Initial Research - Gucci Autumn and Winter Collection 2023

    For my fashion design project, I will make the Autumn/Winter collection inspired by 'The Empress' in a tarot card. So, I found the inspiration by Gucci for their autumn/winter collection. One of the collections that Gucci have is this dress with feathers. I picked this outfit as my reference because the style I will use for my project has the same material as the woman used in the picture below. Gucci's autumn/winter collections have returned the old fashion. "the brand wants to pull things back to Tom Ford's infamous 90s minimalism." (Pirovic, 2023).  

    Dress with feathers was popular back in the 90s. The feather dress became trendy because feathers offer the body a sense of enormity and create bold and dramatic looks. Not only that, feathers have flexible materials, so it is easier to use. Also, with feathers material, it add elegance and sexiness to every person who wears it. However, according to Medium, written by Andyjou, there is debate in the world of fashion; many designers and consumers think that using feathers is cruel, especially if the feathers are taken from birds.

    The feather fabric usually is taken by birds. The types of birds commonly used in fashion are peacocks, ostriches, and herons. However, this Gucci dress uses ostriches feathers as its primary fabric. The ostrich's feathers have their uniqueness, and at a glance, we can notice if the feathers are taken from ostriches because of the shaggy texture that the feathers show, so it makes the dress using the feathers eye-catching. "They don't hook together the way feathers of other birds do, giving ostriches a "shaggy" look." (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals and Plants, n.d.).

    In fashion, they generally used ostriches feathers for their fabrics because they are breathable, washable, smooth, warm, and the weight is uncommonly light. Thus, the ostriches' feathers can be used in many things, not only dresses, but for accessories, scarves, and more. "Unlike most birds' feathers, ostrich feathers are loose, soft, and smooth." (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals and Plants, n.d.). The ostrich feathers have their uniqueness that makes the quality of feathers better than the other feathers.

    Subsequently, ostrich feathers were popular and highly valued during the 19th century. In ancient cultures, ostrich feathers were created for beauty and versatility. They acquired a profound respect for ostriches through the customs and persisted to the present day.

    Furthermore, in my project, I will make clothes with feathers as the main fabrics in one of my fashion designs. Moreover, the ostriches' feathers have become marvellous fabrics in the fashion world, and I would be thrilled to use the ostriches' feathers as my fabrics. 

Gucci Fall 2023. Photo: Imaxtree

    References:

Pirovic, J. (2023) Gucci fall Winter 23 was a nod to old and new, RUSSH. Available at: https://www.russh.com/gucci-fall-winter-2023-collection-review/ (Accessed: 18 October 2023).

Andyjou (2023) What does feather mean in fashion?, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@JoneHe/what-does-feather-mean-in-fashion-b868326ee879 (Accessed: 18 October 2023).

Feathered fabrics (2019) MaterialDistrict. Available at: https://materialdistrict.com/material/feathered-fabrics/#:~:text=Feathered%20Fabrics%20are%20fabrics%20with,to%20decorate%20their%20flamboyant%20hats. (Accessed: 19 October 2023).

Feathers (no date) Materials Their Makers. Available at: https://bt.barnard.edu/ave2015/project2/clothing-and-textiles/feathers/#:~:text=The%20feathers%20used%20in%20clothing,would%20be%20used%20as%20quills. (Accessed: 19 October 2023).

Ostrich (no date) San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals and Plants. Available at: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/ostrich#:~:text=To%20show%20dominance%2C%20an%20ostrich,ostriches%20a%20%22shaggy%22%20look. (Accessed: 19 October 2023).

Cultural significance and symbolism of ostrich feathers (no date) www.BuyOstrichFeathers.com. Available at: https://buyostrichfeathers.com/blogs/buy-ostrich-feathers-blog/cultural-significance-and-symbolism-of-ostrich-feathers (Accessed: 19 October 2023).