Peggy Sagers: Every First Lady of the United States wears a beautiful inauguration dress, a dress so significant that it's noted for history and displayed at the Smithsonian Institute.

Each inauguration dress is created by a behind-the-scenes designer who is carefully selected for this prestigious task.

We are honored to have as our guest Mr. Michael Faircloth, the talented designer who created the beautiful red-beaded inauguration dress worn by Laura Bush, today on "Fit 2 Stitch."

♪♪ ♪♪ male announcer: "Fit 2 Stitch" is made possible by Kai Scissors, ♪♪ Plano Sewing Center, ♪♪ Elliott Berman Textiles, ♪♪ Benno's Buttons, ♪♪ Imitation of Life, ♪♪ and Clutch Nails.

Peggy: From the questions you ask and knowing myself as I sew and go through the process of design, pattern work, and sample work sewing, I know that where my holes are is in that very beginning process of design, that mixing that pattern and that fabric together to where really I get exactly what I want in the end.

Today we have just a most special guest.

Mr. Michael Faircloth is here today.

I want to welcome him on to our set because we're just wanting to get inside and know everything you know.

Even though you've been doing this for almost 40 years, we're just going to try our best.

Thank you so much for being here.

Michael Faircloth: I'm delighted to be here.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Peggy: Where do we start?

Pattern and fabric together.

Michael: Well, knowing what kind of garment that you want to create, whether it's going to be a supple, sensual, drapey garment or if you're more of a--you want more of a--like a pristine doll-like presence where you want a lot of buoyancy, a lot of volume in the fabrication, so-- Peggy: So the fabric is going to dictate?

Michael: Fabric dictates that.

Exactly.

And you have to have a thorough knowledge of the fabric and the properties within that fabric.

Because if you're using the right fabric, your garment will turn out successfully.

You can't make a crepey-- it'll be a stiff garment because it just won't have those properties with volume.

Peggy: I think that's what I see.

I think when I really have taken the fabric and just put-- tried to put it into something that it really wasn't born to be, that I run into problems.

Michael: Yes.

And knowing your fabrics, what properties it holds, and what it's going to turn into its final process is ultimately important.

Peggy: We can't add a lot of volume, and we can't take away a lot of volume.

Michael: Yes, you can do a certain amount of stability in the fabric.

You can give--fabrics that don't have a great deal of body you can give more structure to that fabrication with underlining and lining, but then you're for--but you're still forcing the fabric to do something that's not natural.

So getting a fabric with just one or two layers and have it do what it needs to do is key.

Peggy: Talk to me a little bit about couture.

I want to understand the definition of that word because I think that I've learned some things in the process of our conversations.

Michael: Yes.

Old couture, of course, is made in France.

We cannot be called a couture house in Dallas, Texas, although I do build one-of-a kind garments for individuals made to measure design per your taste, and we use the techniques--the same couture techniques of sewing--you know, hand sewing and machine sewing and buy from the same fabric houses.

But to be a real couture house, you have to have a certain amount of garments designed on a runway show per year.

Peggy: So it's location like champagne, kind of?

Michael: Yes, precisely.

Peggy: It's--can be the same thing, but it's not in that one--it's location.

Michael: Exactly.

Peggy: So the hand doing and the hand making and the custom work is what couture is today?

Michael: Precisely.

Peggy: So you--there's no way to purchase couture in ready-to-wear?

Michael: No, there's not.

I mean, certain department stores will call their finer garments or their evening gown section the couture section, but it's not really couture.

So, you know-- Peggy: I love that distinction because they certainly make you want to feel like it is, especially with the price tag.

Michael: Exactly.

And it's fine that you can buy already made, but it's not the couture, you know, technique and the couture experience.

Peggy: Of what you can do?

Michael: Yes.

Peggy: So over the years of all the things that you've done, is there something that really speaks out in you or-- should we just start with fabrics?

Michael: Well, you know, since I think your audience mainly is concerned about fabrications, about what fabrics do for what garments, let's talk about fabrics first.

Peggy: Yeah, that sounds great.

That sounds great.

Michael: So, first of all, let's talk about just plain weaves.

