Re-Creating Haute Couture Designer Clothes For SL

Half way through the Virtual London Fashion Week (VLFW) I had been given the news that a couple of real life designers would be bringing their creations to the virtual catwalk, these were Maria Grachvogel and Twenty8Twelve, a brand owned by Sienna and Savannah Miller, although it is rumoured that the Millers have now pulled out, but I cannot verify this. However, their clothes were recreated for the VLFW and did appear in a couple of the shows. This article is a tribute to the SL designers who put so much work into copying the real life designers garments ready for the shows.

I was fascinated to know what it was like to be asked to take part in this project and I asked Nils Tomorrow, Estelle Parnall and Lixena Lamourfou to tell me all about their involvement. All three are top SL designers and very talented, and it was just as well, as they had to re-create the outfits in-world based on flat images from the designer’s websites. The fourth SL designer declined to comment.

I asked Nils, who owns Nils Island Store, what she thought when she heard that real life designers had planned to show their creations in the VLFW, she told me “I thought, they probably think that it would be another way of advertising for their collections. Being a real life designer myself, different ways and challenges to create and to keep up with the new trends always attracts me. They must find SL an interesting and a new way to communicate with their customers or reach new ones.” And how were you asked to take part? I asked Nils “Debs Regent im’ed me, that’s how I learned” she said.

I wanted to know what Nils first thoughts were, she said “I wondered if sl body templates would be sufficient to match the design outlines they created.” I asked if this was a little bit different to creating her own designs, Nils told me “I looked at each designers work and picked up creations which aren’t too far technically from the way I do my work in here.” How did you get the photos to copy the styles, did you have any direct contact with the actual designers? I asked. Nils said “I checked their website from the links Debs gave me and saw the outfits in there.”

I asked Nils which dress she made first, she told me “I started with Maria Grachvogel's designs, I first chose a printed outfit as I love to use prints in my designs.” I wanted to know if there were any tricky or difficult parts to re-create, Nils said “Longer skirts were tricky for me as I don’t like it when the prim moves you see the pants underneath. Also giving different poses during the catwalk distorts the way prim stays as a skirt hem etc.”

As Nils is an experienced designer I asked her how she would go about creating an outfit, she said “I always start to make the top part, I use sl body templates and draw cut paint and edit textures on them.”

How did Nils feel when the big night came and her copy of the designer clothes were worn by the models for the show. She said “I always get excited showing my designs, doesn’t matter sl or rl.”

Which was your favourite outfit that you had recreated? I asked her. “I loved the blue dress from twenty8twelve collection , I like glittered material they used.” she said. I wanted to know if this had inspired her with her own collections, she told me “I might start making more trouser outfits I guess.”

Asking Nils if she had anything she would like to add, she told me “I think this was a huge step to connect rl and sl fashion world which might create more opportunities to all the designers here in sl and rl in future. I was glad to take a part in this project.”

Estelle Parnall, who has a very successful SL brand called ‘Lost Dreams’ told me that she had seen a notice sent out by the SL London community, looking for interested designers to take part in making the real designers clothes, so she responded. And her thoughts on real life designers showing their creations in SL? “I was very excited that finally this medium was getting the practical application it deserves.” she said. I wanted to know what she thought about the task, she said “The time factor.. we only had less than 2 days. And I knew I wanted to do a good job....”

I asked Estelle if the job was a little bit worrying and how different this had been to creating her own clothes, she said “Well yes. Part of the appeal in SL is the creative process...so I suppose in this instance I was calling on my technical skills more than my creative skills...I wanted the outfit to be representative of the rl piece, but also an interpretation within the limitations (and opportunities) of this medium.”

Similar to Nils, Estelle had to copy the style of the clothes from the real life designer’s website, she told me “I only had access to their website which made it difficult. One dress, I had to even design the back of it, as I had (only the) front image.”

I asked Estelle what it was like on the night, as she was also modelling her own items, she said “I was very happy with that outfit. I was concentrating on handling the lag...and I was also in about 3 Im's (a multi tasker from way back).” And her favourite outfit? “For this show? Maria Grachvogel 22” she said. (Black top with long tiered slender skirt).

