— Les Smokings - Mugler

After completing an exercise in studio looking at adding design features to the tailored jacket, this video from Show Studio, gives another insight to changing the decoration of the jacket.

We found this video inspirational and it really shows how tailoring can be interpreted in a modern and contemporary setting. To us it really demonstrates the breadth of unique and interesting materials which designers today are applying to the classic tailored jacket.

Love,

 Leea and Emily

Design Download. Yohji Yamamoto

http://showstudio.com/project/design_download_yohji_yamamoto#design_download

A Little bit of soft tailoring for all the creative types to download and enjoy! This beautiful jacket by acccliamed fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, embodys the essence of relaxed tailoring, it is free to be downloaded and explored. I think we will be seeing multiples around level 10 RMIT very soon!

Love,

Leea and Emily

Phoebe Philo's Autumn/Winter 2010

Reduce, refine, define. Celine's minimalist tailoring comes to life.

Love,

Leea & Emily

TREASURETTE OPENS ON LITTLE COLLINS

140 Little Collins Melbourne 
I walked past this store the other night (sadly, it was closed) but seeing labels such as Margiela and Rick Owens on the window when I got home I had to further investigate.
An article posted just the other day on Broadsheet answered all the questions I wanted to know.

"Opening just two weeks ago, new multi-label boutique Treasurette lovingly devotes itself to international and luxury shoes, bags and accessories. The window proudly flaunts leopard print Aperlaï flats (encompassing the label’s thoughtful alliance of comfort and sensuality), the towering, architectural heels of Finsk and the romantic, nostalgic silk scarves of Vassilisa."

Yes please. Will be heading there between 11-7 on Friday thanks. Thought I should share.

x Clem

WEST SPACE 2011 - A FUNDRAISING EXHIBITION

West Space

       Leading Melbourne artist-run gallery West Space launched its annual fundraising exhibition, West Space 2011, last Tuesday and I thought I'd pop in before it ended on Sunday to check out what all the fuss was about.

       However unrelated to tailoring, the works (from more than 120 of Australia’s foremost young and mid-career artists) left quite an impression on me. It's interesting how artworks and illustrations can open your eyes up to a myriad of design possibilities. Everything from shapes, silhouettes and colour. The piece shown here to the left was a relatively large piece by Ferretti Basket which I really liked. It's inspired me not only with this studio, but with transfer printing in Decorative Techniques to embrace this sort of mismatched pattern.

       The exhibition was really nicely set out, and West Space's new Bourke Street premises really did it a lot of justice. It was just a shame it didn't run for longer. But I'll definitely be heading out to art exhibitions around Melbourne more often to supplement my designs.



Clementine Day

DIOR HOMME MENSWEAR S/S 2012

Dior Homme

Menswear S/S12

Kris Van Assche showed loose tailoring, hats and clever button details in cream, white, brown and black shades.

Kris Van Assche launched into another suave S/S collection for the Parisian powerhouse on Saturday afternoon. Back at last season's show venue, Van Assche focused on light and smooth shades such as cream, white and brown. There were a few all-black looks, and a final section of greyish blue and, er, blueish grey shades. The tailoring was loose and comfortable, using cropped trousers to draw the attention to the well-cut jackets.

But more than the cut it was the detailing of the jackets that attracted attention.Instead of buttons, Kris displayed key rings as a closing mechanism for the jackets. The back of the pieces were also sliced open, almost making them reversible from back to front. Like last season, Dior went for black felt hats and with all the brown leather details on belts, neck lines and collars, the models almost looked like Dior Homme inner-city cowboys. Voluminous shirts, pleated coats and leather T-shirts also impressed.   

Dazed Digital: What was your starting point for this collection?
Kris Van Assche: It's really about this dialogue between our heritage and know-how of the atelier and real life. The five first looks were about showing how we study clothes and how we make them in toile first, the work in progress and levels of research. It was also about showing that a couture house can make clothes for everyday life with all out movement. 

DD: Is that where the loose fitted stuff comes in?
Kris Van Assche: Yeah but all really balanced, there's nothing too excessive. I've done oversized coats in the past, this time I wanted it to be more balanced and comfortable.

DD: Tell us about the button detailing, they look like key rings...
Kris Van Assche: I took those from really official military uniforms. They have gold buttons on the outside and these on the inside. So my jackets are the other way around and you can turn them around if you prefer the normal button. 

