From season on season, perforation has managed to become the most popular sheer trend. Be it accessories, bags or shoes, perforation has made way into each and every segment of fashion with its innate style and grace. Whether pierced, hole punched, laser-cut, knotted or a simple lace perforation, the effect is able to create an unexpected look which is becoming quite prominent on the runways as well. Creating a Trompe-l’oeil effect, an illusion of depth, perforation is being experimented with in every possibility by designers and exporters, who are creating an unending plethora of intricate detailing on bases like leather, cotton, PVC and many other fabrics. Prevalent in high street fashion, perforated fabrics have picked up pace again after a slow fall over the last few seasons and is now up and running towards becoming a huge surface trend…
Perforation has been around for a while now. With day-to-day technological advancements supporting fabric manipulation, creating depth through sheer effects has caught the most attention. Last fall there was a lot of perforated laser-cut leather, but the seasons to come will witness a collaboration of laser cut with eyelets, lace and schiffli, for a softer/brighter texture. With a sporty-meets-punk vibe, these cut clothing and accessories make a strong style statement, adding a visually interesting and layered touch to any look. The cut-out treatment makes the fabric lighter in appearance and physical weight making it a great option for summers.
Being one of the easiest ways to add dimension to a fabric, perforation adds textures and is even compatible with fabrics like lambswool, leather, cotton, silk, tulle and cashmere. As a method of material processing, perforation appeared relatively recently. Earlier it was mostly created through loose knitting. But now perforation can be achieved through several techniques. To start with perforation can be achieved through the most obvious technique of laser cutting. As seen on the skirts of Fendi, laser-cut provides a clean and multi-dimensional appeal to the fabric. Gone are the days when leather, felt, velvets and rexens were the only laser-cut-centric bases for garments. Be it garments, bags, shoes or home accessories, laser cut commodities have flooded the high streets and have become a major demand in the retail segment as well. Sidelining the archetypical georgettes, rayons and poly-blends, unconventional fabrics like denims and suede have entered into the space of punching. The idea is to create mesh like structure in the fabric; therefore laser cut is used not to create elaborate patterns but for making small sized patterns giving an illusion of netting.
Another sophisticated and feminine way to create a perforated look is the use of lace; nowadays laces of all kinds are available which make the creation of perforated surface even easier. Laces, owing to their sheer glance, have moved away from being used as hemming and patches to all-over applications. They are now being used as base material for products as diverse as trench coats and leggings. Be it knotted laces used as sleeves and back yoke of a top or bobbin lace used to create an entire blouse panel, execution becomes a very interesting part when creativity gets hold of a perfect medium.
Witnessed on the Resort 2016 runways, laces came through in countless possibilities of applications illustrated by numerous designers. BCBG Max Azria, Erdem and Gucci experimented with cut-out lace, in the form of appliqué and patchwork with the base fabric in distinctive eye-catching patterns. Sharon Wauchob preferred to play hide-n-seek with the sheer aspect of lace by covering the needed with opaque silks and satins. Chanel went a step ahead and covered its perforated jumpsuit in metallic finish. Balenciage re-created the effect of a delicate viral web in Swiss lace and inserted the result in form of a skirt with finesse under a structured blazer. Interestingly, lace has always been favourite value adds for Indian exporters, who are very much clued on to the trend.
Moving ahead in the course of creating a see-through medium, another technique which can never skip attention is – brasso. Being an economical replacement to expensive fabric punching technique, brasso started getting noticed as an innovative way of depicting transparency last season. Attained by the process of coating the base fabric with a specific type and amount of chemical, brasso/burnout or devour fabric is the result of layers of fibres getting burned to form a design. The fabric has the capability of being created in any way possible, which in return is making designers create unending perforated versions of the same. Be it mesh like structure, opaque and square jaali or peek-a-boo effect, brasso serves as the perfect base to create transparency in the domestic market.
Sandip Kumar, Assistant Designer, Jayshree International
“Talking about the wide usage of laces in their recent and upcoming collections at Jayshree International, Sandeep, shared, “We are using different types of laces in cottons, nylons and schiffli for value addition in our collections. We draw on appliqué lace flowers on nets and jerseys, we use them as ruffles and pleats, we even make stitched and cut-out flowers from laces. Styles with lace embellishments get picked up the most by our buyers like DKNY and Armond Ferri.”
S.K. Satyam, Assistant Designer, Shahi Exports
“Perforated pieces played a prominent role in the recent runways, making it clear that this is one trend that’s worth investing in. Presently, we are producing collections for Vero Moda, and for them we are creating tops, dresses, jumpsuits and light weight jackets with laser cut details. We are using cotton, polycotton, polyester and nylon laces in varying width for the styles.”
Shalini Singh, Assistant Merchandiser, Joyline
“Being almost negligible in the last few seasons, suddenly exports and buying houses have been noticing the growth of brasso in the upcoming season. We noticed emergence of burnout fabrics in the sampling for our A/W ’15-16 season, and till now, burnout has developed itself to become the favourite fabric choice. As the season is moving away from crochets to find a better replacement in terms of cost, burnout is the technique to look out for, along with brilliant aesthetics.”
Sanjay Mehta, Director, Rekognation
“As we majorly target the luxury segment, the styles we produce are unique in their own way and cannot be replicated by anyone else. We try and create dresses out of ribbon embroidery without a base fabric. We create perforation and laser cutout inspired effects through embroidery, which is a unique point in itself.”
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