Techicolour Dream Coat

On Sunday, August 11th I participated in the third installment of ALPHAMAMA's '13 Trips'. Now... in the past I've been known for taking my sewing into nightclubs and parties but never before have I set up my sewing machine, iron and mannequin in a club!

In two hours I transformed this drab, oversized, men's suit jacket (see the picture below), into a tailored,  'technicolour dream coat' inspired halter dress. It was sooooo much fun doing Revamped LIVE and I can't wait to do more of these events.

---

Suit jackets have such great structure in them and I'm highly inspired by UK fashion house 'Junky Styling'. 

To create this look I put the jacket onto the mannequin and used chalk to draw the cutting lines to create the halter. Before I cut it I pinned the jacket and its lining together. I did this pinning so I could stitch about 1cm in from the cut edge to create a raw edge that won't fall apart.

Once I cut the halter shape (which removed the shoulders and sleeves of the jacket), I fitted the top on the mannequin by removing a big chunk out of the centre back.

The skirt was created by chopping up long dresses and draping them. ALPHAMAMA likes to combine colours and prints so it was great to get creative!

Because I had a bit of time left at the end, I was able to take it to the next level by using a contrasting thread to add detail on the collar and pockets.

It was such a delight to take part of this collaborative process and it was great to show people what's possible with recycling clothing. The aim of the event was to show people how art can change people's moods and I would have to say that everyone who attended left the event in a more elevated state!

I'm ready for action! Head torch and all.