Debut 2/3 - Carlotta
Every year the Costume Program at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandizing participates in the fashion show Debut. This year our theme was the masquerade scene from Phantom of the Opera. Each student was given a budget, and three costumes to build for the show (One principal, two ensemble) I made costumes for the Diva Carlotta, a moon ballerina and Pierrotte.
This is one of the two costumes I built from scratch for the show. The silk lame I used for the dress was graciously discounted by International Silks and Woolens. Crystals were graciously donated by Swarovski in Dorado, Capri blue, Emerald and Metallic blue. The finished gown has approximately 3,600+ Crystals on it, a large potion of which were applied by my very generous friends. Modeled by the lovely Brandise Danesewich, who also took some wonderful photographs for me.
Initial design:
I always knew I wanted to do a bustle gown, and after seeing these two images of Egyptian fancy dress I was sold. Since Carlotta is an over the top diva, I thought she would approve of being Pharaoh for the night :) Anyone not familiar with the character, here is the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlotta_%28The_Phantom_of_the_Opera%29
Underskirt:
This is the same skirt I posted about before when I was doing the primitive pleating: http://izodiea.livejournal.com/68157.html
It is a simple lined tube skirt with an elastic waistband. It has a back slit (models take really big steps) and gold ball fringe at the hem. I finished off the skirt by giving it a light spray glitter treatment, and then some fixative for a bit more sparkle.
Overskirt:
After the whole dying = Magical stripes appear moment: http://izodiea.livejournal.com/68898.html I ended up being about 5" inches short of fabric. FIVE INCHES!!! I choose to resolve this by piecing the front over skirt since it would be covered by the drapery anyway. The front is now in 8 separate pieces (downside of matching Strips) but no one will ever no unless they get up close. Both pieces are mounted together onto one waistband. Since this costume had to be able to quick change, the front of the skirt comes completely open and closes down the front with snaps.
The "Bustle" is actually layers of gathered stiff tutu net based off of Butterick 3012: http://www.sewwickedpatterns.com/product/victorian-bustle-gown-costume-pattern-butterick-3012-oop I also used that as a base to get the trained skirt, which ended up about 2.5 feet long. The side drapes I draped in muslin on a form. The entire train is lined in a cheaper gold lame, and interlined with the tutu net for body. Along the hem their is gold ball fringe. The Evil eye pyramids are made from leather, crystals and beads. Most of the blue crystals were applied by a friend of mine who is a rocket designer, ya that's right, my skirt was bedazzled by a rocket scientist!
Bodice:
This bodice started life as a Truly Victorian pattern, and was then modified to be strapless. The finished bodice is interfaced lame mounted onto coutil, with spiral boning on each seam. The tops and bottoms are finished with bias and the side seams left adjustable (Our fit model was different than the final model) The trim was top stitched down before I sewed the pieces together.
To facilitate the quick change, the bodice and all of the jewelry pieces/drapes were sewn together. The bodice zips open in the back, and then the "Free" half of the pyramid is snapped down, and the chain hooked to the back. The chains are sewn down over the hips, and the neck is a halter.
Drapes:
For the drapes I used this tutorial here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=329467520438311&set=a.269392913112439.80726.269295446455519&type=3&theater The solid drapes were used on the front, and the striped on the back.
Jewelry:
A lot of the jewelry pieces were made from metallic leather, batting and buckram. This allowed me to sew all of the beading down, and a better surface for the hot-fix crystals. These were accented by real metal pieces in antique bronze and gold. The backs were finished with more leather and then mounted onto the costume.
Fan:
This fan was started by me (Painted) and then finished by an awesome crafts-person friend. (Who I will later be helping out with labyrinth of Jareth costumes this year since she is making all the soldier uniforms) The handle was from a broken antique parasol, and was rubbed with gold paint to catch in the cracks and enhance the carving. The feathers and the handle were mounted onto craft foam, and then covered with metallic leather. The mask (Plastic) was lined in felt and then hand-sewn on. The other side of the fan is plain.
Headdress:
I had originally wanted to make the entire headdress from scratch, but when I got to the headdress I was running out of time :( In the end I got REALLY lucky and found a pre-made piece that fir my original design. I took it apart, painted it, and added gold metallic leather. At the same time I had shaped a belt block into a basic head shape (Sorry no pictures) and built on top of that to get the elongated white shape of the back (This was helped by another friend who I will also be helping with LOJ) The two pieces were then joined together and decorated with crystals and a glass snake. The gold braid is the same as what was on the bodice. The entire headdress is slipped on kind of like a helmet, and has a gold elastic chin strap for a little extra security.
Other accessories:
Sunburst pleated wing - This started life as a 1/2 circle which I then got pleated at Park pleating: http://www.parkpleating.com/ I finihed the top with some gold leather+ crystals. The top hooks onto the bodice for easy maintenance, and the bottom is attached to a chain that loops around the wrist.
The mesh shirt is decorated with gold elastic and crystals. I zig-zaged the trim on, but I wouldn't recommend it since by the end the trim started to poke out in little loops. The bottom is finished with nude elastic and closes with hooks down the back. I also made little collar stays by bending millinery wire and then painting it gold.
It's kind of hard to see, but the model is also wearing a gold bracelet with the blue crystals, a gold glove, and an elongated gold ring (Like an eagle talon) On her arm is a simple elasticated drape, decorated with an articulated gold snake.
Dress Rehearsal:
By Brandise Danesewich:
Other:
The photo of my model with Nick Verreos is from his blog post about the event: http://nickverrreos.blogspot.mx/2012/03/nick-appearance-minute-fidm-debut-2012.html
This has been cross-posted to my own journal, and on my Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/Anachronism.In.Action
Thank you for reading!
