From Fabric to just plain Fab

And Aling Bright continues to create her magic.

More than a month ago, I wrote about these bolts of fabric that I found while looking for fabric for Mom's dress. They were 3 very different fabrics, but had some similar elements such as color and texture.

After looking at it for a few minutes and "letting the fabric talk to me," (this must be the most overused phrase in the U.S. Edition of Project Runway,) they eventually decided to open a conversation with me. These fabrics asked: "Can you use us all at once?"

My reply was: "Why not?" They all have black and gold undertones, and a certain amount of shine. So, it would be easy to unify them and make them look cohesive.

As an Art Director, I always make sure to focus on one main element, and just use the remaining pieces as complements around the layout. The same principles guided me in laying-out these fabrics. Since the jacquard fabric has the most interesting pattern, that became the centerpiece of the dress. The silk, naturally, became the lining. (Sorry, silk.) Finally, the lace became the finishing touch and additional point of interest.

With these principles as guide, this is what I sketched:

When Aling Bright saw the sketch and the fabric, she was very excited. My indicators for her excitement include the way she nods her head, smiles and says: "Tama, alam ko na."

And I can attest to the fact that she really got the concept and the way I wanted to execute it. Because a few weeks after, she came back with this beauty.

It was the sketch brought to life. Alive in a most vivid, precise and well-made way. Aling Bright captured all the nuances and the details of my sketch, right from the front, all the way to the back. Heck, she even captured the lace tail the way I imagined it.

Because of the rich textures of the fabric, there needed to be a breaker in between so as to not make the dress look too heavy. So, I thought of showing a bit of skin to add a neutral color in between. So, there's a keyhole-of-sorts on the top half of the dress. There's an arch of lace on top of the sweetheart neckline.

The same idea is captured at the back, but the cut is a bit lower since there's more skin to show in that area.

Overall, the execution captured the concept flawlessly. From fabulous - albeit disparate - fabrics, it all came together as a fabulous piece of clothing. What's more,  it fits my equally fabulous sister - and one of my muses - Ate Bullet.

Here she is working the dress. Harhar. Some dresses look better on the body than on the hanger. And since this fits her like a glove, it makes the dress come alive in all its fabulousness.

One more look at the back. Yup, this dress definitely looks great both coming and going.

This piece of creativity - from fabric to paper to finished product - just inspired me to dig into the fabric pile once more. Who knows what other fabulously creative projects I can create from there.