Work in progress: Gareth Pugh jacket

[cmkz]

Heavens, this is genuinely incredible.

I am envious of your talent. Your stitches are so straight!

[waituntildark]

I admire your commitment, it looks incredible.
I get so irritated each time I sew.. so I never really finish anything.

[dave]

Wow. You did a great job. Keep us posted with your future projects.

[xallhopelstx]

This is fantastic. I really appreciate the detail in which you went about explaining the process, as I am a design student. But even more so I am impressed with your ambition, and the quality at which it is coming out. Perfectionists always deliver. Great stuff.

[Heirloom]

i'm impressed you took on such a ambitious project, and I really appreciate the realignment of all the polygons and the even stitching, but one thing that slightly irks me is the fit of the basic pattern itself, as it throws the proportions off a bit. I would've suggested a few alterations( sleeves and shoulderline), but it probably looks better irl in motion.

[marc1975]

Current Status: I have finished the second sleeve, so from the outside, the jacket pretty much looks complete. I am currently working on the lining. I just cut out the different parts of the lining and will finish the jacket very likely till end of this week. I will post final pics of it then.


@Heirloom:
I appreciate your comment. You are probably right, but as I haven't learned (yet) how to alter patterns professionally, it's a hit and miss for me.

The pattern I used for this jacket does have an interesting history though:

When I searched for a trench-coat a couple of years back, I couldn't find one that was fitting closely, had a belt, was made of a certain material, etc., so I decided to make one by myself (that was the first bigger project). As I had tried Burda patterns (which were horrible regarding their fit), I bought a trench-coat from ESPRIT, took it apart seam by seam and reverse engineered the pattern of this trench.
Then I did some minor changes: Added a yoke and pleats at the back, removed the epaulettes at the shoulders, made the whole thing a little more narrow at the waist. These were changes that were in the range of what I could do. I did not change the shoulder-line or the sleeves.

I did have some problems when putting everything together (e.g. the sewing machine I had back then didn't transport the fabric for the first button hole properly), but for a first larger project, it came out wearable:



I even had a company do an embroidery with my name on a piece of fabric, which I used on the inside (partly covered, as I don't want my full name to appear on the net). When I look at this trench now, I would do a lot of things differently. Still, colleagues at work told me that I must be joking when I told them I had sewed this on my own. Some of them still believe that I went to a professional tailor and got it custom-made - I know that it's very uncommon for a guy to have sewing as a hobby, but that's a totally different topic...

So... I had a pattern "in stock" that I knew would fit ok. The is the pattern that I took for the Gareth Pugh jacket: I shortened the trench-pattern, put together a draft version to find out where to put the zipper (thus heavily modifying the front) and modified the collar, so it would be a stand-up collar. I changed the size of the armholes (smaller), made the sleeves fit more tightly - but not too tight, as I wasn't sure whether the thicker neoprene would behave similar to the thin fabric I used for testing purposes. I also modified the shape of the front, so it would have sort of triangular shape at the bottom.
I also modified the shoulder-line, but just very little, to make it fit more snugly. The trench-coat uses (very small) shoulder pads, which I didn't put in here. Maybe that is what you are missing.

I basically miss the theoretical part that you guys learn at fashion school. Patternmaking, e.g. what to shift in which direction to reach a certain fit. The thing that troubles me the most is that I modify one piece, and suddenly I am back to square one, as nothing fits together anymore. For this jacket, I think I had a total of 3 draft versions of the pattern (sewed together with zipper) before I started working with the final fabric (neoprene).

Could you tell me exactly what you would do differently when you say that you would modify the sleeves and the shoulder-line? I am not redoing it again (too much work... )... but I would like to learn what others would do differently


Sorry, a little off topic:

@xallhopelstx:
Thanks! Quite honestly, if I could go back in time 16 years, I would consider studying something with fashion design instead of doing an MBA. On the other hand, I am not sure whether I am that creative, and whether I would be able to come up with new ideas season after season.
When it comes to perfectionism:
Photography: A professional photographer, who looked at the pictures I took while traveling asked me whether I didn't want to become a photographer fulltime. He had never seen pictures like the ones I showed him from a hobbyist.
Sewing: I had shown the Gareth Pugh jacket to my cobbler (also a friend), and he asked me why I didn't want to do this fulltime as a job. He didn't look at the pattern, just at the quality of the seams and how everything was put together.
Cooking: I've been asked (quite seriously) whether I didn't want to become a professional cook by two friends (both are cooks) multiple times in the last few years when they were having dinner with me.

