HAUTE COUTURE���

SEWING TECHNIQUES���AND ���

CONSTRUCTION���

FALL 2012���Florence University of the Arts���FAST, School of Fashion and

Accessory Studies and Technology���

Instructor: Dagmar Elizabeth Mecca���

Course Code: FT FD HC 352���Section: 101���

���Delia Tung���

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Haute Couture Fashion ���Haute couture is French for “high sewing” or “high dressmaking”. The term refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. It is usually made to order for a specific customer and from high quality, expensive fabric. ���

Givenchy, Spring/ Summer

2007���

Valentino, Autumn/Winter

2009���

Chanel, Spring Summer 2012���

Christian Dior, Spring/Summer

2003 ���

Giambattista Valli, Autumn/Winter 2013���

Valentino has dominated haute couture, the Italian style,

for five decades. The assignment was to find three

inspirational images of Valentino gowns and sketch

our own design incorporating our desired corset pattern.���

Valentino Assignment���

Valentino Red 2010���

•  Black satin for the headpiece and trousers���

•  Black chiffon for the corset sleeves���

•  Black and red silk taffeta for the corset���

Valentino Spring 2010 RTW Strapless Gray Gown ���

•  Purple silk for half of the dress���

•  Gray silk for the corset and half of the dress ���

•  Back half of the dress is hand plisse with the purple silk���

Valentino for Audrey Hepburn, Vogue���

•  Black satin for the headpiece and trousers���

•  Black chiffon for the corset sleeves���

•  Black and red silk taffeta for the corset���

I chose a corset pattern representative of the late 16th century and early 17th century. These garments were worn by upper class women in the royal courts. This version features the Elizabethan-era dropped center front waist and the square-neck corset with fastens in front. ���

Corsets have a commonplace among haute couture fashion. Every student in this course created a unique corset.���

Corsets���

Boning���Bones, also known as stays or steels, comprise of the skeletal structure of the corset. There are three main types of boning.������

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–  Contains several rows of fine tubular plastic that are woven together with a fine thread���

–  Cut with scissors, then rounded with fire���

–  Ends are sewn on���

–  Very flexible���–  Simplest form of

boning use���–  Cut using scissors,

rounded at the end���–  Can also have

slanted ends���

–  Most flexible of all bones���

–  Cut using bolt cutters on each small individual ring of the bone ���

–  U-tips are used as ends and crimping is used to keep the tips in place���

1. Spiral Boning��� 2. Solid Plastic Boning��� 3. Woven Plastic Boning���

Bone Casing Samples���

Bone Casing Samples���These samples were made to show how different types of boning could be sewn into fabric.���1.  Two Layers of Fabric���2.  Using Seam Allowance���3.  Using Ribbons���4.  Woven Plastic without Bone

Casing���5.  Using Ribbons Over Seam

Allowance������

1.��� 2.��� 3.���

4.��� 5.���

The First Steps���The first step was to make an initial twill out of muslin fabric. I traced the corset pattern on the muslin, cut it out, and sewed it together. Here, I show how it looked on the mannequin. ���

Then, I took my own measurements and added fabric in the areas needed. ���

Detailed Drawing of my Corset���

I later made some small changes while I sewing, such as having elastic straps and a sweetheart neckline. ���

Sketches of outfits with the corset ���

This outfit has the traditional head scarf altered to my design. The corset is made of black cotton. ���

This outfit has a black fabric for the corset. I envision it with a jacquard cotton. The trousers are made of blue silk with white polka dots. ���

Sketches of outfits with the corset ���

This dress will have a pink chiffon over the silk dress. The corset will be made with pink silk with ribbons as the bone casing���

The corset will have sheer blue sleeves and the skirt will have a thin black organza over the blue skirt. ���

Fabric Board���D

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Fabrics������

The class theme was the French Revolution. From looking at my mood board, I was inspired by laicism in France. The bottom kitschy fabric is representative of the French Revolution when peasants stormed the palaces of France. The top corduroy fabric signifies the current struggles for Muslims in France. Black is the color of many traditional clothing for women. ���

Beginning the Corset���I started my final corset like the twill. The pattern was cut out of two layers of muslin, one thicker and one thinner. Then I did the same with the outside fabric. I laid the thinner muslin between the two other fabrics and tacked them together using a simple needle and thread. ���

The Makings of the Corset���My particular corset requires a large amount of straight boning. The boning was sewn in between two fabrics. I used a ruler to measure the bone casing for solid plastic boning and metal boning. Solid plastic boning required a width of .7 cm and metal boning, 1 cm. Here you can see that I have sewn all the straight boning in for the center front of my corset. In the very center, I used one piece of metal boning. The rest of the bone casings were meant for solid plastic.���

Here are the materials that I used for my corset (in the box above). On the bottom right are the pliers and bolt cutter that I used for crimping and cutting metal boning. Metal boning was also used on the back of my corset.���

Here, I am cutting and inserting plastic boning into my corset.���

After all the boning was cut and put into the corset, I sewed the lining for both corsets. I used a dark blue satin for the kitschy fabric and a black satin for the corduroy. The right sides had to be facing each other and I connected the fabrics together. I left the sides open to flip the right side fabrics out later on, shown on the black corset to the left. The sides were hand stitched together at the end.���

Here, I am sewing in the lining to my corset. ���

For the straps of my corset, I used elastic bands so that I would have more room to move. I sewed on my elastic straps by hand and inserted them into the corset in open seams. This was my last step.���

The Finished Corset���

The Finished Corset���

Our Class���