A deep dive into my design inspirations

Hi! I’m Melia, and I designed for the MODA: in Motion show. I’ll be taking you through my design process, specifically the stage of researching inspiration and implementing it.

My collection is centered around the aesthetics of late 1870s to early 1880s Western European women’s fashion. I didn’t make historical garments, but I took varying levels of inspiration from the silhouettes of this period for my three looks.

The Natural Form period began in the late 1870s and ended in the early 1880s, and I think the shapes of the costumes characteristic of the period are so delightful!

The Natural Form period is sandwiched between the first bustle era and the second bustle era. During both bustle eras, the popular silhouette involved an extremely exaggerated rump, which is not my cup of tea, but I adore the excessive trimmings that were popular throughout all of these periods.

The Natural Form period is sandwiched between the first bustle era and the second bustle era. During both bustle eras, the popular silhouette involved an extremely exaggerated rump, which is not my cup of tea, so I decided to emulate the Natural Form silhouette. In comparison to modern skirts, Natural Form skirts have a voluminous backside, but it is much more subtle than in the bustle eras.

Natural form skirts did not need to be supported by a bustle or any major structural undergarments, but they have a distinct shape that I love, so I made a skirt heavily inspired by Natural Form overskirts for my first look.

During the Natural Form period, women often wore cuirass bodices on top. They are figure-hugging, boned bodices that extend below the waist. The cuirass bodice is very structured and resembles armor, hence its name—a cuirass is a type of armor that covers the torso. 

I think the cuirass bodice can stand as a symbol of a certain type of Victorian femininity. The cuirass bodice’s armor-like yet distinctly feminine appearance can signify feminine strength coexisting with rigid gender norms. It also conjures the image of a hard exoskeleton juxtaposed against a soft, hidden inside which makes me think of a Victorian woman’s veneer of politeness juxtaposed against her hidden inside world filled with ideas that we have no record of. The cuirass bodice is somewhat feminist because it extended below the waist so that its shape resembled a man’s bodice, and women could wear practical jackets instead of impractical capes, which had previously been the predominant outerwear option. I made a corset reminiscent of a cuirass bodice, and I used a silver satin so that it would somewhat resemble the metal of a real cuirass. I tried to draft the corset pattern according to methods described in 1880s patterning books, but I gave up after two failed attempts. I tried to point to the oppressive, stiff expectations of the period by mixing the structured historical garments with flowy, barely-there modern garments made of loose, sheer, comfy fabric.

Maximalism might be my absolute favorite current fashion trend. I think it’s so cool when people layer clothes to the extreme and throw on loads of accessories; it looks haphazard and messy and opulent, and the use of trimmings in the late Victorian era exudes the same feeling.

I had originally planned to implement lots of unconventional and eye-catching trimmings in my designs to emulate the late Victorian spirit, but that idea only made it to my third look, where I used decorative buttons and feathers.

Feathers were a hugely popular trimming at the time, and I wanted to include them in my designs to vaguely point to the destruction of the natural world at the hand of the fashion industry, which took off in this period. During the 1880s, feathers were extremely popular in fashion and many bird species became endangered. This was incredibly damaging, but I must admit that I think excessive feather use looks awesome…luckily there are ample feathered garments on the second-hand market these days!

This is Queen Kapi‘olani of Hawaii wearing her famous peacock feather gown, which she commissioned for Queen Victoria’s Grand Jubilee in 1887.

This gown is so iconic, and I originally wanted to directly reference it by trimming the neckline of my dress with feathers, but that ended up looking too costumey. My model had the idea of trimming the armscyes with feathers, and that is what I did!

The maximalism of late Victorian fashion was made possible because of the industrial revolution. For example, lace was once extremely expensive because it could only be made by hand, but by 1870 almost all types of lace could be made by machines. Trimmings started to be mass produced and became infinitely more accessible, and that sparked the maximalist trimming trend. However, this mass production was not victimless—more efficient cutting and sewing machines and an influx of immigrants to the Americas led to a rise of sweatshops that exploited the labor of mostly female workers, a trend that has continued to this day. 

I think industrial aesthetics look awesome, so I originally wanted to include coal motifs in the form of sooty, grimy finishes on fabric to point to the industrial revolution era exploitation of female labor, but that did not come to fruition. I did end up styling my models in very smokey black makeup in that spirit. I also included some metal motifs—I used silver satin in the garments, and I styled my models in hardwear-heavy jewelry and silver eyeshadow.

Makeup close up!

I’ve also taken much inspiration from more recent designers:

I very much enjoy “Irudree” (1922) by Paul Poiret for its odd silhouette, metallic quality, and uncanniness.

I think the armor and exo-skeleton elements of these Mugler gowns are fabulous.

I had a wonderful time flicking though Victorian fashion plates, figuring out my designs, and creating them! And the show was fabulous! I was ravished—the designs were absolutely magnificent, and I eagerly await next year’s show!