couture 101: How to Make Fake Fur and Cash

It is amazing that something so humble as a feather the very same one that you can sew with your bare hands could be worth thousands of dollars. Dolce & Gabbana designed a luscious purple jacket made of feathers simulating fur that sold for $ 20,000.

THE FUTURE OF BARB FIBER

Four billion pounds of feathers are produced in the U.S. each year. Textile researchers Narendra Reddy and Yiqi Yang from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln are working on substituting wool and synthetic fleece with chicken feather barb. The chicken barb has a honeycombed texture that traps air inside the fiber and results in a stiff cardboard like fabric. http://www.wired.com/culture/design/news/2006/09/71823

If the R value is high enough they should consider developing it into insulation or even a plywood substitute. Some people have built frameless structures known as the plydome which was invented by Buckminster Fuller. http://www.sover.net/~triorbtl/ply_24.html

THE CATALYST

Just as the fashionistas were lamenting the last great Plumassier, Andre LeMarie who retired in 1998 feathery ideas began to percolate in the minds of numerous designers. http://www.iht.com/articles/1998/12/15/fash.t_1.php

Few fashion houses were willing to create feather garments because of the great expense known as time. If sewn by hand you would need about three garment specialists working on the same item. Despite this fact many designers rose to the challenge.

Salvatore Ferragamo created a beautiful feather bag and Jemma Tibbals has written a fun fashion article. http://www.handbag.com/fashion/Handbag-of-the-week-Salvatore-Ferragamo/v1

Elie Tahari designed a chocolate dress with a generous feather trim. http://www.elietahari.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod1160009

I like Dior's crazy pink dress because it resembles a ferocious peony and Style.com lets you create your own lookbook. http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/F2007CTR/detail/thumb/CDIOR?trend=&page=3

HOW TO CREATE FUR

The feather is a versatile material that can be sewn on tulle or knit velour. Feather fur beats real fur in that you don't have that paper like scalp to work with so it yields a more flexible fabric.

I bought turquoise feathers in half ounce bags at the craft store. I'm not sure if they're color fast so I chose to sew them on the same colored velour blouse.

Just rip the feather down its spine from tip to root. It should resemble clown eyelashes. Note: some feathers are too narrow to split. Sometimes only loose down results which could make a small doll's wig.

Baste stitch the edges of the design. Sew the split feather by hand with fuzzy fibers standing up. Thousands of hours later, Voila! You are a Plumassier now go make your fortune.