Fashion collection
Lucie Gray
Motueka High School
Year 13 Soft Materials Technology
Three terms
Teacher: Celeste Ryan
Image galleries
Fashion collection images
Student workbook excerpts
For Lucie Gray, fashion is much more than a subject, it's a passion. So for her third year of Soft Materials, Lucie wanted a challenge that would push her existing skills to a professional level. To find the appropriate client, Lucie emailed public relations firms, eventually getting the contact details of Robin Smith, an Auckland based fashion photographer and his girlfriend, fashion model Selina Daysh. After some discussion, it was decided that Lucie would make a dress for Selina in return for a professional photo shoot by Robin of Selina modelling the dress.
Robin also introduced Lucie to Auckland-based fashion designer Michael Pattinson, whom she contacted for ideas and guidance throughout the project. Selina, Robin, and Michael also became stakeholders.
Lucie's next step was to set up a series of interviews with Selina and the stakeholders to get input into the creative elements to incorporate into her project.
"I did focussed research before starting any concepts because I needed to establish the necessary criteria – to find out what Selina wanted, what the environment would be like, what season it was needed for, what theme to design to, what fashion trends would be in, and also how to put a collection together."
This research resulted in Lucie developing her 'ghetto meets couture' theme – high fashion garments with a street edge. This idea led to her contacting Auckland street artist Peap Tarr. "I had seen a TV interview with him and was really inspired by his work. To my surprise he agreed to design some artwork for me."
With all these elements determined, Lucie came up with a second brief to create a nine-piece collection focussed around a high-fashion evening dress which would provide the inspiration for the other garments. It was also determined that the collection should meet certain specifications, including that the dress should have an autumn/winter look and be suitable for Selina to wear to parties or events, and that the whole collection should have reoccurring elements that carried the theme into each piece. More practical concerns also had to be taken into account such as comfort, quality of finish, originality, and cost.
Selina preferred backless elegant dresses that were low cut, mid to long length and that made bold statements. Lucie incorporated these ideas into concept drawings and emailed them to Selina in Auckland for her opinion.
Maintaining communication with Selina and the other stakeholders proved to one of Lucie's biggest challenges throughout the project. Sometimes email wasn't enough and Lucie had to plan excursions to Auckland very carefully, scheduling meetings to work with the busy schedules of Selina and the other stakeholders. Lucie also took advantage of these excursions to take Selina's measurements and shop for items that would be difficult to obtain in Nelson such as vintage buttons, silks, and furs.
Once Lucie and the stakeholders reached an agreement on the design concepts, work began on creating mock-ups from calico fabric on a dressmaker's dummy, these mock-ups were then sent to the stakeholders for evaluation. Lucie says she found most of the pattern-making fairly easy, but the fastening at the back of the dress was more difficult.
"The lacing down the back had to be adjustable but the zip had to stay a constant size, so I sent the mock-up to Selina without the zip. She then took pictures of herself with the mock-up on and I made alterations from what I observed. I decided to alter the bodice on the hip, making it wider so the back design would be perfect. This affected the ergonomics of the dress and the way it fitted to the body – she had to be comfortable not only posing for photo shoots but also when she was dancing at an evening function."
After the mock-up fitting, Lucie began some serious multi-tasking – juggling the construction of the dress, designing the rest of the collection, and thinking about how to incorporate the designs that Peap had begun to send through. After some reflection, Lucie decided to drop some garments from the collection, giving her more time to focus on making the evening dress a true signature piece.
The construction of the dress proved to be a huge challenge to Lucie's existing skills and demanded initiative and perserverance. Most challenging was the painting and beading of the bodice design. Lucie hand-painted the black directly on to white silk then heat-sealed it before applying a layer of yellow which was then faded gradually into the black of the skirt below.
For the beading, Lucie took inspiration from drawings Peap had sent to her. "When I stitched on the beads, it highlighted the design even more. I also used this beading on some of the other garments which really helped to tie the whole collection together. Even though it took some time this technique worked really well and I am really pleased with the final outcome."
Lucie is also happy to report that the final fashion shoot in Robin Smith's studio went well and that she has had very positive responses to her work, with Selina buying several other pieces from the collection. Lucie is proud of how her collection has turned out and the significant challenges that she has overcome through the course of the project. She has since been awarded a 2009 NZ scholarship for her work as well as being accepted into the Bachelor of Design programme at Massey University in Wellington for 2010.
"I was really pleased with the visual aspects of the garment, certain design features like the beading, ruffles, choice of colour, and fabric made them look modern and edgy. One of the hardest things with this project was meeting everyone's expectations, but I think I achieved that."
Client comment
"I really like the dress as it is different and has a certain attitude to it, and the fact that it is hand-painted makes it unique. The shape is flattering and very 'now' – the 80s-influenced layering has come back. I really enjoyed this project and I look forward to working with Lucie in the future," says Selina.
Photography by Robin Smith Photography: www.robinsmith.co.nz