DD: Do you have a fave piece in the show?
Kris Van Assche: This white suit jacket, it has two hidden buttons and the one at the top so you can close it. I like it when you can't really tell if it's a suit jacket or a sportswear piece, kind of elegant and laid back at the same time...

  

Photography by Yang Wang 

Text by David Hellqvist 

Interesting article/interview to read regarding the tailoring in Dior Homme S/S2012, thought some of you might be interested.

Found on Dazed Digital.

http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashionweek/womenswear/ss12/article/10746/1/dior-homme-menswear-ss12

x Clem

SHANNON SLATER

I am always inspired by bright colours and flamboyant patterns. This semester I am influenced by organic shapes and nature. The jacket I have designed is a reflection of shape. I wish to use a plumb coloured wool as my main colour in the jacket. The part of the jacket that excites me the most is the bottom half and pockets. The fabrics used to create this shape and silhouette will more than likely be fused with a thick fusing to create a crispness and voluminous outline. I am pretty happy with the way the jacket looks at the moment, but I am excited for the exploration and problem solving process. I want my collection to marry harmoniously with my jacket design. But I still have a lot of work ahead!

ALEXANDER BATSIS

I find the historical processes of bespoke tailoring a major importance within my own tailoring practise. I introduce these old world techniques to my current fashion practise whilst applying an agency of thought to the body – and its relation to the tailored form. Paying homage to historical iconography is an important aspect in my design conduct, it allows me to understand the progression - and in turn - the transgression of how tailoring has evolved and disseminated within the current fashion landscape. I find that throughout my design process – right from the cognition stage to design enquiry, I tend to amalgamate a collective series of ideas, thoughts and images in order to conceptualise and contextualise innovative and personal representations of tailoring.

ANNE

Design Aesthetic
Influences
This Semesters Exploration

SONDRA WARE

Always being know as the girly girl and the one that makes"pretty things" I guess it's no surprise that for this semesters work I am designing a jacket around the focus of using integrated and applied decoration in the form of flowers and leaves. I guess my inspiration for this jacket other than an embroidery piece ( which i found in a daggy old machine embroidery mag )is my strong love of flowers and nature. To construct my jacket, I will be using a thick woolen fabric. I will be using grey for the main areas of the jacket, olive green for the leaves and a magenta for the flowers.

VICKI THANIOTIS

This semester I have chosen to investigate a specific period in tailoring as the stimulus for my own design exploration. I am particularly interested in Regency London dandyism (1788-1830), whereby menswear took on a much more sober and restrained appearance, as ‘cut’ become a more important indicator of quality. As the cut-away coat was the iconic garment for this period, it will become the focal point for my collection and further research. My reinterpretation of this garment into a women’s jacket, will also involve research into other such garments in close association; in particular the cravat and the high collared shirt. My curiosity with these garments is the way they were used along side the coat to frame the face with shape, and create a focal area with contrast fabric. Drawing attention to the face I believe places the individual, not the wearer into the foreground. Within my own tailored jacket design, I wish to merge the effects of the three garments into the one garment. I will experiment with the use of contrasting fabrics and a more abstract approach to shape and line. In doing so I hope to arrive at a resolution which possesses a less literal interpretation. 

SOPHIA ROTAR

A poignant moment of inspiration came to me early in this studio after reading Anne Hollander’s ‘Sex and Suits’. Hollander writes about the history of tailoring and its ability to idealize, morph and emphasize various elements of the natural male and female form. Alas, whilst getting caught up in notions of “what is the perfect form?”, I had the thought: what was to be done when the body was truly ‘imperfect’? Hence began my research into the siamese twins and the inaccurately labeled ‘freaks’ of yesteryear. Delighted to come across much information and imagery on the subject, I was fascinated to examine just how these so called ‘imperfect’ figures were so wonderfully catered for with regard to their clothing.

As a result of rummaging through old images and archives on the subject, I noticed a common theme developing among the pairs of siamese twins and leg-less men. That is, resulting from the societal attitudes of the time, these people were often treated as a novelty and frequently featured as part of a circus side show. Indeed there is a rather horrid element to this whole concept, yet admittedly it did serve to create an exciting tension when viewing the colourful elaborate posters advertising their so called ‘freak shows’.

