FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Off With Their Heads
Content warning: blood warning
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Entry inspired by the Queen of Hearts from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." by Lewis Carroll. In my mind the Queen of Hearts behaves in a manner that shows she has had her heart broken badly in the past. In my design she has removed her heart and wears it outside her chest protected by an armour rib cage. This insures it can not affect her feelings but also no one can get at it to break it again. She also wears the hearts of others inside her crown and her sceptre instilling fear into her subjects thus earning her name. Her attendants were told to paint the white roses they got wrong on her armour red and they made quite the mess of things getting red paint splattered everywhere. So it was "off with their heads!"
Outline the construction…
I had started working on figuring out the design for this coat over a year or 2 ago and took this competition as motivation to finish it. I started with a pattern for a tiny bolero jacket and turned it into this Opera coat inspired by my idol Alexander McQueen. It was the second jacket I've ever made aside from the balero. The armor was made from Worbla which was my first time working with this material and I learned I have much still to learn! There was a shoulder armor piece that I realized just wouldn't work with the coat and therefore axed it. I encrusted the hearts and one rib with rhinestones, also a first for me. The pieces I did not make were the skirt, leggings, white boots, and necklace. White eyelashes and white contacts with red hearts were a must to complete the look. I'm glad I took this opportunity to try new things. The jacket was the biggest challenge and I was so proud to get it done. There is a tube of quilt batting inside to make it stay poofy which I'm certain McQueen did not do but it worked for me. lol. Not sure I can ever try to sell the coat this way though. :-) Also my corset making has gotten better as this was my second cupped corset and fitting cups to me is quite a challenge but I think the fit came out ok this time.
This is wonderful! So much work went into every tiny aspect of this piece. I would love to own that cape!
Great work Courtney.
So many ideas on this piece! It looks great and the theme came to my mind immediately. Good job♡
Stick is coolest thing I have seen so far! Rest of the costume is marvelous too!
I LOVE this outfit! The idea of the heart trapped by the rib cage on the outside of the corset is such a cool concept, your interpretation of the Queen of Hearts is so unique and interesting! Also the coat is stunning, I absolutely love it! The blood red silk, poofy sleeves, collar, the way it trails behind you majestically; everything about it is so gorgeous! Well done, all the work you put into making it definitely paid off!
YES I immidiately thought of McQueen when I saw your coat!! I love your take on the character 🥰
Love the detail on the corset – and the live shots really highlight it’s sparkle. Beautiful. The headdress and staff are fabulous too.