Manta Ray Uniform Mock up

The goal of this project was to do a deep dive into technical garment construction by building a complex garment from a pattern and then changing some details of the construction. The garment I was focussed on was a double breasted Pea Coat, which was part of a Manta Ray Uniform look.

My primary concern was the construction of the collar, because the construction just seemed very complex from the outside. So I started by purchasing a pea coat, taking apart the collar and reconstructing it in another fabric. After building some intuition for lapel and collar construction I moved on to the larger garment. I got a digital pattern from Burda laser cut a few small mockups to get a sense of how everything came together. Finally it was time to make some modifications.

The goal behind the outfit I’m constructing is to combine the quality of line and form of a manta ray with that of a classic naval uniform. To bring the quality of the manta ray into the pea coat I tried to add forms that suggested or made reference to the horns and gills of the manta ray.

I developed a method for creating gills by cutting and layering paper or stiff fabric onto a particular panel of the garment. The horns were made to emerge from the collar by slightly changing the collar pieces.

I was glad to sea that the rough mock up looked something like a pea coat, but was disappointed that the great diversity of materials in the garment meant that the form got distorted and wrinkled in certain areas.