Lies the Runway tells us

It's been a while since I posted. Been kinda busy with wedding dresses, marking and the like.

Today I want to show some lies from the runway, relating to clothes, cuts and patternmakign issues, but also the way the fabric will mould ot a body.
As a patternmaker, I know that there are things that look fantastic on paper, but once the fabic / garment is put on a moving body, there are things that can be done, and things that cannot be done.

Let's look at some examples:
Open backs - there are two things that happen when a back is cut below the bra line. ONE, there is gaping towards the curve of the spine that will show up, no matter how hard one tries to make the fabric lie against the body.
Here is a stunning example from Julien Macdonald, where it is very clear that double-sided tape was used to give the illusion that the fabric is lying snugly and flat agaisnt the body. (click on picture to enlarge)

SECOND, there is nothing that holds the fabric over the shoulders from slipping off, especially if there is a sleeve. This example from Elie Saab shows the gaping again, but also the shoulder seam teetering on the verge of falling off.

Next example, when designing a low front, the same gaping happens around the curve of the bust, and some extra help is needed to shape the fabric around the curve, as can be seen in this example of a lacy number, that clearly has had to have some help either with double-sided tape or with Photoshop.

Onother problem my students always encouter is when a corset is done without a back or with a very low back, that the corset will stay stiff, but the body moves, and thus sometimes extra help is needed when walking down the runway, like strategically placed hands, that make the corset move with the body, or even sometimes just keeping the dress up, like in this example:

All in all, these are minor things, but very frustrating when trying to explain that what is put on paper does not alwyas relate into reality the way we envision.

If, then, we are lied to on the runway in this way, you kinda wonder what else the industry is not telling us. Let me not even get started on body image... The problem is not necessarily that there are some things that cannot be done without some external help to make the item wearable, but the fact that these things are needed at all, rendering the garment completely impractical for normal, daily use. This is probably why these problems only are evident in evening wear.

There is only one Designer, then,who can get what he designed EXACTLY right, with no additional help to keep things in place. In His designs every piece is placed exatly right and what he put down on paper, fits into and onto the world exactly like He planned. As you probably can imagine, that designer is God Almighty and He does not need any help in designing. I mean, if you think about it, He SPOKE the world into existance, He did not even need a piece of paper to plan it all out....He did not need a "prototype" world to test out His ideas and no "back to the drawing board" for Him. He never encountered any problems with anything He ever designed, and even Jesus' death all fits perfectly into the plan. He never lies to us and His word is for daily use and utterly, utterly practical.