I always decline, making a very simple statement: It's a hobby, and it is meant to help me to take a break from the worries at work. Once the hobby gets to a level where it becomes an obligation, where you have to finish something by a certain date (maybe even with some unfavorible working conditions), it's not fun anymore.

The one thing I've learned at work: Being a perfectionist can be a handicap sometimes. Most people I've met in my professional life are totally satisfied with 80 - 90 % quality. Reaching the last 10% is the most exhausting part, and the rewards are often negligible.
If at some point in time you reach a management position, don't try to be a perfectionist, unless it's your own company

[marc1975]

@Heirloom:
Hmmm... I just couldn't get to sleep... as the original trench pattern had used shoulder pads, I wondered whether the shoulders might look better if I added shoulder pads (just as in the trench). As I always have a pair of ready made tailor's shoulder pads in my sewing chest, I searched for them, tried on the jacket again with shoulder pads and ... tada... I think that the shoulders look less droopy. That might not be what you mean, but it still makes the jacket look better. So before putting in the lining, I will put in the shoulder pads

[Heirloom]

The thing about the shoulder pads does explain alot. What I see is mostly visible from the back, and it is a sortof puckering that happens around the sleevehole, but with a shoulder pad that would disappear a bit. I'm not saying this type of jacket needs a shoulderpad, but if I had done this jacket, I would've removed some of the ease in the back and put a gusset in the sleeve hole. That would let you move your arm freely, but still have a slim fitting torso. The illusion would be a sleeker torso and leaner sleeves as the sleeve doesn't need to be as wide. I would also either add some width to the fore arms or reduce some in the bicep area to achieve a more straight silhouette. I'm not sure these changes would work with a stiff neoprene, you might have to add some darting into the shouldercap on the sleeve to fit the shoulder if the shoulder on the torso is shorter.

One way to make alterations in fit easily without much theory in patternmaking is simply to sew the muslin, put it on inside out and nip away excess, and slash and add fabric where needed. Then you cut out the pieces where you want the seams to go, flatten it out, trace and recut. Of course, it's a bit tricky to sometimes know exactly what needs to be done, sometimes a pull somewhere is because of a defect elsewhere, and not necessarily where the symtoms show up.

really impressed with the level of detail on the trench.

[Patroklus]

http://www.leenas.com/English/draw_patterns.html tells you how to alter pattern pieces, but it doesn't really tell you too much about how to get a specific type of fit.

I have some books I could dig up for you, but they mostly focus on pattern drafting by way of draping on a form.

[marc1975]

Finished jacket

@Heirloom:
Thanks for the advice - I will try the inside out - technique for my next piece. The puckering was visible with the draft version already, but it didn't seem to be that bad, as the fabric was very light. I guess due to the stiffness of the neoprene, it becomes even more visible. Still, I agree to what you said.

@Patroklus:
I will try Heirloom's technique first. I don't have a form yet, but this might be something worth to invest in.

@Everyone:
Heureka - it's finished!

Today is the last day of my vacation, and I did complete the lining this morning, while there was a thunderstorm outside. That's actually the first time I enjoyed the bad weather that we see in Germany quite often

I added two shoulder pads which - at least in my opinion - improve the fit of the jacket. After that, I added a full lining.

Although the lining itself was put together with my sewing machine, I put the lining into the jacket completely by hand. In some areas, like the front zipper, I could have just used the sewing machine, but then another seam would have been visible there. Currently (and that's how it's going to stay), you cannot see any seam at the front zipper.
Due to the appliqués on the jacket, using the machine to do the hemming was also no option.
So as usual, I glued the neoprene seam allowances to the inside of the jacket, and sewed the lining onto the seam allowances by hand.


