This was last week, when my classmates and I displayed our entire collections for the judges. We each got a mannequin and a rolling rack and a space in the school hallway, and aside from that it was up to our own imaginations. Obviously, the clothes are the most important things; I'm glad I was working on my sewing up until the last minute, or I might have spent too much time on props and outshone the garments with those.
This collection is called "Between the Lines." I drew my inspiration from the 1920s daywear a la Coco Chanel, origami tessellations, and books. I mounted my mood board on the wall, set up a folding screen for some definition to the area, and used some cube-shaped planters as a table to place my portfolio on at a comfortable height for reading. The two smaller planters, along with some dusty volumes from my dad's bookshelf, became shoe shelves. (The day before the judging I was at Hobby Lobby to get 5/8" metal ribbon ends. I didn't find them, but I did see the folding screen and nabbed it. Then I continued my search for the ribbon ends at JoAnn, and left the store with the planters! I'm so glad the display fixtures took no extra time away from my sewing. I don't think 5/8" ribbon ends exist, though.) How to display the socks puzzled me for a bit; then a classmate designed some new footwear for his collection by putting on a shoe and covering the whole thing with duct tape. Well, of course! I put on a sock that went up my shin a ways, wrapped it in duct tape, cut it off and stuffed it- and it made a very good foot form.
We had to leave the premises before the judges arrived, so that they could remain anonymous. I ran out while my professor was yelling that we had 30 seconds or we would be disqualified. After working on this for eight months, I can't describe how good it felt to know the collection was done, and there was nothing more I could do! I'm pretty good at letting go.
When I came back a few hours later, the first thing I did was read the notes the judges left for me. They were positive and constructive and made me really happy. I got the highest points possible on construction and high points on marketability. One judge said I was both original and marketable, which isn't easy to do. The "Wow" factor response varied from judge to judge, which is understandable. One judge said the silhouette was lacking. A couple judges thought the gray was sad and was taking the black and white photographs too literally, that I should have mixed in more color. Another judge said that the gray color didn't bother them at all, and that they saw my inspiration clearly. All in all, they were very nice, and I think I will keep those little slips of paper forever.
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