You know, plain weave is going to be the warp and the weft on the loom, you know, and a taffeta or like a cotton shirting or a silk taffeta is going to be very tightly woven yarns, woven very tightly together with no holes, no empty space.

Peggy: So tiny yarns, tiny weave--tiny-- compact, very compact.

Michael: Exactly.

And that's what gives you the wrestling sound of the silk, but also a very, very tight; very, very finely woven fabric that will give you-- you know, you can't really do this with any other fabrication, that will stand up like this on its own.

So your sleeve is going to do this, your skirt is going to do this, you know, in the taffeta.

Peggy: And that is not to drape?

Michael: Not to drape.

Not a draping.

Peggy: So I always say that kind of fabric needs a lot of direction.

Michael: Does need direction.

It--precisely.

And if you take this particular plain weave and you do different colors and you're warping your weft threads, you create an iridescent fabric.

So warp thread one color, weft the other color.

And you can see on the ends, for instance, very, very fine; and you'll see green and white.

So here we have the white and green woven to give you that pearlescent effect here.

Peggy: Okay.

Michael: Also-- Peggy: And again tight thread, tight weave.

Michael: Very, very tight.

Exactly.

And then also giving you a lot of volume is duchess satin.

So this is going to be still a tight weave with warp and the weft, but you have floated threads.

So your threads that are going crossways or-- you know, like have two or three on the top before they go under again.

That's what gives you the shine and the luster.

Also, you know, a beautiful quality not quite as stiff as this.

You don't have quite the wrestling sound you have in the taffeta because of the loose threads on top.

Exactly.

And then of course here you can add wool to that.

So here we're looking at a duchess satin with a silk face.

So the floater threads are silk, the base fabric is wool.

So it's going to give you a little bit more body, a little bit more structure.

You can do beautifully-tailored suits out of this.

Peggy: So then let me just understand.

The warp would be the wool because it's the stronger thread and the weft would be the silk, and it actually creates different effect on both sides.

Michael: It create different effects on both sides.

You know, we-- Peggy: Do you use both sides?

Michael: Sometimes we do.

The client--it's all--I design to the client's taste, to the client's needs.

If she doesn't like the shine of this--because a reflective surface makes you look bigger.

Anytime you have shine, it reflects the light and you look larger no matter where it is.

And so--but if you want to use the dull side, you can do this.

It's matte and it captures the light and is less reflective.

You'll look a little bit smaller.

Peggy: So question as a designer.

Would you use the matte or would you use a different fabric if you wanted-- Michael: I would use a different fabrication, you know, because-- Peggy: So you're not a believer in using the backside?

Michael: Sometimes we do, especially if we're looking at a crepe and--a silk satin back crepe.

We have an opportunity within one dress to use the shiny side and then the matte side on the bottom.

So you have a texture change, but it's all the same coloration or the same fabric.

Peggy: I see.

So that is just--I don't know that I was aware that you could actually have a different color fabric just because the fibers are different and because of where they are.

I mean, it makes perfect sense.

So that's where you're really saying understand your fabric, understand what it is and what it's to do.

Michael: Right.

And you can see with a satin quality the floater threads little bit more supple, little bit more drapey than the taffeta.

The same weave as the taffeta, the same strong threads we have here silk organza.

So we're looking at the same type of weave, the same plain weave.

But there's more space between the [speaking foreign language] weave, which creates the sheer illusion effect here, too.

So there's-- Peggy: It's really not shear.

It's really not less threads, it's just-- Michael: It's more space between the threads.

Peggy: More space between the threads.

Michael: Exactly.

And the tighter, the closer you get together, and less space you become a taffeta.

Peggy: It's interesting because I think there's an association that a shear is really good drape.

Michael: It is drapier.

So this--we're talking about the same but less threads per inch, you know.

And so it's lighter, it's airier.

And all of these garments you have to realize in working with the stiff fabrics, taffetas and organzas, they don't have any weight to them.

They're a little lighter weight so you have more volume.

So wherever you want volume, you can use this type of fabrication.

If you want it close to the body, molding to the body, more sculpted, you need to use a crepier fabric because it just molds to the body, easier to wear.

These are very stiff and doll-like.

Peggy: Tell me where you get inspiration.

Michael: Really inspiration comes a little bit from traveling.

