Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Behind the Design: The Moschino Staple Dress


There was a really fun dress we spotted at the Spring/Summer '19 Moschino fashion show. And, it was a dress that solicited lots of attention! Inspired by fashion atelier objects, it was a basic black sheath dress covered with rows of needles. I wanted to make this dress but knew I would not be able to find needles this tiny. So, I gave a lot of thought as to what I could use that would capture the look. After much reflection, I settled on...staples!

Making this dress is simple enough. But you'll need lots of time and patience and, of course, lots of staples!

This project starts out with a basic strapless sheath dress. In order to replicate the look, I did alter the neckline a bit but a simpler neckline will prove to be easier to make. Stitch the dress together at the side seams and iron flat.

I used the biggest staples I had )1/2' (1cm) in the house and a stapler in good, working condition. Cut strips of felt a tiny bit smaller than the staples. In this case I chose felt because I wanted to staples to hold onto something without sliding around too much.
Cut each strip from edge to edge of the dress.
Cut enough strips to cover the dress from the neckline to just above the hemline. \
Begin stapling from the midpoint of each strip to the edge. Repeat on the other side. Be careful not to staple on top of the preceding staple or you will eventually have problems with the stapler. Adjust the staples...pushing them together AFTER they have been stapled down.
 Once you have enough stapled strips, begin pinning each strip from the bottom of the dress up.
 Hand stitch each row onto the dress until you have covered the entire dress. If you have designed peaks over the bust line, make tiny strips and carefully fit them in and hand sew. I finished off the top of the dress with a strip of tulle.
When you have finished, fold one edge down and hand sew over the seam allowance of the other side, as close as possible to the staples.

I purposely chose silver staples for this dress, but remember, you can always opt for copper staples if you want a bit of color! And...Contrary to what it seems, I did not come close to using up a whole box of staples! On the other hand, this dress does have a bit of weight to it.

Up next.....the first red carpet event of the year. The Golden Globes!!!! Stay tuned!!!

All photos and text property of Fashion Doll Stylist. 2019. Please ask permission first before reposting and please always credit us. Thank you.

Follow us on Twitter: @FashDollStylist
Like us on Facebook: @FashDollStylist
We're also on Pinterest: @FashDollStylist

And of course, we are on Instagram: @fashiondollstylist

10 comments:

  1. Great dress. And the idea for The performance surprised me amazingly. Fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Dlubaniny. This was such an inspiring dress that I had to figure out a way to make it. I thought about using real needles (clipped to proper scale) but that would have cost a small fortune. Staples are cheap. All I needed was the patience to put this together.

      Delete
  2. That is amazing job! I admire your patience - it's like trillion of the staples there! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha ha....Thank you Kamelia...In addition to ALL of the staples I used up...there was the occasional problem with the stapler which would jam, from time to time. But I was so focused on making this dress. In the end, it was worth the time and effort.

      Delete
  3. I love how they look like they are moving----just like the real dress. Amazing feat of patience!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sandi. Thank you for your kind words. I had not really thought about it, but yes, you are right, the staples do look as though they are moving. I think that is also what makes them look like the needle fringe in the original dress. Thank you for your visit.

      Delete
  4. Jesteś niezwykle kreatywną osobą! Wymyślasz takie rozwiązania, że nigdy by mi nie przyszły do głowy! Całość wygląda rewelacyjnie! Jak zawsze ♥

    ReplyDelete
  5. Olla wrote:
    You are an extremely creative person! You come up with solutions that would never have occurred to me! The whole looks fantastic! As always ♥

    Thank you soooo much Olla. So good to hear from you. Well...you know, us creative people always love a challenge especially as it relates to our lovely dollies!!! Big hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can’t believe this!
    I would love to have been there, watching you stapling your heart out... ��
    You are one dedicated designer! ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha ha!!! Again....I underestimated this project.... If you had been by my side, you would have witnessed, all the times my stapler jammed!!! All of my very frustrated moments! However.....it was the desire to have this dress that kept me going...and the side eyed dolls who kept pushing me to finish!!! (It's the challenge of living with vinyl divas!!!)

      Delete

We love hearing from you. Your comment will be published shortly. Please note: SPAM IS NOT TOLERATED. It will be deleted immediately!!