DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF GARMENTS

TAKING INSPIRATION FROM LEAVES

Dr. Sarvani Vaddi* and Mrs. Saroj I. Patel**

ABSTRACT:

On the verge of adopting modern silhouette, an attempt is made to create 12 new

garments, suitable for women’s wear constructed, taking inspiration from leaves which

were found 100% creative, original and innovative. It was found that they give new look

and expression to the fashion conscious youth. Among those, the garments imbibed with

“Chrysanthemum, Papaya and Pothos leaves” were graded 100% appealing with aesthetic

sense which has got applause from the designers who formed the panel of judges and

visitors in the fashion show.

INTRODUCTION:

Fashion is a bridge over which new ideas travel from the designer’s studio to the

mass (1). Fashion represents an art form rising out of a period and environment and as such

is no less valid than other artistic creations (4). Fashions when handled in a professional

manner are the representations of latent talented inspirations expressed by the designers (8).

Many times it was found that this divine influence is from Mother Nature (7). The Tree of

life, flowers, fruits, twines, tendrils and leaves formed sources of inspiration for various

arts and also for the vast collection of traditional textiles of India (2), in printing and

weaving on jacquards with the colourful designs.

*Assistant Professor-Design, Department of Fashion and Apparel,

National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad.

** Reader, Department of Clothing and Textiles,

The M.S.University of Baroda, Baroda.

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However, impregnating the true shapes and forms of leaves into silhouette designing

was not attempted earlier. A humble attempt was made in this project to bring out a feeling

of wearing the natural leaf on the human body.

Patel Sapna conducted a study on ‘designing and construction of garments with varying

silhouettes’. Her inspiration was from flowers and objects. The study indicated that the

garments provided variety (6). Desai K. conducted a study on ‘designing and construction

of garments inspired from architecture’. Her designs were inspired by architectural

buildings, monuments and temples like lotus temple etc. on evaluation; the overall aesthetic

appeal was rated as excellent (3).

The article is the outcome of inspiration taken from natural shapes, curves and colours

of leaves to design the silhouettes and design details of the women’s wear. Since no two

women would like to look alike, newer fashions are created for women of all ages to make

them confident about their clothing to appeal as individualistic and look different (5). Thus,

an attempt was made to create a variety of silhouettes with a theme, to make them more

expressive.

The specific objectives of the study were:

To select leaves, those are inspiring artistically as per their genesis.

To sketch several appropriate designs for garments inspired by leaves.

To select the best professed designs evaluated by the fashion designers.

To construct the selected designs with suitable fabrics incorporating the selected

leaves in the structural details and surface ornamentation.

To evaluate the constructed garments for their justification in terms of :

a. Resemblance to the theme.

b. Suitability of the fabrics.

c. Overall aesthetic appeal.

d. Projection of the natural shapes of leaves.

e. Appropriateness of the color combinations.

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METHODS AND MATERIALS

Selection of Leaves:

Total samples of 225 leaves were collected from various sources. They were

categorized according to the classification of leaves based on their outlines and margins. 25

most inspiring leaves were selected for designing silhouettes. The outlines and other details

like margins, bases, apices, venation, colour at various stages of their life cycle and

thickness of the leaves were noted down for the purpose of construction details.

Selection of Colour Palette:

A colour palette was prepared with different colours seen in leaves at different

stages of their life span. Colour combinations were tried out from this palette and each set

of sketches were colored with suitable colour combinations.

Selection of Materials:

Poplin (100%), Polyester / Cotton (65/35%) blend Tussah / Cotton blend, Chiffon

and Cambric fabrics were used for the construction of the garments. Fusing buckram, plain

woven buckram and sponge sheet of 0.5 mm thickness were used as supportive materials.

Selection of Designs:

Fashion illustrations of 25 sets of designs were drawn each set containing three

different silhouettes. Out of these 12 best sets were selected by 12 fashion designers. Each

of the selected design is made in three colour ways. A preference schedule was

administered to a purposive sample of 50 fashion designers to select one best design from

each set. These 12 selected designs were constructed with suitable materials using

Butterick commercial paper patterns. The constructed garments were evaluated through a

fashion show and the opinions of 50 fashion designers as judges were taken through a

preference schedule. The data was analyzed and results were illustrated through Table I,

Table II, and Pie diagrams I & II and also on bar graphs I enclosed for reference. The

constructed garments are presented in Plates 1-12.

