Deconstruct // Reconstruct Project

Today I slowly began to cut at the seams of the assortment of garments I had brought in. I was being quite precious with it to begin with, only snipping at small seams. I wasn’t too sure where or how to cut in order to make something interesting and I didn’t just want to do something random. So I left the altering for a moment and instead did some observational drawings of two garments that I had made.

I also decided that doing some designs and developing my ideas from the first garments I made on the mannequin would be a better idea instead of jumping straight into cutting the seams. With my designs at first I focused on the layering I had used on the mannequin and focused on one part of a garment to create layers with, leaving the rest looking simple—I created layers on sleeves, the lapel of jackets and coats, the waistband of trousers, the leg of the trouser.

I found that working with the tailored suit was a lot more interesting and easier. There were more details to work with, whereas with the knitwear I had there wasn’t any intricate knit pattern to work with, it was just a simple knit jumper. I tried to incorporate it with the tailor garments to create a contrast between two different materials. It worked well on one look but on the others it added unnecessary clutter to the garment and didn’t compliment well at all.

Deconstruct // Reconstruct Project

Before beginning the project I researched Deconstruction and I ended up finding out about the vast history and how much this technique is used, which I did not realise before. The process results in endless creations by designers. I particularly loved the works of Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake. I adore Miyake’s ‘Pleats Please’ collection, the way the fabric falls and compliments the body’s shape. It is an abstract way of creating garments, it is an art form, these designers created several different shapes and forms with fabrics. The technique emphasises the bodily form and through it designers have explored the relationship between the body and the garment as well as the concept of the body itself.

After getting briefed on the two week project I created collages using magazine cut-outs, using different parts of clothing and positioning them in different ways to create a ‘deconstructed’ garment. This exercise got me to visualise the composition of clothes differently, especially sleeves.

I focused more on the shape of the garment in my collages and this translated into the next step of the physical deconstruction of garments. I really enjoyed this step as it got me to recognise the structure of clothing more and how it is put together. I found that putting together the garments in alternative ways came very easily to me. I layered the fabrics and created pleat-like forms in order to manipulate the shape on the mannequin so it didn’t look like the original item.

I was really satisfied with my outcomes and couldn’t wait to cut into the seams of the garment, which would give me more freedom and fabric to work with. The fact that the project had no concept also allowed me more freedom to create.However some students found this quite difficult, the fact that there wasn’t a concept but I relished it.