What Inspires You?

Even though it may be easier to keep track of what inspires me on Pinterest or create folders in my iPhone, I still love a good ‘ole scrappy visual diary, aka an inspiration journal. I can remember back to the age of 7 when I told my parents I was going to be a fashion designer. I started tearing out my favorite images from magazines and catalogs to create an inspiration board or book. I always liked the way it felt getting out a glue stick and placing the images in a collage. And to this day, I still go through the same process! Call me an old soul who likes cutting and pasting, but archiving inspirational references have kept my design-eye sharp.

While flipping through one of my design journals, I was inspired immediately when I saw a photo I had saved of Jean Paul Gaultier’s “Too Frida” braided taffeta corset-style dress from his haute couture Spring/Summer 2010 runway show. I grabbed a pencil and sketch pad and started to sketch my own corset design. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you can go back to my highlights called “Work n Progress” and “Work n Progress 2” where I take you behind-the-scenes of the entire design process from the sketch, to draping the back of the corset and collar, fabric shopping, numerous ways of how I would style this corset, and so much more! There are also a few tips and tricks that I learned and shared throughout this design process including never to add boning in the corset collar.