NYFW Red Dress Diary, Part II: Show Time

It's certainly possible that all the preparation in the world could have been insufficient to tackle my fitting with Carla Hall for the Go Red show. As I mentioned in my last post, my only fittings involved a dress form and someone significantly shorter than my model, so needless to say, I went into my Manhattan appointment feeling a bit beyond my depth. Then there was the issue that the dress I ended up making was somewhat different than my original design and I began to wonder if the final product would still effectively communicate my aesthetic.

Original sketch, second sketch, final gown

On the day of my fitting, I left my friend's apartment in Brooklyn early and braved the snow with my gown. Before my appointment, I made a quick visit to Manhattan Wardrobe Supply where I bought tough-as-nails double-sided tape and a few other last minute fitting essentials. My fitting was at Dani New York, a full service alterations workroom in the Garment District, coincidentally in the same building as my friend Angela Friedman's showroom. Natalia and Joe, the owners of Dani, were so welcoming. It's no secret that the New York fashion world isn't always friendly - Natalia and Joe were incredibly sweet to me, a rare, wonderful treat.

When Natalia asked me if I'd brought extra fabric, I had a moment of panic - What if the gown was too short? What if I had to add extra panels? I hadn't, in fact, brought extra fabric and began to worry that I had made a grave mistake. However, once Carla slipped on the gown, it all became clear: it was pretty damn close to perfect.

Natalia fits Carla.

There were, of course, minor adjustments that needed making, but nothing Natalia seemed to think was anything more than no big deal. It was satisfying to see that all the adjustments I'd made in San Francisco were the right moves to make. Carla is longer waisted than her measurements implied, so adjusting the bodice and yoke had definitely been the right move. The most significant change we had to make was to the length - the extra 6" Dorothy and I added were mostly lopped off in the front. When Carla told me she felt beautiful in my gown, I finally felt like I could breathe. All my hard work was paying off. Not only was Carla the perfect model, but she was gracious and sweet - such a delight to work with.

Lincoln Center, inside the fashion tents

And then the night arrived. I showed up at Lincoln Center with my heart in my throat. Navigating the fashion tents proved to be a little more complicated than expected, though I did end up getting some high fives from the gorgeous male models from the Band of Outsiders show. Once I arrived at the Go Red backstage area, I was blown away by the hustle and bustle of it all. My gown was ready for Carla and the celebrities were out in full force. From Laverne Cox to Hoda Kotb and Thalia to Ciara and Rosie O'Donnell, I was a little taken aback by all the familiar faces I'd only before seen on TV.

Carla and yours truly backstage

And before long, the other Incubator designers from Philadelphia and Chicago and I were ushered through the red carpet area, interviewed in a hurry and then sent to the front of the house to watch the show. And what can I say? It was amazing. Carla in particular had so much wonderful attitude and energy - it was a wonderful experience seeing my own work on the NYFW runway on such an amazing woman. See the whole show here on the Go Red site.

Carla on the runway

NYFW Red Dress Diary, Part I: Drape, Sew, Fit, Repeat

When the board of the San Francisco Fashion Incubator asked me to create a gown for the prestigious Go Red for Women runway show at New York Fashion Week, I initially didn't know what to say. As the only lingerie designer in a program mostly populated by womenswear designers, this amazing opportunity was quite the surprise, and, frankly, a challenge I was at once thrilled and a little nervous to take on. While Evgenia's focus is lingerie, I'm not a stranger to making dresses and gowns - in fact, my education at FIDM was in womenswear.

Initial sketches, preparing for the first drape, padding the dress form

I was asked to submit three initial designs, the first of which was my absolute favorite - a 1930's-themed bias cut gown with star lace appliqués throughout. After some celebrity changes (my first assigned celeb had to back out due to schedule conflicts), I was eventually assigned to dress celebrity chef Carla Hall, a former model who stands at an astonishingly statuesque 6' tall. I was told that she loved my first sketch, was given her measurements and got to work preparing to drape my gown. Because the mannequin I was working with was scaled for a shorter woman, I had to pad her out a bit to fit one considerably taller. With the help of FISF's resident sewing, pattern making and apparel construction expert Dorothy Yuki, I created a totally new form on which to drape.

