LOTTE PLUMB

These looks, titled “Feeling Colours” challenge the traditional notions of fit and the accompanying numerical sizing system. They utilise basic pattern making techniques to create an intricate system, which replaces numbers with colours and sizes with styles.

 

The concept behind this project was influenced by silhouettes of the 20th century. I revisited and reflected on past trends- focusing on the waistline in particular- and came to realise that for years the human body and has been pushed and pulled into unnatural shapes. Since the beginnings of the concept of fashion, individuals have been defined by their size.

 

Throughout the decades the ‘ideal figure’ has been built into clothes and engrained into society so much so that it has become the norm to allow current trends to dictate how we look and how we feel about ourselves physically and emotionally. So, I began asking questions that interrogated the unnaturally constructed concepts of function, flattery and fit. Questions such as; why we accept that clothes shape our bodies instead of our bodies to shaping clothes; why we preach the fluidity of form yet restrict ourselves to the rigidity of size; why our clothes do not grow and change as we do. Throughout the semester I delve into traditional pattern making techniques- focusing predominantly on reinterpreting the technique of grading. I then used this knowledge to to develop an unconventional method of grading whereby instead of creating the same piece in multiple sizes I created multiple sizes within the same piece. The end result was two looks that were able to adapt to the changes in the wearers physiological and psychological state of being. I carefully designed and constructed a series of tucks, gathers and darts to providing each piece the ability to adjust to a variety of fits. I then devised a colour coding system that corresponded to each level of fit whereby if the wearer pulled a certain yarn the correlating series of tucks or dart would pull into place. This meant that each piece had the potential to expand and contract to a variety of silhouettes and sizes, which provided them with a sense of freedom and liberation as they dressed. 

 

If I were to build on this project I would look into expanding my focus to create fit in areas of the body other than the waist such as the neck, arms, wrists, and ankles. I would also concentrate on how I could be more playful with the design and abstract this idea of internal grading and manipulate the sizing mechanisms to create more unconventional and interesting silhouettes. In the future I will be drawing on this interest in working with embedding subtle complexities into simple design.