges of garments or as an appliqué.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Undercover, AW15, Paris.

The Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Undercover was filled with sharp construction details and shattered design lines which were rounded out by rich colours, painted fabrics and voluminous drapes of velvet, satin and jersey. Soft and luxurious fabrics were often layered, deconstructed and then rejoined to create spliced details and staggered panel lines.

Darts were often sewn so that the dart value was visible on the outside of the garment, creating pointed wedges of fabric that spliced through the garment at different angles. The pattern pieces that used these darts were carefully balanced so that a symmetrical garment was shaped using an asymmetrical combination of darts and panel lines. For example, on some of the coats there may be a dart on one side of the body, but the same fit value was created on the other side of the body using panels instead. Or at times the dart was removed altogether and the same fit value may have been rotated into an adjacent panel.

Some of the looks that appeared to just be styled as a “layered look” were in fact carefully constructed so that sections of shirts joined straight into the waistband of trousers, or shirt cuffs were joined directly onto blazers. On one garment, an open-ended zipper slices straight through the centre of both a shirt and a cardigan. The visual impact of this deconstruction was particularly striking on monochrome looks that played with the black and white layering of traditional formal attire, which appears to have been created with garment sections first joined horizontally, and then spliced vertically to create jagged mismatched edges.

The use of angular darts and shattered panel lines mimicked the jagged shards of glass that adorned the coats and tailored pieces that closed the collection.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Valentino, AW15, Paris.

The Valentino collection for Autumn-Winter 2015 appeared to almost be split into two very different aesthetics. On the one hand there was clean cut minimalism in black and white, on the other hand there was lace and feather patterns in muted colours and tinged with gold.

The lace was often cleverly layered in strips that created directional patterns. These soft stripes guide the eye of the viewer around the body and also visually break the body up into different proportions by shifting waistlines higher or lower, or by making the upper body wider or narrower with sleeve-like extensions. These extensions were attached or appliquéd vertically into the main bodice panels and are sometimes referred to in pattern making terms as flanges.

Aside from the lace, another dominant textile motif was the use of a feathered pattern that was often created in soft, painterly gradients that developed towards the hems of the garments. These fabrics appear to have been cleverly designed with striking variations in colour so that the horizontal rows of feathers in stronger colours could be strategically placed across the body for the most flattering effects. These stronger lines of colour also prevent the print from becoming too wishy-washy and have the same dynamic effect as the mutliple colours used on the lace.

Another striking detail of the lace work was the way the lace was shaped over the décolletage, shoulders and upper back of some garments to form small stripes that radiate from the neckline. These specially shaped lace panels appear to have been created as separate front and back panels and then joined with a shoulder seam.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Valentino, AW15, Paris.

Aside from the lacier side of the Valentino show for Autumn-Winter 2015, there was a range of garments presented with minimal monochrome details and intricate geometric fabrics edged with beads and gold stitching.

The beginning of the collection was dominated by eye-catching patterns in geometric monochrome that appeared to be prints, but as Maria Grazia Chiuri explained, these garments were actually made with patchwork techniques. These patchwork processes carried through to garments later in the collection that used black and vivid colours to create intricate patterns on dresses and coats.

The geometry of the triangles seen in the black and white garments also reappeared later in the collection, this time as a delicate open pattern, which was edged with gold stitching and seen hanging in skirts styled with oversized knitwear.

Trim was a key element of these monochrome garments with piping used to created striking outlines on dresses, skirts and shirts. The piping was used as a contrast with white or black lines tracing the shape of garment details such as cuffs, plackets and collars or helping to define panel lines.

From a pattern cutting perspective, an interesting detail was the use of flanges which were created to sit on either side of a central bodice panel. These flanges were cut as the more architectural cousins of the lace flanges that were used  in other parts of the collection.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Balenciaga, RST16.

The Spring-Summer 2016 pre-collection at Balenciaga was filled with stripes, splits, sheer panels and details that created soft structure. At times, waistline tucks blended into wavy peplum hems that appeared as though they may have been shaped with crinoline. This same soft, wavy structure was also used around hip level to create bouncy structure in dresses.

Often channels filled with boning are used to create structure through the bodice sections of dresses, and this was what appeared to be visible in a couple of strapless dresses in the collection. This same channelled look was also used on other garments but in the garments that appeared to be made out of stretch fabrics, the support appeared to be much softer and more flexible to move with the body. This channelled appearance was also created on some garments in a more decorative way, with box-shaped topstitching.

