The 1920s Flappers were heavily featured in ‘The Great Gatsby’ and were important in deciding the silhouette and fabrics. The 1920s Gangsters gave the structure needed to the soft and flowing silhouette of the Flappers. The staple item worn by this subculture was a tailored jacket/suit, this was manipulated to create some interesting shapes. The lapel of a jacket became a key design feature. The jacket lapel was changed in size and position on the garment, in response to imagery from the Ocean Liner exhibition.




Bhavini introduced elements of femininity to her collection through manipulating the fabric to create more volume and flare to each outfit, as well as creating more impact in the print on the lighter weight fabrics.

A combination of both traditional tailoring and subcultural references were incorporated in producing a contemporary yet elegant collection. The bold print displays the structures of the Ocean Liners and with the garments, Bhavini reworked the traditional features such as jacket vents, and turned them into slits down the sleeves and trousers. This created a design feature, as well allowing for more movement to the individual who wears it.




The print takes elements of the liners and illustrates this, with the bright and bold colours. When printing the fabric, Bhavini used print placement in order to have a large scale print run through the whole outfit, as well as developing a repeat micro-print to use on the lightweight fabrics. The main fabrics were duchess satin and voile, which would give the look and feel similar of that of the Flappers. Fabrics such as wool and cotton sateen tailored the outfit, similar to that of the 20’s Gangsters subculture.