The Cutting Class

The fashion media has a way of sensationalising trends - everything with a scrap of colour has been dubbed “colour blocking” recently, and it only takes a couple of celebrity pictures before they start heralding the new must have bag, the new must have shoe that replaced the must have bag or of course the easy target of the “new” black. The energetic language that enthuses over the next phase every season is part of what keeps the fashion cycles turning - of course red looks new when you’ve just seen a lot of blue and crisp pastels will look fresh when we’ve just filled our wardrobes with muted dusky tones. Despite the fact that this can make for repetitive reading for the savvy consumer, it’s generally harmless, and simply a bit of over simplification for the sake of creating a story or pushing a product.

So it is mainly when gender is used as a trend or selling point that fashion language hyperbole goes into tricky territory. Perhaps it has always been this way but it seems that of late there has been a particular focus on the trend of “Masculine” dressing for women that raises some interesting questions. When the media start using masculine and feminine as adjectives to describe an outfit it assumes that the reader is going to associate all sorts of other attributes to the clothes. For example, when a journalist says that a shirt is masculine are they referring to anatomy, to a cut of clothing more suited to the male body? Or are they using the word to recall the stereotypes that we have of what it means to be masculine?

Topshop Newsletter and Website, July 2011. Some images visible here» at time of post.

Often it seems that the terms are used to represent opposites that play into the stereotypes of feminine meaning soft, delicate, fragile, pink, sparkly as opposed to masculine meaning strong, bulky, large, tough etc. In the screen grabs of the Topshop newsletter and website above, the language used definitely reinforces the idea of feminine and masculine dressing being opposites. The feminine “prim and polished” trends use the flowery language of “sweet” and “delicate” to describe pleats and prints. In contrast the masculine theme inspired by the mods uses “sleek tailoring”, “rebellious” and “outlandish” to describe the collection. It must be said of course that Topshop are going for a 1960s theme here, so it does play into more old fashioned ideas of what it means to be a man or woman. But this seems to be part of the problem… as soon as you start dividing fashion up into masculine and feminine, it does seem dated. The old notions of what it means to be a man or a woman has evolved so much that surely simplifying the description of feminine and masculine dress codes in this way is going to lead to a lot of misunderstanding?

Shop Til You Drop, 2011. Some images visible here» at time of post.

Screenshots from Vogue.co.uk. Images visible here» at time of post.

Then there’s the problem of where you draw the line between what is feminine dress and what is actually masculine. In the screen grabs above it seems that the definition for what constitutes masculine dress is now anything tailored - be it blazers, trousers, or halter neck jumpsuits. If it’s monochrome, oversized or drop shoulder, it’s possible that again you are probably dressing like “one of the boys”.

At the end of the day surely this is all based on context, and what we consider to be masculine or feminine dress today will shift season after season over the years ahead of us. And I’m sure that when women first began to wear trousers back in the 1930s and 40s perhaps it came as a bit of a surprise, but after seventy odd years wouldn’t you think that some of the garments such as trousers, blazers and shirts would have shrugged off their male only label?

From Top Left, Image 1 - Marlene Dietrich in a Coco Chanel suit, 1933 (via Fashion Encyclopedia»), Image 2 - Woman in Nautical Trousers (via Vintage Dancer»), 1940s, Image 3 - Women in 1940s dress (via Virtual Womens Makeup Zone»).

If this seems like a one sided article, then this is because this appears to be a largely one-sided problem at the moment. The guys seem to be able to get away with wearing pink, frills, or gemstones in their menswear collections without it being dubbed feminine.

This is also a problem that can be easily avoided - just don’t use gender to describe clothes. If a blazer is sleek, tailored, crisp, strong or boxy then there are plenty of words such as these that will describe the garment, without insinuating that a woman may be cross dressing by wearing it. It is equally true that every delicate, light weight or floral garment does not have to be dubbed feminine. There are many shades of what it means to be feminine or masculine, so it is a shame not to use the full scope of vocabulary to describe the dress codes of both sexes and to allow for all the grey area in between.

