Fashion Designs (III)

Since I am strapped for time, I am not going to write a longer analysis on anything this time. The reason for this being that I am currently spending a lot of time in a lab and spending a lot of my free time with friends so I have less time for writing but I still try to.

However, I am still able to write something about what I drew in the free time I used to have. Some thoughts and ideas I had while sketching and redrawing those outfits. It might not be interesting but I need something to do and do I shall.

I don’t believe these outfits turned out to be any good because I hadn’t perfected the art of evenly colouring with a digital airbrush yet and if I can be fair I haven´t been able to perfect it to get the chiffon look but I am still working on it if I have any time left during the day.

Anyhow, without further ado let´s dive into the design idea I have sketched out or re-sketched as a drawing exercise and completely ignore the colour-blandness of this collection as well as the last two collections.

This dress was the prom dress I wanted to have for the prom I didn´t get to have due to the unforgiving thing called life which threw us an unrelenting pandemic in our path towards the future. However, enough about the pandemic we all want to forget so badly.

This dress is inspired by the traditional Qipao, a traditional Chinese dress, and my favourite type of skirt an asymmetrical floor-length skirt. For my prom dress, I wanted to combine part of my heritage with my fashion style.

For the top, I would have a very traditional-looking neckline made out of chiffon so it is see-through but the edges would still be lined with a traditional silk string finished with traditional ‘buttons’. The dress would be a bit corset style with traditional stitching.

The belt separating the top from the skirt would simply be a wide ribbon in a darker or lighter tone than the dress beneath it. In my mind, the dress would be baby pink with a deeper pink or black. However, I could imagine how the dress would look in various colours.

For the skirt, I am picturing an asymmetrical overlay skirt going down to the ankles. There would be traditional stitching on the skirt but they would somewhat fade out at the bottom of the skirt. In other words, there would be more stitching on the skirt around the waist than behind the ankles.

The dress would be worn, as aforementioned, to prom or other formal events. I believe that my family would appreciate it if I should wear this dress to a wedding since as mentioned, it combines my heritage with a bit of my fashion. A bit of both worlds, so to say.

When I was sketching the second dress, I was also in a somewhat prom-dressed state of mind because that prom was just right on the corner which is why this dress would have been a runner-up for my favourite prom dress.

At that time, I was also somewhat fascinated with see-through designs and overskirts. Therefore, I have many designs similar to this one. It may make things seem repetitive but as mentioned, I need to practice that kind of dress and how to draw them.

For the neckline, I thought that the illusion neckline would look nice. The dress would be tight but the chiffon skirt would act as a belt and a loose flowy contrast to the tight dress. I just desperately wanted a dress complementing the body but also flowing when dancing.

Ideally, the dress would be in midnight blue with some silver glitter. However, I could imagine how the dress could look amazing in any colour as long as the colours of the chiffon skirt and skin-tight dress don´t clash.

Aforementioned, I believe this dress would be ideal for prom or any sort of formal event. Nevertheless, I could also imagine the dress in a more semi-formal event as well. I just believe this dress would be out of place at a casual event.

As mentioned, there was a time when all I could think about were prom dresses. This dress is similar to the first dress just with a longer skirt and the asymmetrical skirt would cover the front more and not be too revealing.

The colour palettes would be colours I wanted to try but I believe I got overly ambitious with the colours since too many colours on one dress look bad would ‘overcrowd’ a dress.

Just like the first dress design, I could imagine a baby blue/pink colour pallet. The stitching along the neck and waist contrasts the soft colours of the dress itself. The chiffon part of the dress could sport the same colour as the dress or complement it, either way, it would look alright.

Even though this dress is designed for a formal-ish prom event, I could also argue that this dress would be quite fitting at a garden party as well on a warm summer day. A bit formal but not too over the top. With the flowery stitching, the dress would fit right into a garden party.

This dress is just one dress I saw a tutorial for and wanted to try for myself. At least the skirt. With the skirt, I could imagine an off-shoulder dress. Since the gown turned out better than I first anticipated when I followed the steps, I decided to colour it in.

Just like the dresses before it, there is somewhat of a prom theme. The off-shoulder straps would be made out of scrunched-up chiffon and the top would be stitched with glitter into a mesmerizing pattern. The skirt would be somewhat three-dimensional to keep the shape as seen in the drawing.

