Designing And Construction Of Garments

DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF GARMENTS TAKING INSPIRATION FROM LEAVES Dr. Sarvani Vaddi* and Mrs. Saroj I. Patel**

ABSTRACT: On the verge of adopting modern silhouette, an attempt is made to create 12 new garments, suitable for women’s wear constructed, taking inspiration from leaves which were found 100% creative, original and innovative. It was found that they give new look and expression to the fashion conscious youth. Among those, the garments imbibed with “Chrysanthemum, Papaya and Pothos leaves” were graded 100% appealing with aesthetic sense which has got applause from the designers who formed the panel of judges and visitors in the fashion show. INTRODUCTION: Fashion is a bridge over which new ideas travel from the designer’s studio to the mass (1). Fashion represents an art form rising out of a period and environment and as such is no less valid than other artistic creations (4). Fashions when handled in a professional manner are the representations of latent talented inspirations expressed by the designers (8). Many times it was found that this divine influence is from Mother Nature (7). The Tree of life, flowers, fruits, twines, tendrils and leaves formed sources of inspiration for various arts and also for the vast collection of traditional textiles of India (2), in printing and weaving on jacquards with the colourful designs.

*Assistant Professor-Design, Department of Fashion and Apparel, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad. ** Reader, Department of Clothing and Textiles, The M.S.University of Baroda, Baroda.

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However, impregnating the true shapes and forms of leaves into silhouette designing was not attempted earlier. A humble attempt was made in this project to bring out a feeling of wearing the natural leaf on the human body. Patel Sapna conducted a study on ‘designing and construction of garments with varying silhouettes’. Her inspiration was from flowers and objects. The study indicated that the garments provided variety (6). Desai K. conducted a study on ‘designing and construction of garments inspired from architecture’. Her designs were inspired by architectural buildings, monuments and temples like lotus temple etc. on evaluation; the overall aesthetic appeal was rated as excellent (3). The article is the outcome of inspiration taken from natural shapes, curves and colours of leaves to design the silhouettes and design details of the women’s wear. Since no two women would like to look alike, newer fashions are created for women of all ages to make them confident about their clothing to appeal as individualistic and look different (5). Thus, an attempt was made to create a variety of silhouettes with a theme, to make them more expressive. The specific objectives of the study were: •

To select leaves, those are inspiring artistically as per their genesis.

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To sketch several appropriate designs for garments inspired by leaves.

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To select the best professed designs evaluated by the fashion designers.

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To construct the selected designs with suitable fabrics incorporating the selected leaves in the structural details and surface ornamentation.

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To evaluate the constructed garments for their justification in terms of : a. Resemblance to the theme. b. Suitability of the fabrics. c. Overall aesthetic appeal. d. Projection of the natural shapes of leaves. e. Appropriateness of the color combinations.

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METHODS AND MATERIALS Selection of Leaves: Total samples of 225 leaves were collected from various sources. They were categorized according to the classification of leaves based on their outlines and margins. 25 most inspiring leaves were selected for designing silhouettes. The outlines and other details like margins, bases, apices, venation, colour at various stages of their life cycle and thickness of the leaves were noted down for the purpose of construction details. Selection of Colour Palette: A colour palette was prepared with different colours seen in leaves at different stages of their life span. Colour combinations were tried out from this palette and each set of sketches were colored with suitable colour combinations. Selection of Materials: Poplin (100%), Polyester / Cotton (65/35%) blend Tussah / Cotton blend, Chiffon and Cambric fabrics were used for the construction of the garments. Fusing buckram, plain woven buckram and sponge sheet of 0.5 mm thickness were used as supportive materials. Selection of Designs: Fashion illustrations of 25 sets of designs were drawn each set containing three different silhouettes. Out of these 12 best sets were selected by 12 fashion designers. Each of the selected design is made in three colour ways. A preference schedule was administered to a purposive sample of 50 fashion designers to select one best design from each set. These 12 selected designs were constructed with suitable materials using Butterick commercial paper patterns. The constructed garments were evaluated through a fashion show and the opinions of 50 fashion designers as judges were taken through a preference schedule. The data was analyzed and results were illustrated through Table I, Table II, and Pie diagrams I & II and also on bar graphs I enclosed for reference. The constructed garments are presented in Plates 1-12.

