Glamming Up My Girls

So once again the usual influx of orders for Matric Farewell gowns has come around, as it does, to stretch my skills at not only designing but in dealing with these delightful divas, as they request some of the most maddening fashion choices under the sun. I forget each year the stress it produces and ask myself countless times why I keep saying yes to this mountain of work. Truth be told, it tests me. It's not easy taking these eighteen-year-old, for lack of a better word, 'biatches' and turning them into elegant debutantes in a gown that says as much about my label SomersetJane as it does about meeting their needs to show as much skin and flash as possible. If I sit though, and think back over the past six years since I made my first couture gown I'm reminded of why I end up going down this road each year. It's the memory of standing at the cocktail party, or in the young girl's dressing room on the big night, zipping her dress and taking a breath as the final look appears. From sketch to completion the knowing of what I've created is immeasurably satisfying. And when I can look at the dress as now separate from myself and all about someone else I can see it for what it is.. A truly original garment, a moment in time, my mark on someones calendar. A small success to pocket and get me through the hustle that my life in fashion always seems to be.

Just recently Blake Lively wore the most breath taking Zuhair Murad gown to the Los Angeles premiere of her latest drama 'Savages'.  A nude silk/tulle gown featuring an intricate pattern of hand-embroidered black beading, from the Spring/Summer 2012 Couture Collection. I died a little inside at the sight of it. My brother, an engineer, and who I would describe as a typical 'nerd' often reminds me, on mocking him about this, that in every passion there is an element of 'nerdiness' and says the same of me in relation to fashion. I reluctantly agree. If the image of a celeb on the red carpet in a dress can bring a tear to my eye, if it renders me still and overcome with emotion I'll be the first to scream nerd! It's slightly embarrassing each week when I watch Fashion Police on E! and literally tear up at the changing looks. So this year I've actually been asked to use another of Zuhair Murad's designs, that Blake wore on Gossip Girl, as inspiration for one of my Matric girls. If I can come any where close to achieving such perfection it'll be a job well done. Here's to setting that bar super high!

xoxo
Melissa Jane