17 with trending elements like ribbons and hand-stitched rope detailing. But the process is more than just rolling with the punches and going “where the wind takes you.” Ayers began rounding out her collection idea in the Summer of 2023. She started with a mood board of Pinterest photos, fabric swatches, and first-round sketches to use for inspiration, and from there, she began to hone in on the essence she wanted to create via her collection. However, she noted that it takes a lot of “along the way evolution.” Ayers said, “Building a collection like this takes a lot of trial and error, especially to ensure that the necessary cohesion and symmetry is present across your pieces.” The mockup and creation process helps iron out the kinks and refine the pieces to ensure they all have similarities. Ayers walked us through the process, stating, “It all starts with the initial design. From there, we conferred with our professor, Diane Limbaugh, to talk about the design and get tips on improving it. Then we picked our models, took their measurements, and either made a digital avatar that matched their exact measurements and virtually sewed it or made complex samples. While the V-Stitcher technology makes the pattern-making process easier, Ayers notes that “the custom elements are super difficult to get right on it. Sometimes, the program will force a stitch when there’s insufficient material or complications like that, so draping can give you a better visualization on some projects than using V-Stitcher.” The complex samples embody the trial-and-error process, as muslin and bias are used to make garments to check the fit before using the final fabrics of the collection. “The variations and mockups allow us to change the design without wasting the nicer fabrics. We can make the waistband wider, short seams, make garments double lined if needed, or make practical changes to the overall designs,” said Ayers. This idea became true for her as she had to shift the design of one of her looks from a bodysuit to a tube top. “After three mockups, the bodysuit still was too short and tight, so I made the decision to transition to a tube top, as it kept the same kind of look I was going for. However, many design changes also come down to time constraints,” said Ayers. Time constraints and deadlines for designers play a role in the changes they make, as it is not just the physical garment that has to get done. Digital sketches, flats, illustrations, and tech packs are also on their to-do lists as they flesh out their pieces. Ayers says, “I am a one-woman show doing the whole thing, but a lot of times, people don’t really think or know about the behind-thescenes work that goes into each piece for each look for the collection.” When we left Ayers, she had two complete looks and was beginning on her third: a denim corset with frill. FEBRUARY Illustration courtesy of Kaitlin Ayers
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