Draper

Last updated
In the Draper's Shop by Adriaen van Bloemen Adriaen Bloem - In the Draper's Shop - Google Art Project.jpg
In the Draper's Shop by Adriaen van Bloemen

Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.

Contents

History

Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, when the sellers of cloth operated out of drapers' shops.[ citation needed ] However the original meaning of the term has now largely fallen out of use.

In 1724, Jonathan Swift wrote a series of satirical pamphlets in the guise of a draper called the Drapier's Letters .

Historical drapers

A replica draper's shop at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England - DSCF1759.JPG
A replica draper's shop at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Lincoln, England

A number of notable people who have at one time or another worked as drapers include:

Current usage

A draper is now defined as a highly skilled role within the fashion industry. The term is used within a fashion design or costume design studio for people tasked with creating garments or patterns by draping fabric over a dress form; draping uses a human form to physically position the cloth into a desired pattern. This is an alternative method to drafting, when the garment is initially worked out from measurements on paper.

A fashion draper may also be known as a "first hand" because they are often the most skilled creator in the workshop and the "first" to work with the cloth for a garment. However a first hand in a costume studio is often an assistant to the draper. They are responsible for cutting the fabric with the patterns and assisting in costume fittings.

See also

Related Research Articles

Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sari</span> Womans draped garment of the Indian subcontinent

A sari is a women's garment from the Indian subcontinent, that consists of an un-stitched stretch of woven fabric arranged over the body as a robe, with one end attached to the waist, while the other end rests over one shoulder as a stole (shawl), sometimes baring a part of the midriff. It may vary from 4.1 to 8.2 metres in length, and 60 to 120 centimetres in breadth, and is form of ethnic wear in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. There are various names and styles of sari manufacture and draping, the most common being the Nivi style. The sari is worn with a fitted bodice also called a choli and a petticoat called ghagra, parkar, or ul-pavadai. It remains fashionable in the Indian subcontinent today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tailor</span> A person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally

A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabardine</span> Tough, tightly woven fabric used to make suits, trousers and some other garments

Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool, a tightly woven fabric originally waterproof and used to make suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, windbreakers, outerwear and other garments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drapery</span> Depiction of the folds and woven patterns of loose-hanging clothing on the human form

Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles. It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothing, formerly conducted by drapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dressmaker</span> Person who makes custom clothing for women

A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattern (sewing)</span> Template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric before being cut out

In sewing and fashion design, a pattern is the template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto woven or knitted fabrics before being cut out and assembled. Patterns are usually made of paper, and are sometimes made of sturdier materials like paperboard or cardboard if they need to be more robust to withstand repeated use. The process of making or cutting patterns is sometimes compounded to the one-word Patternmaking, but it can also be written pattern(-)making or pattern cutting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleat</span> Deliberate fold in the design of a textile object or garment

A pleat is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloth merchant</span> One who sells cloth

In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was extremely expensive and cloth merchants were often very wealthy. A number of Europe's leading banking dynasties such as Medici and Berenberg built their original fortunes as cloth merchants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Costume designer</span> Person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show

A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume designer works alongside the director, scenic, lighting designer, sound designer, and other creative personnel. The costume designer may also collaborate with a hair stylist, wig master, or makeup artist. In European theatre, the role is different, as the theatre designer usually designs both costume and scenic elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutwork</span> Needlework technique

Cutwork or cut work, also known as punto tagliato in Italian, is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile, typically cotton or linen, are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1400–1500 in European fashion</span> Costume in the years 1400-1500

Fashion in 15th-century Europe was characterized by a series of extremes and extravagances, from the voluminous robes called houppelandes with their sweeping floor-length sleeves to the revealing doublets and hose of Renaissance Italy. Hats, hoods, and other headdresses assumed increasing importance, and were draped, jeweled, and feathered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion design</span> Art of applying design and aesthetics to clothing and accessories

Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates clothing, including dresses, suits, pants, and skirts, and accessories like shoes and handbags, for consumers. He or she can specialize in clothing, accessory, or jewelry design, or may work in more than one of these areas."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khmer traditional clothing</span> Traditional clothing of the Khmer people

Khmer traditional clothing refers to the traditional styles of dress worn by the Khmer people from ancient times to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dress form</span> Model of the torso used for fitting clothing

A dress form is a three-dimensional model of the human torso used for fitting clothing that is being designed or sewed. When making a piece of clothing, it can be put on the dress form so that one can see the fit and drape of the garment as it would appear on a body and make adjustments or alterations. Dress forms come in all sizes and shapes for almost every article of clothing that can be made. Dress forms in the standard clothing sizes are used to make patterns, while adjustable dress forms allow garments to be tailored to fit a specific individual.

Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic Era. Although usually associated with clothing and household linens, sewing is used in a variety of crafts and industries, including shoemaking, upholstery, sailmaking, bookbinding and the manufacturing of some kinds of sporting goods. Sewing is the fundamental process underlying a variety of textile arts and crafts, including embroidery, tapestry, quilting, appliqué and patchwork.

Madame Grès (1903–1993), also known as Alix Barton and Alix, was a leading French couturier and costume designer, founder of haute couture fashion house Grès as well as the associated Parfums Grès. Remembered as the "Sphinx of Fashion", Grès was notoriously secretive about her personal life and was seen as a workaholic with a furious attention to detail, preferring to let her work do the talking. Grès, best known for her floor-length draped Grecian goddess gowns, is noted as the "master of the wrapped and draped dress" and the "queen of drapery". Grès's minimalistic draping techniques and her attention to and respect for the female body have had a lasting effect on the haute couture and fashion industry, inspiring a number of recent designers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent</span>

History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization or earlier. Indians have mainly worn clothing made up of locally grown cotton. India was one of the first places where cotton was cultivated and used even as early as 2500 BCE during the Harappan era. The remnants of the ancient Indian clothing can be found in the figurines discovered from the sites near the Indus Valley civilisation, the rock-cut sculptures, the cave paintings, and human art forms found in temples and monuments. These scriptures view the figures of human wearing clothes which can be wrapped around the body. Taking the instances of the sari to that of turban and the dhoti, the traditional Indian wears were mostly tied around the body in various ways.

<i>Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology</i>

Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology was an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that showcased the dichotomy between Manus, also known as haute couture, and Machina, also known as prêt-à-porter. The Metropolitan Museum of Art debuted this exhibition during the 2016 Met Gala and ran it from May 5, 2016 to September 5, 2016. It included over 120 pieces from designers like Chanel and Christian Dior, varying from the 20th Century to present day.

<i>Tanmono</i> Traditional bolt of narrow-loom Japanese cloth

A tanmono is a bolt of traditional Japanese narrow-loomed cloth. It is used to make traditional Japanese clothes, textile room dividers, sails, and other traditional cloth items.

References

  1. "My Dear Home, I Love You, You're a House for Each of Us and Home for All of Us". World Digital Library . 1918. Retrieved 2013-10-26.