Upon considering all the aforementioned factors and inspirations, I have decided to create my designs based upon the so called ‘freaks’ of yesteryear. Taking direct inspiration from their unique silhouettes and figures, I have translated this information into my jacket designs. These forms now serve as the jacket base to which I intend to pepper with the same kitsch charm and nostalgic colouring of the vintage circus posters, and hopefully an equal amount of enchantment evident in those “freaks” who have already inspired me so much!

ELLA MCILVENA

Ok, so im going to try and explain my theme/inspiration/design with out sounding like a complete cheesepuff, so ‘ere goes.
After reading Anne Hollander’s ‘Sex In Suits’, I had a sex dream, (yes, I am being completely honesty) but I shan’t bore you with the details.   
  This dream started off my thought process about a suit that ultimately exposed the body rather than conceal it. I began researching into different eras of fashion and was most intrigued by the 1960-1970’s sexual revolution. The way men and women alike were free to explore sexuality and their bodies without shame or embarrassment. Where nudity was accepted and society was carefree.
  I wanted to use some of the sex symbols or ‘it-girls’ if you will, of the time to influence and inspire my designs throughout the folio process. Bianca Jagger and Grace Jones are just two of the women I have chosen to use. Their powerful, sexy, carefree attitude is something many women to aspire to and is something extremely appealing to me when creating a design such as my own.

  I have chosen to create a suit jacket that takes influence from all of the above, to expose the body through cut out vertical vents at the breasts and back to symbolise the nudity and sex appeal of a women, and a strong masculine silhouette with structured shoulders to represent the power and strength each women possess. I shall ultimately create a power suit for the modern woman incorporating 1970’s style cuts and tailoring with a contrast of ‘a bit of nipple’.

PIP BAIN

Design Aesthetic
Influences
This Semesters Exploration

TYRONE DYLAN SUSMAN

After a late start this semester I jumped straight into our brief hoping for a creative sense of difference to pop into my head. I began researching classical tailoring and the designers who spearheaded this craft. I have a respect for tailoring and whilst it is not yet a strength of mine, I understand and appreciate the specialisation, craftsmanship, the elegance and expertise required for the construction of a tailor made garment.

Reading through countless books referencing Dior’s New Look from the late 1940s where the signature shape was characterized by a full-skirt, large bust, and small waist. I am infatuated by his rebellious nature, pushing the boundaries of his time. In denial of the post-war fabric restriction, Dior used twenty yards of extravagant fabrics in his creations.

Dior’s silhouette of femininity and excess struck a cord with me. The harmony of fabric and the female figure, he glamorised the era. I also looked at photos of fashion from 1896 for inspiration and I began developing new ideas capturing the essence of another era.

I want to maintain a distinct classical motif in my work this semester, researching Balenciaga, Dior, and Schiaparelli. I have been inspired to find a balance between the past (1940-1950s) and future, creating my own niche.

I discovered the Australian artist Kate Rohde’s, whose contemporary works derive from a theatrical theme relating to the Renaissance period. Her use of exaggerated embellishment and pastel colour palettes with a 15th Century basis inspired me to push the boundaries from the past and make it relevant to today forward.

A friend recently showed me some artwork titled, “classical art, improved with spraypaint”. Classical paintings of the Renaissance period are blended with graffiti. This approach is now fundamental to my work. I draw inspiration from the 40s and take them into the present/future with my silhouettes and fabrication choices. I want to create the ultra femme-bot; feminine, provocative and powerful,

ALEXANDRA MCCLOUD-GIBSON

Recently I’ve come across a multitude of books exploring the idea of Surrealism and Fashion that sparked an extreme interest into the entire movement which has seeped its way into my Studio folio and Ideas for Women’s Tailoring. Most of the male Surrealists repeatedly distorted the female form, and depicted women as muses, much in the way that male artists had for centuries, female Surrealists such sought to address the problematic adoption of psychoanalysis that often cast women as somehow monstrous. Thus, many female Surrealists experimented with cross-dressing and depicted themselves and the women in their art as more masculine. This echoed similar ideas to the power dressing seen in the 1980s, women taking upon a more masculine shape with broadened shoulders and stronger silhouettes to only enhance their femininity and power. Many key designers from the era sought their own inspiration from surrealism creating a mixture of bold and brightly colored, fantastically bizarre garments.. Themes such as metaphor and metamorphosis, bodies and parts and displacements interested those apart of the movement and similarly to them I’m exploring the idea of the relationship between body and clothes, the traditional tailored form vs. actual form and Creating something that strips as it conceals.

