Toile Fit

I decided to create the design below to showcase my understanding of drape, form and silhouette.

I intended the bodice to be made of satin and the gloves made of chiffon to reflect luxury stemmed from my concept. This is why I decided to use a type of satin for my toile to show me how the final product will look with the type of fabric and silhouette in one.

I started to make my patterns by drawing out the dress block on pattern paper and placing the paper on the mannequin to draw the style lines of my final design as shown on the board below.

I then cut out the excess areas shown below, the second image above helped me decide where my princess seams could be placed to complement the style lines of the dress. After drawing the princess seams I redrew the pattern into different sections. The first two images below show the front of the dress and the last two images show the back of the dress.

I initially created patterns for the final design, however, the shape looked too diffuse so I then decided to drape the outfit on the stand to reflect the shapes and lines in my design as shown below.

The images above showcase how the outcome of the toile which I created in a satin acetate fabric. I also had extra satin fabric knotted to ask for advice on how I would attach it to the main bodice to reflect the design.

In the toile fit, I was advised to create the knotted draped element as a separate piece from the undergarment, rather than combining the dress and the knots on a garment. Another part of the feedback was that the undergarment could be a leotard which would reflect the stage outfits Beyonce would commonly wear on stage, and the knotted element should be created with a lightweight fabric as the knots will create extra weight. I took down some notes during the toile fit to look at later on which included the different types of fabrics I could use, more research into the different finishes that I could do and gathering inspiration from different brands shown below.

I was advised to look at the designers listed below to help me design a leotard. Agent Provocateur has inspired me to play around with the cut out I have designed for my final design and Myla and Kriss Soonik has shown me how to make the cut-out element have a sophisticated look. I believe out of the designers below, my concept and audience would resonate more with the edgy/playful cut-outs shown in Agent Provocateur's swimwear.

As I have now decided to create two separate elements for the bodice I sketched out basic silhouettes that stemmed from my concept and collage designs that would be used for the leotard as shown below to help me with the neckline shapes.

To showcase more edge, I decided to subtly play with the cutouts by looking at the designs above to help me decide which bodice I prefer the most that I can further develop on which helped me with the shapes below.

I decided to pick the design on the bottom right so I then started to create a pattern for it so that I was able to create a toile.

After sewing the toile, I wore it to see if there were any changes that I would want to be made on the pattern as shown below and then wrote down all the adjustments that needed to be made to help me when I was adjusting the patterns.

I am glad that I was advised to change the garment from a dress to a bodysuit as it looks much better than the original toile and the cutouts also work well with this garment type.

The improvements I decided that were needed to be made included changing the thickness of the strap, changing the shape of the side cutouts to match the rounder cut-outs in the middle of the front and the middle of the back, reducing fabric in specific areas and changing the shape of the bottom half of the leotard as mentioned below.

After creating new patterns, I cut them out with the same fabric I originally used for the first toile because I did not want to waste fabric so I thought to reuse the fabric to be more sustainable.

I then tried on the updated toile to see if any more adjustments needed to be made as shown below.

The problems I had with this toile was the back of the bodysuit which was baggy around the middle of the cut out which I had to again alter the pattern to reduce the baggy fabric as well as the puckering that was starting to form.

I believe this toile is a great improvement from the previous ones as the circular cutouts on the side look much better than the curved ones in the previous toile and it still reflects the shapes in the collage designs, the neckline and the bottom half of the leotard reflect more of the sexy side of a diva as well as something Beyonce would wear on stage. The images below show a few of Beyonce's bodysuit stage outfits which the cut-outs, neckline and leotard bottom half resemble my toile.

I decided to create one final toile so that the fit of the back of the bodysuit was to my level of standard. I then adjusted the patterns to rectify the problems I had with the back and then cut them out in the scrap pieces of fabric I used for the previous toile. I also unpicked the back of the updated toile as I had no problems with the front of the toile and sewn the new back pieces to the front of the previous toile.

I am satisfied with how the final toile came out, I am no longer having problems with the back of the bodysuit and the fit of it works well as it is no longer puckering on the sides.

I then started to drape some lightweight chiffon fabric due to the advice I received during the toile fit to see the different types of knots I could create to resemble the final design illustration. I have also been draping the fabric like a scarf instead of trying to attach the fabric into the bodysuit as I will have more control over the look of the knots and it would look more appealing as shown below.

The videos below show the different types of knot I tied to produce slightly different outcomes.

Draping the chiffon fabric in the look of a scarf has made me confident in the concept of having a scarf over the bodysuit rather than a dress with knots attached as I believe the scarf provides more of a glamorous, elegant look which links to one of the characteristics of a diva.