Pastiche

Although not required by LSU in the apparel design program, I enrolled in the "Couture techniques and embellishments" class Junior year. The final project for the course to design an original garment and developed via flat pattern that featured two major couture techniques. Opting to create three garments as an entire outfit, my final product is what I called "Pastiche." Meaning "an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period," "Pastiche" is a hybridization of couture techniques and athletic aesthetics. It serves as an attempt to merge the realms of "Athleisure" and Couture into one look by blurring the lines of the "high art" connotation of Couture and low-level appearance of active-wear. Whereby, imitating active-wear without the functionality. The two major techniques featured are the hand-applied paillettes on the top and shorts and the fabric cutouts on the corset.