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From Red Ticking
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Fabrics
The Key to Designing Clothes
When the US fashion industry was hot, fashion designers began as Clothing and Textile majors in university Home Economics programs, housed in the science buildings with chemistry, biology and physics. Before design courses, textile courses were required and before that science courses. There was no chance that you could start sketching your dreams until you knew tensile strength, absorption properties and and the difference between reeled, spun and extruded fibers. And, the passionate souls jumped in and dyed, spun, wove and printed their own fabric. At this point in time, too many designers and most consumers suffer from textile ignorance and must resort to costly trial and error.
It's a huge problem. The waste from mistakes is bad; ready-to-wear is done in boring but familiar fabrics; clothes don't last ( see story); nobody wins. I believe it is one big reason why draping on the body is almost a 'lost art'. One cannot drape a design without a clue as to whether the fabric will deliver it or why. If clueless about fabrics, designers must then work less creatively on the table, or they unknowingly sketch a dysfunctional fantasy or they are forced to hand it off to a pricey pattern designer who tells them it's impossible. Just a little bit more textile education for designers and savvy consumers would result in exponential improvements in profits and appearances both! Take/give a textiles course somewhere and then repeat it. If budding fashion designers are to be taken seriously as professionals with investment or sales worthy futures, they need to be grounded in the science and performance of cloth, not to mention, of course, the art thereof. _________________________
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There & Then
 The House of Vionnet. Ahhh, the poor House of Vionnet . . . Here it is the 100th year of the establishment of the House and its revival again has been 'interrupted' -- for the fourth time! -- with another new owner, Goga Ashykenazi. But they did manage to stage a celebration, presenting a demi-couture (a few corners were cut) collection for the occasion. Vionnet left sooooo much to build on -- it just escapes me as to why that building can't happen when she left oodles of directions to follow, tweak, re-create, adapt and 'reference'. Please hire someone with experience (read background and age) and then LISTEN to him or her. With Vionnet, it is not about image; it's about performance and you have to be out there awhile for that. Actual from Josh Jakus.  Josh has a new UM  Bag -- a shoulder bag. His ideas are so great -- and, thankfully, he's going to design more wear-ables. BIG YES! Starting with a men's tie which we all can wear and will be found here ( Ed cannot resist) -- Josh says hats are next.  NOLCHAIf you haven't heard of these people and you are a small scale, independent designer, they are proof dreams can come true. Check out their recent NOLCHA Fashion Week and note that applications are open for the one coming up in February in NYC. You can make a splash on the runway with 10 looks for 5K, about as low cost as it gets for mavericks to get on the world map. Their FW ranks second to the biggy, NY FW! O'Mast. This one is big -- O'Mast is finally  out! This is a long-time-in-the-making documentary of how the Neapolitan tailors do their thing and have for centuries -- O'Mast means Master in the Naples dialect. You can find it at The Hanger Project for a pittance, $35, with more info than you can image. Plus, you get a swatch of worsted wool with the DVD. While there, take some lessons on how to care for good clothes from the Hanger people. It requires tools and knowledge; clothes are investments, to be protected for the max ROI. COSTUME COLLOQUIUM III. An amazing  meeting, in Florence, Italy, has just finished as we hear from Hannah Wroe. This gathering of world wide dress minds happens every 2 years and this is only the 3rd one -- plan ahead for the next one. The video spells it all out and shows us that everyone in the field of dress is related in so many ways; we all seek greater understand of mankind's most intimate environment.  | | Costume Colloquium III, Past Dress - Future Fashion |
 New Book. Patterns and Layering: Japanese Spatial Culture, is due out this month. Review quote: "Now, the laboratory of renowned architect Kengo Kuma has developed a technically sophisticated methodology (for textile printing) that unites patterns and layering in a single structural concept for the first time." Again, the textile bell rings! Read more The Surface Design Association. On the textile tear here . . . have another look at the SDA for excellent fabric information from the nation's experts, even if you're not a surface person -- it's about a lot more. Think about going to their next conference in San Antonio. UPCOMING EXHIBITION: Fashion and  Technology at F.I.T., in New York, December 4, 2012 - May 8, 2013. Again, the textile thing -- this show looks at the impact of technology from the 18th C. on and says, if you think fashion design is all about some creative spirit bursting forth from your inner self, try again. Fashion has always been about technology in the most beautiful ways -- it's science made gorgeous -- it's production made interesting -- it's geometry made wearable. It all stems from those good old "solids", science and math, and it will only be more so in the future. Go see this show and learn what you need to make it in this business and/or send your kid, the one in fashion school before she or he registers for the next semester.   Suzanne Lee -- Grow Your Own FabricAnd I finish this part with a glimpse into your future closet or bathtub, depending on how hands-on you want to be. The news is good -- this new fabric is renewable!  | | Suzanne Lee: Grow your own clothes |
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Here & Now
Save The Dates -- New classes coming up!
Details will be posted and registration will begin after the first of the year, this announcement is a head's up just in case you're already deep into calendar work for
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A Capucci idea . . .
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2013.
PATTERNS FOR PLEATS -- APRIL 11 - 14 at the Textile Center in Minneapolis.
It begins with the Friday Night Preview Sale of the Textile Center's Minneapolis monster, all-things-textile, Garage Sale (in a warehouse!), followed by 2 days of noodling out how different pleating methods drive the design of pleated clothing patterns, with samples, mind-bending possibilities, resources and more. The steam cabinet at the TC makes it all possible.