From a pattern cutting perspective, one unusual detail in the collection was the way panel lines on a couple of garments split through the bodice with the different lengths of the panels used to create small draped sections that tucked in at the waistline. Small, dart-shaped tucks were also used in an interesting way to create shaping around the curved necklines of some garments.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Céline, AW15, Paris.

Bet you never think of topstitching as nonchalant, right? What about pattern making, can you cut a dart like you just don’t care? This is the bizarre skill that is needed to be a fashion designer; can you convey a certain mood for a collection not just through your choice of fabric or the way you cut a jacket, but through every single choice and detail down to the last contrast buttonhole.

Surely, this is the secret to Céline’s success under Phoebe Philo? Somebody cares so much about how all those little details come together, what they insinuate and how they will hang on the body that the wearer doesn’t have to care. You can see it in the Céline collections because there are always little contradictions in the construction choices. A fabric embellishment can be left to unravel, but the topstitching on the sleeve head is perfectly placed to hold the seam allowance and smooth the silhouette. A cape hangs off your shoulders just right because someone has strategically worked out where to place the button and buttonhole and then sewn it in a contrast colour just so it doesn’t get too serious. You can even use pattern fullness to counteract anything that’s just too blatantly sexy. If you’re going to cut a revealing slip dress then why not crush the bust cups rather than dart them perfectly just so it’s not too fitted?

It sounds ridiculous, of course, that is until you’ve seen a garment go from wrong to right after a fitting session changed the proportions. Or after the cutter changed the fusing. Or the sewing machinist moved the topstitching on the hem. And when you look at a collection and something doesn’t look quite right or a garment just doesn’t look very resolved and you can’t work out why, it might be something really small that’s the key to the problem. Some little detail that just contradicts the concept behind the collection.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Textiles and “The Emboss Machine” created by Tiffany Loy 2012-2015.

One of the areas where industrial design and fashion design often crossover with amazing consequences is in textile design; a medium where sculptural and textural experiments can sometimes take place more creatively in the time before the textiles are assigned to a specific garment or product. As is often the case, the method used to create the textures of textiles can also sometimes be just as innovative as the end result, which is the case in the embossed textiles created by Tiffany Loy.

After taking an interest in the process of embossing textiles in 2012, Loy’s training in industrial design and prototyping have allowed her to create 2-part moulds for experimentation in her own studio without the logistics or expense involved with working at a larger scale or with a large factory. As Loy explains, “I started testing different types of textiles, heat-setting them in a variety of patterns, to understand how each material and weave structure react to the treatment. A big part of the process was mold-design. I had to consider how the pattern is to be repeated, and how that can be done, with registrations, on the molds. I used 2-part molds, so the tolerance between the molds was also very important. As the project progressed, it became quite technical as I had to ensure consistency in the results.

One of the particularly interesting things about the way these textiles have been developed is the way that Loy has created “The Emboss Machine”. The machine appears to be designed to take up a small amount of studio space, yet can process narrow but endless meterage. Stainless steel dowel pins can also be rearranged within a pegboard base to create an array of different patterns, which would be perfect for industrial or fashion designers who need to experiment with small meterage for sample or graduate collections, before moving to larger scale manufacturing as needed for production.

The steel dowel pins also appear to be designed to take into account the need to register the next section of plain fabric after each embossing in order to create a continuous design, which would obviously be perfect for repeat patterns, but could also allow you to shift the dowels around between each section of fabric to create large-scale pixelated motifs.

On Loy’s website, you can also see the beginnings of where these experiments cross over into garment design. Individual details of the garment show how typical finishes do not necessarily need to be used and, in fact, may be difficult to achieve with the embossed fabric. For example, the shaped hem works well with the embossed spots, but also avoids the issue of stitching that stretches and puckers the textured fabric. Another interesting detail is the use of negative space on the back of the “Bubbles Top”, where the garment appears to be created in such a way that the front neckline shape has been cut out and folded back on itself to create a flap of excess fabric at the back neckline.

More images of Tiffany Loy’s heat-setting and embossing techniques, as well as Loy’s work as an industrial designer can be seen at her website: www.tiffanyloy.com»

Ports 1961, RST16, New York.

The Spring-Summer 2016 pre-collection from Ports 1961 was filled with pops of vivid colour set against a neutral canvas of whites and creams. Different trims and embellishments were used across the garments to foreground parts of the garments and to give the garments texture.

Bias binding was used in an interesting way to create sweeping curves and angular mitred corners along the edges of oversized garments. At other times, the use of vibrant linework appeared as a print and these garments were styled with bunches of chaotic trim to draw attention to the print as part of the photography of the collection.

