Adding Origami

Up until this point, I hadn't got any idea on where to take the garment in terms of actual design. Aside from the general shape, I wasn't sure what colours or shapes I'd use to make the design look interesting. We were suggested to perhaps include things like pleats, ruffles or origami.

I focused primarily on origami - I think that the sharp folds help accentuate and compliment the overall pointiness of the design. I experimented with two different designs, the "ninja star" and "the butterfly". I made three versions of each - one in a solid colour, one where there were two separate colours (either a different coloured side of the paper, or a different coloured piece of paper according to the design), and then a fabric version.

From the instructions / diagram alone, I had indented to use the ninja star since I found the shape more appealing. However, I realised during the construction that it was incredibly bulky, and the fabric really wanted to spring out of the shape. The butterfly wing, on the other hand, laid much flatter with less resistance and looked really interesting with two different colours on each side of the paper, so I decided that this would be the better choice overall.

With the decision made, I began to pin paper versions onto my design on the mannequin, just to double check that it would give the look that I wanted. I added some simple knife pleating to the top edge, and I found it added a nice bit of texture to the design. 

Colour wise, I think that it'd look really nice in black and white, perhaps using a striped fabric for the origami sections (as they'd end up in different directions). This would end up creating that really dramatic overall look that I wanted. I also think it'd be interesting to add a bold third colour, like a red or blue, to give a little pop here and there.