The design process and inspiration behind my dress
Hello loves!
As promised in my last post, today’s post is all about my inspiration and my process behind this dress that I made for the 2020 Fashion for the Cure fashion show.
To start off with my inspiration, I’ve always loved the elegant flair exuded by traditional Chinese clothing. As a Chinese-American, I’m always trying to find creative ways to blend my two cultures into my designs. For this gown in particular, I was inspired to create a modern twist on the traditional Chinese dress, the Qipao.
Since one shoulder necklines and thigh-high slits were dominating the red carpet, I decided to replace the slim fit of the Qipao with a full volume gown that included these two features. Then, rather than using a typical closure- like a hook&eye or a zipper- I incorporated Pankou knots, which are the traditional knotted buttons used on Qipaos. Finally, I’ve long admired the intricate embroidery found on Qipaos; after playing around with different designs, I decided to hand embroider Chinese peach tree flowers, since the pink flowers complemented the white satin while the brown branches perfectly matched with the brown Pankou knots.
Now executing this was quite the challenge because a) I was embroidering each flower and branch all by hand b) I was embroidering on satin- one of the slipperiest fabrics I’ve ever worked with and c) have I mentioned that this was my very first time hand embroidering? It was definitely a lot of trial and error and I can’t even count how many times I wanted to give up; thank goodness for the fashion gals in room 256 for their constant encouragement because I am beyond happy with the way it turned out! My word of advice? Just try! Once you find your groove (and of course, have some fabulous music playing), you might just be surprised by the outcome:)
XOXO,
grace
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