When it came time for Amanda Sekulow to create a collection for her graduation from O’More College of Design, she knew exactly what she needed. “Every day I prayed that my 3Doodler would arrive,” she says.
Amanda had backed the 3Doodler Kickstarter, and was anxiously awaiting its arrival. But the clock was ticking. “I began in the autumn of 2013 by creating the concept and illustrating the basic garments,” she says. But she didn’t want to start final creation until she had her 3Doodler in hand. “I was determined to wait, as I wanted to use the 3Doodler in my designs.”
As she waited, the Melt into Spring collection took form as a series of white dresses combined with wearable art. The sophisticated dresses would use a variety of woven materials, with 3-dimensional additions created with the 3Doodler.
And soon the wait was over, and the pen arrived. “It showed up, quite literally, just in time,” Amanda says. “I was able to go back to school in January ready to get down to business!”
She spent the next four months creating, embellishing, and perfecting a total of 10 dresses before her final runway show.
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“There is more than 1,000 feet of ABS plastic in these pieces,” Amanda says, “along with 600 Swarovski crystals, and 810 work hours in total.”
"There are some dresses with intricate sculptures on them, others I let the fabric and plastic do their own thing." Share
While they stand together as a collection, Amanda made sure each dress made a statement on its own. “Each piece is so different, and has its own story to tell,” she says. “There are some dresses with intricate sculptures on them, others I let the fabric and plastic do their own thing. Some of the looks are polished and refined where others look messy and organic.”
And while the entire collection was a labor of love, Amanda says one piece stands out above the rest.
“My favorite piece was the finale piece in the show,” she admits. The dress in question has a high neckline with a chest and shoulder piece with attached apron made entirely from Doodled ABS. With 85 Doodled flowers and 119 attached crystals, this dress alone took over 100 hours to complete.
“I made the neck piece and bodice portion of the apron directly on a body form, so that it would fit close to the model’s body,” Amanda says. It was a risk, as the fit of the final piece would depend on the model who would wear it. “It ended up fitting her perfectly.”
Amanda says watching her final piece during the show was her proudest moment. “I have never been more excited to see anything walk down a runway,” she says, “and everyone else seemed to love it just as much as I do.”
Amanda says the final result of Melt into Spring is a culmination of all the work she has put into design and fashion. “The entire collection is a reflection of my feelings, motivation and life experiences in the moments when I created them.”