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Ursa Major – Studying & Re-Creating Vintage Garments
Noah Savas, 22, studies vintage garments and makes replicas of them using only vintage materials and old-school sewing methods.
“I was taught how to sew at a very young age. My mother and grandmother helped me make stuffed animals out of felt and other scraps from their own projects. Later on, when I was a teenager, I became interested in fashion. Most of the garments that caught my eye were too expensive for me to buy.
Naturally, I began sewing my own clothes with my mom’s help, and that gradually turned into an obsession for detail and quality in what I was making.
My mother could only teach me so much with her knowledge, and a lot of my later progression in sewing came from trial and error. Early on, my process was to make a pattern, sew the garment, and inspect the fit. I would then change one thing on the pattern with each iteration until I knew I had exactly what I desired. Over the years, this procedure of experimentation has given me an intuition for patternmaking that allows me to create exactly what I envision from the beginning to the end of a project.
Watching a lot of informational content on sewing online has also helped me along the way. On another note, I have done an extensive amount of research with photos of garments that I am looking to take inspiration from. There is such a wealth of images on Instagram, among other websites, that can give hints on how a piece of clothing is constructed.
Ursa Major is not about being a brand or selling a product. It is more focused on maximal attention to detail in three principles: construction, function, and story. Through a strict adherence to those values, not only can a wearable garment be created, but something that is elegant in its figure and character. I would consider the one-off garments that I make to be studies of their vintage counterparts, designed from an outsider’s point of view.
My ultimate objective is to create garments that are indiscernible from the originals, but still have their own unique and modern appeal.
My interest in vintage clothing comes from its rooting in reality. The narrative of ordinary people and the human experience is something I try to embody in a singular garment through careful choices in material, silhouette, and condition (wear and repair). Hardship, recreation, conflict, and leisure are all notions that I attempt to define.
I like to think that each individual item I create has its own history with an original owner. With that in consideration, I think of myself as the second wearer of each piece.
I try to get my fabrics and trims in person as much as possible. The material I find in antique stores and flea markets feels quite special, and typically, I know exactly what I'll make with it as soon as I touch it. In other instances, if I have a design in mind, I take hours of careful searching through websites to obtain exactly what I know I need. Online fabric buying is difficult because it’s almost impossible to tell how it feels in person, but there are a few specs that I can usually cross-reference and get a general idea of what I’m working with.
My advice for beginner sewists: Mistakes are a constant in the beginning, and frustration is a common emotion. Getting over the hump of learning how to sew is difficult, but once you have the knowledge of your craft, it is a very freeing feeling and the possibilities are endless.
Sewing has taught me many things that make me a stronger designer. I have found that patience leads to better quality and cleaner work. Rushing only leads to careless mistakes, and the project has a natural itinerary that will finish on its own time, provided you keep at it. There is efficiency, but no shortcuts. Sticking with a new process or material until I am comfortable with it, regardless of how difficult it may be, has allowed me to broaden my skills greatly.
They say you need to sew one hundred buttonholes before you can sew a good one. I was essentially forced into learning how to make them due to not owning a machine that sews them for me. Many of my projects in the beginning did not have very good ones, but after sewing hundreds by hand I have been able to make them almost perfect.
This entire project has been an exercise in process and design. Someday, after graduating from college, I would like to bring my clothing to a greater audience that will hopefully enjoy wearing my work as much as I do making it.
It is my belief that designing and sewing your own clothing is the epitome of personal style.”
Follow Ursa Major on Instagram @ursamajor.workwear
hickory stripe denim