DESIGN INSPIRATION AND ESTHÉTICS

From my latest video on YouTube about a topic that lies very close to my heart.
In my experience, your sense of design esthétics is not something you have or suddenly get.

-It is something you develop over time.

If you are conscious about what you are exposed to through your life, you will eventually learn how to recognize good taste from bad taste and develop your own design esthétics and vision.

Or maybe it will manifest itself at some point, if you’re passionate enough about it and pursuing it.

Not everyone is able to perfect their taste like that. But when you are stimulated and exposed to different environments and art forms from a young age, you eventually develop a certain sense of taste.

Personally I was very interested in architecture and design from a young age.

But, I was also exposed further through different educations.

So, you can say that a keen interest and experience played a big part in developing my esthétics.

One of my late teachers once said, when she encouraged me to participate in a tailor/design competition: -because they master a trade, they don’t necessarily possesses design expertise.

Of course one doesn’t exclude the other, but often it takes a certain sense of expertise and esthetic to master both.

One of the most interesting couturiers in this regard, that has been very influential and inspiring to me personally, is Christobal Balenciaga.

His innovative designs and meticulous craftsmanship set him apart from other designers, such as Coco Chanel and Christian Dior, who referred to him as "The King of Fashion" and "The Master of Us All."

Because he mastered every aspect of the design process, from design to actually executing the designs himself.

His unique approach to tailoring and fabric manipulation inspired and influenced designers like Hubert de Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta and André Courrèges to explore fashion in new ways. -And he continues to inspire designers all over the world.

Take a look at my previous blog post here, to learn more about Balenciaga. 

I am curious to know what you think about this subject. Please, share your thoughts in the comments below.

THE MAKING OF A BALL GOWN

This post is a supplement to my latest video on YouTube.

As I showed you this Ball gown in my previous video, back in Denmark, I will just describe  how I sewed the dress in this post. So, please check out that video to get the full picture. 

After I cut out all nine panels for this dress in silk taffeta and silk-organza, I underlined each one of them with the organza, by basting all the layers together. To enforce the taffeta, but also to support the shape of the dress itself.

 

I overlocked all the pieces, before I sewed them together. I ironed all the seams carefully, so they didn't show on the front.

I marked the hemline 8 cm up with the basting thread and sewed two rows of stiches at the edge to be able to gather it to the same with as the dress has 8 centimeters higher than the hemline. Once gathered I secured the hem with a bias ribbon, before I hemmed it with invisible stiches all around.

I sewed in the invisible zipper before I placed the dress between the two layers of the corset very precisely. I inserted all the rings for the lacing of the corset.

Finally, I finished off the lower edge of the corset with bias ribbon. 

As an alternative method, you can also place the dress back to front on the corset and sew on an enforced facing instead. 

You need a lot of patience for a time-consuming project like this. But I think the result was worth the effort. I used one of my big tulle-skirts under this dress, for the full effect.

If you got inspired and want to learn how to make something like this, follow along and subscribe to my channel and please spread the word if you know someone else who could benefit.

As always, if you have any questions or need help for a project, comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

GRAPHIC ART MUSEUM

As you might have noticed, this blog is not only about fashion. Like the Header says - it's also about Design, Pattern-making, Art, Creativity, Inspiration, Lifestyle and Culture from my personal point of view.

While on a brief stay-over in Copenhagen recently, we discovered a hidden gem nearby the Hotel. 

The Art Museum Kastrupgård Samlingen, that was entirely dedicated to displaying Graphic Art in all it's forms. It was a very nice surprise and on top admission was free. 

Very unusual for Denmark, where everything has gone up in recent years. Don't get me wrong, Denmark is beautiful, but also very expensive to visit. 

Here is few snapshots from this exhibition. Press the photos to get a better look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photos by John F. Clément

 

 So, I definitely recommend you to pay this very specialized museum a visit next time you are in Copenhagen.

HOW TO MAKE A TULLE SKIRT

As I explained in my latest video on YouTube, it’s not complicated to make a tulle skirt. It just takes some planning, time and  patience to do.

First, you need to create a solid base skirt to sew all the layers onto. I usually use a half circle skirt, which I enforce.

It could be short or longer, depending on how big you want the skirt and how many layers are needed to give you the effect that you want.

 

The tulle skirt shown in this post has a short base skirt and six dense layers.

You need to figure out how long you want the tulle skirt and what shape you want it.

Then mark the lengths of all the layers onto the base skirt pattern with space in between and stitch these guidelines on to the base skirt. 

I always create a pants closing without the zipper, so there’s an overlap at the closing.

Find out how dense you want the layers before you cut them. You often need more than you think.

Gather the layers with two rows of a solid thread and distribute them evenly and pin them on right against right, except for the waist layer. It gives it more volume.

Start with the second highest layer and work your way down. The longest layer is attached to the waist at last.

Finish the tulle skirt off with an enforced waistband and some hooks and eyes.

 Design and execution: John F. Clement

The story behind this particular dress.

This dress was made for a Flower Festival event in Denmark years ago. It was made-to-measure as all the dresses I created for this event. All the dresses had some kind of floral motif in the design, since it was a Flower Festival. 

-As you can see in this old posts, here and another event here.

BALL GOWNS & TULLE SKIRTS

I am away from home and therefore I want to show you one of the Ball gowns I left in Denmark when I moved to Canada. 

It is one of four examples I’m going to show you in my coming video on YouTube, where I also will explain how to make a big Tulle skirt.

I especially loved the color combination of this big striped upholstery fabric. And that’s what inspired me to make this very simple, but bold ball gown.

 

Design & execution, John F. Clément

 

The top has a boat-neck and extra facing. The skirt is gathered in the waist, has a zipper closure in one side, not to break up the stripes center back.

It is fully lined with cotton in the top and acetate for the skirt. And it’s made for a tall size 10, if anyone should be interested.

If you got inspired and want to learn how to make something like this, follow along and subscribe to my channel and please spread the word if you know someone else who could benefit.

As always, if you have any questions or need help for a project, comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.