My tailored jacket will be made from wool and feature the strong characteristics of dressing in the 1980s I’ve taken an enlarging silhouette and paired it with a form fitting plastic bustier to be worn over the jacket. The jacket creates a new silhouette for the wearer with its cropped hemline, shawl collar and extremely exaggerated dolman sleeves, hiding the figure underneath. The bustier, sitting underneath the double breasted front panel will bring back the idea of the female form. To create a bustier that’s as true to life as possible I’ve explored the idea of sculpture and vacuum forming using plastic sheets. Over the female figure that I have created over plaster I will vacuum form thin sheets of plastic which can then be attached or placed onto my tailored jacket tying together ideas of surrealism and 1980s dressing.

LEEA MENKHORST

The design concept I have chosen to develop through to a finished garment references my interest and exploration of a 1950’s style silhouette. Studio exercises in silhouettes and adding/changing details also influenced my design process.

I began my design process working with the concept of pleating but further visual research led to my interest moving to combining feminine elements with the more rigid lines of the tailored jacket. I am exploring the use of techniques including appliqué, beading and lighter overlaid fabrics to bring softness to the tailored garment. The interplay between tailored lines and feminine form represented an area of tension that I wanted to explore.
As well as consciously incorporating feminine elements such as embellishments and design aspects to my design aesthetic for tailoring, I have further explored the area of interplay between soft and hard by exaggerating the silhouette, bringing an architectural quality to the tailoring of the garment.

MARCO AGOSTA

Much of my design influence comes from poetry and philosophy. I think this is closely related to an emotional state or feeling at the time. I have taken inspiration from the English poet, philosopher and artist William Blake. Interweaving idiosyncratic views, with philosophical and mythical undercurrents, I have used one his works ‘Satan In His Original Glory’(1803) as the main vehicle for my design inspiration. My theme invokes the play-on with dualities; light and dark, good and evil, life and death. In every human being there is a light and dark side. Both our physical and spiritual bodies have the ability to either ascend or descend.

Part of the notion of these dualities is closely related to the relationship between men’s tailoring and the way it can be translated into women’s tailoring. When I think of tailoring or clothing, the first thing that comes to mind is the association that the garment has with the physical body, but in this case, I am also looking at the spiritual body and the way it relates. Acting like a second skin; how do we represent the underlying emotions through a garment? Using this as the crux of my exploration in the construction, I want to convey the notion of wrapping or enveloping the body. Keeping the garment close to the body as a reference to a breathing-in motion of holding in our emotions, virtues and vices.

Referencing historical tailoring; Part of my designs feature silhouettes and shapes from the romantic period in history, invoking the neo-gothic men’s and woman’s clothing of the mid nineteenth century.

I want to use wool crepe in the design, as crepe was originally used in most mourning outfits. Its lifeless, lustreless surface achieves the desired effect of eliminating reflection. Thus giving one the look of being between life and death.

TALISA TRANTINO

My semester's work focuses on garments that are tailored to the personality of the wearer rather than solely tailored to their body measurements. The collection responds to the current issue of disposability and fast consumption of garments in a market where design is homogenised, bland and almost redundant. Consumers of today have been educated to have the latest the quickest, and what was once new is rapidly becoming old and obsolete in their wardrobes. This current paradox in fashion is having detrimental ecological, social and ethical effects on society and is yielding pieces that we don’t really want or love.

My collection aims to encourage a real sense of appreciation, love and possession, with pieces tailored personally to you. Each piece evokes integrity through its expression and the relationship it builds with the wearer; the jacket is a living remnant of your influences, how you are feeling and how you have lived. This strong notion builds emotional attachment with the owner, encouraging sustainable design and ensuring garment longevity.

I intend to yield bespoke pieces with a very strong sense of character. Personal detailing and functional shapes, encouraging the wearer to interact creatively with the piece, inspire the collection. Integral to the garments are the hidden details, such as linings, pockets and tagging which become areas of unexpected detail and character. The lining is one major focus and becomes a ‘piece of you’ through hand stitched patchwork remnants, prints and hidden features that only the owner knows. The notion of this quilted lining being close to the body is also a powerful image. Detachable draped shapes, which can be buttoned and unbuttoned to the classic core of the jacket, entice the wearer to become more expressive and vary the styling throughout the life of their jacket.

Ultimately, I would like my jacket to become a living heirloom of our existence. My work will entail much research into slow and bespoke production processes that pay tribute to the art and skill of tailoring and considered design. The final outcome is intended to have an artistic aesthetic to it.

