The dress is finally completed(Click on the photo to see a larger image)

So it is done.

All 100 hours or more spent on this dress.....

The only thing that's left for me now is just take photo of this dress on a live model.

So I am approaching the finish line( Click on the photo to see a larger image)

I see many students working countless hours on their garments. They have goals as I do.

Finally I am almost done with this dress that I thought was impossible to finish on time.

So now the only thing left is redo the center back line, add the cuff on the top and finish the hemming.

after 10 yards of chiffon- and many many sleepless nights

I came this far.

And this is only half of it. I still need to flute the other half of the dress...

but I begun constructing other layers last night.

only about a week left for this project....

I ran out of the bias cuts

Today I left a little early because I ran out of the 2" bias straps I cut.

So here is how far I went. I need to get white Taffetta to put in as lining material.

four more hours of fluting

Here it is...

It doesn't look much but each row is sewn individually so it is very time consuming.

Halloween - Prof. Cruz's Costume.

Prof. Cruz today showed us what he is going to wear tonight for the Halloween parade.

I love it.

My classmate Laura wore the dress.

Continuation- fluting

So today I continue to flute the underskirt.

It now looks somewhat nice.

Fluting the underskirt

So today I begun fluting.

Yesterday I cut the 2" wide chiffon bias straps.

I worked on this for four hours.

And I have a long way to go... I need to cover at least half of the underskirt.

Hmmmm....

FIT BFA- Knitwear

Today I did not take any picture of my project, because all I did today was sewing.

But on the way out, I took a picture of this display for BFA Knitwear designs.

Final Project- Finished first fitting

The dress is going to be made of white organza.

I finished sewing the first muslin.

Final Project Fall 2007

This is going to be a fun project.
I have finished draping, making patterns, and cutting a few pieces out already.

More photos of Mery...

Mery looked just beautiful ...

Just couple more shots of her wearing bias tube dress

More photos from photoshoot day...

Besides the front and back views that were submitted for the competition, Josiah ( the photographer) took many other poses.

I love them all.... Here I am working on the bias tubes to make them longer...

(ReadyToWear)

So here are just a few more garments.

Since there were three categories I could enter, I decided to enter all three.

Why not, right?

Irene modelded for the brown sleeveless dress, Franchasca modeled for the Jean Dress.

Thanks.... You look so cute!!!

(AvantGarde)

So here they are....

My favorite category--- avantgarde.

For this ... I can really let go of myself and totally be free...

The inspiration was "Antipope" -painting done in 1941- 1942.

I chose the knight on the far right as my inspiration. The color choice and the shape of the garments were drawn from this painting.

First I made the long coat using jeans and then I made one using wool.

I believe it is important to design the garment as a whole- it is important to design outside, but it also is important to show inside. It is important to design interesting front, but it also is equally important to consider the back.

Joyce Wu modeled for Jean coat Irene modeled for the wool coat.

They look just fantastic!!! My garments look so much more alive... Thank you....Thank you....

GenArt- Design competition

During this past spring semester,my two friends and I decided to enter Genart Biore Emerging designer competition.
There were three categories that we could enter. Ready- to- wear (clothes that you might see in Club Monaco or banana republic), Eveningwear,and Avant Garde.
We all worked hard and finished what we needed for the competition.
I just got the photos from the photographer who has been really wonderful throughout this whole process. He probably didn't sleep much last night trying to scan these pictures for us....
We had great models who worked with us. I will pick up the CD containing all the photos tonight but this is what he sent me this morning.
This one will be submitted under Ready-to-wear category.

Why do I design?

I grew up in a farming village in South Korea.

Until when I was old enough to go to junior highschool in Seoul (Capital of Korea), I didn't know there was such thing as "brand name" clothes.

Naturally, I never considered being a designer because I didn't think there was such an occupation.

I read about great scientists, doctors, philosophers, but I have never read about designers.

When I went to stores to buy clothes, the thought never occured to me that someone actually designed the clothes that I was looking at.

Years went by....
And one day I discovered "Fashion Design".

I discovered that there are people working behind the scene to design all the clothes that I see...
...

My mother asked me one day why I bother going back to school and study Fashion Design.

"Why?"

Strangely that never entered my mind. Why do I study fashion design? Why do I design?

It definitely isn't for money or fame.

I do it because it feels right. I feel alive and happy when I touch the fabric that I am draping with. It feels right.

It took me long time to discover this road.

And I am walking on this road not knowing what I will find next.

I know I will meet some interesting people, I will encounter some difficulties.

But this is the road that I choose to walk on....

How glad I am to find this....

snow white

Last summer. I took pattern making One.

This was the last project I did in that class.

It was a really fun class. Different from Draping.

Blue dress- two in one

I made this dress last year. It's an evening dress but the bottom skirt is detachable.

My designs

I took 2 weeks off from work December 2006 to early January. I came to school everyday and draped and sew the dresses. These are the end products.

One night my professor was reviewing final designs and said.
"Lee... I am going to name you a 'seam queen'- look at your designs, you have thousands of seams... "

Well... then I thought. O.K. I don't know if I want to be a seam queen.
I am going to make seamless dress that looks like it has many seams.
It will look as if I have drafted a complicated pattern, but it will only use one piece of fabric.

Hmmm.. is it possible?

It was a fun assignment I gave to myself.

I began draping a jean dress. I finished it with one seam inthe back.
I then drape a red wool dress. I finished it with one seam in the back.
I then draped a gold dress out of upholsery fabric. I finished it wtih one seam in the back.
I then draped a red pleated cocktail dress. I finished it with one saem in the back.
...
Once I got started I could not stop so I took two weeks off from work and draped everyday.
Here are the results of the challenge.