FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Mëriade, a Sea Nymph tale
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
photographer: Jean-Noël KEGEL;model: Laurane REY;MUA: Eloïse DEMOGUE
Outline the story …
For this year's theme, I decided to take inspiration from the novel I’m writing and create an outfit for one of the species that inhabit the universe of this story. I decided to make a costume for a Mëriade: a sea nymph of my invention. I wanted the outfits of these nymphs to evoke aquatic animals, something feminine with a mysterious side.
So I took inspiration from Betta fish (a variety of fighting fish). For the skirt, I chose flowing materials and applied patterns to recall their tail and, for the corset, the embroidered scales are a reproduction of Betta fish scales.
When thinking about this costume, I immediately wanted to combine blue-purple tones with shells.
I chose a corset model with gussets at the bust and hips so that I could easily integrate embroidery and highlight it. The scales are made with threads in different tones of plain and changing purples and blues because I wanted to give relief to the pattern and certain scales are made up of rocaille beads in different shades of blue with iridescent reflections to give shine to the motives.
I also modified the corset pattern to add pieces on the front on which I placed piping: this gives fluidity and allowed me to sew shells, cultured pearls and small pink coral branches (from a vintage necklace).
Outline the construction…
For the corset, I based it on an 1875 corded corset from Mandy Barrington's book Stays & Corsets that I modified to encompass the bust and add pieces with curves to the front.
It’s made up of four fabrics which form two layers: a blue-purple changing muslin flatlined on coutil that I dyed in light blue and blue cotton voile also flatlined on coutil. I also dyed the ribbons for the boning channels. There are six gussets that I’ve fully embroidered with a scale pattern. (It was the first time I worked with muslin)
I chose to apply twill ribbons for the boning at the lining to avoid there being a lot of seams on the muslin, so, apart from at the center back, the boning is invisible. I also sewed shells, coral and cultured pearls onto the piping of the corset.
For the skirt, I made a circle skirt in blue muslin lined with cotton voile on which I offset the waistline, which means that it’s longer at the back than at the front. I chose a closing system present on 18th Century skirts: four ribbons to tie the back and then the front together. I hand-applied pieces in the same muslin as the corset to recall the tails of Betta fish. The shape and fluidity of the skirt also contribute to this evocation. I decided to make a rolled hem to the skirt and used three different threads in shades similar to the embroidery on the corset.
I love the scale details on the corset and the contrasting inserts in the skirt. It works well.