For my Research Project (dissertation) I decided to look into 3 women whom I admire from the latter 18th century. I looked into the lives of Marie Antoinette, Lady Seymour Worsley and Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and how they used their clothing to express themselves and challenge the patriarchal societal rules of the time. I analysed portraits of the women, painted during their lives and biopic costumes interpreting their lives after their deaths, looking at them within the contexts of critical theories on gender and the performing body. I found it fascinating reading up on them and all they went through in their lives. How they coped with a system that basically meant they didn't exist as an individual, but merely as the property of their husbands. They used their clothes to say all they couldn't out-loud, and in light of the recent #Time's Up campaign this awards season it shows the technique of using clothing to make a statement is still very much at the heart of costume and fashion.
For my major project (part 1) I have chosen to do another literature based project, this time designing for characters from Julie Kagawa's fantasy novel The Iron King. It is a novel I enjoy reading as it's a modern take on classic characters; the story includes Shakespearean characters such as Puck, Oberon and Titania.
The story follows 16 year old Meghan as she delves into the fey realm to rescue her little brother Ethan from the Iron King, discovering creatures, magic, danger and secrets about her heritage along the way. I chose a fantasy novel as it expands the genres I have deigned for, showing I can cover a variety of stories. It also is partly set modern day, partly set in a timeless fairy realm so it gives me freedom to go exactly where I want with the designs and I'm not restricted by a time zone. Instead of doing a photoshoot in this project I will be making mock ups of three of my designs, using sourced garments and altering and embellishing them to look like my designs. This will showcase the sewing skills I do have. I have been conducting research and creating design sketches as I go to show the development of my ideas, but today I tried a different method I haven't tried before; draping on the stand. This made a change from trying to draw my ideas in 2D and also made me more aware of the practical construction techniques that would be needed to make my designs, which can be forgotten about when drawing them on paper. It also made me think about the fabrics and their weight, and what their weight meant they could or couldn't do, which is easy to interpret incorrectly when just putting them down on paper without actually handling the fabric its self. I also found it satisfying to see an actual dress with each design I created, even if it was only held together with pins. |
AuthorMy name is Rachel and this blog holds the work I have done throughout college and university for a digital portfolio. Archives
June 2019
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