joy onglatco in helix dress, shagreen cuffs and menudier

I chanced upon photos of my favorite dresses and here’s one from my helix line. I made this for my friend Joy Onglatco who has recently inspired me to work on a fashion illustrations exhibit which i will be putting up in November.

full -scale muslin (back detail)

I constructed this dress using the drape method, starting the drape process on a half scale draping form which i had specifically made, then working on a full scale form. I carefully calculated the folds, building up the stiffness of the fabric to maximize its hand and fall then made the actual dress in taffeta and refitted it on Joy. The result, as you can see, is subtly sculptural.

half-scale muslin

I sketched Joy in a nocturnal blue taffeta gown similar to this one. It was for a designer-muse shoot for Metro Society magazine. The sketch did not get published with our photo but provided the incipient idea for a series of illustrations.

I haven't had a one-man show since 2000. back then, i did Soul Light Portraits--portrait abstractions. i used color to convey the feelings and thoughts that each of my subjects inspired while meditating and the resulting images were well-received; almost all the hue-infused paintings sold.

This time, i'm going to try to capture the style of each of my fifteen sitters and hopefully put smiles not just on their faces but on the viewers as well.