How much can a sweatshirt change before we see it as a different garment?
Exploring materials and construction
Watching the Spring/Summer 2027 shows, I kept coming back to the way materials had been worked. In several collections, I recognised an approach close to my own: working on the material before even considering the shape of the garment. It took me back to a project I developed for TreXsette21 in 2021, and to a very concrete question: how much could I change a sweatshirt while keeping the pleasure of wearing it?
At Prada, cotton is treated to resemble leather or suede, and Re-Nylon is pleated. These transformations change how we perceive a familiar material. In my own work, I started with the feel of a sweatshirt: I wanted to give it the warmth and body of a padded garment, while keeping the surfaces soft and pleasant to touch.
The enveloping jacket and the hooded dress in the photographs are two results of that work. To get there, I had to develop the material alongside the garments. Samples, drawings and colour trials show how.
From Guru to a new exploration of sweatshirt fabric
In 2009, I was product manager for Guru’s men’s and women’s lines. In her article “Progetti in corso”, published in Fashion, Elena Azzola described the combination of sweatshirt fabric and quilted nylon in new sweatshirt-jacket designs. Twelve years later, that possibility inspired me as I developed the Padded project for TreXsette21.
For this project, I chose cotton for both the outer and inner surfaces, keeping polyester in the padding. I wanted the warmth of a classic padded garment, and I wanted to be able to work on the colour once the garment had been made. The composition had to accommodate both intentions.
The surfaces and what lies between them
My development notes show different combinations: jersey on both sides, sweatshirt fabric on the outside and jersey on the inside, mélange sweatshirt fabric on the outside and jersey on the inside. Jersey and sweatshirt fabric describe the knitted surfaces; cotton is the fibre. I worked on the outside to give the garment character and prepare it for dyeing. On the inside, I wanted comfort against the skin. Between the two surfaces, the padding added body and warmth.
I wanted a soft handle and an enveloping cocoon effect. Restricting polyester to the padding also reflected my intention to make the product as skin-friendly as possible. To assess its overall impact, though, composition alone is not enough: data on the fibres and processing are needed.
Designing the shape alongside the material
Quilting joined the surfaces and the padding. The diamonds gave the material texture, but I also had to consider how it would behave in folds and overlapping layers. So I marked the areas to quilt and those to leave smooth on the drawings, along with the collar, hood, pockets and hems. The material was already informing decisions about shape.
For the Japanese-inspired jacket, the wide collar and belt called for a material that could overlap and gather at the waist. I wanted the volume to remain enveloping at those points too.
For the hooded dress, I concentrated the quilting on the upper part and the sleeves. Below the bodice seam, the smooth sweatshirt fabric falls in small pleats: stopping the diamonds allowed me to work with a different drape. The same material exploration could then extend to a dress.
Working on colour after the garment is made
For the colour, I experimented with several options: direct dyeing, dark line dyeing and DMD. I decided that DMD brought out the best in the garment. I was working on pieces that had already been cut and sewn, with the seams, overlaps and quilting in place.
The DMD sequence I used involved three steps:
1. A black base, to create the dark ground to work from.
2. Stonewashing with acids, to lighten the base and create tonal variations and contrasts.
3. Overdyeing with strong colours. The new shade emerges in the lightened areas, while the darker areas add depth to the colour.
On the jacket and the dress, the blue meets different surfaces: those marked by diamonds and those left smooth. The laboratory trials helped me choose the shade. Then I had to see it on the garment, where folds, seams and overlaps all contributed to the result. Colour, too, meant returning to the finished shape.
The first time I wore it
With the cocoon coat, I took the material exploration into a longer shape. When worn, it shows the volume of the sleeves, the open collar and the way the material falls along the body. The photograph lets you see those proportions. I can describe how it felt against my skin.
The first time I touched and wore one of the Padded Peacock pieces, I felt I had a comfort garment in my hands. Its softness and natural warmth to the touch struck me. The jersey against my skin made me feel comfortable, unrestricted and warm. I felt wrapped up and pampered.
The material exploration had taken the shape of a jacket, a dress and a coat. Wearing one of those pieces, I found the sweatshirt comfort I had wanted to keep. That was part of the answer to my opening question: the shape could change considerably, while that feeling remained recognisable.
Sources and images
Elena Azzola, “Progetti in corso”, Fashion, 9 January 2009, pp. 56–57. Detail from p. 56, from Romina Tosi’s personal archive.
TreXsette21 samples, drawings and photographs: Romina Tosi’s personal archive. Intentions, composition, DMD sequence and the experience of wearing the garment: the author’s own account.
Romina Tosi
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