FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
As Fair Once as He Now is Foul
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
photography by instagram.com/campybearphoto, modelling and makeup by instagram.com/mirellejanedivine
Outline the story …
In Dante’s Inferno, Satan is described as a massive, furred demon with immense bat-like wings, “as fair once as he now is foul.” He is frozen up to his waist in ice and the wind from his wings freezes the area around him.
From this striking image I was inspired to create a dress and tailored jacket with oversized wing-like sleeves and a clear vinyl backpiece that surrounds the wearer like a frozen lake.
The dress and jacket body are made from an embossed velvet that suggests the texture of fur, featuring a short pile that shows off the tailored shape of the piece. The silhouette of the jacket is heavily padded at the side bust to create the illusion of a smaller waist. The front of the jacket curves tightly under the bust to emphasize the shape of the chest.
The jacket sleeves are a stiff lurex mikado that has the smooth, almost leathery texture of a bat’s wing and are cut with a pointed shoulder and a dramatically flared high-low hem.
The backpiece is clear vinyl covered with iridescent resin, along with acrylic crystals and rhinestones to give the texture of ice. It tilts at a severe angle to frame the wearer’s body and emphasize the wearer’s waist.
Outline the construction…
The entire ensemble is custom patterned from a set of self-drafted blocks. While the dress is a fairly straightforward princess seam design, the jacket is substantially more complex.
The boned jacket lining is cut to fit the body. The sides of the jacket are padded out with a combination of foam, batting and flannel to produce a dramatic waist shape. Over the lining and padding, the body of the jacket is formed from different canvases hand pad stitched into the bust, upper chest, lapels, collar and collar stand. There is additional boning in the front of the jacket to give a clean line to the hooks and eyes that form the closure. All the velvet seam allowances had to be cross stitched open by hand, as there was no way to effectively press the velvet without destroying the embossed texture.
The clear vinyl of the back piece is where this project departed from traditional dressmaking and tailoring techniques. To support the shape, the clear vinyl had gouges sanded into it to allow an epoxy resin to stick to it. This epoxy resin created the stiffness required to maintain the shape while remaining transparent.
To attach the backpiece to the body, the main weight is suspended from a vinyl harness worn under the jacket. Where it wraps around the waist, it attaches to a hook at the hem of the jacket. The boning in the jacket helps support the weight.
This costume is insane. I am absolutely overwhelmed on how stunning this looks., it truly does looks like you are coated in ice (it gives big Robert Wun vibes), and all the different textures are just fantastic. I admire the structure in the coat it has an amazing and dramatic silhouette. And though Dante’s satan is foul yours are certainly not.
That is so cool with the vinyl back piece, and so smart to have a harness under to support it. Well done I’m so impressed.