Custom designed knits and wovens also appear to have been developed for the collection. One detail in particular appears to have been created by layering a colourful woven over a neutral backing fabric. The coloured layer then appears to have been cut through to create sections of fringing that play nicely with the proportion of the garments by breaking up the repetition of the weaving pattern in horizontal stripes.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Viktor & Rolf, Couture, AW15, Paris.

In a show that saw artworks exploding off the wall to form couture gowns, Viktor and Rolf created garments that exaggerated the balancing acts that lie at the heart of all clothing. On everyday clothing, common pattern shapes are regurgitated so that designers don’t have to deal with pesky things like gravity. However, once materials become harder, heavier or stiffer the ability to shape and control the structure of a garment to form extreme silhouettes becomes more and more important.

For example, many familiar garments use the shoulders and the waist as anchor points since garments will rest on certain points of the body once gravity takes its toll. Spaghetti straps may suffice for a lightweight camisole, but once you’re trying to support a dress made of canvas and frames, it makes sense to resort to wide strapping instead.

These wide straps also appear to be used internally in the garments to create cantilever effects, with a hidden D-ring barely visible on the inside of one of the frames. Often the weight of the frames is used to create tension on the fabric in these cases, with the frame fragments straining against each other to spread the fabric volume. On a normal garment, the fabric fullness created by gathers or pleats would fall into soft or crisp folds, but here this fullness is spread to produce bulky, angular hemlines.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Weaving from the Texture collection by Moa Hallgren, 2015.

As part of an interesting cultural exchange between Berlin and Bangladesh, Moa Hallgren has created a range of textiles that are woven from by-products of the textile industry. Aside from taking a closer look at the handwoven textiles created for the Texture collection there are also some beautiful examples of Hallgren’s work with 3D weaving.

The Texture collection was created in the context of a fashion design exchange program which involved the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, the Berlin Weissensee School of Art and the Berlin University of the Arts. The exchange program allowed alumni from different institutions an opportunity to explore the strengths of the textile and garment industries in each others countries. Alumni from Berlin, for example, gained an insight into the textile manufacturing that plays a large part in the economy of Bangladesh, with visits to companies that revive traditional methods or that have production methods that have a sustainability-oriented focus. In turn, alumni from Bangladesh gained an insight into the fashion design trends in Europe with visits to European trade fairs.

Knowing about this cultural exchange gives us a clearer understanding of the work that Hallgren has created, where she has merged the reference point of a traditional Bengali quilting technique called Kantha, with the use of repurposed waste materials to form new textiles.

As Hallgren explains, although post-consumer textile waste such as clothes is often given a second life, the by-products of the actual weaving process of textiles are rarely reused. For Texture, rejected single yarns, selvedges and rejected cut parts from German fabric manufacturers have been handwoven together to create textures that reference the handstitched qualities of Kantha.

In terms of technique, Hallgren describes how the textiles are created on a dobby loom:

“The fabrics are all double faced and can be used from two sides. They are woven on a dobby loom using 24 shafts, with two different warp densities, making it possible to combine the very fine silk with the thick wool scraps. For the dark blue/white fabrics, only left over yarns have been used (no wool scraps), and for one of the textiles, the warps are not binding any weft yarns but act like “stitches” on the basic cloth.”

Aside from her work with textile by-products, Hallgren has also produced some beautiful samples using more experimental 3D weaving and fabric manipulation techniques. In the coloured sample below, you can get a better sense of how the layers crisscross to create the honeycomb structure.

See more of Moa Hallgren’s work, including rugs handwoven from recycled textiles, on her website: www.moahallgren.com»

More information about the Local-International exhibition which accompanies the exchange program on Design Transfer»

Prada, AW15, Milan.

For the Autumn-Winter 2015 collection, Miuccia Prada played with cartoonish silhouettes in a spongy synthetic, which looked like a neoprene material but was actually a double-faced jersey. This material appeared to be the pivot point for experiments with how we construct “beauty”, whether by natural or artificial means. The result of this natural / artificial contrast appeared to be referenced through rounded tailoring in fleshy textures that played against the cool blues, greens and vivid aquas that appeared in blobby molecular prints.

A new and thicker fabric brings new capabilities and new limitations. The double-faced jersey created collars and sleeve heads that appeared fuller, smoother and more rounded. If normal wool-based tailoring can suffer from unsightly cellulite, then this was the material equivalent of botox. Where sharper edges were needed, wide borders of topstitching controlled the seam allowances to create more controlled lines on collars, lapels, facings and patch pockets.

