Comme des Garçons, AW97. Photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia 1997.
This amazing photograph of a Comme des Garçons dress provides a perfect visual example of how to think about parts of garments as separate plates that come together to create a 3D form. Thinking about a garment in this way will help you to recognise fitting problems and to correct pattern issues.
Alexander McQueen, SS06, Paris.
One of Alexander McQueen’s more subdued collections Spring-Summer 2006 provides a garment that is a good case study for precise pattern cutting. The relatively understated piece that blends a tailored jacket into a tailored pair of shorts, uses a carefully measured dart to flow the pinstripes continuously through the front of the jacket.
A waist dart is used to create shaping in the front of the jacket without disturbing the line of the stripes and allows the eye to follow the pinstripes down over the welt pocket and through the waistband of the shorts.
Robert Wun, “Burnt” Collection, 2012.
In a bid to remove bulk from garments we often try to create patterns with less seams and less seam allowances but there are also times where the positioning of seams, and their seam allowance values, can be used to reinforce the shapes and silhouettes that we want to create.
Naoki Takizawa, SS11, “Mode & Science III – Anthoropometria”.
This image shows a garment by the designer Naoki Takizawa that was part of his Spring-Summer 2011 collection. The image provides a great way of seeing how pattern notches are used to join different shapes of fabric together to ensure that the garment puzzle pieces will join together correctly when sewn.
In the case of this image, the notches are seen as small black lines which illustrate where the seams need to meet each other. Notches are not normally seen on the finished garment and for this reason it can sometimes be hard to show examples of notching in contemporary fashion, except in cases such as this image where the process of making the garment becomes a visible and aesthetic part of the design.
Balenciaga, AW13, Paris.
Sometimes it is worthwhile focusing on some of the more subtle pieces of a collection and understanding how they are formed in order to learn from the way they are constructed. The following example diagrams deconstruct the pattern shapes that may have been used for this Balenciaga jacket to examine how the careful draping has been formed.
Chanel, AW13, Paris.
In the recent Autumn-Winter 2013 collection for Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld made the high thigh area the erogenous zone of choice, creating layered garments that focused on a narrow rectangle of skin that appeared just above thigh high boots and just below flared skirts and jackets.
Chalayan, AW13, Paris.
The recent collection from Hussein Chalayan for Autumn-Winter 2013 used different techniques and details to frame the silhouette and create layered garments that at times had the ability to transform on the catwalk. The overall effect was to combine both the sensational with the understated to create garments that were ultimately completely wearable.
Kenzo, AW13, Paris.
Cleverly crafted tailoring details were nearly obscured by the ornate prints and embellished textiles that were used in the recent Kenzo collection for Autumn-Winter 2013. The collection by Carol Lim and Humberto Leon also experimented with layered looks of nearly identical textiles that made the most of a rich yet muted colourway laced with metallics.
Rodarte, SS13, New York.
Darts are a shaping device that will often be hidden away in a garment to try to make them inconspicuous, but they can also be used as a feature of the design. The Rodarte team have quite a knack for making the most of darts and have in the past used the dart value at the waist line in a number of different formations.
Alexander Wang, RST13, New York.
When a piece of fabric is first cut out, it has none of the markings that are seen on the pattern.
Chanel, AW12, Paris.
With so many looks, garments, different fabrics and embellishments involved in a Chanel show, it often takes a second look to fully digest the entire collection.
Proenza Schouler, SS12, New York.
Sleeve shapes and panelling are a subtle yet directional way that designers are controlling the feel of their collections. The raglan sleeve in particular has enjoyed a renaissance over the past few seasons as both a reference to the couture and the athletic. Raglan variations have been visible on broad kimono style sleeves as well as on raglan sleeve styles that cut in close over the curve of the shoulder, often using a seam up the outside of the arm to take in the shaping over the sleeve head, where a traditional set-in sleeve would look more square.
Roksanda Ilincic, RST12, London.
Princess line is the name commonly given to panel lines that go through bust point, absorbing the dart value into the panel line. The panel line commonly curves from the armhole, down to the waistline through bust point, or from the center of the shoulder down through bust point to the waistline.
Richard Nicoll, RST12, London.
There are different ways that fabric can be contracted to curve to the body, or enlarged to create volume. One way of creating fullness and volume in a skirt or dress is by inserting panels into the fabric and these are commonly known as godets.
Gareth Pugh, AW11, Paris.
In the Autumn-Winter 2011 collection by Gareth Pugh, there was a subtle v-shaped panel line running across the front panel pieces, that echoed the placement of trims and geometric embellishment on other pieces from the collection.
