FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Goddess of the Harvest
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Outline the story …
“She was wrapped in purple, deep and rich as the colour of the harvest berries, the fabric seeming to twist and writhe as it emerged from a mist of nothingness at her feet[...] She moved to sit, and the fabric moved in a cloud with her, settling over one of her arms like a long, draping sleeve.”
This description is taken from the writing of a good friend, the image of a goddess of the harvest whose powers have taken a more vengeful turn since the murder of her people long ago. During the pandemic, escaping to the worlds written by this friend got me through the worst of lockdown and kept me inspired, transporting me away from the inside of my house and a scary world, to somewhere imaginary, magical, and exciting.
The dress was made over a structured, boned bodysuit made to support the weight of the dress and garland over it, with a reinforced upper and nearly invisible nude mesh pants which have been gradient dyed to look like the mist of the magical dress appearing at her feet. I wanted the design to have the look of impossibility and defying gravity, so the rest of the purple silk chiffon has been draped atop this in folds to replicate the look of fabric which doesn’t follow human rules. The two garlands at the shoulder and hip contain over 250 handmade berries, hand braided vines and fruits, all dyed and embellished by hand.
Outline the construction…
The dress started with the base bodysuit. This is a cutaway playsuit of cotton and linen and reinforced with boning in order to hold the weight of the dress and embellishments which would have to go atop it. This was attached to a pair of nylon mesh pants, tightly fit to the knees and flaring at the calves with a gradient dye. The pants are made to have an invisible look, so that the fabric around the feet seems to appear from nowhere. Over this, chiffon was draped and carefully hand sewn in place to make it appear as if it was growing, or a part of something organic, rather than a sewn garment.
The garland is all made by hand with a variety of techniques. The fabrics were all dyed to achieve the right colours and gradients, and then sewn into fruit shapes and embellished with beads, embroidery, and rhinestones. The leaves and vines were cut and the edges burned to avoid fraying. The garland also includes over 250 berries made of crystal beads, hand covered thread beads, and self covered buttons.
The biggest challenge of this costume was to create the feeling of the other worldly and the inhuman. I wanted the costume to look like it wasn’t a dress the character was wearing, but a part of her, natural and changing. Using a structured base and draping the fabric atop it was the perfect solution to give this effect. All patterns were made by me.
I love this dress so much. Not only is there an interesting mix of textures but it looks like the cloth was casually thrown and in a second it will fall to the ground. And the detail with the pants making the feets fade is just amazing.
Thank you so much! I wanted to achieve a really effortless “just happened to fall that way” kind of look 😭 the best thing to hear thank you
I adore this outfit so much, the invisible mist pants, the fruits, the drapey chiffon and harvest season has always seemed magic to me and you captured that essence perfectly.
Thank you 💕 autumn/harvest season is absolutely my favourite season of all
The way this dress seems to defy gravity really pushes it from being beautiful to being devine! It’s definitely the way I would imagine a goddess with otherwordly powers to portray herself. Also asymmetry is so hard to pull off but you’ve done it expertly and it really pays off in the end! Stunning !
Oh my goodness thank you so much!!!