I Don't Like To Admit It But...

...My work closely relates to fashion, I dont know why I dont like admitting this! I dont necessarily like 'trends' or make patterns and work with patterns and fabric, but I like how materials interact with the body and change its perception which you could say...is clothing. ARGH! I battled with this a lot during my FMP at college and really wanted to avoid fashion and design at all costs, I really discovered a different type of 'wearable art' that Id never seen before that kind of blurs the line between being wearable and sculpture.

I do reference a lot of fashion in my work but the end product is far from clothing id say...but this does give me another area of research that I enjoy. Heres some fashiony artists Ive been looking at recently, their material manipulation, subject matter and how they work around the body I find really interesting.

Vanessa Schindler

Alternative Miss World Initial Ideas

After watching Andrew Logans A British Guide to Showing Off  i noted down main themes i noticed, other than the ones given such as Void or Earth, i mainly noticed the theme of gender and sexuality, what defines gender and the spectrum between male and female. The view of the female body is seen in more of a humorous and cheeky way and the body is accentuated and almost celebrated as art rather than something to be covered. It made me think about how i define the term 'female' and 'male' and the people inbetween who merge these terms and become something new.

When i did A Rakes Progress i went to make a quick sculpture from the initial idea of A Rakes Progress focusing on the prostitues, i noticed how those characters were always in the background and never seemed to be a main character almost as though they were props or objects in the composition. Howeverrrrrrrrr this project went on way longer than i thought it would because i got caught up in using plaster and the effects it gives. But from this it gave me ideas and followed on well to alternative miss world with the idea of femaile sexuality and gender.

These arent recent pictures from my new sculpture, my newer ones are a lot more heavy handed and exagerated like Rebecca Warrens work using clay. The way i make the sculptures is also kind of how i draw in life drawing.





I researched into the subjetc matter of her sculptures which originally came from Robert Crumbs cartoon sketches which were quite offensive and harsh. He worked from American mainstream and his 'ideal woman' but then again in a lot of his drawings he would draw the men small and weak compared to the women.

I want to carry on with this theme of female sexuality an identity, my first idea if i were to make a costume would be to make an everyday object into a costume to show the objectification of women, with it being made into a theatrical humorous costume it would show the attitude most people have towards sexist comments and jokes and abuse women can get in the streets for the way they look.

Updated Costume Design

This costume lesson i tried to refine my sketches and ideas for my jumper to try to create a final design to work from. I mainly got my ideas from this picture i took in the ballgown exhibit in The V&A. I want to use similar techniques on the sleeves using lace layered over other material.          

My idea was to put the lace at the tops of the sleeves so i would cut the sleeves off entirely from the jumper and make new ones.

These were my second designs to get a better image of it as a jumper. I think i want to leave the jumper quite loose and baggy to make it more modern rather than the tight corsets worn of the time. I then want to cut the sleeves off and create new 3/4 length ones using a light see through pale material That are tight at the top baggy around the elbow and tight at the bottom. The i would like to put lace from the shoulder seam down to about ahlfway to the elbow but with lace that has a cut out shape rather than a straight edge just to exagerate the tight top half of the sleeve. I may try to embroider or free stitch a floral pattern in a V shape which was commonly used on corsets of the time to match with the lace on the sleevs.

This is my jumper so far, all i have done is cut out the neckline but once i sewed the seam to neaten it it made the edge go wavy but i think this made a nice effect. I then pleated a netted material in strips and sewed it around the neckline. i have also sewn elastic into the waist so the top stays quite loose and baggy but fitted at the waist. 

Costume Sketches from the Ballgown Exhibit

 After our visit to The V&A, in our costume lessons i worked from sketches and tried to copy certains styles and cuts from the designs to then make more modern. From this costume i liked how the sleeves were constructed and the shapes they made. However for my design from the 1700s the sleeves were tighter at the top and looser towards the bottom so i moved the puffed part of the sleeve towards the bottom.

 My first focus was to look at the sleeves of the costumes. from the 1700s they were usually tight at the top then looser towards the bottom but the tight at the wrist this then gave it volume and allowed it to go baggy.

I liked the idea of using lace on the edges like on the tops and bottoms od sleeves. This would allow me to make it tight at the top and bottom making it baggier at the elbows creating volume. I laso had the idea to layer the sleeve under the top making it a vest but padding it out so the top stands out from the sleeves to make it look more modern.

 These were more sketches i made for sleeve designs changing the shapes and cuts of them. Lots of the sleeves had lace and were usually to the elbow with ruffled or pleated light material. One of my designs i worked from the basic shapes of 1700th sytle sleeves but tried to make them mroe modern and relatable to today. Instead of smoothly graduating from tight to baggy i made the lines straight which i would use wire to strengthen the bottom of the sleev and keep its shape.

My Finished Wig

Im quite happy with my finished piece i think it works well and replicates 17th century hair, although i couldve made it more over the top and bigger using more wadding and paper. I couldve also tried to modernise it and make it wearable in todays fashion. From this i really want to try further wig making but using different materials, ill use paper as a maquette to test out the wigs and see how they look.

Wig Making

We tried wig making today based on hair styles from the 17th century. Wigs were worn to show wealth and class as the rich could afford to cut their hair short from the lice that were common and to have big extravagant wigs. The womens wigs often had sponge or padding inside to fill them out and give them volume to then wrap the hair around. The hair was usually white and had ringlet curls going around the head.

Rich men also wore wigs as it showed their wealth and class. The hair looks quite feminine compared to mens hairstyles today with long curled wigs that look back combed.

We made a skull cap as a base for the wig using a carrier bag and masking tape to fit to a manniquin head. From this i curled strips of paper using scissors and taped into position to create a tube effect around the bottom of the head, i wanted to make two rows of curls with a large combed over piece on top.



To create a shape to build on i used wadding on the rest of the head and taped into position then wrapped over strips of paper all meeting at one point around the crown.



I felt the profile of the wig looks effective and similar to the painting i referred to, although from the front as its made from paper you can see the wadding underneath and looks like a crown shape. After making this practice piece it has made me want to do further research into modern wig making and do this for my finished piece in costume. Iwant to look into other syles of wigs from this time and experiment making them modernised.

Christian Lacroix Fall 2007

I looked into paper wig making and found some interesting designs and techniques by Amy Flurry. She was influenced by the mistress of Louis XV of France, Madame De Pompadour, who was famous for the Pompadour hair style.