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DESCRIPTION OF DESIGNED GARMENTS Silhouette I - Design Inspired By Champa Leaf: It is a sleeveless top fitted, one piece dress with Champa leaves criss-crossing on the centre front line from either side seams, in two shades of purple. The leaves were appliquéd on a Carmine background. The veins were painted to make them prominent. It gave a variety in simplicity (Plate1). Silhouette II - Design Inspired By Colocasia Leaf: A jacket in two shades of purple with a fitted knee length skirt in light purple gave an elegant look to this classic western outfit. The mid vein of Colocasia leaf was placed on the side seam of the jacket, distinguished with the lighter shade of purple on a darker shade jacket with full sleeves. The front placket opening was emphasized with buttons in light contrast (Plate2). Silhouette III -Design Inspired By Pothos Species Leaf: Bark brown Skirt and top with mustard yellow and green leaves uplifting the entire look. The deep marginal cuts were embroidered with lighter shades to make them prominent. Indian Cotton gave a simple and aesthetic appearance (Plate3). Silhouette IV - Design Inspired By Chinar Leaf: Dark green A-line kurta with full sleeves ornamented with Chinar leaves at the neckline in cream gave bright look with Salwar in the cream. Chiffon dupatta gave just the right touch to it. Spun shined the entire look of the garment (Plate4). Silhouette V - Design Inspired By Chrysanthemum Leaf: The extreme charm of yellow Chrysanthemum leaves on a green fitted boned bodice made a pleasing contrast. The off shoulders and yoke at hip were emphasized with the Chrysanthemum leaves. The calf length, half umbrella skirt falls in graceful folds (Plate5). Silhouette VI - Design Inspired By Pothos Variety Leaf: Gradation rhythm of lobes was incorporated in the Pothos long serrated leaves ornamented on the side seam of A-line olive green kurta. The marginal cuts of the leaves in succession added to the beauty of the rhythm in design (Plate6).

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Silhouette VII - Design Inspired By Papaya Leaf: The light orange full circular skirt with papaya leaves patched in darker shade of the same line made it graceful. The Blouse with full sleeves ornamented with a papaya leaf gave it sophisticated look. The transparent organza Chunni with circular motifs added to the grace of this attire (Plate7). Silhouette VIII - Design Inspired By Pistia Leaf: Small Pistia leaves hanging from the neckline and sleeve bottom in light peach on this dark peach kalidar kurta, with gore (kali) in the form of Pistia leaves elegantly supported by the churidar and the dupatta. Colour combinations appeared on dry leaf was used (Plate8). Silhouette IX - Design Inspired By Euphorbia Leaf: This traditional drape-the sari in light rose was ornamented with green Euphoria leave by appliqué forming the pallav. The green blouse added just the right look with a polo neckline decorated with the leaf in radiating rhythm (Plate9). Silhouette X - Design Inspired By Lotus Leaf: This body fitted silhouette with sweet heart neckline, sleeves and skirt taking the outline of the lotus leaf in two shades of green gave an interesting look to the garment. The colour of bodice was taken from the stem of the lotus leaf to accentuate the garment, inculcating a feeling of natural habitat of plant (Plate10). Silhouette XI - Design Inspired By Fan Palm Leaf: A tight fitted knee length skirt in ash with a pink top gave an unusual combination, yet emphasized by the fan palm leaves in green, radiating from the neckline of the blouse and waist line of the skirt, created a different wild antique appeal (Plate11). Silhouette XII - Design Inspired By Banana Leaf: The short skirt with sleeveless top, neckline formed by the banana leaf and the leaves hanging down from the waist line in grading sizes remind of the real banana leaf. Yellow base of the garment complemented the colours. The banana leaf was quilted and the parallel lines stitched on light green half of the leaf gave an effect of parallel venation (Plate12).