This is one of the two costumes I built from scratch for the show. The silk lame I used for the dress was graciously discounted by International Silks and Woolens. Crystals were graciously donated by Swarovski in Dorado, Capri blue, Emerald and Metallic blue. The finished gown has approximately 3,600+ Crystals on it, a large potion of which were applied by my very generous friends. Modeled by the lovely Brandise Danesewich, who also took some wonderful photographs for me.
Initial design:
I always knew I wanted to do a bustle gown, and after seeing these two images of Egyptian fancy dress I was sold. Since Carlotta is an over the top diva, I thought she would approve of being Pharaoh for the night :) Anyone not familiar with the character, here is the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlotta_%28The_Phantom_of_the_Opera%29
Underskirt:
This is the same skirt I posted about before when I was doing the primitive pleating: http://izodiea.livejournal.com/68157.html
It is a simple lined tube skirt with an elastic waistband. It has a back slit (models take really big steps) and gold ball fringe at the hem. I finished off the skirt by giving it a light spray glitter treatment, and then some fixative for a bit more sparkle.
Overskirt:
After the whole dying = Magical stripes appear moment: http://izodiea.livejournal.com/68898.html I ended up being about 5" inches short of fabric. FIVE INCHES!!! I choose to resolve this by piecing the front over skirt since it would be covered by the drapery anyway. The front is now in 8 separate pieces (downside of matching Strips) but no one will ever no unless they get up close. Both pieces are mounted together onto one waistband. Since this costume had to be able to quick change, the front of the skirt comes completely open and closes down the front with snaps.
The "Bustle" is actually layers of gathered stiff tutu net based off of Butterick 3012: http://www.sewwickedpatterns.com/product/victorian-bustle-gown-costume-pattern-butterick-3012-oop I also used that as a base to get the trained skirt, which ended up about 2.5 feet long. The side drapes I draped in muslin on a form. The entire train is lined in a cheaper gold lame, and interlined with the tutu net for body. Along the hem their is gold ball fringe. The Evil eye pyramids are made from leather, crystals and beads. Most of the blue crystals were applied by a friend of mine who is a rocket designer, ya that's right, my skirt was bedazzled by a rocket scientist!
Bodice:
This bodice started life as a Truly Victorian pattern, and was then modified to be strapless. The finished bodice is interfaced lame mounted onto coutil, with spiral boning on each seam. The tops and bottoms are finished with bias and the side seams left adjustable (Our fit model was different than the final model) The trim was top stitched down before I sewed the pieces together.
To facilitate the quick change, the bodice and all of the jewelry pieces/drapes were sewn together. The bodice zips open in the back, and then the "Free" half of the pyramid is snapped down, and the chain hooked to the back. The chains are sewn down over the hips, and the neck is a halter.
Drapes:
For the drapes I used this tutorial here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=329467520438311&set=a.269392913112439.80726.269295446455519&type=3&theater The solid drapes were used on the front, and the striped on the back.
Jewelry:
A lot of the jewelry pieces were made from metallic leather, batting and buckram. This allowed me to sew all of the beading down, and a better surface for the hot-fix crystals. These were accented by real metal pieces in antique bronze and gold. The backs were finished with more leather and then mounted onto the costume.
Fan:
This fan was started by me (Painted) and then finished by an awesome crafts-person friend. (Who I will later be helping out with labyrinth of Jareth costumes this year since she is making all the soldier uniforms) The handle was from a broken antique parasol, and was rubbed with gold paint to catch in the cracks and enhance the carving. The feathers and the handle were mounted onto craft foam, and then covered with metallic leather. The mask (Plastic) was lined in felt and then hand-sewn on. The other side of the fan is plain.
Headdress:
I had originally wanted to make the entire headdress from scratch, but when I got to the headdress I was running out of time :( In the end I got REALLY lucky and found a pre-made piece that fir my original design. I took it apart, painted it, and added gold metallic leather. At the same time I had shaped a belt block into a basic head shape (Sorry no pictures) and built on top of that to get the elongated white shape of the back (This was helped by another friend who I will also be helping with LOJ) The two pieces were then joined together and decorated with crystals and a glass snake. The gold braid is the same as what was on the bodice. The entire headdress is slipped on kind of like a helmet, and has a gold elastic chin strap for a little extra security.
Other accessories:
Sunburst pleated wing - This started life as a 1/2 circle which I then got pleated at Park pleating: http://www.parkpleating.com/ I finihed the top with some gold leather+ crystals. The top hooks onto the bodice for easy maintenance, and the bottom is attached to a chain that loops around the wrist.
The mesh shirt is decorated with gold elastic and crystals. I zig-zaged the trim on, but I wouldn't recommend it since by the end the trim started to poke out in little loops. The bottom is finished with nude elastic and closes with hooks down the back. I also made little collar stays by bending millinery wire and then painting it gold.
It's kind of hard to see, but the model is also wearing a gold bracelet with the blue crystals, a gold glove, and an elongated gold ring (Like an eagle talon) On her arm is a simple elasticated drape, decorated with an articulated gold snake.
Dress Rehearsal:
By Brandise Danesewich:
Other:
The photo of my model with Nick Verreos is from his blog post about the event: http://nickverrreos.blogspot.mx/2012/03/nick-appearance-minute-fidm-debut-2012.html
This has been cross-posted to my own journal, and on my Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/Anachronism.In.Action
Thank you for reading!