Ruanas, shawls, and garments based on rectangles continue to fascinate me. Usually however I am disappointed in them when I actually see them on the body. Any given individual example may work on a particular person, but draping rectangular garments over rounded forms is difficult unless the exactly correct proportions are achieved.
Yesterday this garment arrived for my consideration, forwarded by a personal shopper at Neiman Marcus. It is surprising because it is not the kind of thing I have ever purchased from this store.
It looks rather nice on Matilda doesn’t it. She has the advantage of not having arms. The actual garment was much too narrow through the shoulders for me.
The jacket is by one of the Issey Miyake Lines, HaaT, and it basically consists of a large rectangle with sleeves, something like this sketch:
You can see the construction from the inside of the garment here:
But what is really interesting about this garment is not its shape. It is hard to keep on the body, and I think it would work better as a modified rectangle. What is really interesting is the fabric. The body of the jacket is made up of a bunch of small rectangles of fabric that have been pieced together at the corners. The fabric seems to have been fulled slightly, but not completely felted; this probably does help with ravelling, but this is not a jacket for heavy duty wear.
After the individual pieces were all sewn togther long rows of machine stitching were made free form to create the stripes on the fabric, and a few appliques were added.
Pockets were placed on the inside of the jacket:
I am really intrigued by this cutting up or deconstructiong of fabric and then reconstructing in a similar but different form. This could be fun to play with someday. I see many possibilities, not practical maybe, but fun.
Comments
8 responses to “Little Boxes”
Absolutely fascinating construction! You must be on very good terms with your personal shopper…
Absolutely fascinating construction! You must be on very good terms with your personal shopper…
Thanks for your information about this garment. I googled HaaT and saw that Makiko Minagawa is the designer. She has done amazing work on innovative textiles with Miyake’s design studio.
I enjoy checking your blog periodically. Thanks for all that you share.
Miriam
Thanks for your information about this garment. I googled HaaT and saw that Makiko Minagawa is the designer. She has done amazing work on innovative textiles with Miyake’s design studio.
I enjoy checking your blog periodically. Thanks for all that you share.
Miriam
Interesting!!
Interesting!!
Mardel,
I sent you an email to restingmotion@juno.com with an article on HaaT. The designer was here in Honolulu at Neiman’s with her latest trunk show. Enjoy reading your blog.
Geri
Mardel,
I sent you an email to restingmotion@juno.com with an article on HaaT. The designer was here in Honolulu at Neiman’s with her latest trunk show. Enjoy reading your blog.
Geri