This week we did one of the reoccurring Project Runway challenges, the design your own fabric challenge. There was a bit of the twist to this season in that the fabric design had to be inspired by our own cultural history. Once we had the fabric, we had to use it in a modern runway look.
This is always a tough one for us because of scale and the fact we aren’t sending out to have our fabric really printed. I decided to try doing mine as closely as I could to what they do on the show, so I designed my fabric on my computer. Then printed it out on fabric especially designed to work on a computer printer.
It really worked beautifully, though the color didn’t turn out quite as rich. My design is based on traditional Lithuanian folk art designs. I think it made for a very interesting stripe.
Then it came time to use it. I was a little stumped, should it be a skirt? a blouse? a whole dress? I decided it would be a little too much as an all over design, so I used it as almost a colorblock on a black dress.
The design is definitely the focal point, but it’s not over-bearing. To keep it from being too straightforward a dress, I added a pleating detail at the neckline.
I accessorized with a pair of modern black booties and a thick silver and leather cuff. A red clutch adds a little more of the red to the ensemble.
I have to admit I’m not wowed by my look this week (though it does look better in person than in photos). I think the judges we put me somewhere in the middle, but might find the dress a little blah. They probably would have liked my fabric, but thought I could do something a little more interesting with it. Not a bad dress, but not a showstopper.
© 2005 – 2012 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
I love the print. Great job this week.