Nature’s Beauty A Fashionable Art Exhibition

Even though I do know how to use a sewing machine, hem pants, and fix a hole in a clothing item I never thought of myself as a designer. So I was pleasantly surprised when I was asked to be part of a fashion show, I did accept the opportunity but I made sure the host of the event JD of Earby Studios was aware that I will create wearable art not your typical clothing you can find at a boutique or “acceptable “ (not sure if that’s the right word) to wear out in public in certain places. Considering I was asked mainly because of the headpieces i have created.

For those who don’t know what wearable art is. Wearable art, also known as Artwear or "art to wear", refers to individually designed pieces of handmade clothing or jewelry created as fine or expressive art.

I was so excited to partake in this challenge. Especially since I was given a sewing machine by my sitter. It was a nice one too so the universe knew was aligning me to take on this opportunity.

The first thing I wanted to do is make sure I stuck to the theme of the event which was Nature. My original plan was to creat wearable art on each of the seasons but I decided against it and took another route. I decided to stick to flowers, leaves, butterflies, and seashells. Cause you know those are naturally made by the beautiful ocean. I also wanted to created things that can fit all body types and can be easily adjusted if needed. I am also glad during the time I was creating all of this Hobby Lobby had a sale going on so a lot of the materials were half off or more.

First piece I want to talk about is my seashell piece which was inspired by the new Little Mermaid movie. It took me forever to find an actual fishing net. And it was not cheap. I wanted it to be simple and sexy show the beauty of the black model. If I had more time I would have added way more shells to the net skirt.

Second piece is the autumn leaves set. This was the first outfit that I had designed and planned out on a piece of paper before actually creating. I wanted a large long tutu with autumn leaves throughout the skirt, a bikini style top made out of leaves with a matching headpiece. Now the only think I did not plan out was the headpiece. I literally was gluing and attaching things to the headband and hoping for the best. Luckily it came out alright if I must say so myself. I did make some roses out of ribbon. Tedious process I do not recommend. I ended up not using them but I did keep them just in case I changed my mind. The band of the skirt is elastic and to add the leaves of the skirt I used strips of ribbon and glued the leaves on it.

This butterfly piece went through many changes. The original plan was to make wings. I have a plus size model I picked to wear it but unfortunately she decided to not do the show and I returned all of the materials for the wings. So I decided to make a dress instead. There are some fabric butterflies on the dress as well.  I purchased this fabric from an Etsy shop couldn’t pass it up. It helped me a lot because my butterflies did not arrive on time for the photoshoot. When they finally arrived I added the butterflies and leaves all over the dress and used the remaining ones to make a matching headpiece.

This piece was by far the easiest to make, well besides the actual top I had to sew. But anyway, i took some garland leaves and made a skirt out of it. Basically the model would have to wear flesh colored underwear or something that matches really close to the colors of the flowers. These flowers on the top were a different type than all of the other artificial flowers I have purchased. These were on the pricier side and more foam feeling to the touch instead of that polyester fabric.

The piece that is made entirely out of artificial leaves and flowers went through so many changes. Again I did not plan ahead by doing sketches beforehand. I was creating as i go. Mistakenly I was trying it on myself but it just was not working out because I am petite and curvy. So after starting over the third time I stopped trying to see if it was functional. The idea was for it to look like a wisteria tree of some sort with high slights on each side. Again an adjustable dress so anyone can wear it as at the time I did not have measurements of the models. I also made a headpiece of wisteria flowers. The model face would be covered but they would still be able to see where they are going. I also glued yellow and pink wisteria flowers all over. This was not my favorite but overall it did turn out really well in the end. I do plan on using the headpiece for something else in the future.

Lastly the most challenging piece I made. This skirt is heavy and not really comfortable. It also went through many changes as I was creating it. I had a vision and mind but due to weight and materials that vision changed maybe twice. This is my absolute favorite design. The top, the skirt, the Headpiece…just amazing. I’m glad i picked the color blue. Lately I have been drawn to the color blue for some reason. I had to shop at thrift stores, craft stores and Amazon to get everything I needed for it. The mesh ribbon gave me the volume I needed but it gets caught on everything so I kept it separate from the other pieces to avoid tangles and ripping of fabric. I used leaf panels, you know those leaf walls everyone have in the background of their photos and videos now days. Yeah, those. The panels were zip tied to the caged loop skirt or what most people would call a petticoat. The flowers were than attached to the panels or tied around the bone structure of the skirt. All of this caused it to be heavy. So the mannequin was always tipping over if the weight wasn’t distributed evenly. I know if I make something similar I would look for something more light weight.

This was my first fashion show as a designer and not as an artist there as a vendor. I have learned so much through trial and error and how some fabrics work. Sharp scissors are a must when cutting and a cutting board is absolutely necessary to make sure your cuts are straight. I will also plan everything out beforehand and not just create as I go. I now know how to make my own clothing patterns and transforming other clothing items into something completely different. Thank you JD and Earby Studios for this wonderful opportunity and my friend Sharae H. for assisting the models and being there to make sure everything ran smoothly. Kind people like you are rare, I appreciate you both.