Did she find the show inspirational I asked, Estelle said “Possibly.. I tend to make what I like.. not follow fashion. But SL is different to RL.. the market is different..so while I’m open to trends.. I have to keep my customer base happy.” How does Estelle go about her own designing skills in SL, she told me “Well its a long process. I would do the torso first...I select a base colour and apply overlays until I have the right texture. I hand draw on all the shadows and wrinkles and then cut out the design. I burn the edges and embellish it more so it gives a 3d effect. I apply any trims or notions.... fiddle with it.. swear at it.. yell at it.... drink a glass of wine...yell some more. Then I upload it to SL... and generally bring it back a few times to photoshop to improve it.

Then I Make the skirt texture in photoshop...again always hand drawn. I never photosource as it streches on the avatar and looks really terrible. I like to design organically...

then I take the skirt texture and begin the dreaded process of making a prim skirt if needed (it really is horrible,...what can I say?)

Then after all that is done.. you have to model it.. make the sale sign...box it.. put it in your shop...blog it...spam my group and the other fashion groups in sl that I like.

Then I go to bed :)”

I asked Estelle if she had any other thoughts about making the designer’s clothes in SL, she said “I suppose my interest in participating in this project would be to possibly manage a rl label in sl in the future, though I have also entertained ideas of producing a small web based rl label and promote it in sl. Anything is possible and any experience is good experience.”

The third SL designer who was kind enough to speak to me is Lixena Lamourfou, who’s SL label is ‘Lixena Marcus’. Lixena is also the Editor of her own magazine, ‘Queen Magazine’. Lixena told me “Being a SL resident since 2006, I understood it was rare to be connected to the real world in these types of matters. So it was very exciting to hear that real life designers had wanted to have their designs recreated in virtual. I hoped that the designer was a substantial one and not trendy and low-budget.”

One of the organisers of Virtual London Fashion Week had contacted Lixena about the show, Lixena told me “If my memory serves me right I got a personal invitation from, Shaza Denver. She spoke to me in IMs about it and also sent me a notecard with more details.” She continued “Firstly, I thought...wow, what an opportunity to do something else in support of Virtual Fashion Week. Then later, I became excited as I considered it to be as if I was employed by a fashion house and Valentino himself had assigned me the task.”

I asked her what she thought of the clothes she was to make, she told me “I was quite pleased to see that Maria Grachvogel's collection was very similar to the way I dress in RL. Her lines and color palette were what I like to use in my designs. I appreciated the pencil skirts and high-waisted trousers.”

Lixena told me, that because of time restraints, she had made one garment, and I asked her how she went about it, she said “I wanted the dress to be most desirable to a lady wearing it in SL. So I chose to make prim parts for the collar and flowering. So the prim work was the trickiest. The most difficult were putting so many separate prim pieces on. 14 prims in total.”

And how do you go about creating your own designs? I asked, she told me “First, I think of a fabric or a color I would like to use. Whether it will be a dress, skirt of pants. Usually I am inspired by something I have seen, so the look is based on that idea. Such as I made a turtleneck sweater by accidentally dropping a hair texture in the window. And I went on with that look, incorporating a sculpty bottom. Mostly I have an idea then I either sketch it roughly or build it as I go along.”

Finally I asked Lixena how she felt when she saw her creation on the catwalk, she told me “It was a very proud night for me, because I had done my best and I thought that I had recreated the look very well. I was pleased to see that maybe the model felt as good as I felt seeing it, wearing it.”

I can only marvel at the work that these three SL designers had put in to make the clothes in time for the VLWF show, I know for a fact that they had stayed up late, put a hold on things in real life that they should have been doing, and worked their socks off to help the organisers bring this real life/SL show to the virtual world for the first time. I hope the real designers and organisers realise all the hard work and enthusiasm involved by these wonderful and amazing in-world designers.




Janey Bracken