If I were to take this concept further I would look in to do some more complicated and daring designs - maybe adding sleeves or a collar. I think doing a range in this style would be really effective and interesting. It offers the prospect of being ready to wear as we saw the versatility of the triple dress - being designed as a 3 person garment it also suited the individual.

What would happen if we used a different fabric? A stiffer one or maybe incorporate my idea of knitting or Becca's idea of reflection by using a metal?

Final shoot . . .

For the photos we decided to shoot in a 'hard' area to contrast against the soft draping of the jersey. I think this has worked well.We used a fuji instax camera rather than a digital camera as we liked the grainy quality it gave. We have shot both the triple and conjoined dress using similar styling for both. We wanted to show that they are ready to wear garments and would not look out of place on the streets. We used Dr Martens, a leather jacket and a dark lipstick to create a minimal grunge look.Though I think this shoot would of also worked in a studio with stark detailing. We have shown some of the variations of the triple dress within this shoot again to the versatility it possesses.

Experimenting . . .

Once we had made our first dress it was intriguing to see the versatility of it. By arranging the arm and neck holes in different positions created interesting shapes, thus altering the drape of the dress. We even had a go at seeing what it would be like with 3 people in it (still looked good, however very impracticable). 

Here are some of the pictures we took. . .

Final Making

Final Making

(group post)

From our toile there were a few differences we needed to make to our construction process for the final garments. 

From using two different types of jersey, silk and a heavy cotton jersey, we could decide what we wanted to use. We didn't like the sheen of silk jersey but liked the weight of it, however we didn't like the weight of the heavier cotton jersey. We decided to use a lightweight cotton jersey in pale grey for both dresses to keep the dresses consistent. We feel this fabric will also give our dresses the best drape.

We also needed to finish our final garments properly, as we only overlocked the edges of our toiles as it was too small to finish neatly. We decided to use the double stitcher to finish the neck, armhole and hem as this gives the dress a more sportswear look. 

Because our pattern pieces were so large, we also had problems fitting them on our fabric to cut them out. This meant the conjoined dress had to be made slightly shorter however we were happy with the changes as the general look of the dress wasn't altered in any way. We also realised when we made the final dress, it would have been too long if we had kept the original measurements. 

From doing our toile we couldn't decide which design we wanted to pursue for our final piece - so we decide to do both you know push ourselves a lil bit!

Toile time . . .

(group post)

We thought it would be a good idea to toile 2 of our designs to see which would work and best reflect our concept.

The triple dress

The pattern

1. Draw around a basic dress block straightening out the waist.
2. Add 4cm to the side seam.
3. Add another dress block to create 1 and 1/2 dress pattern.

The final outcome.

We were really happy with the outcome of the toile. The shape expressed the concept just how we wanted it too. The weight of the fabric created a good fall however we did not like the sheen it had as we thought it coincide with the androgynous style we are after. 

The conjoined dress
The pattern

1. Start with a full dress block
2. Add a half length, full dress pattern to either side.
3. Position a full dress block in the right corner.

The final outcome

Again we were really happy with the outcome of the dress. with the same concept we wanted to create what would be a dress that 'could fit' several people in but for one person so the extra shapes will create drapes.The weight of the fabric we felt was too heavy to create the folds we wanted.

The next step . . .

(group post)
The next step is to design and make a final garment as part of a group of three, based on the techniques we have learnt in innovation design and innovative cutting. Looking at each of our research, blogs and designs, we have collaborated ideas based on our concepts. We have decided to make one of Natalies designs which is based on the concept of 'connection' which also ties in with Kellys ideals. Taking inspiration from the exhibition ' Future beauty: 30 years of japanese fashion' that we attended at the Barbican Centre in London, we have decided to produce two garments. Our first piece is a conjoined triple dress, made from a light weight jersey, as we feel draping will be achieved best by this weight of fabric. The colour choice of our fabric also ties in with every ones colour palette. The second garment (made from the same stretch jersey) is another conjoined dress, however it is an altered design and pattern, as we felt exploring different variations of the garment would push our concept further and begin to develop a range.

Collaboration . . .

To progress on to the next stage I had to work within a team of 3 to design and make an innovative piece. 
My group consisted of 


Natalie Martin http://natalie-martin.blogspot.com/ 

and 

Becca Lloyd http://rebeccaelizabethlloyd.blogspot.com/

We shall see what happens next.                 

The beginning of ideas . . .

Here are a few basic ideas to get the ball rolling looking at shapes, technique, detailing and general development from my research.