FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Molly’s La Belle Dame Sans Merci
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Other Credits
Modelled by Emilie Longden
Outline the story …
My piece is inspired by the poem ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ written in 1819 by John Keats, in which a wayward knight comes across a woman whom resembles a ‘faery’s child’. She declares her love and provides him with ‘roots of relish sweet’, leading the knight to apparently fall ill and have nightmares of the woman’s previous victims; Kings and Princes alike. When the knight awakens, he is alone, ashen faced and ‘palely loitering’, with the faery like woman having left him to die beside a lake.
My corset would be worn by the titular character of the poem, which translates to ‘The Beautiful Lady Without Mercy’. The pale green colour of the silk fabric reflects her woodland abode and ensures she blends into her environment where she lies in wait- appearing innocent to lure passing knights and princes. The feminine cut and ruffle on the corset ensure she appears beautiful to travellers she encounters, emphasizing her ‘faery’ like appearance and ethereal beauty as described by the knight.
The lily of the valley embellishment hints at her beautiful yet deadly character; the flowers are delicate and pretty yet when consumed they are poisonous and fatal. Additionally, the fly agaric and death cap mushrooms are similarly lethal and hint at the fate of the woe-begotten knight whom has fallen victim to her charms. Ultimately, the bright and contrasting embroideries serve as a visual warning of the faery-woman’s true nature and malevolent motivations.
Outline the construction…
My piece has been constructed using pale green silk dupion, coutil and is fully lined with cotton fabric. It is the first corset I have ever made and drafted, and I used the Foundations Revealed resource in order to draft the initial pattern. I then adapted this pattern to greater reflect my design and the late Victorian silhouette, inspired by an historical pattern in the book ‘Corsets’ by Jill Salen.
The bust of the corset has been hand corded which was a unique challenge I have not yet faced in my costume experience and was a long process to ensure I didn’t ruin the fabric. Additionally, the roll pining of each pattern piece was a challenge which took practice until I had improved my technique which I believe has been worthwhile.
The embellishments have all been hand embroidered using traditional goldwork techniques which I have adapted in my own style. The mushrooms have been stitched with varying shades of coloured smooth purl wire which has been individually cut and embroidered, first outlined with gold pearl purl wire. They also include freshwater pearls on the fly agaric mushrooms to reflect the realism of the fungi.
The lily of the valley leaves have a base of appliqued green fabric with detail added by hand stitched smooth purl. The flowers have been embroidered with silver bright check purl to provide texture and shine.
The tulle skirt is the model’s own.
The embroidery on the corset is absolutely fantabulous!
The embroidery is stunning.
The embroidery really flatters the fabric well! Great construction too!
Beautiful work and the colors are perfect. Lovely choice of silk and the corset detailing and cording is well done.
This is lovely! The goldwork is gorgeous and looks perfect on the silk.
Lovely embroidery work!
Beautiful embroidery!! The mushrooms are so cute!!
Fun and whimsical! Love your embroidery work and color choices.
Your corset truly delights my heart. Bravo!
I love the colour and embroidery! So pretty! I remember reading this poem for my English class, and you did a great job interpreting the character! Well done! (also, not relevant, but I really like your tattoos!)
The embroidery is stunning.
I love the embroidery!