Vancouver 2010 Olympic Costumes

For the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, I was contracted by Yumi Eto (Head Designer at Aritzia), on behalf on VANOC as a sewing contractor for the Olympic Medal Bearer and Athlete Escort Costumes.

The following is an excerpt on Blanche Macdonald Centre website, written by Robert Collins:

“As one of Canada’s top Fashion Schools, VANOC called on Blanche Macdonald’s fashion skills as well. Looking for Vancouver-based talent, designer Yumi Eto had contacted Fashion Program Director Peggy Morrison before the Games. Peggy recommended Fashion Design graduates Amanda Montgomery, Mickelli Orbe, Jillian Rothert and Sayaka Toyoda, who were hired as sewing contractors to work on the indoor medal bearers’ Heritage Sweaters, the outdoor medal bearers’ toques, and the caged petticoats on the athlete escorts’ costumes.

“My tasks included weaving the colours into the sweaters,” explains Amanda Montgomery. “Blues, browns, teal and orange – and finishing the details for each sweater.

“Yumi Eto, the designer for this project with Aritzia, had contacted me personally for this project as I had been recommended by the staff at Blanche Macdonald. The highlight of this experience was working and learning under Yumi. She has an incredible eye for design, and her immaculate attention to detail was great to observe and learn from. It’s really been the most rewarding experience, and I’m truly grateful!”

Medal and flower bearer, indoor: “The Heritage Sweater” — Inspired by the knit and woven heritage of Canada’s First Nations artisans, each sweater is original, hand-knit and finished with a color palette influenced by the sky, forest and ocean.  Complemented by a hand-tooled belt embossed with First Nations artwork, silk embroidered scarf in hues representing the flags of all nations, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police boot.

Medal and flower bearer, outdoor: “The Cocoon Parka” — Reflecting the subtle hues of a night sky and the sculptural shape of a cocoon, the parka features corset-style seaming and interwoven blues in a subtle plaid.  Complemented by a cobweb-influenced scarf interlaced with leaves and foliage, a heritage toque updated with brushed gradients of blue hues, vintage knit ski top and pant, and RCMP boot.

Athlete escort/indoor-outdoor: “The Vintage Ski Coat” — A vintage-style ski coat, accented with sport detailing in the seaming and finishing, is hand-flocked with the art of the medals created by a renowned Canadian First Nations artist.  Complemented by a caged fringe reminiscent of First Nations costumes, cracked-ice hat and scarf mimicking ice veins illuminated in clear blue water, and RCMP boot.

Image via Wikipedia

While at Aritzia, I began working on the “Heritage Sweaters” (Left). in the chunky knit, we wove dyed raw wool (by artisan yarn company local to Vancouver Sweet Georgia by Felicia Lo.) The wool was dyed in the ‘Sea-to-Sky” color palette, consisting of blues, teal, orange, grey, browns and cream. Most of our time was spent on these sweaters, stabilizing the fit, the wool accents, etc. However, we were able to contribute some work to the other 2 costumes. “The Cocoon Parka” (Middle) –I assisted in the construction and the felting process of the toques as well as creating the scarves. “The Vintage Ski Coat” (Right) — I was involved with some of the preliminary work of the flocking, and I assisted in cutting the caged underskirt. I also attended and assisted at fittings in both Whistler, and the RCMP Headquarters in Vancouver.

My Venture Into Menswear

In the past few months  I have moved to Hamilton, ON. I am excited about new beginnings and fresh opportunities. Something I have begun to realize during my brief time in Hamilton, is that there is an fantastic emerging art scene. There is an art crawl every month on James St., where the street is filled with local creations and art, performing arts and visual.

Since my decision to stay here, I was asked by friends of mine, Brad Melle and Evan MacAlpine  (of the Hamilton Electronic band Allosaurus), to design their stage attire.

Their brand new, debut album “Old Solar” is incredible, and definitely worth a listen.

Now, as I am trained in woman’s wear, and have yet to venture out of that, I was intrigued, and maybe a little nervous about this proposal. So I started hardcore research mode! The only specifications that were given to me, was that they wanted 50s style fitted suits. The first thing that popped into my mind was to trim the lapels and hem of the suits in contrast white. And then I was thinking of Buddy Holly for inspiration. (But keeping in mind, I didn’t want the suits to be TOO Buddy Holly).

So I began researching pattern drafting for men’s suits. And after many hours of dead end searches, I came upon the book “Il Modellismo: Tecnica del Modello Sartoriale e Industriale” by Fernando Burgo. And it was in Italian, but of course!! So I had to find an English translation. Then, being European, the instructions are all in metric, and of course, I work in imperial. So the book was translated and converted. And then after great lengths I was ready to begin.

So, I invaded my new friend’s large kitchen table to begin the pattern drafting! (Thanks guys) I decided to draft a classic fitting suit, then as I made the muslins, and had the first fittings with the guys, I could pin out a more fitted look. As I constructed the muslins, I was shocked to find, they actually looked like SUITS!

The first fitting, went really well. besides the fit, there was no major alterations needed. So I went back to the patterns to make the alterations from the muslins. And then I began to draft the finishes like lining and seam allowance, etc.

I have begun cutting the fabric, next week I am going to begin sewing!!

to be continued…

Line & Form Fashion Show 2009

In 2009, I graduated from Blanche Macdonald Centre (Vancouver) in Fashion Design. This is my debut grad collection:

For this collection I designed 15 looks, and actually made 3 of them.

I drew inspiration for my first collection from the mythical forest of “Where the Wild Things Are” and the Japanese folklore tale Hanasakajijii. From my inspiration I achieved my color story, shape and silhouette. I wanted the structured lines of branches juxtaposed againts the softness of the draping moss.

My first look is a chartreuse one-legged jumsuit, with a heart neckline. The fabric I chose for this jumpsuit was silk dupioni, as it has a real raw texture, which correlates with the organic inspiration of the forest. I created a draped asymmetrical skirt on this jumpsuit, to capture the lightness of moss. A fun yet functional detail I added was the exposed industrial zipper running through the apex down the front of the leg.

My second look is a boat neck, cocktail dress. The fabric I chose is black duchess satin. For the underskirt, I hand painted Vera Wang blush lace, to give it the appearance of pressed moss. Again, the free hanging satin panels against the ‘moss lace’ creates the contrast cohesive to my inspiration.

And for my third and final look I created a gown. The gown itself is made of Black Dutchess Satin. It is a strapless heart neckline. The skirt of the gown was created by using the Japanese art of pleating known as Shibori.

Basically, I ran hundreds of basting stitches through the length of the fabric. and then I pulled the stitches tight, gathering all the fabric. I then proceeded to soak the fabric in water for a few hours, and then hung to dry for several days.

For the “Waves” over vest, I ordered this material from Hollywood called FOSSHAPE. It is an unique, non-woven, heat-activated fabric used in costuming.  In essence, it’s a thick material that looks like felt, and when heat or steam is applied, it can be formed or molded, and then it hardens to the shape. This material can be painted or decorated. I chose to cover it in hand painted wool crepe.

Of my collection of 15, I decided to create 3, one group each group (Separates/Jumpsuits, Cocktail Dresses, & Gowns). My debut collection was one of whimsy. I wanted to push the envelope of silhouettes. I used lines, colors, and textures to create the juxtaposition I was inspired and intrigued by.