Stained Glass in Three Dimensions

The design for this dress transforms a two-dimensional stained-glass design into an engineered digital textile print that conforms to the contours of the body. In examining antique pieces of stained glass, I have noticed that the shrinkage of wooden frames over time have caused some stained-glass pieces to expand outward to form three-dimensional shapes, an effect that I have used as inspiration for the contours of this design. Rather than referencing historic silhouettes or garment design details, the historic inspiration for this dress was found in Art Nouveau stained glass designs of the early 1900s. The pattern pieces were digitized and printed in half scale. I drew the design by hand onto the pattern pieces, and then used Adobe Photoshop to trace over the hand-drawn design lines and to create half-drop repeat prints to fill the design outlines