For my first upcyled project, I am going to be altering a raw silk herringbone vest that I found at a thrift store for $6. The original design is a bit boring and hard to style, but the textile is so beautiful that I am really excited about making something unique out of this piece.
Here is the piece in its original form:
When I saw the vest I immediately fell in love with the rough texture of the silk. It’s pretty hard nowadays to find something that is 100% silk, especially silk that has not been treated to create the smooth look that creates the shiny silk most of us know. Not only that, but the understated herringbone pattern gives the piece even more personality and texture. I think that the fastenings and design of the vest don’t totally do the textile justice, so I am hoping to alter it in a way that is still simple, but reflects the natural beauty of the fabric.
For this independent study, I have been reading Zero Waste Fashion Design by Timo Rissanen and Holly McQuillan as well as Refashioned by Sass Brown. Both books emphasize the importance of drafting patterns that utilize as much of the readily available textile as possible. Because of this, I am hoping to rearrange the fabric through alterations while getting rid of as little as possible. To do this, I plan to remove the collar from the vest and bring the neckline down a bit lower. With the fabric I take off of the collar, I am going to create a corseted back to give the piece more character and to create a look that is both adjustable and form fitting (allowing it to be accessible to more sizes). My particular design taste definitely falls along the “rustic elegance” category, and I’m hoping to stay true to this with this piece. I believe that vests (and outer-layers in general) have the potential to be both the most pointless piece in a look, and also the most important piece depending on the way in which they are designed so I hope to make this vest the centerpiece to the rest of the design work that I do this quarter. As I continue to accumulate different pieces to upcycle, I hope to implement scraps from each in all so that they can come together into a cohesive ‘outfit.’