Lab Coats
I started with this one because a good elaborate idea was already in motion: with “red moon” colors and textures, the plan was to create a plaid using strips cut from the leftover costume materials by weaving them together, then applique them onto the lapel.. this was going well until the automobile carpet material was too thick and stiff to conform to the curves of a lapel on a human, and as a woven piece, it looked like a crafty grandmother’s dinner jacket from medieval times.. but since the materials were already in place, to get the same effect, an airbrush was used to paint black over it all, then all the stitches and strips were ripped off to reveal the white lattice; finally, red, gray, and white stripes were stitched to finish the plaid.
the future of sirocco was in mind: the “dream machine” color palatte of pastel colors was stitched on with thread of varying weight, fiber, and sheen creating a complete yet disorganized checkerboard..
the nautical theme was acheived with waterbased latex paint; masking and overlapping layers of paint was used to give the stripes a subtle illusion of depth; time and wear should slowly change them like waves on the hull..
the bold line curves from neck to hem: an extra 1/8”, so simple.
a jacket with room for decoration; selvage attracted me to creating patchwork: working as apprentice patternmaker at oxxford clothes, i was the after-hours scavenger, collecting all the selvage off the cutting room floor for their exotic locales colorfully woven along the edges of the otherwise exceedingly bland (but ridiculously expensive) bolts.. these strips of material have irregular vertical stitches to support the weight of whatever might be shoved in the slots..
Published by Martin Morse