The colour pallet for this dress can vary from the colours in the drawing, however, the colour pallet in the drawing would be what I pictured for this dress. With the top being lighter than the skirt and the inside of the skirt being even darker than the skirt.

Besides a prom or a ball-gown formal event, I could not imagine another event fitting for this over-the-top kind of design. I mean maybe a costume party where everyone is dressed a bit over the top. Otherwise, no other event comes to mind.

This page before this dress was a different one (see draft on the left). However, since I didn’t like my drawing style and my design from back then, I erased it and filled the page with the dress now.

The prom theme of this dress is still prevalent even though it might not seem as obvious as the dresses before. With this dress, I wanted to try interweaving straps around the neck so it would look somewhat complex. I guess it did what it was supposed to do since while drawing, I had to stop and think every once in a while since I was just baffled as to which strap should go over and which should go under.

With the interwoven straps as shoulder straps, I thought it would fit if the waistline would have a similar design. With that feature, the dress would be a bit revealing while not being too revealing. In other words, you can show off but also be a bit mysterious.

My liking towards asymmetrical skirts and backless dresses is also obvious in this design. For the skirt, I just took the complex theme for this dress and ran with it. The skirt is multiple sheets of fabric overlayed.

I could imagine a more leathery colour pallet for this dress along with the leather which comes with it but I could also picture a softer fabric for this design with a softer colour pallet accompanying it. For the softer design, the skirt would be a rainbow of soft colours.

For this design, I was not quite in the prom state of mind anymore. For this outfit, I was thinking of a rebellious version of the outfits I wear. However, if you truly want to be a rebel, you are welcome to wear something similar to that outfit to the prom. It is edgy and unique.

With this outfit, I am picturing a somewhat tight crop top strapless top. Over the top, I thought it would look nice if there was a see-through loose chiffon top with a tight collar and wrists. The bottom hem of the over-top would be decorated with a golden chain going up to the top underneath.

For the skirt, I am picturing something simple. A simple black skirt with a bit of volume. Since the legs are a bit ‘bare’ so to say, I can imagine that this look should be completed with knee-height socks or boots.

This outfit would be ideal for a casual day out with friends or a perfect outfit to make an impression in school. I could also imagine this outfit being ideal for clubbing and partying but since neither is my forte, I wouldn’t know.

Ideally, the top underneath the chiffon top would be a colour complementing the chiffon top but not identical to create a bit of a contrast. So if the chiffon top would be dark grey, I can imagine that a midnight blue top would look nice with it.

For the chiffon top with the tighter neck and wrist, I could also imagine a colour complementing the colour of the see-through chiffon so if the chiffon should be dark grey, the neck and wrist would be black. The skirt and boots should not clash with the outfit so it would sport a darker colour as well.

For this last dress, I am back with the prom dress state of mind. However, I was thinking of a grand aristocratic formal prom gala. Since I don’t believe that the hat I used to accessorise the with has a place at a rather casual prom.

The dress would be a back-less, shoulderless dress. To be honest, the top has rather vest-like features. Which means there will be some sort of overlaying of clothes.

Around the waist, I think a diamond or feathery belt would look nice. A belt mirroring the pentagonal shape of the skirt. The skirt again would be asymmetrical. Since the skirt is pentagonal as well, there would be see-through bits filling in the skirt. The tail of the skirt would be not see-through.

I cannot imagine a peacock feather colour pallet for the belt, while the vest and skirt would show a darker gradient of the peacock feather colour pallet. Letting the skirt shimmer wouldn’t be too bad either which is why glitter is appropriate.

This dress now looking at it, does not seem quite appropriate for the aristocratic formal prom gala, I thought. Maybe this dress will fit more into the dystopian upper-class movies fashion style but in all honesty, I have no idea.

From this “prom” collection, I believe my likings become obvious. From this collection, I also believe that the reason I am designing is undeniably noticeable. Sometimes some designs are just figments of my imagination.

Sometimes, I just can see certain outfits I would love to wear clear as day and I just can´t find the right piece in the stores. Designing helps me put my ideas on paper so I don´t forget them.

Nevertheless, I am resenting the “prom” themed collection because, even though, the dresses all look nice in their own unique way, they are not very multi-purpose. You cannot wear any of the designs to non-formal events and in my experience, formal events don’t take place every day so the designs won´t see the light of day frequently which is sad.

Anyhow, this is my fashion design post. Next week, I will try to write an article about something else but until then my fashion ideas will have to do.