Inspirations

I am inspired by highly decorative, intricate collars of the Elizabethan costume that communicated social status its wearer. Historically only the highest echelons of society were allowed to wear and able to afford these collars. They were luxury signifiers of wealth and social status, similarly to today’s latest technologically enhanced textiles and bodies.

I was also inspired by Vivienne Westwood’s strategy of referencing historical costume to comment on current issues. One example of this is her Mini-Crini collection where she takes the Victorian bell shaped skirt and shortens it into a mini. I wanted to play with this idea of reusing an established form such as skirt shape or a collar and shifting it to a new ground.

I also found Bart Hess’ and Lucy McRae’s creations interesting and inspiring. I was drawn to the Hunt for Hightech fake fur collection with its mutant, grotesque, hairy, scaly, foreign yet familiar aesthetic.