From the Spring-Summer 2012 Menswear collection of Yohji Yamamoto (Left) and Rick Owens (Right).

While many of the menswear designers offer minor tweaks on classic suits and shirts, other designers are offering up complete alternatives to the way that men dress. At Yohji Yamamoto in particular there were options with much greater use of volume than your average suit in the form of pleated, slouchy trousers offered in different woven and jersey fabric options and presented in a variety of patterns and colours, from the more conservative monochrome versions, to the more bohemian styles.

At Rick Owens the silhouette was more elongated, with columns of fabric given shape by the blazers worn over them. Many of the looks featured variations on a tunic style presented in black, white and natural tones and that were marked at times by graphic stripes that increased in width as they went down the body. Some of the fabrics were chosen through a couture gaze, with papery silks helping to support the angular cowl necks of some styles. Seersucker was also used, a fabric apparently chosen by Owens in an effort to challenge himself and put himself outside his comfort zone.

The overall look of both these collections felt surprisingly wearable despite the fact that these shapes are relatively unconventional in the scope of commercial menswear. Often in the past the idea of men wearing shapes such as this has been passed off as a novelty by the general media, as men wearing “skirts” or “dresses”. But in the grand scheme of what men have worn over time, this is a more classical form of dress than the contemporary suits - think back to the historical images that we see of the greeks and romans and the use of swaths of fabric and pleating takes on a more regal edge. Which is definitely a better perspective to bring to these collections - this is not about transgender dressing or androgyny, instead this is about confident individual men wearing comfortable, thoughtful clothes.

Yohji Yamamoto, Menswear, SS12.

Rick Owens, Menswear, SS12.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk for Yohji Yamamoto» and Rick Owens».

Théâtre de la Mode Dolls displaying the latest fashion from 1940s Paris.

Sometimes we take it for granted that we can see fashion so quickly and easily via the internet. We think nothing of seeing catwalk photos and reviews posted almost instantly on major news sites or of watching a live stream of a catwalk show or a designer working in their studio.

Before the multi-faceted fashion coverage that we can now experience, and even before the vibrant editorials of glossy print magazines, the high end fashion trends were passed on in a very different way, at times much more reliant on word of mouth accounts, and rumours of hem lengths and chic colours. In this way it could take many months for a “trend” to travel across the world, whereas a new style can now spread instantaneously. In the past it was also much more about the “look” that was created by the designers of the world’s major fashion centers - the trends from Paris would be markedly different to those appearing out of New York, the colours and prints out of Milan being very different to those from London. 

While the changes in trends and styles occurs at a fast pace in contemporary fashion, the trends of the past were much more focused, more definite in a way. There seemed to be a clearer definition of exactly what collar style was considered chic, what shoulder line was all the rage in Paris, what fabrics were being used in Milan. The reputation of each of the four major cities hung on the ability of the designers to create the look that would capture the imagination of women around the world. In this way the power of the fashion capitals, in the eyes of the media, was very much decided by the creative clout of the designers who lived and worked there, rather than being determined by the sales figures and annual reports that we hear so much about today. The new designs of a house also had to be presented in just the right way since they had a long way to travel in order to reach women around the world - and it proved a unique challenge for a city to prove it’s superiority, especially when most images of the clothes would be few and far between and would be printed in black and white.

Prior to World War II in Paris, the Haute Couture industry was experiencing an era of growth with over 70 registered couture houses including the likes of Schiaparelli, Chanel and Balenciaga, catering to private clients and international buyers. But the war put a halt to this growth causing many couturiers to close. By the time the war ended Paris had to find a way to prove that it was still the world’s most fashionable city despite limited resources, and it appears that the solution was the brain child of Nina Ricci’s son Robert in the form of a travelling exhibition of fashionable dolls that was called the Théâtre de la Mode. The top Parisian designers created perfect 3rd scale models of their famous couture attire out of remnant fabric and displayed the outfits on wire mannequins amidst sets created by Parisian artists such as Jean Cocteau and Christian Bérard. The exhibition was displayed first in Paris and the major cities in Europe and then travelled to America, ending in San Fransisco in 1946 and acting as both an efficient promotional tool for the couture industry in Paris as well as a fundraiser for victims of the war.

