Academic Research Response
Fantasy Dress: A Charles James Research Response
An academic fashion-design response combining research into Charles James’s sculptural, feminine silhouettes with a dark blue-and-black concept inspired by Corpse Bride. The portfolio documents textile and color selection, technical sketches, draping and construction experiments, and a completed off-the-shoulder fantasy gown.
Story & process
An academic fashion-design response combining research into Charles James’s sculptural, feminine silhouettes with a dark blue-and-black concept inspired by Corpse Bride. The portfolio documents textile and color selection, technical sketches, draping and construction experiments, and a completed off-the-shoulder fantasy gown.
Palette: royal blue, baby blue, aqua blue, ocean blue, black, gray, white.
Materials: royal blue cotton, baby blue cotton, black crepe, baby blue tulle, royal blue tulle, aqua blue tulle, crepe.
Techniques: designer research, visual research and moodboarding, colorway development, textile sampling, fashion illustration, technical sketching, draping on a dress form, layered fabric construction, cut-out branch-like surface design, prototype fitting, garment construction, process photography.
This academic project presents Melissa Chavez’s design response. Charles James and Corpse Bride are research and inspiration references; third-party reference imagery is not presented as Melissa’s work.
