`Clouded Spirit is a one of a kind digitally printed kaftan designed to celebrate the mystery and magical spirit of the kitsune.
A kitsune is a mythological creature from Japanese folk lore that is described to be a fox-like creature with nine tails. The kitsune is known to be incredibly wise and have unique paranormal abilities including the ability to shape shift into human form.
When designing this kaftan, my process began with detailed motif development and a uniquely designed silhouette.
For the body of the kaftan I was inspired by a typical fox like body that was shaped horizontally. I utilized pen and ink to draw the body. Then I used watercolor pencils to shade the body and create a beautiful shadowy figure. After that was drawn, I then placed the motif that I drew into photoshop and recolored it to match the color palette of my design.
After developing the body of the kitsune I focused on designing large, watercolor tails to complete the form of the body. First, I drew the tails using black watercolor pencil and then I added purple watercolor paint to create a dark, shadowy effect that would contrast well with the light purple body of the kitsune.
The next step in my design process was to create a silhouette that I could place the motifs that I designed into. I wanted to create a silhouette that had a lot of flow and would display the image of the kitsune well. I decided to go with a simple kaftan shape that had long cuffed sleeves, and a hem that draped longer on the side seams.
The final step in my design process was placing my motifs in a design that would be pleasing with the silhouette of the kaftan. While using photoshop, I scanned in and cleaned up my hand paintings and played around with their placement in my design. I chose to display the fox in the front center of the garment and have the beautiful flowing tails covering the neck and back of the silhouette. In order to have this garment digitally printed, I had to split the design into two portions and after it was printed I sewed it together.
This kaftan was designed for a consumer interested in mythological beings and art. They will feel connected to spiritual and somewhat dreamlike qualities about life and will want to have a garment that lets them explore the unknown comfortably and fashionably. They believe strongly in the idea of surrounding themselves with art that they feel fuels their ability to dream of a world not in our everyday surroundings.
