Unique military uniform
Gemma Proebst
Motueka High School
Year 13 Fabric Technology
Teacher: Celeste Ryan
Gemma Proebst created a military uniform with a difference. It referenced not only historic military fashion, but also Norse mythology, Gothic fashion, science fiction, and magic.
Gemma's client belongs to a re-enactment group. His character is a ground-force major in a Grenadier Division who also liaises with military units in space. Her client wanted a semi-formal uniform suitable for occasions such as balls, parades, and conventions. He was very particular about his requirements, emphasising that it should be a uniform, "not a costume!", and that he didn't want an existing garment but rather one designed around his character.
Gemma's client specified that the uniform should: be made with good-quality materials, be highly tailored, fit well, look elegant and be practical to wear. He wanted it to resemble military uniforms of the World War 2 period, and also wanted the uniform to incorporate influences such as Norse mythology, Napoleonic uniforms, Gothic fashion, and the frock-coat style from the science-fiction movie Dune. However, after discussing with Gemma how the Nazi regime had appropriated many Norse runes as symbols of their regime, they decided against including runes in case the association caused offence.
Throughout the project, Gemma consulted her client and key stakeholders: retro fashion store owner Anne Marie Cleaver, armourer/jeweller Garey Walsh, and her client's wife. She interviewed each stakeholder for their views on the project specifications/themes and their impressions of her designs. Gemma researched jackets, coats and military insignia and also researched fashion appropriate to each theme as she considered how she could incorporate the range of ideas into one garment. She also had to consider how location would influence her design, deciding that the uniform needed to look smart for balls and because it would often be worn at night or in the cooler months, should be warm.
Gemma sketched a range of uniform and insignia concepts which she showed to her client and stakeholders. Based on their feedback, she developed her designs then consulted again. Gemma revised her brief and specifications to include additional features resulting from these discussions and with increased emphasis on her own style rather than designing a period piece to reflect the historical themes. Her client had decided that the uniform should include some magical symbolism. Gemma devised a motif based on the ash tree, a symbol of magic in Norse lore. He also requested that the uniform convey the image that his character was powerful and formidable. Gemma's research had shown that in Napoleonic times the size of the jacket cuffs denoted power, so she made the uniform cuffs larger than they had been.
With her cleint's demand for a high-quality, practical garment, the choice of materials was important. Gemma tested samples of wool, satin, and cotton for fire resistance, abrasion, and absorbency and found that wool was superior in each case. She also evaluated examples of garment care labels to ensure she included appropriate instructions on her work. The uniform would be made from 100% wool, with a satin lining and felt piping. The ash tree motif would be put on to pig hide and stitched to the back of the uniform. Before beginning construction Gemma also tested the wool fabric her client had purchased, to check whether it had been pre-shrunk. Although the sample didn't appear to shrink, she decided to play it safe and cut all the edges 3mm longer than they needed to be.
Gemma drafted her pattern in several stages. She found a coat that fitted her client and adjusted it to suit his build, then created a paper pattern based on the coat. Gemma transferred the pattern to calico and made a mock-up coat, which she fitted on her client. After making modifications to the mock-up, Gemma developed a new pattern to trial her design and made another mock-up. At Fitting 1, she fitted the new mock-up on her client and, in consultation with him, worked out what needed to be modified. When her client tried on the modified mock-up at Fitting 2, they decided that the coat looked a bit feminine. Gemma changed the lapel and button design to give a more masculine look to the outfit. After completing and fitting the final mock-up, Gemma added facing at the front centre and the backs of the collars and resized the shoulders. The latter proved problematic, in that adding to the shoulders made the sleeve holes too big for the sleeves, something Gemma tried to fix by inserting tapering work at the top. She notes that this was difficult to do tidily and didn't hang quite as she wanted. She then made her final pattern from the mock-up.
Final preparation for construction involved Gemma in consulting her client and stakeholders again, making a cutting list and construction sequence, and sketching her final drawings, including working drawings of the front and back. She also made some calico samples of the kick pleat for the back of the jacket, as well as button-hole samples.
When discussing the insignia for the uniform, Gemma and her client had agreed that the metal insignia would be left out of the school project, although Gemma planned to learn metal casting and make these over the summer. She had originally planned to have the embroidery done professionally, but with her confidence boosted by the success of her work decided to do the embroidery herself. Gemma had to learn how to use the embroidery machine, and made samples of the embroidery she would use for the insignia and cuffs. However, in consultation with her client, she realised that her skill wasn't as good as she'd hoped and asked a professional company to do it. This proved disappointing – the company was late in finishing the job, so these details couldn't be included in her NCEA assessment work.
Gemma's client was very impressed with the final outcome, noting that it looked striking and felt great. "The reason I'm so impressed is that you have taken the design from eclectic sources. The measure of success is something unique and in this you have succeeded, which is incredible."
In addition to the satisfaction of presenting a successful outcome, Gemma was awarded a New Zealand Scholarship in Technology for her work.
Teacher comment
Gemma was an extremely driven student who thrived on working independently. Although she knew the client, the whole project was carried out very professionally and Gemma covered and recovered her bases to ensure she had everything just right. She had thorough problem-solving skills – researching, developing possible solutions, asking stakeholders and experts, etc., until she came up with something that worked for everyone.
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