I love to travel, and I get, you know, influences from different cultures that I visit.

Peggy: So while you're traveling you're really working?

Michael: I guess.

You know, never really work and have a vacation.

But most of my inspiration comes from the client because I'm designing to the client's taste.

In couture designing or custom clothing, as you will, I design to your tastes.

So I'm helping you make the right decisions and listening to your body, listening to your inflections and your posture, how you hold yourself and your body language to know what you want to celebrate about yourself, what you want to disguise about yourself.

All of those are taken into influence when I create the garment that's for you.

Peggy: Would it be fair to say you had clients and maybe don't do something that you feel like is the best, and do you put--push back a little?

Michael: Early on in my career when I was little eager, you know, to gain clientele and get sales of course when I was first starting out, I had this one particular client who was a challenge.

You know, we designed the dress and she said yes, and as we got into it she changed it and changed it and I didn't like it and she put more influence and more influence and at the end it was 95% her and 5% me.

She was very, very happy.

I said--I told her, "Just don't tell anybody where you got it."

It was beautiful, and she was happy.

Peggy: --having your name on it.

You didn't feel comfortable with the work you did.

Michael: Yeah, but after 25 years of experience, she began to trust me a little more and a little bit more and we had a very-- Peggy: She stayed with you?

Michael: Yes.

Peggy: That's pretty cool statement right there.

All right.

So I want to talk about this.

This is just beautiful.

Michael: So a cloque fabric, we're talking about a-- there are kind of woven fabric, two or three different kinds of threads that you can use, floated fabrics, and how many skips it takes to design, you know, when you're weaving.

The floater that's on top, you can create a beautiful pattern and using contrasting threads where they're showing more on top and they're floating underneath so they're exposed on the bottom part but not on the top side.

So the jacquard is going to be one of the more expensive types of fabrics to create because you're having to visually look at the loom the entire time and your design is there so that you can know when to shoot the threads across to create your design.

Peggy: So you look at this fabric, what would you make with it?

Michael: A beautiful ball gown.

I mean, you can make a [speaking foreign language] if you wanted to, but it has a lot of fluidity to it, which is very, very nice.

So I think a party dress is great.

A beautiful sleeve--a beautiful bouffant sleeve works very, very well.

But it also is lightweight enough and supple enough to where you can have it a little bit skim in the body and it'll be quite well.

And because you have the design woven into it, you don't have wrinkles, you know.

Peggy: That was magic.

Michael: If you have a tightly woven fabric like this, you know, very tightly woven like your cotton shirts, your bed linens, whatever, you have wrinkles.

But in couture we say we don't care, the rich wrinkle.

Natural fabric is going to be more expensive.

Peggy: I'm going to remember that next time my linen blouse-- the rich wrinkle, okay-- Michael: Dealing with, you know, a jacquard, prints are lovely.

They disguise spills, and they disguise wrinkles.

I don't really work with prints per se because I may invest a lot of money on a printed fabric that I hold in my inventory and someone may like it or not like it.

They're very personal because they're always--you know, I know a print is always in fashion; but florals come and go, stripes come and go, geometrics come and go and they're going to be personal to your tastes.

So I primarily work with solid goods always and embellish.

Peggy: And you add on to those.

Oh my goodness.

Like, talk to me a little bit about beading because beading is--how do you do the beading?

I know you do it a little different than the average person.

Michael: A little different.

Exactly.

So you can buy already embellished fabrics.

You know, for instance you could buy something similar to this.

Peggy: And so what we do at home is we cut them and sew them.

You don't do that?

Michael: No, we don't do that for a number of reasons.

Number one, you have a lot of waste.

So you're--you fall out from your pattern when cutting.

You have all that wasted investment, you know, in your fabrication.

Also cutting through here, it run your scissors, of course it runs your needles when you're sewing through it.

So what we do in the couture world is we will use this as a sample.

We will make our pattern for the garment, fit it, make a muzzle and take it apart, correct the pattern, get it perfect.

I do the artwork and draw exactly on the pattern where this embroidery is going to go.

Peggy: Seriously?

Michael: So then the embroidery houses do all the handwork.

It comes back to me.

Then we cut it apart at the seam allowance and sew it together.

