Catherine Zeta-Jones

For my first project in my Draping class, we had to take inspiration from a celebrity and make a red carpet look for them. I chose Catherine Zeta-Jones because I have long thought of her as the epitome of Hollywood beauty and glamor. I researched her style and got to sketching and this is what I came up with:

I played with texture by using both sides of a crepe back satin.

"A Touch of Midas Gold"

The following dress was inspired by an exhibit at the FIT museum: Madame Gres "Sphinx of Fashion". I wanted to focus on her attention to Greco-Roman design and it was very interesting researching before the actual creation of the dress. My project was entitled "A Touch of Midas Gold" which references the Greek Myth of King Midas, who's very touch can turn anything into gold. My dress, and the other dresses in the collection I designed, include rings of gold bias-cut satin. Close-up of Front

Entire Front of Dress

"Cappucino Break"

The following is a project that I worked on for my flat pattern design class. The goal was to design a cohesive collection of jackets and skirts, and finally create one ensemble. The following are pictures of the jacket I made for the class.

My Target Market:

"This collection will appeal to the woman who likes to indulge in a daily cappuccino. She can spend hours in a café reading a classic novel or just people-watching as long as she has that cup of coffee. She enjoys poetry and art and works at a bookstore or in an art gallery. She lives in the city and enjoys the culture that comes with that lifestyle. She is in her 20s or 30s, but carries a maturity beyond her years. She likes to wear rich, warm colors, just like she likes rich, warm coffee."

My Presentation Board

Front of Jacket

Back of Jacket

Pocket Detail

Lining

The jacket was made out of a silk slub tweed with brown linen piping. The matching skirt (not pictured) has an a-line cut and is made of red linen with brown linen piping and decorative yellow stitching. I was inspired while sketching and drinking a deliciously warm cappucino.

Self-Made Contract

Technical Design Strengths:

• Flat Pattern Design
• Very research-oriented
• Good Organization
• Command of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

Creative Design Strengths:

• Expanding small inspirations into complete collections (ex. Transforming a good cup of coffee into a collection theme)
• Influenced by historical costume
• Textile Design (see "Weary Blues" post)

Job Objective:

Costume Shop Management.

• To assist costume designers' artistic vision and apply my technical and creative design skills, learned through earning a degree in Apparel Design as well as my experience in costuming for Student Theatre.
• To use my knowledge of costume history to design, create, and style historically accurate garments for use in theatrical productions.
• To use organizational and leadership skills to oversee production of theatrical costumes and conservation of a well-kept costume shop.
• To provide guidance and knowledge to students interested in the field of Costuming.

My objectives were informed by the following job description for a Costume Shop Manger position at Brown University:

"The Costume Shop Manager will manage the costume shop and ensure efficient operations, implement and support the artistic vision of the designers and the director, supervise the Costume Shop Assistant and oversee their supervision of student workers. The position will also identify and coordinate the efforts of necessary contractors in the construction of costumes and related crafts, oversee costume construction, rental/lending of costume shop inventory holdings and rentals/borrowing for departmental productions as well as manage and develop the costume shop's collection of vintage and antique clothing. This position will also mentor students interested in costuming/costume construction and related crafts."

"The Weary Blues"

The summer after my sophomore year I embarked on an undergraduate research project. Through it I designed a textile print based on a print in UD's Paul R. Jones African-American Art collection. It was Phoebe Beasley's "The Weary Blues". I created a textile design using motifs from the print and then designed a dress as a means of displaying the design. My resulting dress looked like this:

I wanted it to be something flirty that could be worn to a smoky nightclub for Blues dancing. I think I achieved this aesthetic.

Here is an image of the poster I made to present with it:

I was also featured in the UD Alumni magazine, "The Messenger": http://www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/06/03/studentresearch.html

My Design Philosophy

My Design Philosophy

I've been studying to be a designer since 2005, but have held an interest in sewing all of my life. I combine both draping and tailoring, with my strengths being in flat pattern design. It all starts with my inspiration: an actress, a book, a painting, anything. I turn that into a sketch, which I then expand into many sketches, mixing and matching the ideas that work. From there I work on Illustrator and digitize my drawings, working out all of the technical details. Finally I set to work on my design, tweeking what needs to be tweeked until I'm left with a beautiful final product.

Aesthetically my designs tend to be simple with quirky details: an interesting pocket, embellishment, style line, etc. to catch the eye. I love colors of all kinds, and that often drives my designs. I can be inspired by things like a good cup of coffee or a textile print and I often come up with elaborate stories about the person I envision wearing my design. I sketch best in cafes with the low noise, calming music, and the opportunity to people watch. They know my order at several coffeehouses.

I've been working towards a degree in Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising for over 3 years. This has led me to many opportunities including undergraduate research, being a teachinig assistant, and working in a Costume Collection. Being on campus has also led me to become involved in a student theatre organization called E-52, where I have costumed several shows (my favorite being "No Exit" by Jean Paul Sartre), as well as assistant directing.

Outside of class I work at a JoAnn Fabrics Superstore. I work at the cutting counter and assist customers with their fabric and trim purchases, often answering questions to help them with their projects. On Saturdays I do in-store craft demonstrations on various crafts including sculpey clay, jewelry making, cricut, painting, stenciling, sewing, etc.

Besides designing, I know how to use Microsoft Word and Powerpoint and I have a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel. I have also taken a class in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and have used them in many projects.

In five years, I picture myself doing one of a number of things. I might be costuming for a theatre. I have always had a passion for the performing arts and would like to marry my two loves of fashion and theatre into a career. I might be selling my designs online and to local boutiques. It would be so rewarding to run into someone on the street wearing my design. I could then see if she matched up with the vision I had created in my head. Or I could be working as a visual merchandiser, arranging eyecatching layouts to grab customers into a store.