Feel:
Some of you have contacted me and asked how the jacket feels like. When you put it on, it is like a heavy motorcycle jacket. I used my scales to find out how much it weights, and it is approx. 1.6 kg heavy. So it's really heavy. Most of the weight is caused by the leather, as the neoprene itself is very thin and doesn't weight that much.

The jacket itself is warm, at least right now with temperatures of 28° Celsius (around 83 Fahrenheit). Not a summer jacket, and not something where you would wear multiple layers underneath. A shirt, that's all.

Moving in the jacket is a little stiff, but not too much so. You get used to it quite easily. The one thing that I noticed though: The appliques around the crook of the arms will of course be bent quite often, so I expect that there will be wrinkles forming on these early on. Something that cannot be avoided and will also be the case in the original jacket - and as the original uses PVC for the appliques (which contains plasticizer, which fades away over time), in 10-15 years from now, some of the PVC appliques of the original jacket may break, either at the seam of just where they get bent more often.


Item pictures:

Front


Front opened


Lining (with pleat in the middle to allow free movement)


Back

Fit pics:

Front


Side


Back

[marc1975]

Total Look: Jacket, self-made Gareth Pugh chiffon pants, Rick Owens heeled boots


Back

For the petite girls interested in this jacket: It's sold out at L'inde le Palais, but it's still available at Luisaviaroma as a pre-order in sizes 38 to 44. Gareth produces up to size 46, but I have not been able to find any online store that ordered that size.

If Gareth (or anyone from his team) should read these lines:
1. It's a marvellous design. I am absolutely in love with it!
2. I would really have liked to buy this jacket in my size, which is an Italian size 50, sometimes 48.
3. I would really like to attend one of Gareth's fashion shows and meet him in person.

Final words
As Heirloom and Patroklus mentioned, the underlying pattern could be improved for an even better fit. As a professional designer, I would probably work on version 2.0 now, or get some seamstress to do that for me. As a hobbyist, the jacket is as close as I can get to the original in my size.

I've shown the jacket (in an unfinished state) to a couple of my friends while discussing the question "what are you doing in your vacation?". All of them dress pretty average, i.e. Ralph Lauren Polo shirts and blue jeans. Most of them considered this jacket "really cool", but all of them look at me quizzically and wondered where the heck I would wear something like this. I don't have a definite answer for this yet, maybe to a vernissage or bigger event. Still... this was one of those items that you fall in love with and just need to have...

Next project:
First, I will have to make the chiffon pants a little narrower at the waist. Luckily, I lost some weight during my vacation, so they fit a little loose now, which wasn't the case when I made them a couple of months ago.

The next bigger project isn't any particular item by a certain designer. I also completed a knee-length, fully lined skirt made of Kashmir in my vacation (no pictures yet, sorry!) that I want to wear in fall, and found that none of my jackets are short enough to really work well with that skirt. So the next project is going to be a short, fitted jacket with a front zipper and a stand-up collar. I am probably going to reuse the pattern of the Gareth Pugh jacket, but will use Heirloom's advice and modify it in some areas.

Cheers,
Marc

[michael_kard]

Great job. Once more thanks a lot for sharing your work, looking forward to the next project!

[GlassOrganelle]

This is amazing! A very impressive jacket, thank you for sharing!

[nadir]

The final product is just amazing! Well done!

[Patroklus]

I would've removed some of the ease in the back and put a gusset in the sleeve hole. That would let you move your arm freely, but still have a slim fitting torso.

It could also be done with no gusset and a little more generous sleeve cap.

Anyway, I'm sorry I never got back to you with the titles of those books. One is "Fundamentals of Draping & Pattern Drafting", by Moira Doyla & Jason Rogers. It uses lots of pictures and is written like an instruction manual, so it's a good starting point. The other is Draping: Art and Craftsmanship in Fashion Design, which covers draping on the form in more depth and is far more comprehensive in that regard but speaks little about 2D drafting.

Most books focusing on 2D drafting exclusively are a little out of date because everyone just assumes you're going to drape your designs these days.