So when you're sewing this, you don't have any of this bulk or any of this design wasted in the seam allowance.

Peggy: So this whole thing is done to the pattern piece that already fits the woman?

Michael: Exactly.

Exactly.

So in talking about the embroidery sample here, we have it done on a shear tool so it looks almost invisible.

If you put it over your wrist, of course you can't see the embroidery at all, the foundation fabric so it helps my client decide on the colors that she wants to use on top of fabrication.

You put it over the green, for instance, it takes on an entirely different color.

It's very soothing.

You know, very, very quiet; very lively, spring like.

If you put it over the turquoise, of course it becomes instantly tropical.

You know, so it has that--the blue disappearing, has seen more--the other colorations more.

The green pops out.

And if you put it over ivy, of course, then you have still another technique.

All the colors pop.

The green, turquoise, the pale pink.

Peggy: That's amazing.

And you see that?

Michael: Yes, yes, immediately.

You know, that's one of the keys about working with an embroidery sample.

You know, I may look at 100 or 200, you know, within a 5-minute period and quickly discern what responds to me, what I'm going to be a result of my client.

Peggy: Got it.

Can I just ask about the whole Laura Bush thing?

Because you did her inauguration dress and it's been just, I mean, off the charts.

I look at that dress in a microscope and just as close as I possibly could.

And when it went into Smithsonian Institute, it actually had the fabric where people could feel.

It's like a live exhibit.

Michael: So for the first time--you know, when Mrs. Bush--the red inaugural that we designed for her, it was the first opportunity at this installation, the first time that they had had an interactive exhibit.

So with the installation of her gown, they requested from me fabrications for the lace for the garment, the underlining silk organza of the garment, the coat fabrication.

So it was outside the display cabinet, so you could touch the fabric and see what it felt like and actually see what her dress would have felt like had you given her a hug in person.

So we had--they had to constantly replace the fabric.

They had to have, you know, many yards of it so they could replace that swatch time and time and time again.

Peggy: I can't imagine 'cause the enemy to fabric is us, and that's the-- Michael: I'm a very tall person.

I'm sure you are as well.

Peggy: Well, that is too the advantage and disadvantage of using natural fabrics is that they aren't-- they don't have a long life.

Michael: Exactly right.

You know, like cottons will last quite a long time.

Silks, you know, are perishable.

And even though fabrics may be expensive-- very fine fabrics does not mean that there--have a longevity.

You know, they're very perishable.

Sometimes the most fined or the most expensive are the most perishable so they're one-time wear.

You know, whereas cottons--linen, of course, is very good, but it will disintegrate after a while and it depends on how you take care of your garment.

You know, less dry cleaning, less chemicals, you know, is important.

Peggy: And I think that's important to consider when you're doing a dress.

But one thing on that Laura Bush story that I want to go back to really quick is how many garments you did in the space.

Because if we go back to the history, that was a tie election.

It went to court.

It dragged out for a while, and then at the end of that you had how much time left to do how many garments?

Michael: Well, we had 11 garments that we had to create for Mrs. Bush alone for the inaugural festivities, which is 4 days' worth of garments.

So we had a very short amount of time, about 4 weeks, to get everything created along with her guests, those of her guests who were attending.

So--and Mrs. Bush is a wonderful person, but she would not make any decision until the election is decided.

So we couldn't make any formal moves--right.

We could not make any formal moves until the election was formally decided, then we could proceed, so-- Peggy: Was there any time you had more stress, do you think, in your career?

Michael: I will say there was one time that I had a great addled stress.

We were working on an embroidered garment with a client.

It was not hand embroidery, it was machine embroidery so this helps a little bit.

In our last fittings, she couldn't decide if she wanted gold or blue, gold or blue, gold or blue.

She said gold.

I heard blue.

So she came in for a fitting with the embroidery done on the dressing and it was in blue.

She said, "I wanted a gold dress."

It's like, "All right, come back in a week."

And she came back in a week.

We had the whole dress done in gold for her.

So that's what I do.

That's what I have formulated my business on; is that rather than making it ready-to-wear collection, you know, that hangs in the stores, I like to create for the individual because I hope every day to make you, my client, feel beautiful and confident in the way you should be.

