FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Dragon Queen
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
I wanted to make a dragon inspired costume for a while and had this design in mind for more than a year. The competition gave me the opportunity to finally bring this design to life.
I've been inspired by Wistala from the "Age Of Fire" saga written by E.E. Knight. In the book, Wistala is a young dragon who has been chased and hunted by dwarves when she was still a baby but the destiny made her been adopted by an pacific elf and while growing she became interested in humanoids society and behaviours. It inspired me to create a costume that would represent a dragon who had the ability to look like a humanoid too to be able to communicate and be a part of a humanoid society in a easier way.
I chose to keep some dragon details like horns and claws and incorporated scales and crests in the design as a reminder. I even added detachable wings for a more "draconic" feel. The detachable wings also make echo to the fact that in the Age Of Fire saga, dragons are born without wings and their wings grow later when they become adult.
Outline the construction…
The costume is composed of a corset, a skirt, neck corset, arm bracers and scalemail shoulder pieces. Other accessories (tights, horns and jewelry) are bought items.
I chose to use silk dupioni as a main fabric, wich was a tricky choice but worth the effort. To make it easier to use, I fused the dupioni to the coutil to use them both as one layer. Black fabric of the skirt is viscose as it has good weight and smooth feel.
One of the most challenging parts was to fit the pattern, especially at the bust because of the plunging neckline. Cutting and matching the "belly" pieces to make it look like a dragon belly was also challenging, even more when it came to put the busk in place because of the extra bulk at the center front.
To make the hip crests behave I used some aluminium wire as boning so it's possible to shape them in the desired way. All pieces are adorned with strass wich have been glued one by one and I've sewn small beads to make a smooth transition between the teal of the corset and the purple of the hip crests. I've also added piping under all bias binded edges for extra details.
I had to find a way of making detachable wings too, wich was a creative exercise but at the end, some snap fasteners sewn on the bracers and neck corset did the job very well!
Wow! stunning <3
The use of colours is perfect! and the construction is very well done too!
The shape of that corset is incredible ! I love the scales on the shoulders as well!
You must have put an impressive amount of time into these accessories!
So many details in this piece! I particularly love the hip fins and the cuffs. You really put a lot of thoughts into it and it payed off! It all looks wonderful♡
I love the fabric that you have used and the fit is so good. Definitely gives me the dragon vibes 😀
This looks wonderful! It fits so well and the colours are amazing! I really like the wings.
Well done! The colors and textures are delightful and I love your hip fins!