Black velvet dress for a life-time

Fringing

23 days ago in 17 stories

Velvet is one of my favorite materials. Though it’s challenging to cut and sew, its shine and soft touch makes up for every bit of trouble. Its popularity has been growing rapidly in the last few years, especially thanks to Gucci’s brand revival. 

The story of this dress goes back 30 years, making a memory of someone’s prom. A mother brought it to me to discuss the possibility of its re-production. She secretly hoped her daughter would wear it once, but of course the time machine of fashion overrides the dress’s cut. The dress had long sleeves with upward baroque shoulders and a turtleneck collar. The upper and lower parts were stitched with folds in the waist, giving the false impression of possible extra weight of the wearer, unless she is extra slim. Otherwise closed at the front, back and legs.   

 

Its reproduction took two stages. First, we minimized its folding to a classic tailored shape with slim fit shoulder sleeves. In the next stage the creativity started to flow. At that time I was preparing a collection for Fashion Week, which seemed to be a perfect opportunity to include the dress into the process. The majority of my collection was up-cycled anyway, since that’s my specialty. The inspiration I followed was women’s empowerment, warriors and their attires, battle accessories, uniforms of soldiers… A she-warrior, strong modern woman. 

 

The black velvet was perfect to express the power of freedom, royalty of equality. I was searching for an upgrade of the dress which would show today’s battle for women’s rights. In some creations I applied fringes (which were cut from a handmade Dalmatian tablecloth), blue and yellow, the perfect battle colors. Check the unusual application of fringes in the photos. As you can see, I designed a belt crossing the woman’s breasts, not the back as usual. The lower part of the dress was widened so I could implement the wrap skirt and make it possible to show legs if one would like to. 

The result is an extravagant dress, but do not fear, its deep black fabric allows for many experiments. Step out, you woman warrior:) 

ps

Fringes represented a hallmark of battle attire and I applied them also to blazers, trousers and coats. Check collection here. 

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