Final Fitting and Adjustments with Zhane

Development image of top.

Development image of skirt.

Due to Zhane's other work commitments and the amount of time needed to create the cage dress, she was unable to complete this outfit until the evening before filming. This did cause me some concern, as, although I had seen the work in progress and was happy with how it was being created, I was worried there would not be enough time to make any final adjustments that might be needed after the final fitting. I was also aware that my team had a very early start for filming the next day and did not want to keep them up late, as I wanted everybody to be in good humour and eager to start filming in the morning. I had given all my team deadlines for their contributions, but this was a good example to me of having to compromise with people I work with, as I had to compromise with Zhane to agree a deadline which was acceptable, and achievable, for both of us.

It was very exciting to see Zhane's development images; however I was nervous to receive the styling because I had to make so many adjustments to the previous styling I had received from Sofie to improve not only its fit, but the quality. I had also not seen the progress of the dress in person, so leaving it until the evening before to see the dress was risk. I was really pleased with the dress when I collected it from Zhane and felt she had worked accurately to the brief. The quality of the styling was high, with discreet stitching, heavy fabric and precise lines.

When we had the final fitting, the main problem was that the top with a little too big for my model, Natalie. She was wearing the outfit without a bra, so needed to feel comfortable the straps across her bust area would stay in place and needed to feel secure. We therefore pinned up the top while she was wearing it, folding under small sections of the vertical straps where they met the horizon straps, so gradually tightening the top on Natalie in a way that could be sewn discreetly yet securely. Unfortunately, this involved a large of number of small adjustments for me to make, which was very time consuming at this late stage, but it was important for Natalie to feel confident in the outfit. Additionally, we decided to use double-sided tape to secure the straps across her bust to make sure she was confident she could move in the outfit without worrying she would be exposed.

I was very pleased with the look and fit of the skirt because it was a flattering length and wrapped round her waist with a small gap at the front. I had a variety of cream and white belts ready to choose from and was able to select a white one which was a good match for the skirt colour, the correct width for the belt loops and fitted Natalie well. I did not need to make any adjustments to the skirt which I was relieved about as the top was going to be very time consuming. 

I had two options prepared for Natalie's underwear; white leather pants, which were also to be used with her final outfit, the white leather jacket, or high waisted nude support pants. I thought the white pants drew focus away from the dress and lost the caging effect of the skirt around the hips and waist area, as the white of the pants and the skirt blurred into one solid white area. However, the nude worked well as the white cage could clearly be seen all over her body and the character's confidence in appearing to be nude under her broken cage reflected her rebellious and daring character as she found confidence in appearing as her own unique self.

I was able to make the final adjustments in the evening before the shoot and I was confident it would fit the model well, so that she looked and felt comfortable. I then hung the finished outfit with the other costumes on the styling rail, ready for filming the following day.