  MEN'S SHIRTS: PATTERNS TO PRODUCTION -- AUGUST 2 -4, Steve Pauling in San Francisco.
From Friday afternoon through Sunday, Steve Pauling will take us through 2.5 days of pattern design and construction for made-to-measure men's shirts. This one is such a long time in coming and he is the perfect expert -- his work is amazing. A well fitting shirt can change a guy's life -- I mean for the long haul, when you consider jobs, love life, social status -- heavens, it all depends on THE right shirt!
Note the 1st Prize ribbon!
DRAPING THE CARDIN SUIT --
MARCH 1 -3 in San Francisco. This is the 9th in my Draping Series from the book, Draping, the Art and Craftsmanship of Fashion Design, and deals with all the secrets behind the Cardin suit. The key thing with this one is draping the sleeve. So we'll also do a number of separately draped very unusual sleeves -- as a sidebar to the class -- so you can morph into a sleeve guru in the process. Plus it includes a contrasting softly shaped straight skirt, something we haven't done in previous DS classes.
 PATTERNING INSERTIONS: ADRIAN AND DELAUNAY -- JUNE 28 - 30 in San Francisco with Pam Vinderlinde.
Pam, who teaches fashion at the Illinois Art Institute, fell hard for Sonia Delaunay's work and then, of course, for Adrian's. This class is about how these two geniuses made their insertion-based designs fit together. Developing the design on the body, fabrics, fit, putting it all together -- all included. I have to say, I have been pining for and collecting materials on this class forever and then I saw Pam's work and decided no way -- she has to do it! Check the Adrian story on GlamourSplash and images of Delaunay's clothes.
New Complete Listing:
CFPD PATTERN DESIGN SEMINARS
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Our classroom in San Francisco
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Finally, all the seminars that I offer, here, there and everywhere, are listed in one place with the details people always want to know. Took forever to organize but there we are, a galaxy of what I think of as spark plugs since they ignite possibilities and pull out surprise design talents on the spot. The truth is they are all my own passionate interests and so are just plain fun to do. Enjoy!
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I was born in New York, outside the City about 30 miles so it will always be home in many ways, especially so now. New Yorkers are tough. Little brings them to their knees but nature has and will again. It is now a fact of life, regardless of why, that we must both adapt to and slow down the changing climate. Do whatever you can on your local level to bring that realization home to City Councils, planners and your own family and community. Deal with the denial, if you can, and live mindfully when it comes to burning fossil fuels.
Speaking for those who do not live there any longer but do in our hearts, thanks to all who are helping the east coast -- we too are grateful.
So, many thanks for reading and this month I'll be Sandra, not Sandy!
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Two Day Seminars:
Draping For Fit
Draping For Design
The Draping Series
The Designers are:
Charles Worth
Madeleine Vionnet
Christoff von Drecoll
Christian Dior,
La Cignale Dress
Madame Gr�s
Christian Dior
Bar Jacket
Andr� Courr�ges
Yves St. Laurent
Pierre Cardin
Yohji Yamamoto
Balenciaga
Draping Beyond Tradition
Wrap Yourself a Dress
From Pictures To Patterns
Patterns for Pleats
Zero Waste: Think Before You Cut
The Art of Fashion Design
Working With Your Proportions
Umbrellas, Crafting a New Canopy
Three Day Seminars:
PWStudio 3: CAD Flat Pattern Design
One to Five Days:
Madeleine Vionnet:
The Art of the Cut.
Geometric Cuts
Complex Cuts
Changing Directions With Loops and Folds
Surface Design
Beyond Vionnet, Designers Who Follow
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NEW PRODUCT CATEGORY:
Loved and Used
Fashion and Textile Books
Time to give others a crack at the books that inspired and educated me for so many years. I purchased every one because it had within it some serious teachable moments, great ideas or amazing illustrations.
One time I paid $600 for a book on Ebay because it had one super-key page -- crazy.
I figure it will take years to get them all up there, one shelf at a time, so we start this month's theme, textiles, so have a browse!
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Colin McDowell, my favorite fashion columnist, a guy with something to say, to teach. He doesn't go on about what his eyes fell upon, like a human camera, and he doesn't compare designers to each other in a race to the bottom, but to high professional standards.
A pithy recent example on London Fashion Week:
"Are we talking about London Fashion Week or a festival of childish self-indulgence? For me, fashion design is about cut, shape, body and proportion . . . But sadly, many of the recent London shows featured banal shapes hidden under a riot of digitally created patterns, sometimes in the crudest of colors. Just imagine if there was an embargo on the use of color and pattern and designers had to show clothes in toile (muslin). We would then see plainly just how bereft of technical skills some of the most lauded of London designers actually are."
Moral of the story: It's always better to learn to make the cake than the frosting.
Hmmmm . . . Don't know if I can resist an annual CFPD Toile Tournement -- a nice $$$ prize for the best cut and silhouette and nothing else! More on that in January.
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A SPECIAL PIECE.
From Tom Skogstrom, the only work of serious jewelry I've ever seen for those who design with scissors and cloth.
The necklace is meticulously and beautifully done in patina metal clay -- the fabric centerpiece is even cast on the bias!
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