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DESCRIPTION OF DESIGNED GARMENTS

Silhouette I - Design Inspired By Champa Leaf:

It is a sleeveless top fitted, one piece dress with Champa leaves criss-crossing on

the centre front line from either side seams, in two shades of purple. The leaves were

appliquéd on a Carmine background. The veins were painted to make them prominent. It

gave a variety in simplicity (Plate1).

Silhouette II - Design Inspired By Colocasia Leaf:

A jacket in two shades of purple with a fitted knee length skirt in light purple gave

an elegant look to this classic western outfit. The mid vein of Colocasia leaf was placed on

the side seam of the jacket, distinguished with the lighter shade of purple on a darker shade

jacket with full sleeves. The front placket opening was emphasized with buttons in light

contrast (Plate2).

Silhouette III -Design Inspired By Pothos Species Leaf:

Bark brown Skirt and top with mustard yellow and green leaves uplifting the entire

look. The deep marginal cuts were embroidered with lighter shades to make them

prominent. Indian Cotton gave a simple and aesthetic appearance (Plate3).

Silhouette IV - Design Inspired By Chinar Leaf:

Dark green A-line kurta with full sleeves ornamented with Chinar leaves at the

neckline in cream gave bright look with Salwar in the cream. Chiffon dupatta gave just the

right touch to it. Spun shined the entire look of the garment (Plate4).

Silhouette V - Design Inspired By Chrysanthemum Leaf:

The extreme charm of yellow Chrysanthemum leaves on a green fitted boned

bodice made a pleasing contrast. The off shoulders and yoke at hip were emphasized with

the Chrysanthemum leaves. The calf length, half umbrella skirt falls in graceful folds

(Plate5).

Silhouette VI - Design Inspired By Pothos Variety Leaf:

Gradation rhythm of lobes was incorporated in the Pothos long serrated leaves

ornamented on the side seam of A-line olive green kurta. The marginal cuts of the leaves in

succession added to the beauty of the rhythm in design (Plate6).

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Silhouette VII - Design Inspired By Papaya Leaf:

The light orange full circular skirt with papaya leaves patched in darker shade of

the same line made it graceful. The Blouse with full sleeves ornamented with a papaya leaf

gave it sophisticated look. The transparent organza Chunni with circular motifs added to

the grace of this attire (Plate7).

Silhouette VIII - Design Inspired By Pistia Leaf:

Small Pistia leaves hanging from the neckline and sleeve bottom in light peach on

this dark peach kalidar kurta, with gore (kali) in the form of Pistia leaves elegantly

supported by the churidar and the dupatta. Colour combinations appeared on dry leaf was

used (Plate8).

Silhouette IX - Design Inspired By Euphorbia Leaf:

This traditional drape-the sari in light rose was ornamented with green Euphoria

leave by appliqué forming the pallav. The green blouse added just the right look with a

polo neckline decorated with the leaf in radiating rhythm (Plate9).

Silhouette X - Design Inspired By Lotus Leaf:

This body fitted silhouette with sweet heart neckline, sleeves and skirt taking the

outline of the lotus leaf in two shades of green gave an interesting look to the garment. The

colour of bodice was taken from the stem of the lotus leaf to accentuate the garment,

inculcating a feeling of natural habitat of plant (Plate10).

Silhouette XI - Design Inspired By Fan Palm Leaf:

A tight fitted knee length skirt in ash with a pink top gave an unusual combination,

yet emphasized by the fan palm leaves in green, radiating from the neckline of the blouse

and waist line of the skirt, created a different wild antique appeal (Plate11).

Silhouette XII - Design Inspired By Banana Leaf:

The short skirt with sleeveless top, neckline formed by the banana leaf and the

leaves hanging down from the waist line in grading sizes remind of the real banana leaf.

Yellow base of the garment complemented the colours. The banana leaf was quilted and the

parallel lines stitched on light green half of the leaf gave an effect of parallel venation

(Plate12).