Photos via Kelly Puleio Photography

Carla had requested that I pare down the star detailing on the dress, something I was more than happy to do. My first sketches were on the more fantastical side and after some thought I wasn't sure how they would translate to the runway. A more measured approach to embellishment seemed to be more fitting for a Fashion Week show, so I removed the center sash star and a bunch of the star appliqués throughout the top portion of the gown. Because of Carla's past runway experience, I thought adding a sweeping skirt would create a beautiful motion during the show for a confident walker.

First bodice mockup

I actually did two separate drapes, one for my first assigned celebrity who as 5'2" and the second for Carla Hall. In all, I sewed the bodice four separate times, three times for Carla's gown. Many of the design elements I dreamed up proved to be a bit more complicated to execute than I'd initially thought. For example, the gathering at the bust caused some issues with the waist seam (see above) which I had to allow extra ease for. The hip yoke was cut on the bias to allow for maximum fit flexibility, but as any dressmaker knows, bias is a whole different ballgame and can be quite a challenge to work with. After meeting with Dorothy to make the proper pattern adjustments following my first draft, I figured it was time to move into my final fabric with only 12 days to go until New York.

Second bodice mockup with skirt

The second draft of Carla's bodice was a million times better with some minor, easy-to-fix issues. At that point, I drafted the skirt pattern and tried it out in some extra silk I had lying around. Dorothy and I agreed that we should allow an extra 6" for the bottom hem to allow for the possibility of sky high shoes.

Star appliques and snips

Once I was happy with the final skirt shape, I began cutting in in the final fabric and adding the star appliqués one by one with the help of my intern, Lux. Each of the four panels of the skirt had between 12 - 15 stars on it, each hand-basted, appliquéd by machine and snipped by hand with sewing scissors.

Second bodice mockup (left), fitting with Michelle Byrnes, final gown before finishing

Once the skirt was finished, I was desperate to try the gown on someone with similar proportions to Carla, but I didn't know anyone 6' tall with shared similar measurements. Then a friend suggested I call up 2013 Designer in Residence and kickass designer in her own right Michelle Byrnes. She's not 6' tall, but she's pretty darn close, and pretty close to Carla's body measurements. She came by the Incubator and we tried on the gown. There remained some small fit considerations, but it was clear I was getting a lot closer to the final product! I ended up lowering the waist seam, lengthening the bias yoke and extending the shoulders which yielded…

The final gown

…the final product! Per Dorothy's recommendations, I left large seam allowances at the side seams to manage any potential fit issues that would pop up. Remember, I didn't have a chance to fit Carla in person until my arrival in New York, at which point any major alterations would be out of my hands.

Next up, my final fitting in New York and the NYFW Go Red runway show!

Macy's Fall Fashion Fest - Photography by George Liao

The FiSF whirlwind continues! Just last month, Fashion Incubator Designers in Residence past and present were invited to show current and upcoming collections at Macy's Fall Fashion Fest and photographer George Liao was there to capture every moment.

Designers Tony Sananikone (Sounthavong), Michelle Byrnes and Nathan Johnson (Artful Gentleman)

Sounthavong, Evgenia, Vermeulen & Co

Min Edition, Artful Gentleman, Evgenia

Artful Gentleman, Evgenia, Whichkim

Artful Gentleman, Evgenia, Whichkim

Selfies!

DIRs past and present: Bethany Meuleners, Stephanie Bodnar, Michelle Byrnes, Tony Sananikone, Jake Wall, Amanda Scarlett Smith, Lia Larrea, Anna Min, Dahae Kim, Bree Hylkema, Kyra

FiSF Macy's Window Display

It's been a while since I sat down to write an FiSF Diary post - things have been busy lately. Fellow designer in residence Amanda of Scarlett Smith probably said it best: "I always think next week will be calmer." Funnily, it never really is!

The past few weeks have been especially exciting and a whirlwind for all of us, and one of the bigger honors we've been privileged to take part in is having one look from each of our Spring/Summer 2015 collections featured in the San Francisco Macy's windows.

Evgenia Bralette and Tap Shorts, floral headpiece by John James Designs

From even my beginning illustration phase for S/S 2015, this outfit has been my favorite, so I'm delighted to show it off to the world. Macy's Visual Manager Rise Hixson did a gorgeous job displaying our outfits and if I'm totally honest, I go out of my way almost every day to catch another glimpse of the display before it's gone.

If you get a chance, check it out! The window display is to the left of the main doors of the San Francisco Macy's Men's Store on Stockton Street in Union Square.

From left to right: WHICHKIM, Lia Larrea, Scarlett Smith, Min Edition, Evgenia