Fashion Fabric – Dress 1 – Ava

I made a promise to myself this year to branch out & try new things with my designs, so when I finally decided to get my designs printed onto fabric & have them sewn up into unique dresses, I was a little nervous & hugely excited!

The first print I decided on was my ‘Abstract Burst’ design from earlier this year. I’d thought hard  about the impact I’d like the print & the dress to have & I’d fallen in love with this design the moment I’d finished it. I think it lends itself so well to be on a fashion fabric as it’s so bold & contemporary with the graphic flower shapes, but original with the added drawn white details layered over the top.

There are a lot of designs in my archive so it was so hard to pick the right design for my first go at fashion fabric. However, even if the design wasn’t right in it’s current format I knew I would easily be able to adapt the artwork through scale, composition & colour making it suitable for a fashion print.

I was so impressed with the quality & service I received from Fashion Formula who are the wonderful company who printed the fabric. I chose a chiffon for the main print & a poly stretch for the lining fabric & the feel & quality is just such a high standard. They understood exactly what I wanted & offered such a quick & friendly service, so I really can’t recommend them enough.

?Beautiful floral chiffon print by @rachaeltaylor_ rolling off our machines ? ready to be made into a dress #getcreative #makeitindesign #newdesigners2017

A post shared by Fashion Formula (@fashionformulauk) on Jul 1, 2017 at 1:02pm PDT

After receiving such beautiful fabric I wanted to make sure it was treated really well & sewn up at a similar high standard. Which is why I felt so lucky to have come across The Create Workshop & the lovely Elizabeth O’Brien. Elizabeth offers fantastic classes – everything from basic sewing, to pattern cutting & dress making, & she occasionally accepts commissions which I was so happy to find out about. My wardrobe is full of gorgeous patterned maxi dresses & I really wanted to create a maxi style dress with my design, so this is what I briefed Elizabeth. She created a beautiful new pattern & style for me based on the inspiration I’d given her & created a completely one-off dress. I was blown away by her attention to detail & the standard at which she works.

After a meeting in my studio with my studio manager Kelly & PR assistant Holly (& a couple of wines), we thought it would be a nice idea to work through the alphabet & name the designs as they are made.

So, starting with A, I introduce you to…

Ava!

Featuring my ‘Abstract Burst’ design.

Links

Fashion Formula

The Create Workshop

You can always see sneak peeks of what I’m up to on my Instagram. Let me know what you think of the dress. Is there a favourite design of mine that you have that you think would work well? Let me know!