This material was also used in conjunction with more traditional embellishment techniques such as beading and embroidery. In some cases, the thick jersey was used to create 3D flowers and appliquéd designs. At times, wide panels of contrasting colours were panelled onto babydoll dresses with what appears to be a zigzag stitch, or may be a handsewn catch stitch.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Balenciaga, AW15, Paris.

Some time ago, we discussed some of the different ways you can position fabric on the body to create different sleeve shapes. In particular, there are many different design possibilities that open up to you when you give up on the typical bodice / sleeve arrangement and start to blur the positions of these garment parts to create more unusual silhouettes. In this post, we’ll look at the cocoon shaped coats and jackets from the Balenciaga collection for Autumn-Winter 2015 to look at how the fabric has been shaped in these garments.

In the collection, one of the dominant silhouettes was an oversized coat shape which hinged off the shoulders and extended up to create a wide, raised collar. By looking at the images of similar garments in the collection you can look at the fabric to get your grain line bearings and then find the positions of the dominant seams to find where the edges of the pattern pieces are.

After doing this research, you can then start to experiment with fabric, roughly manipulating it to get a sense of the general shape needed to create the garments. In the example below we have left out the main shaping around the neckline, but you can still see how the back of the collar begins to resemble the photographs of the collection. You can also imagine that by tilting the fold of the fabric as you experiment, you are changing the way the fabric will act which will impact the height of the collar and tension across the shoulders. This effect can also be seen in some of the garments above with the way they are created with different slopes on the shoulders. Our rough drawings also give you a sense of the angles that need to be achieved in order to make the checks interact nicely along each of the front arm seams.

Once you have the main fabric pieces in position the draping process can become more specific, outlining the position of the seams at the front and back of the arms, drawing in the neckline and centre front, tweaking the back grain with a centre back seam, etc.

Of course, the point isn’t to copy these designs, but by mentally unfurling the fabric of an existing garment you develop that special skill that pattern makers have to be able to see garments as both 2D and 3D objects. It’s also important that when you sketch a design that looks impossible to construct, you have some different ways of working through the pattern. As we demonstrated here, sometimes you need to start with flat pieces of fabric, pick a grain line and start to fold and move the fabric until it begins to resemble the shape you had in mind. This is normally done on a mannequin, but even working with small pieces on a flatter plane will help you to get the bearings of how the main fabric shapes will need to interact. This will at least give you a starting point from which you can work out whether more seams are needed, whether seams can be eliminated, or if darts, tucks or other shaping devices are needed as well.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk»

Technical diagrams by The Cutting Class»

Anrealage, AW15, Paris.

The Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Anrealage revolved around the way that a spot of light hits objects in darkness, with pitch black garments illuminated by spots of pure white. This basic concept was then borne out through a range of different iterations - white light as a print, prints fading into darkness, circles to create focus on a garment, different ways to create gradient effects, rounded silhouettes and even prints illuminated by UV lighting.

The catwalk presentation was vital to the concept of this collection, with the video of the show essentially broken into two parts. In the first section, the “light” is physically present on the garments with white or lightened focal points, often created with screen prints or possibly faded digital prints. At times, the gradient effect around the ring of light was also meticulously created through patchwork, felting, or with knit pieces that appeared to be created from greyscale wool in a range of tones.

The idea of circles and curves was also physically cut into the garments at the pattern stage. Sleeves were cut with dropped shoulders and shaped with rounded seams while skirts were cut from circle skirt shapes to create flowing, uneven hems.

The physical light spots in this section were highlighted during the catwalk show by the way that the models walked in and out of white spotlights. This added further brightness to the spots that were already physically there on the clothes.

In the second half of the collection, the textiles themselves changed so that they were actually black unless they were highlighted with UV lights. This effect emphasised the idea of a flashlight discovering objects in the dark, with the UV follow-spots roaming over the clothes so that the prints appeared to become activated when lit. While the styling of the collection in photographs appears very sombre, the roaming lighting and soundtrack in this second section has a more playful quality as though the light is exploring the garments and discovering the vibrant colour hidden inside the gloom.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Chanel, AW15, Paris.

Mixed among the traditional tweeds and bouclés of the Chanel Autumn-Winter 2015 collection were a number of fabric manipulations that added volume and texture to the garments.

At times, a quilted effect was created with what appears to be small pillows of fabric joined together to create an effect like a padded coat. At other times, these small pillows appear to be turned on the diagonal and appliquéd with squares of stitching, with the corners of the squares turned up to create a soft, spiky texture.

