Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Designing a headpiece for a Reem Acra Dress

Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Oops, looks like I managed to accidentally delete this post so I'm going to recreate it!

This is a gorgeous dress by Reem Acra that I've been asked to design for. I just love it. The Reem Acra collection for 2013 has all of the elements that I love; illusion necklines, layers of delicate fabrics, beaded embroidery inspired by nature and *magical layers*.

I watched a YouTube clip of Reem's latest collection and was mesmorised by the way the fabrics move. It's like slow-motion. There is a surprise reveal at the end where the models seem to dis-robe on stage. Each dress is designed so that you can add or remove pieces to create a totally different look.



Ellen is the lucky lady who will be wearing this dress and I'm so glad that she has asked me to design a headpiece for her. When she visited my studio we chatted lots about her style. Once we started trying on different headpieces, it was the beaded hairwires that really suited the soft feminine feel of this dress. I want to create leaf-like forms that can be woven through the hair! So I'm off to experiment with lots of tiny beads and pearls. The piece will feature lots of ivory pearls and just a shimmering hint of sparkle.

 
Sketch for beaded Rangoli hairwire

As I mentioned before, lots of thought goes into my designing. I always ask clients about their own personal style before starting on a commission. Then I look at the lines and style of the dress. Things like the weight of the fabric or the direction of ruched lines all play a part! Hairstyles are a biggie too. Sometimes I like to think of the words that come to my mind when I look at a dress. 'Gentle' and 'Whisper' are two for this dress!


So stay with me as I design this piece - I'll share the finished piece in a few weeks. If you've any questions you'd like to ask me about your dress style, feel free to email me or use the Formspring forum.

You can also browse some of my recent bespoke commissions from my blog archive.

 

Photo Credits:
Reem Acra photos by Dan Lecca via Wedding Wire 

Sketches copyright Rangoli 2012

2 comments:

anyaadores said...

Hello Aisling - thanks for visiting my blog, I am so glad you did so I now found yours - it's so lovely.
Happy weekend,
Axx

Unknown said...

Hey thanks Anya - It's great to connect with you!