Did You Say Upcycling Using Prom Dresses?
Topic: Upcycling — in collaboration with Kennedy Smith
Like the title says, did you say upcycling using prom dresses? Sure did! Kennedy and I have created a mini sportswear collection by upcycling our old prom dresses. We were inspired by Maison Margiela and the thought of high school seniors not able to attend their prom this year due to the pandemic. We want to inspire others to make use out of their dresses they are most likely not going to wear again.
What is Maison Margiela?
Maison Margiela, formerly Maison Martin Margiela, is a French luxury fashion house headquartered in Paris and founded in 1988 by Belgian designer Martin Margiela. The house produces both haute couture-inspired artisanal collections and ready-to-wear collections. With Maison Martin Margiela going public in 2002, Margiela resigned as creative designer in 2009 and John Galliano was appointed to the role in 2014.
Maison Margiela was known for reworking existing garments, fabrics and objects to recreate new garments and accessories (Danyelle, 2007). For instance, a bricolage vest of wire and porcelain; a shirt made of gloves; a sweater of army surplus socks; doll outfits enlarged to adult proportions; and precise replicas of vintage garments; pieces made of salvaged, Scotch-taped plastic bags (2016).
Our Inspiration
Our sportswear mini collection was inspired by Maison Margiela, his concept, and the S/S 2020 Haute Couture collection. Most of the collection was made from materials that already exist: “memories” of conventional classics, recut, turned inside out, dissected, collaged, and punched through in a riot of color. John Galliano spoke in a house podcast about how he and his studio team had sat and decided “there are too many clothes in the world” (Mower, 2020).
Made by Valeria Hernandez
This video, “Margiela, Deconstruction, & The Artisanal Sweater You Can Make at Home” also inspired us with the upcycling technique. The guy in the video takes socks and turns them into a sweater following Margiela’s technique.
Trend Board - Click to expand
Sketches by Kennedy Smith - Click to expand
Our designs were inspired by the 90’s/2000’s Y2K and pop princess aesthetic. With inspirations from Selena, Destiny’s Child, bright colors, iconic TV shows, and most importantly prom! This trend is super popular right now and we thought that the concept of repurposing a prom dress is cohesive to the look.
For our first design we used the beautiful green skirt of Valeria’s dress. We made it into a 3 piece matching set, with inspiration from the iconic 90’s Chanel era.
For our second design we used Kennedy’s tulle dress with flower appliques to make a Selena inspired jumpsuit. We are both obsessed with the iconic style of Selena so we just had to add it into our designs!
Technique
Our sustainable fashion technique used is upcycling. This technique can be extremely helpful in the fashion industry because you are using a textile/object that doesn’t have a purpose and instead of throwing it away, you can turn it into a beautiful garment. We used this idea in our designs by upcycling a prom dress that’ll only be worn once, or in this year’s case…never. Why let a beautiful dress with quality fabric waste? In the video above, the designer is using one of Maison Margiela’s technique of using unconventional objects that no longer have a purpose and making them into a piece of functional clothing. We were inspired by this concept and it gave us the idea to give these beautiful dresses some life, rather than just one night.
Instructions for Design 1:
First, deconstruct the green skirt to get one big piece of fabric. Then lay out fabric flat and position your patterns in a way to where you have the least amount of scraps.
For the bottoms, use a basic pant sloper and cut it as short as you prefer, manipulating the two darts into one on either side of the pant. Then cut these pattern pieces out, sew the crotch, side seams, and add a hem.
For the top, use a basic bodice sloper, put it on a mannequin and use the draping method to make the crop top. Move excess fabric to the bust darts, draw in a sweetheart neckline, draw in however cropped you would like the top, then cut out pattern pieces. Sew in darts, side seams, and add a hem.
For the jacket, you will need a basic sleeve sloper, basic bodice sloper, and a notched collar. First, put the basic bodice sloper (front & back) onto the mannequin. On the front, move excess fabric to the bust dart to match the crop top. On the back, move the excess fabric to the bottom dart only. Then for the neckline, you will be adding a notched collar so draw in a low V neckline to show off the top underneath. Then crop the drape 2-3 inches longer than the top to add dimension. Cut these pattern pieces out, sew in darts, side seams, add a notched collar, and a hem. For the sleeves, we decided to keep them simple and sleek, so use the basic sleeve sloper without any changes. Then cut the sleeves out, sew them into the bodice, and add a hem.
Instructions for Design 2:
First, deconstruct the dress by unattaching the bodice from the skirt. There should be multiple layers to the skirt, so lay them all out individually.
For the bottom of the jumpsuit, use the first polyester layer of the skirt, cut out the basic pant sloper, moving all the darts to the bottom of the pant, and add as much wideness to the bottom of the pant as you prefer. This added fabric will give the genie effect as you see in the sketch. Cut this pattern piece out of the first polyester layer of the skirt and the top tulle layer of the skirt with the flower appliques. Sew layers together, sew in the crotch, side seams, and then leave the bottom open. Then cut out a 5 inch peplum out of the top tulle layer with the flower appliques and sew right sides together with the bottom of the pant. Make sure the make the peplum smaller in circumference to give the cuffed/bubble effect to the bottom half of the pant.
For the top of the jumpsuit, reattach the beautiful sweetheart bodice to the pants and you will be adding a halter neck to the bodice to give a more sporty look. First measure the length of the top of the cups on the bodice. Then cut out two v shaped pieces out of the flower applique tulle, using the measurements. At the end of the v add a 10-12 inch extension so you get the exaggerated bow at the back of the neck. Cut the halter pieces out, add a hem, and sew right sides together to the top of the bodice.
References
Danyelle, J. (2007). MARTIN MARGIELA ARTISANAL: Reclaiming (Clothing) Design. Retrieved from https://inhabitat.com/martin-margiela-artisanal-reclaiming-clothing-design/
Maison Margiela News, Collections, Fashion Shows, Fashion Week Reviews, and More. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/designer/maison-martin-margiela
Mower, S. (2020). Maison Margiela Spring 2020 Couture Fashion Show. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2020-couture/maison-martin-margiela