See: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/chanel-jacket.jpg 

EMILY PETA PEDLER

Self confessed shopaholic (aren’t we all?), chatter box, nail polish obsessed, would do anything for a dozen oysters, and at the moment, aspiring tailor.

For this semester I decided to take a relatively simple design, and try to take it forward in a unique way which still utilised traditional tailoring techniques. This thought process inspired me to take the tailoring technique of padding, and interpret it into a quilting method to create volume and shape in the skirt of my jacket. My current design consists of a fairly classically tailored bodice, shapely quilted skirt which exaggerates on classic designs, a statement collar and shoulders which utilise padding methods.  I am very happy with my design at the moment, and unless challenges which I cannot overcome arise, I want my final garment to look very similar to my current idea. 

I look forward to really starting to work on my jacket, and I hope it turns out the way I have planned.

CLEMENTINE DAY

In general I'm influenced by Japanese design, with an undying love for Yohji, Junya, Rei (and the list goes on). Their design philosophies resonate with me and their aesthetic is one that I associate myself closely with.



YOHJI YAMAMOTO: THIS IS MY DREAM from Huge Conglomerate on Vimeo.


This semester I've been exploring the notion of 'la garconne', and in turn have taken inspiration from the Roaring Twenties 'Jazz Age' that gave us the 'Flapper'. Exploring this era, my research saw me reading Germaine Greer novels, Post-War literature, countless Coco Chanel and Japanese fashion books to look into this idea of 'boyish' dressing for women. A lean towards androgynous.
In my designs, I've been aiming to develop a series that explores the 'boy'-like dressing of women. Taking reference from traditional boyish silhouettes and tailoring techniques (that are often slightly altered versions of that for men) and mixing them with a japanese point of view.
Developing my final design has been a bit of a rollercoaster. I've decided to return to a symmetrical aesthetic because I was finding my past design a bit to older 'masculine' rather than prepubescent boy.
To the left is an image of a potential design solution.

WELCOME

Welcome to the official Sartorial Integrity blog for 2011.
From the brief:

“My ideas do not come from thin air, they come from intellectual curiosity, from digging into the past, from comparing one thing with another and so you get perspective and insight. And then you start putting things together in a way that nobody did before, even though the elements were there all the time. This is the creative process and it comes from tradition and technique.”

- Vivienne Westwood quoted in Jane Mulvagh, 1999, 

Vivienne Westwood; an Unfashionable Life, p 273

In asking the question: ‘What is tailoring today?”, this studio immerses students in the origins and traditions of the tailoring craft, analyses it within a modern fashion discourse and considers the potential for innovative future applications. Form and function fuse with craft and innovation!


The tailored jacket as the archetypal garment form, is proposed as a lens through which to re‐assess the dominant ‘fast fashion’ system. In following the evolution of the jacket from bespoke to mass market, opportunities to re‐visit and re‐invent traditional modes of fashion production are explored as the handmade collides with the machine made and the individual is multiplied.

Sartorial Integrity considers:
- the artisanal craft of tailoring, within a slow fashion context;
- the creation of sculptural form;
- modern aesthetics fused with an enduring legacy;
- creative relevance.

Focus is on creative exploration, technical perfection and design longevity.
“...Tailors elevated the unfitted rough country coat into a triumph of art, whereby crude natural man became noble natural man, with references to ancient sculpture built into the structure of his clothes. With the help of nearly imperceptible padding, curved seams, discreet darts and steam pressing, the rough coat of dull cloth was gradually refined into an exquisitely balanced garment that fitted smoothly without wrinkles and buttoned without strain, to clothe what appeared to be the torso of a Greek athlete.”

- Anne Hollander, 1994 Sex and Suits, p. 90

Clementine - Editor

NADIA FOTI

Within my collection I explored the fundamentals of tailoring with particular reference to the rever collar. Thought this influence I have flipped the tailored rever collar upside down, creating a feature hem to accentuate the wears hips rather than frame their face. The jacket comes in two parts to create one whole jacket. The cropped under jacket forms the sleeves for the outer cape jacket, both referencing the rever collar. The whole look is clean and streamlined in both cut and silhouette. Meticulous attention to detail is used within the finishing of jacket such as hand stitching of the collar. The versatility of this jacket is highlighted by its ability to be worn as one, or separately depending on the look the wearer desires.