I like-- Peggy: How did you get started in this?

Michael: You know, at the University of North Texas, I studied fashion design through the art department at the University of North Texas.

They--I couldn't draw a circle on one--I mean, I had no, you know, formal art training whatsoever.

So there with the BFA you have to take oil painting, you know, watercolor.

You take sculpting.

You take weaving.

Peggy: You do all those with circles.

That would be my worry.

Michael: And then of course we get into design and pattern making, flat patterning, draping, tailoring, altering.

All of that.

But at the same time I was at university learning how to build my craft.

I was selling fine garments at Neiman Marcus.

So I had dual education.

So I was creating--learning how to create these garments, and I was selling these garments.

I got to meet all the designers who came in town from all-- with their collections from all over the world.

Got to see them, see their techniques, turn the garments inside out, and learn how to sew with really, really, really fine techniques.

Peggy: You had no idea you'd be one of them one day.

That's so cool.

Michael: Thirty-nine years later you look up and, you know, there you are.

Peggy: So that was the beginning.

That's when you really started connecting all of it together and finding a place where you thought you would fit in?

Michael: Well, that's what I wanted.

I love beautiful things.

I love beauty as a whole.

Things that are not what I consider beautiful or that are a little bit disturbing or off-putting really upset me internally.

So I tried to focus on creating beauty using, you know, old world techniques, and I just--it's worked well for me over the years, and it's what I try to do.

Peggy: And it's envious really to be in a position where you can make those choices.

I think we all are and yet sometimes we have a-- we struggle through that process, but to be in a position now where you can create things like this.

Like how do you see this?

How does this come to you?

Michael: You know, of course this is a sample here.

We are working with embroidery house to create a sample for us.

I've done this in many colors, you know, but the--it's most easy for people to understand as a neutral to begin with.

But, of course, I've done this in beautiful blues.

I've done them in black and white, so-- involving very different techniques.

You know, but the embroidery thread, the pearls, the 3D lifts within the flowers, but this-- Peggy: And what would you do with this?

Michael: Okay.

So this one, for instance, would--we create a beautiful-- we could do actually a shear coat if you wanted to have a long shear duster coat, but this would just be perfect.

Or if you wanted to have layers of silk organza with this on the top, you know, it'd be a beautiful evening gown, you know, with just this all around the skirt.

What we tried to do always in designing for a client is so the fabric does not--or so the embellishment does not look like it's off the rack on, you know, already designed fabric.

We will have a gradation in the design larger to small as it ascends the body or just particularly placed or asymmetrically done across the body so it can have a hallmark immediately that it's a handmade garment and embroidered for you.

Peggy: There are so many things here that I just want to talk about.

This is a polyester in this particular case.

Michael: Yes.

And then the tulle.

So which is--primarily used for bridal gowns, debutante gowns, prom dresses, layers and layers and layers of tulle.

Of course, single layer you can use as bridal veil, you know, but-- Peggy: And silk tulle is-- Michael: Silk tulle is very expensive.

It's the same type of a honeycomb weave as this, but it's very, very delicate and it's very, very expensive.

For instance, a multi-layered bridal gown, we may use 10 layers or 10 circles--10 layers of tulle, about 100 yards, you know, of fabrication.

So if we're talking about silk tulle, which is about $130 a yard, it becomes very, very expensive in fabric alum.

Peggy: Can you look at that fabric and tell it's silk or poly?

Michael: Yes.

Peggy: You can?

Michael: Yes, I can because, you know, all synthetics have a smell and a texture.

They feel a little bit oily because of their properties, you know, of the synthetic, and they have a different smell.

You know, so that's one thing we learned as students.

Silks have a certain smell.

Wools have a certain smell.

Cottons have a certain smell.

Linens and then--all synthetics as well.

Peggy: That's so interesting.

I'm so amazed at these, but I want to go back to these dresses for a minute because these dresses are just exquisite.

You mentioned earlier that you use solids and you added onto them.

Michael: Primarily all--always solids because a woman-- first thing when you're looking in the store, first thing you look at is the color and then you may look at the fit and the style.

So when clients come in to me, I like to have fabrications on hand that they can see and touch the quality of, but also we can order from color charts of 500 different colors that they can choose from.