Théâtre de la Mode Dolls on display in the Maryhill Museum, Washington from How to be a Retronaut».

It appears that when the tour of the exhibition ended the jewels that had been displayed on the models were removed and sent back to Paris, the sets probably dismantled or destroyed and the dolls were stored in the basement of The City of Paris department store until they were rediscovered in 1952 and donated to the Maryhill Museum in Washington. The dolls were later sent back to Paris to be painstakingly restored and replicas of the sets were built so that the dolls could be displayed in an exhibition at the museum in 1990. From the Maryhill Museum website there appears to be 9 different sets that are held at the museum with 3 different sets and their dolls put on display each year.

All things considered this was really an ingenious way of allowing the world to see what the fashion artisans in Paris were capable of in order to reignite an industry, and at a fraction of the cost of sending full size garments. It was an incredible way for designers to regain the attention of international buyers but also would have surely helped to galvanise the fashion community in Paris as they pulled together for a mutual patriotic goal. 

The clever use of miniature couture was also used by designers to demonstrate to overseas clients how licensed garments were to be manufactured as discussed in the previous post Miniature Couture».

Images of Théâtre de la Mode Dolls are as displayed on the Tonner Dolls website». These appear to be restored versions of the original 1940s models, or may perhaps be replicas of the original designs. Also referenced in this post are The V&A: The Golden Age of Couture» and the Encyclopedia Britannica Blog». 

For more information there is a book on the subject available through Amazon», or to visit the exhibition visit the Maryhill Museum Website». There is also a course on Vintage Doll making inspired by the Théâtre de la Mode at Central Saint Martins».

Rick Owens, AW11.

There are times when you look at the catwalk collections and the sheer volume of garments seems completely daunting, especially if you are a student who has just experienced the pressure of designing a small range, or if you are a young designer who is about to start their own label. It can be easy to get carried away with the maths of it all… if there are 40 looks and about 3 garments per look then that’s 120 garments that need to be designed, pattern made, cut, fit, altered, sewn etc… and you may begin to think that you simply can’t compete with that size of collection. The truth is though that when you actually break some of the collections down, the clever designers can manage to get maximum impact from far less than 120 separate garments.

One such example is by looking at the collection that Rick Owens presented in Paris for Autumn-Winter 2011. There is obviously some very clever designing and range planning occurring behind the scenes, as the actual number of individual styles worked out to be only about 33 styles by my count, a fairly reasonable number considering that it was a 41 look collection.

Not all designers would work with such condensed styles for such a large collection, and it is very dependent on the style of designer. This approach happens to work for the layered look that is such a part of the Rick Owens brand any way. Also due to the fact that he does the majority of the pattern making himself, there obviously needs to be some forethought about how this can be managed to complete the collection on time, so careful range planning may form a part of this strategy.

The collection images below have been analysed by giving each separate style a number. Basically every time that a new pattern would be required, there is a new number, and then colour ways are listed next to each number. The reason for analysing the collection in this way is because this is how you would prepare cut sheets for manufacturing. For example, one jacket pattern that needs to be cut in 5 colours will mean that fabrics of different colours can be layered and cut at the one time, from the one jacket pattern. 5 totally different jackets, in 5 different patterns would need to each be cut completely separately, meaning more time and money.

