Parachute Dress

This semester I am in a draping class which has been a very difficult but educational experience. For our midterm, we were given a used military parachute as the material to make an outfit with. Thinking of how flowy the fabric is (a rip-stop nylon) and how much we were given, I chose to do an evening gown. Looking back, it was maybe not one of my best choices since it was alot of work, but I am very happy with the outcome and definitely made something I am very proud of! The parachutes came in 3 color variations. I chose the one with beige, green, orange and white(the other two were dark blue and light blue)because initially I was least inspired by them. I have never been a fan of the color orange, or off combining many colors, so I decided to challenge myself with this project. My design was inspired by a few paintings by Salvador Dali, one of my favorite artists. I really love his choice and combinations of colors as well as his abstract depiction of everyday things. Below is a few pictures of my sample dress and a few pictures of my final dress. Also, yesterday My parachute dress was on the front page of the university's newspaper! The picture and article it went with were promotional material for two upcoming fashion shows in which all of my classes parachute dresses will be shown along with the capstone collections of the students that were seniors this year.

Eco-Couture: FGI Recycled Fashion Exihibit

All of the garments from the Cirque du Couture fashion show were judged and the top 20 were chosen to be shown in a gallery on campus. My three designs from the show were chosen! (plus, another pop tab one from the last show!) The exhibit will be open for 2 and half months. I organized a opening reception for people to come and see the new exhibit.

fgi winter recycled show: cirque du couture

This year, I had a huge part in planning the FGI show. I mostly worked on the decorations, and I think they turned out great! By far the best show we've done since I've been here! In the fashion show, I entered three pieces that I made for the sustainable living fair, and one of them (first one shown below) won again! I am grateful to have won for a third time. All in all, it was a great experience, but alot alot of work. Seeing it all come together made it worth it!

Sustainable Living Fair Fashion Show

Last weekend I was a designer for a sustainable fashion show in Fort Collins. The rules for the show were that the materials should be recycled or alternative. I was to create a 5 piece collection, one piece being for men. I had a really great time designing this collection and a lot of fun meeting everyone involved with it!

Yexus Fashion Show

I got a call last month from a lady who was looking for a designer to show 5-10 pieces in a fashion show she was putting together in Denver. I was happy to help her so i could dip my feet in non student shows, and gain some new experiences! I was/am currently working on a mini collection for an up coming show and rushed to finish a few of those to show them with some pieces that i had made previously. The show consisted of the work of 3 designers, me, Veronika Kovtun, and Lucy Yang. I had a great time working with them and participating in the prep meetings and fitting before hand. The show was on August 6th, 2011 at the Tivoli Turnhalle which is part of Metropolitan State's campus. The show was a benefit for World Vision, which is an organization that sponsors children in poverty. I was so grateful to have been able to help raise money for this organization! I will post pictures of the show when the photographers get them to me!

in the rocky mountain collegian!

they may have spelled my name wrong, but i am still honored :)

fgi spring recycled show: the adventures of superchic

I participated in the annual FGI Spring Recycled Show this semester. As a member of FGI, i help come up with and plan the theme and show. The theme was "The Adventures of SuperChic", so it went along with the idea of super heros. I submitted three dresses to the show. the only rules were that each garment was to be made out of 70% recycled/recyclable materials!

The first dress I entered was into the general submission category. This was my favorite piece and the the one I'm most proud of!

Recyclable Materials Used:
Pop tabs
Flattened bottle caps
Black trash bags
Silver and gold Aluminum foil
Brass colored spray paint

For this dress i began with a interfaced fabric base for the bodice. I hand sewed on 1200+ pop can tabs on the bodice and hot glues the bottle caps on. To say the least this was the part that took the longest, but I loved how it turned out. I was told many times that it resembled armor of some sort. For the skirt I sewed layer of ruffles bags together because I wanted a very full and fluffy appearance. I also attached alternating colored layers of tin foil in to the hips to tie in the metallic coloring. This dress also turned out to fit very well (thanks to my roommate during construction!).







The next dress was entered into a smaller category that consisted of designs inspired by a certain super hero. This dress was inspired by Storm, who is an X-(wo)man! I looked at lots of old comics and watched the new x-men movies for research and became such a big fan of Storm. She's hot!

Recyclable Materials Used:
Pop tabs
Flattened bottle caps
Aluminum foil
Newspaper
White trash bags
Clear trash bags
Sheet metal
Duct tape
Spray paint
PVC tape

My favorite part of this dress was the braids. I made long strands of tin foil, newspaper and plastic bags and braided them together with 3 and 5 strands for varied thicknesses. I glues these onto a fabric bodice and filled in empty areas with bottle caps, pop tabs and this very thick foil/thin sheet metal. For the skirt, I cut out 5 pieces of sheet metal and sprayed them white on the ends. I made these into a belt sort of thing using duct tape to attach them at the top, and the glued layers of ruffle bags between them to attach everything. I used both white PVC tape (tape that sticks to itself only, not other things) and white trash bags for the sash!










WOLVERINE
This third dress was a little different, and it also was a winner(first place!)! I was inspired by Wolverine, also an x-man. The storm research also helped with this one! Wolverine's also a hottie, but that is thanks to Hugh Jackman.

Recycled Materials Used:
2 brightly colored power suit jackets from Good Will
Silky PJ's from Good Will
lots of colored soda/energy drink/tea cans
Sheet metal
Electrical tape
Black trash bags
Spray paint

So this dress was a little easier for me, just because the material was more familiar. I struggle with having enough fabric from the jackets, but I worked it out. I wanted to make a bright dress to match the cans, so that is why it is colorful! under the skirt of the dress is two layers of ruffled black trash bags to add volume. The best part of this dress though, is the collar thing. It is made out of a bunch of cans that I cleaned, cut and glued together in strips. Then I made a base out of sheet metal (so they would stick out) and glued/taped the strips on the base. These are inspired by wolverines blades! I arranged the colors on the strips so that they alternate between red/orange/yellow and blue/green/yellow. I then attached these to a sash what you just tie around the shoulders.
I wish I has more time to work on this dress, because it was pretty last minutes. I would have perfected the fit and added more construction details to really make it a special piece.





All in all, I had a fabulous time working on this show! I helped with the model call and fitting, stage decor, and dressing the models. It took alot of work but it all was completely worth it! I had alot of friends and family there to support me, which I really appreciated, thanks guys! i love youuuu :D