Designed and constructed by myself, modeled by Marlee Marher.

The process began with choosing a mid-century painting to inspire the garment. I chose The Street painted by Philip Guston. I wanted my garment to emulate the shape, visual weight, and color of the painting.

I started out thinking of voluminous forms and experimented on the silhouette of a 17th century ruff. Exaggerating the shape and focusing it on the bottom half of the silhouette to mimic the paintings centralized nature and the path the eye takes around the page I began to find different ways to make a ruff. The aim of the shape is to be a play between hard lines of an outer boarder and organic less controlled interior.

I chose to incorporate thick industrial felt because the fabric used would need to be able to hold volume but also convey visual weight by having actual weight. I added chiffon ruffles with raw edges and felt cut into rounded petals to decorate the controlled skirt with organic forms.