Here is the total list of garments with brief descriptions:

1. Knitted Hood (Black/Dark Grey)
2. Fur Hood with Knit Trim (Black/Dark Grey/Light Grey)
3. Long Suede Gloves (Black/Dark Grey/Light Grey)
4. Short Suede & Leather Gloves (Black/Dark Grey)
5. Chunky Knit Dress Longsleeve (Black/Charcoal/Brown/Off White)
6. Fine Knit Tunic (Black/Brown/Terracotta/Grey/Off White)
7. Cape with contrast lining (Black w. Off White Lining)
8. Gathered Cape Full Length (Black/Brown/Grey)
9. Gathered Cape Midi Length (Black)
10. Fur Cape Midi Length (Black)
11. Fur Vest (Black)
12. Fur Cropped Vest (Black)
13. Reversible Cape (Brown w. Black Lining)
14. Panelled Vest Full Length (Black w. Off White/Black w. Black)
15. Panelled Vest Midi Length (Black w. Black)
16. Raglan Jacket Full Length (Black/Beige)
17. Raglan Jacket (Black/Beige/Grey)
18. Gusset Jacket Short Sleeve (Black/Mushroom)
19. Contrast Yoke Jacket Full Length (Navy/Mushroom)
20. Contrast Yoke Jacket Long Sleeve (Navy/Mushroom)
21. Contrast Yoke Jacket Short Sleeve (Navy)
22. Contrast Yoke Geometric Jacket (Black)
23. Contrast Yoke Geometric Crop Jacket (Black)
24. Leather Jacket (Brown/Black)
25. Contrast Leather Jacket w. Quilting (Black)
26. Quilted Angel Jacket Full Length (Black/Brown)
27. Quilted Angel Jacket Cropped (Black/Light Grey)
28. Quilted Angel Vest (Black/Light Grey)
29. Knit Top Long Sleeve (Black)
30. Basic Top ( Black/Brown/Grey/Off White)
31. Long Skirt (Shiny Black/Black/Charcoal/Brown/Navy/Mushroom/Off White)
32. Long Dress (Black)
33. Slouchy Shorts (Black/Charcoal/Dark Grey/Light Grey/Beige/Off White)

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk».

Quarter Scale Couture, ca 1950. Image 1 - Dress and Jacket by Dior, Image 2 - Dress by Jacques Fath and Dress by Jean Dessès, Image 3 - Dress by Madame Grès.

The images above show some amazing quarter scale replicas of haute couture garments that were created in the 1950s. The garments use the exact same fabrics and sewing techniques that their full size versions would have used. The reason for these small scale versions is best outlined in this description below from the V&A collections:

…these dresses were bought with the toiles by wholesale companies who copied and adapted these dresses for the ready to wear market. During the post-war fabric shortages, items such as this would have provided a way to show a wholesale-purchaser what the dress looked like without the expense of making a full-size dress with all the attendant usage of fabric. The ready to wear houses and representatives would buy couture models to reproduce and copy.

In a previous post I discussed the use of the toiles which are mentioned above. This post can be viewed here Toiles and Sample Garments».

When used in combination with the toiles, the miniatures would provide the manufacturers with all the careful couture details such as hand stitching and fastenings as replicas of the way they would appear on the final garment, while the toile would provide the fit reference.

This process probably made a lot of sense at the time, but perhaps there is also something we can learn from the process for today. I imagine that the combined weight of a light calico toile and a quarter scale garment miniature would weigh less than a garment made entirely of the real fabric, an important consideration for shipping costs. The hand sewing time would also be vastly cut down on garments of this size, and no doubt many of these replicas could be cut from remnants left over when the cutters were cutting out the original full size garments. Although we think of haute couture as being lavish and wasteful, there were often techniques built in to the original couture processes which were carefully considered and perhaps more sustainable than some of todays methods.

Images from the V&A Collection».

While trawling through the Metropolitan Museum of Art online collection recently I came across these amazing Balenciaga hats from the 1960s. Interestingly the majority of these hats seem to all have been donated to the collection by one person, Janet A. Sloane. On further investigation I discovered that Ms. Sloane was a millinery stylist who lived in New York until she passed away in 1996 at the age of 82.

Here is an excerpt from her obituary from the New York Times»:

Beginning in the early 1940’s, Ms. Sloane was a stylist, scout and vice president of Madcaps Inc., a Manhattan millinery and accessories company founded by her brother and partner, Alfred Z. Solomon. She worked there until Mr. Solomon sold the business in 1992.

