SEWING TEXTILES FASHION DESIGN TAILORING
On September 20th, 1986, at the age of 23 my mother married my father in Jacksonville, Florida. She wore a high-neck, long-sleeved, lace, House of Bianchi gown that she purchased second-hand, along with an included but separate petticoat, at a thrift store for $300. At the age of 23, I deconstructed, resized, redesigned, and reconstructed this at least 40 year-old dress into a reception dress for my sister's wedding, which took place on October 10th, also in Jacksonville. This was the most intensive fashion design project I have completed thus far with the overall transformation taking around 3 to 4 months, off and on, to complete.
For the final dress, I was inspired by party and prom dresses of the 1980s. My goal was to meld the classic style of the original dress with part dresses of the 1980s. This resulted in
Photography by Bella Alder Photography.