Meeting with Zhane (Dress Designer)

First Design sketch.

I had a meeting with Zhane to discuss the development of the dress and because I was concerned she hadn't asked me for any materials to start the dress yet. She said she was struggling with the workload of her current project and so needed to focus on that for now, but that the deadline was 6th March so she still felt confident she would get it done it she started after that. I was concerned she hadn't mentioned this to me earlier because then we could have come to some arrangement or I could have asked someone else; however she said she was confident she would be able to achieve this within the time limit so I agreed to continue the collaboration. I am nervous about this because of the short deadline so I will need to think of a backup option. I said that I wanted there to be a fitting before the shooting to make any final adjustments which she agreed to.

(LOVECHILDBOUDOIR, 2017).

This meeting was very valuable as, after discussing how the design would be made, we decided that the oversized feathered shoulder pads would be too dominating and distract from the open caged skirt and dancer's movement. We also felt they would be too restricting because the model would be cautious about not breaking the dramatic shoulder pads when doing her expressive movements. We therefore decided to continue the caged leatherette look on her top half to complement the skirt and not over shadow it. I was inspired by the design above with the high neck and thick strips of material.

Updated sketch

I wanted the whole design to look rebellious and daring to reflect the character's confidence and strength to be herself, so I did not want to add a bra or bandeau because it would be obvious that I was trying to cover her chest. We therefore decided to place a thick strip of white leatherette directly across her nipple area so they would be covered but the outline of her breasts would still be visible. I checked if my model was comfortable with this before confirming the design. Zhane said this top design would take less time than the feather idea and she felt confident she could create it. I have already given her my dancer's measurements and asked about buying materials, but she said she'd have to measure everything out first and get back to me. I am so excited to see Zhane's development of this design!


Resources:
LOVECHILDBOUDOIR, 2017. NEVADA Sexy Chevron Harness Top [viewed 27th February 2017]. Available from: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/318911217350303481/