Draping Class, Final Project

So here is the dress I created for my finals.
I had to make a showstopping dress Leighton Meester (Blair in the Gossip Girls tv series) would wear for the MET Costume Gala 2011 in New York.
First, Thanks to our teacher for this final. It was a really nice and intersting project.
Well, for the story, the actual gala was in may and she was wearing a little black dress by Louis Vuitton!

I searched for everything she's already been wearing on red carpets and the least I can say is that she's really fashion forward. She's been wearing a whole lot of different styles. So I had to be imaginative!

After an afternoon of looking at her and her looks, I ended up with this inspiration (I don't remember what show it was!) and sketch:

I was thinking about using chiffon and leather.
But the next day, and after seeking advices from DH and one of my classmates, I knew it was way to casual for her...
I like the sketch though, so who knows, I might end up sewing that for myself one day.

I had to find another idea, looking at all the 2011 fall fashion show.
The trends I was interested in for her dress included: plunging V-neck, sheer fabrics, pleats, leather and, why not, orange!

Here are some of my sketches, mainly inspired by Vera Wang Fall 2011 Collection

You can see the plunging V-neck is a really strong inspiration... as are the sheer fabrics!
I'm also fond of sheer maxi-dresses. I'd like to sew one for myself. I'm amazed on how my taste have changed since I entered the fashion design program and started following the couture collections and fashion magazines (Thanks Julio!)

Ok, sorry, we're not here to speak about my fashion taste.
So back to our subject, the winner was a shorter dress, as Leighton seems to be fond of them... and I didn't wanted to buy loads of fabric!

So here is what I made, out of taffeta and chiffon (you'll recognize the sketch):

I love the back!
On the other hand, for the front I would have preferred a more dramatic top, to better match with the bottom. I should have done the lapels wider, to get a look closer to the sketch...

I'm not really happy with the finishing. I know I'm able to do something much nicer. But I did pick a dress kind of too hard for me in the amount of time I had.
I finished the dress at 8.45pm for a class finishing at 9pm! Ouf
It was kind of like in Project Runway.

My biggest regret?
I wasn't there the day of the party when everybody had to turn in the dresses. So I still haven't seen the dresses the others have done. Some where already looking awesome. Tomorrow my friend is gonna show me the pics he took. I can't wait!