Surrealism Skirt - FINISHED.

Despite my wakening up in a terrible mood and sleeping in - generally, the odds were against me this morning as soon as my alarm woke me up, I managed to finish my skirt.

I could lie and say, "I have no idea why it's taken me so long to finish it", but I know that the extra time gruelling details I decided to add to the skirt today was the culprit for taking me so long to feel as though I had accomplished something. I could have handed in the skirt yesterday which would have meant that the skirt would have not had hand embellishment added or the pollen ducts attached, but then I would have felt that the skirt was not really finished. Plus, I was getting incredibly weary of people commenting on the fact that my skirt looked "leafy". Therefore, I wanted to do all I could today to make it look as flowery/floral/NOT LEAFY as possible...

Bad quality photo's from Blackberry.

Front

Back.

I was inspired by a sketch I took at the exhibit of a dragonfly that was made from natural materials, such as conkers and leaves etc. I did intend on adding an actual dragonfly to the skirt and attaching it, but as time went on, this was no longer an option.

Everything I create, seems to have a natural theatrical quality and thus, tends to look more costume design than high fashion. I think this is because when I taught myself how to sew and hand embellish in my sixth year at school, I created costume pieces for a contemporary production of "CATS - The Musical". Since then, I find it difficult to create and design garments without a theatrical style or drama.

When I created my surreal shirt for example, I kept thinking of Chicago the musical, and something one of the characters would wear. For the surreal skirt, I kept imaging it in a production of "A Midsummer Nights Dream".

One designer that marries high fashion and theatrical designs beautifully, is John Galliano.

I have always been an admirer of his romantic designs, despite his collections being criticised by many. His runway shows are a piece of theatre in their own right, and his garments look as though they just walked off of a performance of "Cirque Du Soleil". I kept Galliano in mind when I designed my floral inspired skirt and I particularly seeked reference from his Spring/Summer 2008 Ready To Wear Collection.

Dainty designs with lots of layering.

Inspiration for makeup design on the day of the catwalk.

Gorgeous embellishment.



Although my design is hardly comparable to Galliano's, I did constantly keep him in mind when designing my surreal skirt.

My skirt is far from a work of art, but I am proud of it nonetheless.

xoxo