Doll's Eye View: Paris Fall '13

Haider Ackermann & inspired variation

There is New York, London, Milan and thousands of cities all over the planet producing clothing. But when all is said and done, Paris remains the fashion capital of the world. Not so much for its Haute Couture or the legendary designers it has produced since the 19th century, but rather, because this is the place where designers from all over the globe come to establish themselves as global players in the arena of style. Here's is where young talent and top brands from all over Europe, Asia and the Orient rub shoulders, climb on stage and say, "I've arrived."

Paris Fashion Week is a whopping 10 days long. Back in the glory days of the 1980's and 90's when I reported on these shows, there were as many as 10-12 press presentations per day....beginning as early as 9 am and sometimes not ending before almost midnight. (And that does not include the showrooms, fairs and peripheral events.) Inasmuch as there are so many shows to analyze, summarize and present, exceptionally, we will bring our Doll's Eye View of the Paris Collections in two parts.

Of everything we've seen thus far, Haider Ackermann's collection has been the most interesting to our eyes. The garment featured here, inspired by his asymmetrical pants ensemble, was executed using the basic slopers beginning with the 1-piece pant pattern. We added an extra 1/2" to each side of that sloper to get the additional fullness to the pants. On top, we used the basic bodice sloper with the sleeve. Afterwards, we took another piece of wool and draped it over the bodice much in the same way we showed you how to embellish the corset with silk. It is best to do this while the bodice is on the doll. At first this appeared to be quite bulky and a tad bit "old." However, we flattened the drape by flattening it close to the body with the iron which lends an air of modernity. Admittedly, you will still be limited as to what you can do by the weight of the fabric. The back is whatever you want it to be. You could cut off the excess and stitch it down on each side (leaving the back plain). However, the back of my bodice ends with the drapery forming a bit of a bustle as the movement of the fabric is thrown towards the back. I live in a cold climate. My dolls wanted sleeves.

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