Sketching Charles James: Beyond Fashion @ the MET

” There is no going back. Study the past to know why, not what, and from the WHY, dream and DO.” -Charles James

 Fascinated by construction and the architecture of a garment; drape and design is one of my passions. As a designer of fashion my love of the industry never grew from a desire to wear the “right labels” but to wear a perfectly built work of art. As such the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition was a beautifully curated and informative show of work as well as a study in the HOW that provokes me to DO what I do.

Rarely does an exhibit show the creative process. Though I very much enjoyed the Alexander McQueen “Savage Beauty” exhibition and Jean Paul Gaultier : Sidewalk to Cat Walk, this show was as much a class room as it was an exhibition.

My favorite was the 3D orthographic animation that came with each dress showing the construction, drape and flat pattern of each piece.  The mystery of “how does THAT work?!” is illustrated before your very eyes. Why didn’t they also sell a DVD of these in the gift shop?

 

I jotted down some of the drape and construction in my little sketchbook to digest later.

I also wrote some of my favorite quotes which were posted all over the walls and glass as if Charles James himself was Tweeting while draping in front of me.

The clothes were beautiful dramatic sculptures, each one a mausoleum for the figure underneath.

“My dresses help women discover the figures they didn’t know the had.”- Charles James

 

     

Here are some of my sketches to celebrate the work, life and mind of a brilliant designer.