VISION
"A woman doesn't only receives roses; she can wear them!!!". This was my motif! I have always admired Friday Kahlo for her boldness and art. I wanted to show how she would wear those flowers in a complete look. So, of course, I was going to add line art to it with her face because that's what I do!
These are the flats I designed after finding roses fabric that matched perfectly with what I wanted! The dress would be structured on the inside with a boning layer for the inner skirt. I liked the inner dress with princess lines and the outer dress draped to the body for a better fit. The cape was my favorite part. I wanted something that could represent boldness, like Frida! Something that could represent her wings like the quote. Huge puffy sleeves and then in the back mean her entirely with line art sewn to the cape's outer cape.
PROCESS
The dress was completely draped. I started draping the boning layer with muslin fabric. After transferring from muslin to an actual pattern, I cut out and sew together the boning layer and lining. I added the boning to the front and back. The rose's fabric was draped directly to the mannequin, being detailed on what parts to cut off. I hand-sewn many flowers at the hem, sleeves, and neckline. I made a sample of muslin for the cape and then changed it. I decided to add a shoulder pad for the sleeves to create a more dramatic puffiness. Watch a small video of the process on the button below.
FINAL PRODUCT
Overall, it turned out incredible! It represents what I wanted and what I was envisioning. The only complications I encountered were when adding the boning; I didn't like how it would lay on the body, so I had to re-sew the boning. Other than that, it took me around 10 hours hand sewing flowers around the different hems and sewing the line art in the back, which I needed to be extremely careful. I think this design would be perfect for a red carpet, a fashion runway event, or to be the party's center.
