Dresses- initial ideas

For my washing line concept I decided the washing line itself would be made of broken china and glass, tied together with string and wool. I decided this would be pinned at one end to the wall and hang down to an old tin bucket, that would be filled with gin.

Does the gin still cling when you scratch your skin?

The smell of gin appealing to the senses. The old tin bucket I have has a hole it it and therefore the gin would leak onto the floor, spilling out. This, I hoped would make the scent of gin spread further around the studio.

After doing some samples, I decided to make three dresses and these were my initial ideas-


1. A dress made of gold lace (black lace sprayed gold, which still showed black subtly), peacock feathers, (which are unlucky) and black fringing (flapper girl connotations).
I decided this dress would be quite fragile, with fabrics in places, signifying nakedness, vulnerability, and hinting at promiscuity.
I decided this would be stitched together with red thread, symbolising danger, as though danger was running through the dress.
These are quite glamorous fabrics and I decided this dress would be used in connection with my "washing line" being soaked in gin and draped over the side of a bucket.





2. Red silk, combined with plain canvas, combining glamour and plainness, past life and current life. This concept later changed to be a dress made out of red silk and a man's shirt. I decided the silk would be heated with hot irons and soaked in earth. This was to explore the idea of damage (or damaging memories) and HEAT.




I HAD A THOUGHT I COULD MAKE A MATERNITY DRESS

Does your belly ache for baby?



 3. A dress of all patchwork scraps of fabric joining together. Could be a maternity dress with a small baby dress displayed with it, same fabric. A box made of thorns around it, cords trying to attach the two.

Black lace maternity dress? Suggests mourning? Red ribbons, umbilical cords attached/not attached to christening shoes?


Here are some photographs of my initial ideas and of samples, and of me making up the pattern, extending the pattern of a top on baking paper.

Dress number 1.

Dress number 2.

Pattern making