Coat

My collection is based on architecture. So my research began with looking at different types of buildings, their structures and surfaces. I went on to looking at tiles and glass. However for my coat I wanted to give it some structure, but didn't want it to be the typical boxy/square structure, instead I wanted it to be curved. So I decided to start designing a coat that had curves and so that most of the seams that created the shapes were curved, even the sleeves are curved.

I started looking into fabrics to use for my coat, and I came across two that I really liked. One was grey alcantara and the other was purple wool coating. The pricing for the alcantara was extortionate so I decided to go with the purple. I ordered a sample and was really happy with it so went ahead and bought! CRISIS. The fabric had sold out and there was only one meter left on the roll. I panicked as I thought that this wouldn't be enough, but my tutor prompted me to buy it anyway. So I did, and within 2 days it had arrived. I was so excited to open it and when I did i loved it. The more and more that I looked at it the more I knew that something wasn't right. So I pulled out my sample to compare it and they were completely different!

The smaller rectangle is the sample and the background is the one I received. I selected the exact same fabric as the sample when I ordered it, with the same reference numbers, but they were completely different colours. I contacted the woman stating this but unfortunately didn't ever receive a reply. In the end it turned out for the best as my leather matched the fabric I received much better than the sample that I was given, so I was happy. 

To experiment with the different shapes I created a coat toile. To start with I created the coat with the curved body seams and then a simple sleeve attached at the shoulder.

This shoulder seam didn't really work well with the coat as it came up really tight and no matter how matched the measurements were it didn't fit properly. So I decided to drop the shoulder to allow more room and to give a curved shoulder line which you can see in the image above.

The images above now show where I have dropped the shoulder seam that meets the sleeve, and the shoulder seam now lines up with panel, which I am very pleased with! 

 This then lead me to creating a coat where the seams represented the womanly figure (hourglass), however it looks more pear shaped as it goes from a small to large curve. My coat now looks like a bubble! 

The curved seams have given it shape and added more volume to the coat, rather than just having a straight down coat. I wanted to create a coat that was different to ones that people would normally wear and just have fun with it.