I found this coat in a magazine. Here's how I'd make it.
Arkdefo
11,699 views
LEARN TO DESIGN YOUR OWN CLOTHES: https://courses.arkdefo.com/
I bought a pile of Italian fashion magazines at the airport.
Not for the fashion. To show you how I read clothes.
When I look at any garment - in a magazine, on a website, on someone walking past - I don't just see the finished piece. I see how it's made. I can break it down into pattern pieces, work out the construction order, identify what decisions the designer made and why.
That's exactly what we teach at Arkdefo. And once you understand how clothes are made, you can do this too.
Today I'm breaking down this coat.
A Max Mara camel and mohair oversized coat from their runway collection.
€3,600. Kimono sleeves, tulip collar, A-line silhouette, side slits, inseam pockets, partially sewn by hand.
When you know how to read clothes, that description tells you almost everything you need to know about how to design it yourself.
The pattern is simpler than you'd expect.
One simplified boxy block with generous ease - probably 60cm for this kind of oversized silhouette. Front and back almost identical, with a kimono sleeve integrated into the body as one piece. Tulip collar opening with overlap rather than buttons. Slight A-line from the hip to avoid the flat-top-heavy-bottom problem on a pear shape. Side slits. Inseam pockets. That's it.
The wow factor in this design comes from the fabric and the styling - not the construction complexity. Clothes making doesn't have to be overcomplicated. The most beautiful garments are often the most structurally straightforward.
For the fabric - if I were making this, I'd be looking at €50 -100 per metre for quality wool and mohair, 3 metres, so €150 - 300 total. Compare that to the €3,600 retail price. It's not one tenth of the price because I'm a better designer. It's one tenth of the price because I'm providing my own labour - which means I can put all of it into the material.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - How I read clothes - seeing pattern pieces, not just finished garments
00:46 - Today's design: Max Mara runway coat
01:09 - Starting with the magazine - what you can and can't see
01:34 - Going to the website - what the product description tells you
02:23 - Reading the e-commerce photographs - identifying seams and construction
03:06 - I never aim to recreate exactly - I aim to understand and adapt
03:49 - The blocks I'd use - simplified boxy block, 60cm ease
04:55 - Establishing the general pattern idea - kimono sleeve as one piece
06:05 - Designing the back pattern
07:00 - Ease explained - 60cm is not ridiculous, here's why
07:39 - A-line versus straight cut - why it matters for a pear shape
08:24 - Correction: the coat is also A-line - straight cut as design option
09:31 - Sleeve narrowing at the cuff for the turn-up detail
10:06 - Back pattern complete - seams, slit, pocket placement
10:31 - Front pattern - kimono overlap, neckline, pockets
12:04 - Construction order - back seam, shoulder seams, pockets, side seams, slits
12:37 - Fabric choice and cost - €150 - 300 versus €3,600 retail
13:11 - Is fabric expensive? Compared to what?
13:37 - The wow factor is fabric and styling - the pattern is simple
17 Comments
If you were to line the jacket, what natural fibre would you choose? I live in Scandinavia, and it gets cold here
Question: is your boxy block in the shape of a “dolman”? And on a dolman sleeve can you just make the sleeve part longer, or at the end line of the dolman sleeve use it as a seam line then make a sleeve that starts at the garment sleeve and ends where you want? (Hope I said that right)
I see so many videos showing versions of a block that include no ease, so you have to do calculations every time you sew. I like the idea of having a bodice block containing the amount of ease you would like in most tops. Or have two blocks one regular and one “relaxed fit”.
Thank you for these Friday videos. I just can’t afford your classes right now…. But in future I want to.
I found this coat in a magazine. Here's how I'd make it.
Arkdefo
11,699 views
LEARN TO DESIGN YOUR OWN CLOTHES: https://courses.arkdefo.com/
I bought a pile of Italian fashion magazines at the airport.
Not for the fashion. To show you how I read clothes.
When I look at any garment - in a magazine, on a website, on someone walking past - I don't just see the finished piece. I see how it's made. I can break it down into pattern pieces, work out the construction order, identify what decisions the designer made and why.
That's exactly what we teach at Arkdefo. And once you understand how clothes are made, you can do this too.
Today I'm breaking down this coat.
A Max Mara camel and mohair oversized coat from their runway collection.
€3,600. Kimono sleeves, tulip collar, A-line silhouette, side slits, inseam pockets, partially sewn by hand.
When you know how to read clothes, that description tells you almost everything you need to know about how to design it yourself.
The pattern is simpler than you'd expect.
One simplified boxy block with generous ease - probably 60cm for this kind of oversized silhouette. Front and back almost identical, with a kimono sleeve integrated into the body as one piece. Tulip collar opening with overlap rather than buttons. Slight A-line from the hip to avoid the flat-top-heavy-bottom problem on a pear shape. Side slits. Inseam pockets. That's it.
The wow factor in this design comes from the fabric and the styling - not the construction complexity. Clothes making doesn't have to be overcomplicated. The most beautiful garments are often the most structurally straightforward.
For the fabric - if I were making this, I'd be looking at €50 -100 per metre for quality wool and mohair, 3 metres, so €150 - 300 total. Compare that to the €3,600 retail price. It's not one tenth of the price because I'm a better designer. It's one tenth of the price because I'm providing my own labour - which means I can put all of it into the material.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - How I read clothes - seeing pattern pieces, not just finished garments
00:46 - Today's design: Max Mara runway coat
01:09 - Starting with the magazine - what you can and can't see
01:34 - Going to the website - what the product description tells you
02:23 - Reading the e-commerce photographs - identifying seams and construction
03:06 - I never aim to recreate exactly - I aim to understand and adapt
03:49 - The blocks I'd use - simplified boxy block, 60cm ease
04:55 - Establishing the general pattern idea - kimono sleeve as one piece
06:05 - Designing the back pattern
07:00 - Ease explained - 60cm is not ridiculous, here's why
07:39 - A-line versus straight cut - why it matters for a pear shape
08:24 - Correction: the coat is also A-line - straight cut as design option
09:31 - Sleeve narrowing at the cuff for the turn-up detail
10:06 - Back pattern complete - seams, slit, pocket placement
10:31 - Front pattern - kimono overlap, neckline, pockets
12:04 - Construction order - back seam, shoulder seams, pockets, side seams, slits
12:37 - Fabric choice and cost - €150 - 300 versus €3,600 retail
13:11 - Is fabric expensive? Compared to what?
13:37 - The wow factor is fabric and styling - the pattern is simple