Wearable Art

Very soon my younger sister Kat will be graduating from AUT after completing a fashion degree, specialising in costume design. Today Darren and I went to see the wonderful collection of wearable art that she and her classmates had created. Kat met us at the campus and talked us through each piece that was on display, starting with the amazing outfits that were inspired by poems chosen by the students. Kat's breathtaking floral extravaganza 'Beauty in Bloom' immediately caught my eye as I remembered her describing it to me when she was first hand-dyeing the fabric. When I saw it images of Orchids, Lilys and even Tulips came to mind - the colours were truly amazing and were set off beautifully by the storm grey bodysuit which was also made by Kat.








Beside Kat's 'Beauty in Bloom' stood her wine coloured corset and pantaloons, hand embroidered with Fleurs de Lys type designs and made in the traditional way - no short cuts allowed. The costume students use old fashioned couture techniques and fabrics like raw silk and silk satin, canvas and lawn cotton.






To the right is Kat's outfit for 'Colonel Johnnie Race', a character from Agatha Christie's novel and film 'Death on the Nile'. Each person in the class was assigned a character and had to create an outfit for them. This is a story I am very familiar with, and I thought most of the outfits were spot on. I was a bit disappointed in one of the designs - that of the central character 'Linnet Doyle', a wealthy and beautiful young woman. I felt that the student assigned to her could have used a bit more imagination in Linnet's attire - that a poison green evening dress was a bit inadequate.



One that really stood out for me was 'Salome Otterbourne' (below left), a drunkard novelist obsessed with sex. Unpleasant character, perfect outfit.
















Other designs which stood out for me from the
poem assignment were a black gown, inspired by
Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven and a beautiful ballerina
tutu inspired by the poem Rice Pudding. I joked that
I could wear the black gown as a modern wedding dress -
it was gorgeous and had a train and everything!






Daz joined in the fun, posing as a mannequin.



After the exhibition, Kat took us to see her workroom and all machines they use for their projects. It was exactly as I imagined it - snarls of thread and scraps of fabric here and there, pictures on walls and mannequins of various sizes dotted around the room. There was every kind on machine you could possibly think of when it came to fabric technology, from the massive knitting machine with lots of arms to one that made buttonholes and even one that knitted gloves!

I think it will definitely help to have a couturier in the family. I came away with my head full of colours and lots of sewing ideas for the upcoming summer.