Tadashi’s Craftsmanship | Spring 2022

What will people say about you when you enter the room wearing an ultra-flattering gown or a sparkly cocktail dress? When they ask who made it, we hope you'll say Tadashi Shoji and then dazzle your fellow partygoers with details about the dress. Imagine what it would be like to impress them with expert language about the cut, fit, or fabric. For example, you could describe how the diamanté illusion looks like glittering dew or how Art Nouveau inspired the custom embroidery. It's fun to speak fashionable terms, but this article is not only about dazzling others with the language of fashion. Learning how a style is made or what decisions go into designing the dress enhances the dress-wearing experience and makes dress shopping more fun.

Below, we break down various styles from our Spring 2022 collection. From fabric to fit to detail, Tadashi's craftsmanship is evident in every piece. His designs place emphasis on the fluidity of drape by way of cut, line, and silhouette. As a result, his draping looks deceptively simple thanks to its unrestricted ease and one-piece-of-fabric-used illusions. Nonetheless, his draping is complex in its construction. Tadashi employs dressmaking techniques that most mass-manufacturers frown upon due to their intricacies, and it is these experimental techniques that make his designs both wearable and glamorous. 

Welcome to his studio.

Custom Trim

A contrast collar trimmed with custom embroidery makes this daytime-ready printed crepe A-line ready for afternoon drives with the top down.

The embroidered tulle, custom-designed for the Spring collection, is hand-cut then stitched onto the collar. The lovely contrast sets off the watercolor floral print.

This embroidered, slightly linear, radiating pattern is suggestive of sunburst pleating, which is a signature Tadashi technique.

The Signature Twist

A draped twist on an asymmetric waist is signature Tadashi. An embroidered applique extends over the draped shoulder, and an unlined sleeve only adds to the style's glamour.

Arced Piecing

In these textured crepe styles (GERALDINE ONE-SHOULDER GOWN & WILMA STRAPLESS CREPE DRESS), arced piecing is both structural and decorative. Seams are pressed upward. This design subtlety mimics the draped styles of the spring collection.

Design lines radiating from the waist create a flattering effect by elongating and shaping. Note how the stretch lining's clean darting is elegant and discreet for a smooth fit.

Tadashi’s craftsmanship and his attention to detail are evident in how the seams meet perfectly, which allows the arced piecework to be smooth and continuous.

The Effortless Drape

“Don’t force the fabric,” explains Tadashi while draping the MARION DRAPED CREPE GOWN

This slightly linear, slightly radiating drape defines and flatters the waistline.

Each drape is positioned on the form, working top to bottom. If the drape is twisting, it’s back to the pattern to adjust the fit.

The waist drape gives the impression that it’s wrapping over while cinching the bodice and skirt drape. This effect is achieved by pattern and cut. If it was truly a wrap, it would be a bulky, unflattering fit.

The Faux Empire

The pattern maker follows their taped design lines to drape the gown's rose jacquard bodice in the studio.

The word, empire, has a quasi-French pronunciation that sounds like ahm-pier or more specifically: /ɑːmˈpɪər/

But this gown is not a true empire style because the front drape is seamed to a fitted bodice. By juxtaposing a close-to-body fit with fullness, the gown becomes more flattering to wear than a traditional empire-waist.