So working in a solid is always best for me, and then we add our print--add our pattern in the way it's woven and in embellishment.

Peggy: It's beautiful.

And this is a border print.

Michael: This is a border print.

So I had this actually--fabric was woven for me in Spain, and it's a--you know, cross the link of the fabric across the border is this design woven and with a finished edge.

So you can do this at the hem of--as we have done here or draping around the dress to create a wonderful flow.

Peggy: It's so simply stunning and yet I would never think that I could put it on an angle like that.

But what you've done by doing that is created a little bias.

Michael: A little bit of a flounce here over the bask line, a little bit of a volume where you want it, you know.

Peggy: And with that fit underneath.

What's this fiber?

Michael: It's wool, double-woven wool crepe.

We didn't touch on crepes.

We'll touch up on crepes just in a moment and show you some of the samples, but a crepe weave is when you have the fibers that are woven or twisted very, very tightly so that when you--it's high twist so that when you--after it's woven has a little bit of a stretch to it.

It's not--correct.

It's toothier as we call it, has some tooth to the fabrication, which is a little bit of-- Peggy: And when it has that, you're better off to give it more direction?

Michael: This will mold to the body a little easier.

So this you can mold and drape.

No.

And you can shrink it.

You can stretch it.

You can make it fit the body and mold to your particular body much easier, whereas you can't really do with synthetics and especially not with a tightly-woven fabric.

It's going to be very directional pleats, you know, but this you can shape and mold and steam and shape it to the body.

Peggy: Got it.

Talk to me about this.

Michael: Same--all got same border prints.

So this is one type of a border print here with the weave in the bottom.

This is also a border print, meaning that the bottom third of the fabric is caramel color, you know, and then you have the balance of the fabric in another color.

Seamed here, and then the colors blended together with embroidery.

This, of course, you could flip.

You know, you could have the color of the neck at the bottom, coral at the top.

Peggy: This particular client had red hair, so it all just-- Michael: Red hair.

Red hair.

You know, a very, very dear client.

Beautiful person who just lets me do what I want to do and design whatever I want to design.

She comes in and says, "I trust you.

I believe whatever you have to say I have to say."

Peggy: And this is really--we're just almost out of time, but I want to touch on bias because you have a great flair for it and it just looks so beautiful when I look at this and just see how-- Michael: Well, thank you.

There again satin fabrics.

So we have a little bit of luster of satin.

And when you work on the bias, which you may have already instructed, you know, your clients or your customers or your audience about bias; when you work on the bias, it has a stretchability.

So tightly woven, it doesn't have any stretch whatsoever.

It has very permanent structure left to right.

When you're working with a bias garment, the weave is going this direction and this direction.

So very long, very sensual.

When you walk, it's almost like a stretch dress but there's no stretch in the dress.

So--but it just molds.

It's very easy to wear.

It's very sensual.

It just slips on, because there's no zipper, it just stretches over your shoulders and the drapes on to your body.

Peggy: And it comes right back in.

Michael: Precisely.

Very sensual.

Peggy: But when you do this, do you have to actually drape this particular dress?

Michael: You do, you need to- -when you're working on a bias, you need to wear--use a crepe.

You know, a crepe weave particularly is easy, you know, and it's going to mold to the body a lot, but you can't really do it with tally or a plain weave fabric like a taffeta.

Peggy: I just want to be a fly in your work just like a couple of years.

Can I do that?

Michael: For sure.

Peggy: Thank you so much for being here.

Michael: My pleasure.

Peggy: I really appreciate your information.

All right, take care.

When we choose our clothing style, our decisions are often more emotional and fun than logical and factual.

Next time we'll learn how to balance logic and fun by understanding what we have to work with and how following a few style rules will help us dress our best.

Join us next time on "Fit 2 Stitch."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ announcer: "Fit 2 Stitch" is made possible by Kai Scissors, ♪♪ Plano Sewing Center, ♪♪ Elliott Berman Textiles, ♪♪ Benno's Buttons, ♪♪ Imitation of Life, ♪♪ and Clutch Nails.

♪♪ To order a four-DVD set of "Fit 2 Stitch" series 11, please visit our website at fit2stitch.com.