In my workings of 2010 I challenged myself to design and construct my Year 12 Ball gown. It goes a little something like this:
Firstly I would like to declare that this dress is made out of white chiffon fabric and Champaign coloured silk.
The original design of the garment was to have a single horizontal strap from the line of the bust across the front, wrapping around my body at the back and connecting to the side above the zip. Whilst this feature is apart of the dress some slight alterations were made. the Halter neck design become slightly more details in taking those straps down the back and attaching them in a V shape to the back strap of the garment. I am very happy with the newly made decision.
The front of the garment was constructed using a single triangular pattern with slight alterations to bring them into straps with a band of silk. This attaching to a small simple silk band that surrounds the garment.
The skirt of the dress is done using a separate simple skirt patter using gathers in the front middle section of the garment as well as the lower back curving of the garment. this creates a beautiful drape to the garment allowing it have have an elegant Grecian look to it which was the original inspiration of the design.
Accessorising is always important to compliment ones garment, so i have stuck with the traditional pearl and gold coloured jewellery expressed in some tear drop intricate earrings and a matching large round intricate, delicate ring. Added to by a gold clutch and white-cream coloured heels and the look is complete.
My Current Project goes to the theme, 'Kingdom Come... Queen Thy Will Be Done'
My project genre i have chosen to make a garment. My Garment will be based on the negative portrayal of American Beauty Queens.
This is the First photo taken of my garment in the making:
This is the front side of the corset that will become the bodes of my dress.
At this stage I have cut out the pattern of the corset onto 100 polyester fabric and sewed it together at the seams. I have then applied a flour paste over the entire front side of the garment and allowed it to dry. This flour paste is made up simply of flour and water mixed together to create a not-too-runny but not-too-thick paste that can be applied and spread over the fabric nicely.
This is my corset after the flour paste has dried. I have now applied fabric paint roughly to the surface of the corset in the design of the American Flag to support my theme of American Beauty Queens.
This is a sample of the flour paste and paint fabric that I previously completed which has influenced the idea for my final piece. Where the flour remained after being scrunched when dry is all the blank spaces. this allowed the fabric paint to get in between the cracks of the paste and imbed itself into the fabric and then heat pressed to ensure the colour lock.
The sample is then left in a bucket of water over night so the remaining flour can become a gluey form of texture. this makes the flour easy to remove and I am left with this end result.
After being heat pressed, the corset must soak in a bucket of cold water from 2 hours to over night in order for the flour paste to be easily removed.
The corset after scrubbed and flour excess has come off.
Frame and the start of beading on the crown for my final piece. I started this crown whilst on Artist Camp,
First i created the frame out of a semi-thick wire, making it stable and shaped to my head.
I then got much thinner wire and beaded red, blue and mostly silver/transparent beads randomly into the frame to fill the empty space.
Close up of the beading Detailing.
After Paint and Ink splattering white material with the colours of blue and red, I gathered and sewed as well as attached the skirt of my garment altogether with the top piece. I don't have and documentation of the skirt process as it all happened quite quickly I had no time to stop and think!
the skirt is pinched and tacked all up the side of the right side of the skirt, leaving the left side plain with an elegant split. Both sides do have a split but with all the gathered material on the right side, it is hardly noticeable. I wanted to create this garment with inspiration of many of the finalist dresses of American Beauty Queens I have studied. Everything you see has been worked on by myself, from the tip top of the breaded crown all the way down to the spray painted high heels.
This final piece was submitted to the curriculum council as my ATAR markings for my year 12 work.
I would like to include my Artist Statement that comes with the dress so that there is an explanation to the deeper meaning of my garment:
American Brutal Queen.
Living the American Dream. It is one dream of many, to become the next Miss America. It seems to be all glitz & glamour, which is what appeals to us most about this beautiful lifestyle. It is the ugly that we hardly ever see, but little do we know, behind all that make-up and Botox is more than just a pretty face, and I’m not talking about brains.
Many Beauty pageant winners and Miss Americas have been stripped of their crowns for the brutal behaviour they display in public from time to time. That is what my garment is based on - the not so perfect side of today’s American Beauty Queen.
Inspired by John Galliano and Alexander McQueen I have tried to fashion my dress as though it were something to be seen strutting down the catwalk of the next Beauty Pageant. My theme has been inspired by some of the seven deadly sins - Anger, Greed, Envy, Pride and even a bit of Lust.
Through the traditional textile flour paste technique used to create the Flag Pattern on my corset I have been able to portray the use of anger through the cracking pattern it makes. Greed and Envy is displayed through the American money notes used on the ‘Winners bouquet’ of flowers as well as the ‘jeweled’ crown. Pride, through the purple text on the sash. Finally Lust has been incorporated into the garment through the use of the corset which although is used as an outer garment is also known for being a lingerie type of undergarment.
My garment reflects the imperfections of the things in life we can not see from being blinded by the beauty presented in front of us that distracts the mind from proper judgement.
This little number I have created over the weekend for my sister and myself's Muck Up Day at school (in summary a day where everyone dresses up and we have a little brunch and performances).
The Angel & The Devil:
This devils dress is made from chiffon and a plain black underlayer material.
I have used a corset pattern for the tops of the dresses with a love heart shaped top. Boning was used in the costumes, more in the devil than in the angel costume.
a skirt pattern was created to attach to the top piece. Both skirts were gathered and fitted to the shape of the corset creating a front as well as back V shape on the garment.
The angel costume had a layered skirt to create more volume and appear more "fluffy" where as the evils costume simply had a black slip skirt attached to the undergarment.