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EVALUATION OF GARMENTS

It was found that 80% -100% of fashion designers accepted that the garments

displayed resembled their respective leaves where the design inspired by Chrysanthemum

got 100% applause with positive response which is presented in Table 1. The suitability of

the fabrics used was rated very high ranging from 62%-100%. The design inspired by

Papaya and Chrysanthemum secured 100% positive response which is presented in Table 2.

The overall aesthetic appeal of these designs rated high. The design inspired by

Papaya got the highest positive response which is presented in Figure 1. Projection of the

natural shapes and curves of the leaves in the design details of the garment rated high. The

design inspired by Papaya scored the highest in the excellent category and the design

inspired by Colocasia scored the highest in the very good category which is presented in

Figure 2. The appropriateness of the colors of the garments got a high response of 96% for

the design inspired by Colocasia followed by Chrysanthemum 94% which is presented in

figure 3. 86% of the fashion designers found that the displayed garments had the element of

novelty. The creativity of this experimental work has got 100% positive response.

SUGGESTIONS AND REMARKS

The judges found the study as innovative, interesting and creative which definitely

required a lot of hard work and dedication. Words of appreciation were new idea, original

and creative work, very close to nature and found it as an attempt to project the intricacy

and beauty of leaves. The designers suggested trying out on wearable garments, elaborate

silhouettes and to consider the origin place of the leaves.

CONCLUSION

A variety of designs were created which were unique and new inspired by leaves.

This study presents a collection of garments that are individualistic, possessing personality

and gives a new look to fashion conscious youth. The monotony and boredom of wearing

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garments of similar styles and silhouettes can be overcome by adopting such garments

designed with a theme. Thus, making the clothes more impressive, attractive and

expressive. This innovative idea can be diversified into designing furnishings and other

textile art forms which will give rise to an identity for the Indian designers in the global

scenario of competitive modernized fashion world.

REFERENCES

1. Brockman H., “The Theory of Fashion Design”, John Wiley and Sons Inc.,New

York,1965

2. Craig, Hazel Thompson and Rush, Ola Day, “Clothes with Character”, D.C. Health

and Co., Boston, 1994.

3. Desai K., “Designing And Construction Of Garments Inspired From Architecture”,

unpublished masters dissertation, Dept. of Clothing and Textiles, M.S.University of

Baroda,1995.

4. Garland M., “The Changing Form of Fashion” J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., London,

1970.

5. Hee-su Kim and Sung-bae cho , “Application of genetic algorithm to fashion

design” seoul 120-749,Korea . John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Academic Press, New

York, 1990.

6. Patel Sapna, “Designing and Construction of Garments with Varying Silhouettes”,

unpublished masters dissertation, Dept. of Clothing and Textiles, M.S.University of

Baroda1992

7. Young A., “Recurring Cycles of Fashion 1760-1937”, Harper and Brothers,

NewYork, 1937.

8. Sturn M., “Guide to Modern Clothing”, Webster Division, McGraw Hill Book

Company, London, 1962.

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Table 1Resemblance of The Constructed Garments to their Respective Leaves

Maximum Frequency = 50; Total % = 100

Name of the Leaf Frequency PercentageYes No Yes No

Champa 45 05 90 10Colocasia 41 09 82 18Pothos Species 49 01 98 02Chinar 48 02 96 04Chrysanthemum 50 0 100 0Pothos Variety 46 04 92 08

Papaya 49 01 98 02Pistia 46 04 92 08Euphorbia 49 01 98 02Lotus 43 07 86 14Fan Palm 40 10 80 20Banana 47 03 94 06

Table 2

Suitability of the Fabrics for Projecting the Original Shapes of Leaves

Maximum Frequency = 50; Total % = 100

Name of the Leaf Frequency Percentage

Yes No Yes No

Champa 42 08 84 16

Colocasia 47 03 94 06

Pothos Species 45 05 90 10

Chinar 45 05 90 10

Chrysanthemum 50 0 100 0

Pothos Variety 46 04 92 08

Papaya 50 0 100 0

Pistia 42 08 84 16

Euphorbia 47 03 94 06

Lotus 46 04 92 08

Fan Palm 31 19 62 38

Banana 44 06 88 12

FIGURE:1

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FIGURE: 2

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FIGURE: 3

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