Fit for a Princess

When conceptualizing the cover for Phoenix, Arizona’s Java arts and culture magazine, photo stylist Tara Logsdon wanted to create a “modern Aztec princess.” To do that, she relied on some very modern means.

Logsdon, also the office manager for print provider bluemedia, scoped out artist Pete Deise’s sculpture garden, which had several tall, cement pillars. She decided that not only was it the perfect setting for the photo shoot, but it gave her a chance to show off
a long gown. “This positioning gave me the opportunity to make the dress extra long and exaggerated to give it more of a statuesque appearance,” Logsdon says.

She nabbed bluemedia client Elysia Hall to model and got to work designing the dress.

Instead of standard fashion patternmaking, Logsdon turned to a digital solution: She designed the garment on Abode Illustrator in a matter of days, then sent the fi le to bluemedia’s printers. The bluemedia crew output the dress on Mehler Texnologies’ Mehler Mesh Plus 7520 using HP Scitex XLjet 3 (now badged as the XL1500) and HP inks. Logsdon cut and sewed the garment herself. She completed the top and collar at home.

Fit and finishing: To keep from soiling the flowing dress, and because the garment restricted movement, Hall was fi tted with the dress once she perched atop a pillar in the sculpture garden. “We affixed the dress by wrapping it around, lacing it through traditional banner grommets and then tying it,” Logsdon says.