Viktor and Rolf, Couture, AW13, Paris.
The Autumn-Winter 2013 couture collection by Viktor and Rolf was an exploration of organic black shapes created by panelling generous volumes of fabric.
The collection provided a perfect example of how seam lines can be used to manipulate the shaping and volume of fabric. By inserting seam lines into fabric it means that you can increase and decrease the volume on each side of the seam line independently, causing half the garment to expand or contract as needed to create the desired silhouette.
The position of seam lines also means that you can control where the fabric will fold when you have large amounts of volume, by encouraging the fabric to settle into certain folds.
Some of the panelling in the collection formed shapes that were inset inside larger expanses of fabric. You may have seen similar ideas used in the cult Pattern Magic pattern making books», and these inset panels can be manipulated to created pockets that collapse inside or outside of the garment.
Images from Vogue.co.uk»
