Inspiration/ Designer Purpose
My collection is inspired by the musical and movie Wicked, specifically the Ozdust ball scene. The vibrant, detailed, floral, and magical ballroom environment and dresses left a lasting impression and inspired me to create my own interpretation of these dresses. So my collection features 5 ball gowns constructed with playful shapes, vibrant colors, and floral detailing to follow the creative, magical theme within Wicked. Furthermore, to incorporate my own unique twist, or my “magic”, all my gowns were made completely out of packaging tape, tissue paper, wire, and plastic bags. This is because as a stem major and an artist, I have always found beauty and magic in transformations. I loved being able to reconstruct unconventional materials into unexpected yet beautiful and functional creations like in this case tissue paper into ball gowns. By blending my passions with the wonderful world of oz, I’m able to welcome you to the Ozdust ball.
The Ozdust Ball Collection
Collection Pieces
What I loved about the world of Oz was how magical and creative it was. My favorite scene in the movie was the Ozdust Ball. While it was only a few minutes long, Glinda’s eye-catching pink and orange gown and the magic from the ballroom really stuck with me. Therefore my collection is my extension of this scene as if So if I had the chance to sneak out to the Ozdust ball, these are the dresses I would design. So as you are introduced to each piece in this collection, please notice the playful and imaginative structures and vibrant colors in my gowns and the floral details embedded in my designs.
This first gown has a purple base with pink to orange ombre 3d elements. The 3d details mimic flower petals and the wire help separate the layers and give the 3d elements structure.
This second dress has an orange base and lighter orange and pink 3d elements. While the last dress has elements that resemble flower petals this these long rectangular 3d strips resemble a flower's stamen.
This dress next dress was built in the shape of a flower. The dress is assembled from 3 layers that ombre from a lighter to darker green and the structure resembled sharper petals like Lillies that fold around the model.
The last gown I designed for this collection features a tiered ruffled skirt with each layer containing 3 ombre layers from yellow to pink. Similar to the last dress, the shape of the skirt itself and the ruffled layering was inspired by the shape of a softer multilayered flower like carnations.
Because this dress fits the color scheme and the scales can be also envisioned as flower petals, I reused this piece from The Ocean Collection.
Process
Mood Board & Inspo
Every collection or design comes from an idea. Creating a mood board and finding inspo pictures allows designers to further develop their idea into a theme or uncover new ideas. Furthermore, having a tangible mood board, which is essentially a college that allows designers to translate their ideas into words or pictures, can help capture the essence of the idea better than explain and allow others to also easily fully understand.
Sketches
After developing a theme or general direction, every look starts with a sketch. I often sketch many iterations of the same or dress or some up with many different designs. The point of sketching is to not only brainstorm ideas out also visual what ideas might be realistic and how designs may play out. Out of these sketches, I will choose my favorite to bring to life.
Draping
After measuring my models and accounting for heel height, I adjusted my mannequin to their measurements. To turn a sketch into pattern pieces, I first use red string to drape the shape of the garment and then use fabric to drape patterns.
Stablizing
To ensure the tissue paper would not and become much strong, I lined the inside with packaging tape to prevent stretch and increase stability.
Pattern Pieces
With the fabric pieces, I trace them on pattern paper with seam allowance on certain edges and then cut the pieces out of the stabilized tissue paper.
Forming the dresses
I then taped together the edges of my pattern pieces where they align to form the garment. I though tape would look cleaning compared to sewing.
Adding Wire
Once the base was assembled, a wire lining was added in specific patterns, matching the shape of the gowns, in order to add structure and strength.
Adding 3d Details
Based on the sketch, each dresses had different additional elements like ruffles, layers or 3d pop outs. These elements where also stabilized and added onto the dress with tape in specific pattens and angles in order for these pieces to lay correctly and be supported.
Closure
The last step is to ensure these dresses are fully functional. Therefore they need to be wearable. So I added lace up panels to 3 of the gowns and snap closure to the other gown I order for models to easily wear the garments and for the dresses to fit the models correctly.
The Ohio State University FPA Spring 25 Fashion Show
The Fashion Production Association (FPA) is a club under The Ohio State University's fashion and retail studies major that hosts annual fashion shows to showcase students final projects after each year.
Hair and Makeup
Photoshoot
The Runway and BTS
FPA or Fashion Production Association is a club at The Ohio State University that host annual fashion shows, presenting student's final showcases.
The theme for the spring 2025 show was "Stories" and each designer crafts their interpretation. My collection was inspired by the movie and story of Wicked.
Click the link to read more about my collection.