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EVALUATION OF GARMENTS It was found that 80% -100% of fashion designers accepted that the garments displayed resembled their respective leaves where the design inspired by Chrysanthemum got 100% applause with positive response which is presented in Table 1. The suitability of the fabrics used was rated very high ranging from 62%-100%. The design inspired by Papaya and Chrysanthemum secured 100% positive response which is presented in Table 2. The overall aesthetic appeal of these designs rated high. The design inspired by Papaya got the highest positive response which is presented in Figure 1. Projection of the natural shapes and curves of the leaves in the design details of the garment rated high. The design inspired by Papaya scored the highest in the excellent category and the design inspired by Colocasia scored the highest in the very good category which is presented in Figure 2. The appropriateness of the colors of the garments got a high response of 96% for the design inspired by Colocasia followed by Chrysanthemum 94% which is presented in figure 3. 86% of the fashion designers found that the displayed garments had the element of novelty. The creativity of this experimental work has got 100% positive response.

SUGGESTIONS AND REMARKS The judges found the study as innovative, interesting and creative which definitely required a lot of hard work and dedication. Words of appreciation were new idea, original and creative work, very close to nature and found it as an attempt to project the intricacy and beauty of leaves. The designers suggested trying out on wearable garments, elaborate silhouettes and to consider the origin place of the leaves.

CONCLUSION A variety of designs were created which were unique and new inspired by leaves. This study presents a collection of garments that are individualistic, possessing personality and gives a new look to fashion conscious youth. The monotony and boredom of wearing

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garments of similar styles and silhouettes can be overcome by adopting such garments designed with a theme. Thus, making the clothes more impressive, attractive and expressive. This innovative idea can be diversified into designing furnishings and other textile art forms which will give rise to an identity for the Indian designers in the global scenario of competitive modernized fashion world.

REFERENCES 1. Brockman H., “The Theory of Fashion Design”, John Wiley and Sons Inc.,New York,1965 2. Craig, Hazel Thompson and Rush, Ola Day, “Clothes with Character”, D.C. Health and Co., Boston, 1994. 3. Desai K., “Designing And Construction Of Garments Inspired From Architecture”, unpublished masters dissertation, Dept. of Clothing and Textiles, M.S.University of Baroda,1995. 4. Garland M., “The Changing Form of Fashion” J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., London, 1970. 5. Hee-su Kim and Sung-bae cho , “Application of genetic algorithm to fashion design” seoul 120-749,Korea . John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Academic Press, New York, 1990. 6. Patel Sapna, “Designing and Construction of Garments with Varying Silhouettes”, unpublished masters dissertation, Dept. of Clothing and Textiles, M.S.University of Baroda1992 7. Young A., “Recurring Cycles of Fashion 1760-1937”, Harper and Brothers, NewYork, 1937. 8. Sturn M., “Guide to Modern Clothing”, Webster Division, McGraw Hill Book Company, London, 1962.

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Table 1 Resemblance of The Constructed Garments to their Respective Leaves Maximum Frequency = 50; Total % = 100 Name of the Leaf Frequency Percentage Yes No Yes No Champa 45 05 90 10 Colocasia 41 09 82 18 Pothos Species 49 01 98 02 Chinar 48 02 96 04 Chrysanthemum 50 0 100 0 Pothos Variety 46 04 92 08 Papaya 49 01 98 02 Pistia 46 04 92 08 Euphorbia 49 01 98 02 Lotus 43 07 86 14 Fan Palm 40 10 80 20 Banana 47 03 94 06 Table 2 Suitability of the Fabrics for Projecting the Original Shapes of Leaves Maximum Frequency = 50; Total % = 100 Name of the Leaf

Frequency

Percentage

Champa Colocasia Pothos Species Chinar

Yes 42 47 45 45

No 08 03 05 05

Yes 84 94 90 90

No 16 06 10 10

Chrysanthemum Pothos Variety Papaya Pistia Euphorbia Lotus Fan Palm Banana

50 46 50 42 47 46 31 44

0 04 0 08 03 04 19 06

100 92 100 84 94 92 62 88

0 08 0 16 06 08 38 12

FIGURE:1 8

FIGURE: 2 9

FIGURE: 3 10

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12

13

14

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