As president of Madcaps International, Ms. Sloane was a regular at fashion shows in Europe, Tokyo and Hong Kong, where she sought new trends in designs, colors and fabrics. She was among the first to adapt the millinery designs of Givenchy, Yves St. Laurent and other Europeans for the American market.

All images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art online collection».

Fashion Illustrations by René Gruau.

When designers are profiled there are two classic settings in which we usually find them. The first is with sketch pad and ink in hand, translating ephemeral ideas onto paper for the first time. The second classic setting is in the atelier where a designer is doing a fitting of the toile or garment on the model. It would be nice to think that the work of a designer is as romantic as this, that their work can translate so quickly from vision into a tangible garment but in reality there are some very practical middle steps between the sketch pad and the catwalk.

One of these in between stages occurs when a sketch or fashion illustration is translated into a technical sketch, a form of blue print for the pattern and construction of the garment. While a fashion illustration will capture a mood, a sense of proportion, colour and fabrication - the technical sketch helps to translate the garment into something which a whole team of people can begin to work on. If you gave 10 pattern makers a fashion illustration to work from, without any further instructions, you would likely get a whole range of responses, barely even resembling the same garment. And while each pattern maker will create a slightly different pattern from even a technical sketch, it will more than likely be very much the same, aside from small fit and construction variations.

Technical drawings are also often referred to as tech sketches, line drawings, design development sketches (DDS) and even flats. The last name refers to the way that they are drawn - when you are working on a technical drawing it is best to imagine that it is lying flat on a table so that you are viewing all the details from either the front or the back and no detail is left behind. Most companies will have at least a front and back drawing for each garment, and occasionally where needed there may also be a need for zoomed in detailed drawings or side views in order to show how panels travel around the body or how sections of the garment are to be made.

Different companies will use varying levels of garment detail - some will only outline the basic seam lines while others will outline all the topstitching, zooms for type of buttonhole, beautiful linework for gathering etc. In some companies the detail of the sketch will develop as the garment is worked on. As decisions on the type of zipper, or topstitching are made, the drawing may be updated.

Originally these drawings used to be hand drawn but many companies now use Adobe Illustrator to create their line drawings so that they are easy to alter and copy into lookbooks, range plans, specification sheets - basically the whole paper trail that helps make or sell a garment.

Here are a few basic pointers for creating good technical drawings, especially when using Adobe Illustrator:

• Have a consistent sense of proportion and make sure that the garment you are sketching would actually make sense on the body. For example, how long are your jacket sleeves next to the hem of the jacket? Where are the buttons placed in relation to the lapel and bust point?
• It may help you to use a template to keep drawings looking like they are part of the same collection. You can do this by adding a template to a lower layer and using low opacity top layers to draw over the top.
• Use consistent line work throughout. Like illustrations, everyone will have slightly different styles for their tech drawings, but it is best to make aesthetic decisions early in each project about what looks best and carry the decisions through. If you are using 1pt lines then don’t have some drawings with 2pt and some with 3pt - especially when doing dashed topstitching lines as it may look as though you are indicating different stitching techniques.
• Build your drawings for the end use that you need. If you intend to fill the drawing with coloured or patterned sections, or to have greyed out sections to indicate contrast, then you should build these as complete paths from the beginning.
• Technical drawings work best when they are very symmetrical, so complete half first and then mirror for the second side. Then you may need to play with the proportions to make it look right.
• If you are having trouble with the stroke size scaling when you don’t want it to, this can be changed under Illustrator>Preferences>General>Scale Strokes and Effects. Turn this off to make the line work stay the same size.
• To make button placements and design line work that is evenly spaced, make friends with the alignment tools as they will evenly space out objects.

It must be said that while a good technical drawing makes an excellent tool, it cannot be relied on that everyone will follow it exactly. Often when these drawings are sent to factories to be used in mass production the drawing is only likely to be successful when used in conjunction with a perfect pattern, accurate style sheets describing the construction of the garment, specification sheets describing the finished measurements of the garment and a 100% complete sample garment.

Fashion Illustrations by Rene Gruau from Swing Fashionista». Technical drawings from TheCuttingClass.