My project is a two piece apparel that sought to manipulate historical clothing in a contemporary manner in order to become timeless. I was motivated by the changing shape of the female shape in women's clothing and desired to explore how design features such as an asymmetrical shape or fabric manipulation could contribute to creating interesting contemporary fashion. This involved the use and placement of the historically associated ruffles or pintucks in asymmetrical places, as well as adjusting the traditional Edwardian skirt to have different lengths on the right and left of the wearer. Furthermore, the typography inspiration served as a unifying design in the different pieces of my project, and contributed to its timelessness. As such, the outfit was highly suitable for its use as part of a semi-formal event or function, utilising its timeless yet contemporary features to draw connections between the past and the present. During the process, I was able to learn several valuable lessons, such as the importance of organisation in the undertaking of a major project, and more specifically, highly specialised skills including embroidery, fabric manipulation techniques of gathering, ruffling and pleating, and general garment construction. My most enjoyable experience was witnessing the project start to take shape and becoming a realised goal that I could truly achieve by the end of the year. While I was challenged by the organisation of my portfolio to reflect my design and construction process, it was a valuable experience that taught me the importance of the process in completing a major work.
