The designer Koos van den Akker was the inspirations for my “Koos Meets East” jacket. He uses collages bordered with colorful bias and multiple fabrics to create unique garments.
I started with an Oriental themed dragonfly brocade and added silk appliques of dupioni and silk men’s tie; the bias trim was cut from a textured silk tie fabric. Machine stitching in the appliques added another dimension. The back yoke, front panels and sleeve appliques are of navy velvet woven with a copper thread that I purchased in a Mardi Gras costumers shop in New Orleans. I used an oriental motif and dragonfly machine embroidery on the yoke and did embossing with a dragonfly stamp on the front and sleeves. The jacket pattern is “By Popular Demand” from Louise Cuttting’s collection.
This is a beautiful embellished jacket that doesn't look like you are wearing a quilt! It is amazing. I have 2 of Koos' patterns, and have not made them. I got to meet him in 2012 during a tour of his studio. He is an amazing designer and I want to make a Koos design, but am scared to start cutting and piecing - I'm a contemporary dresser - very few prints in my wardrobe and color scares me. You did a great job! How difficult was it for you to select the colors and fabrics? Did you have any times when you started over, or scrapped an idea?