Monday, March 8, 2010

Designer Confidential: Elegant Structure

Designer Confidential highlights the work of SU's greatest fashion asset: its student designers.

Junior fashion design student, Andrea McInnes, is currently working on a unique dress, in which she explores structure vs. knit, while learning how to synthesize the two into a cohesive piece. 

An Andrea McInnes design

The dress was a project for the draping class taught by Claudia Gervais. The assignment was to use any knit material and make the garment structured in some way. McInnes’ strategy was to just go straight to the form and start playing with the fabric. In this case, this piece was all about “surface manipulation,” the young designer said.

The current exhibit at the F.I.T. museum in New York particularly inspired her. The exhibit, American Beauty, features designs by American fashion designers. It examines the construction and techniques of their garments and how “beauty” plays a role in design.

After seeing the exhibit, we can definitely see how the inspiration was reflected in her garment due to her careful attention to technique and surface treatment.

McInnes pinched sections of the dress to create diamond shapes, similar to the technique of smocking. The technique she used creates a beautiful texture and gives the knit a certain dimensional feel that is adds interest to the front and back.

 The pinched detail

The designer describes her creative style as, “structured, geometric, and futuristic.” She said that she stays far, far away from creating anything feminine and flowy. McInnes makes it very clear that there will be no ruffles seen in any of her pieces. She also adds that while she is desgining she likes to play around with the idea of organic versus inorganic.

Her dream job: Still up in the air, but is leaning towards styling, possibly for a magazine.
Why you should look out for her: Not only was McInnes’ latest internship with Tracy Reese this past summer, but she has also recently modeled for a photo shoot for Zipped Magazine.
This Designer’s Confidential: McInnes plays the harp. She’s started in 7th grade and occasionally plays for events in her hometown of Boston.

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