Another textured effect was created with what appears to be rows of horizontal fabric that have been stitched with vertical lines of topstitching. The centres of the loose fabric in each row then appears to be pinched together to create continuous rows of bows fastened with stitching and perhaps finished with beads.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Christian Dior, AW15, Haute Couture, Paris.

The Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Christian Dior was filled with bold, immediate design elements such as contrast sleeves and asymmetric outerwear but there were also quieter and more subtle details with carefully placed darts, pleats and feathers.

One of the key garments of the collection was an asymmetrical piece of outerwear that was cut in different varieties that seemed to blur the boundary between coats and capes. These pieces were often cut with lots of volume, oversized pockets and asymmetric hems. The sleeve shapes were also interesting on these pieces since, aside from being cut in contrast materials, the sleeves were shaped with large, wide hems.

Some of the quieter embellishments created for the collection related to a mottled print that appeared on pleated dresses and knitwear. Very small feathers, or very small sections of feathers, were used to create subtle surface texture across dresses. Tiny tucks and pleats also appeared throughout the collection, creating subtle ridges on both plain and printed fabrics.

Interesting dynamics were also created with the use of layering in the collection. Pieces made of metal links and metal rings, and embellished with what appears to be gemstones, were layered over the top of other garments. In a way, perhaps this is a more wearable form of couture - with removable pieces it becomes easier to mix and match to create different effects.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Louis Vuitton, AW15, Paris.

Nicholas Ghesquière has a knack for creating collections that look very wearable but that are still filled with quietly innovative construction details and carefully developed fabrics. For the Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Louis Vuitton these elements were combined together in unusual ways to create garments and looks that were a blur of textures and construction references.

There were silky slip dresses spliced with angular contrast panels and chunky zips that appeared to be cut like lingerie and sewn like sportswear, even complete with lace panels, elasticated trims and zigzag stitching. Minimal knitwear was transformed with fully-fashioned splices running across the chest, and rib structures that splayed out to create fluted hems. Occasionally these knit pieces also appeared in sparkly metallic versions that were layered over mini skirts. Mini skirts appeared throughout the collection in a range of different fabrics from leather to pixelated sequins. The leather versions involved minute LV branding with tiny buckles and straps embossed with the LV logo. The fly front on these skirts was often also emphasised with the use of an exposed zip surrounded by an appliquéd panel in a contrasting leather.

The sharp tailoring in the collection had a crisp quality, which was possibly a feeling created specifically through the pattern tweaks and construction choices used. For example, the hems were cut square and flattened with an outline of topstitching, while the lapels sat clean and flat as though supported by a crisp fusing and shaped with a good flat press rather than leaving the lapel to roll softly at the neck.

The crisp tailoring was often softened by carefully chosen contrast details. Yellow topstitching ran down the sleeves of one coat, matching the yellow thread used to attach the buttons. Leather pieces were also used to create shaped patches above the pockets on some coats. The tailored pieces were often dressed down with the way that they were styled - layered over clean tops with shoelace drawstring hems to add another sporty reference.

The fact is that lots of these details look easy, but they’re not. Those knitwear splits had to sit at just the right place so that the gape didn’t look awkwardly tight or sloppy. And the panelled slip dresses could so easily have looked puckered and messy with misplaced black panels sliding away from that underbust line. Add in a good sense of proportion, well-fitted clothes and enough time and resources to iterate and you can take unusual ideas and turn them into a well executed collection.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

Kenzo, AW15, Paris.

The Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Kenzo included some interesting pattern cutting details to create draped details and subtle folds of fullness. At times, sportswear colours and satin fabrications were contrasted with a more historical technique, with cartridge pleats used on sleeve heads and dropped waists.

From a design line perspective, there were some nice uses of asymmetry to guide the viewer’s eyes around the garments. At times, angular diagonal panels cut across the sleeve and body pieces of tailored jackets, pierced with contrast strips of colours that bordered on neon. In some tops, curved panels arced across the shoulder area before sweeping into draped fullness around the waist.

There was also some interesting pattern cutting going on in the folds of come of the shirts and coats. There appeared to be extra fullness cut into some shirts and jackets around the neckline / collar area. This fullness appeared to be folded out at the top so that the pleat of fabric draped at a diagonal and blended to nothing at the waist. When used on both sides of the neckline, this created a triangular silhouette which flowed out from the top button of some looks and continued down into layers of fabric volume with staggered hems.

The use of contrast also played an important role in this collection, especially in looks that were so layered and patterned. Contrast facings, or possibly self-backed fabrics, helped to create definition on garments that used draped collars so that pools of black satin broke up detailed prints.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»