Lauren Thomas : A Historical Jacket

For my A level Textiles product, i constructed a Historical Garment. I dedided to do this, as at the time i was very passionate about historical garments after visiting the V&A museum a number of times, and spending most of my money of 3 beautiful V&A fashion and costume in detail books, and also after seeing Alexander McQueen's fabulous final collection of historical based fashion garments. Another reason i wanted to construct a historical garment, was because i have a big passion for hand embroidery, and felt this product would flourish with its more typical decoration style. I also wanted to push my skills to a further level, and to modernise them in some way as if to fit in a gap in the market.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/f/fashion/
The V&A have some beautiful historican garments from the 18th - 20th Century which were major influences for my product. They also have a fantastic display of textiles and embroidered works.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/09/alexander-mcqueen-last-collection-paris - And Alexander Mcqueens incredible collection of historical based garments. I cant get enough of these stunning items, and cant believe it was his last collection. What a terrible shame and tragic shock in the world of fashion.

From these main influences, i then went on to construct my own twist on historical fashion. I created my Jacket focusing particularly on embroidery, and also on print. I printed the lining based on a series of Hobein work, for a real historical effect. This jacket was particularly influenced by the Tudor and Renaissance periods. I wanted the fabrics to look natural, but also modernised to be more practical and better to work onto. I used Polyseter Taffeta for the main fabric, and a Polyester Linen blend for the main lining fabric, then a Polyester Velvet for the lining of the sleeves.

Layers of lace creating the cuffs.