FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Wild Card Prize - Ambitious cut and construction, beautifully detailed and unique
The Starless Sea: Mirabel
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Model Miss Twisted, Photographer Sol Santana, video by Lisa Paech
Outline the story …
This design draws inspiration from the white gown Mirabel wears when dressed as Max, king of the wild things, for a literary ball. This dictated the predominantly white colour, and the golden crown she wears. A crown is also an important symbol in "The Starless Sea". The three main motifs of the story, the bee, key and sword, are hand embroidered on the center front panel of the corset.
Mirabel is more than just a character in a story, she is Fate, the sculptor of stories, creating doors to be opened and paths that one may choose to tread. She has a close link with the bees, the story builders, so the corset is adorned with brass and embroidered bees. The owls are harbingers of change, the ending of the story and beginning of the next, and are intertwined throughout Mirabel's story. I was particularly inspired by a scene of the owls flying through the twilight caverns as the sea rises and the story comes to an end, so I tried to recreate this flight on the skirt. As one travels up the dress, we have the owls bringing the end, and the bees crafting the next beginning, echoing Mirabel's own story. To evoke bees taking flight from the corset, I made a gold wire halo adorned with bees, and pinned more into Mirabel's hair. Iconically, she has ombre pink hair, but the ombre wig did not arrive in time, so we used a back-up pink wig for this shoot.
Outline the construction…
To challenge myself I designed a silk bobbinet corset with unusual panelling, integrated into the skirt of the gown. I am inexperienced with bobbinet and embroidery, so this was experimental. The patterning was challenging, involving 29 panels across the corset alone. The opaque corset panels and the boning channels are silk dupion flatlined to coutil, the bobbinet sections are double layered silk bobbinet, and the skirt is silk organza lined with satin.
The central embroidery was done before assembling the panels. There was one fitting at this stage, then the boning channels were constructed and the boning cut to size and inserted. The boning is 7mm spiral steel, except for solid steels at center front and back. The neckline was bound with silk bias and hand finished.
On one side of the skirt I wanted the hem to fall in waves, evoking waves on the Starless Sea. The silk organza was hand-painted with dye in twilight purple and blue. The waves were carefully separated and painted so each layer maintained its ombre effect.
The owls are made of two layers of silk organza fused together, stiff enough to hold their shape but able to flutter their wings as the skirt moves. There are seventeen unique owls, shaded with dye.
Some of the bees are brass, while the remainder are embroidered onto silk organza, in varying densities of thread for depth and texture. By hand-sewing them to the corset only at the body, the wings are able to sit out freely.
Lovely outfit. Way to go on trying a new skill. Great job.
Thank you so much!
I LOVED The Starless Sea and this is such an AMAZING Max dress! It is stunning!
Thank you so much!!! So glad to find another lover of this amazing story!!
Ahhh I loved this book, and this dress is AMAZING. It captures the feeling of the story so well.
Thank you so much! There are so many beautiful motifs in this book it was overwhelming trying to choose, so thank you so much for saying so.
I am in AWE. Sheer awe. This is what I aspire to do.
Thank you so much!
This is so gorgeous! I’m in the middle of reading this book right now actually, so this is particularly lovely to come across! All the little details are gorgeous and tie into the story so well.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of the book as much as I did!
There’s so much movement in the design that I could feel myself taking flight! Goosebumps
Thank you so much!!!
this ensemble is rich with witchy symbolism and natural magic. and i love love the snowy owls flying up through the skirt. good luck from icarus!
Thank you so much Rebecca!!! Good luck to you too, I love your outfit!
Stunning and magical work, as always from the excellent Lyris Design! The bodice panelling is a masterwork of construction – coupled with the delicate details of the owls along the skirt, the gown looks like fantastical walking art. Well done Carly!!
Thank you so much!!
Those hand painted owls are a dream. So much subtils and delicate details. It’s exquisit
Thank you! The owls were a lot of fun to make.
Stunning! Draws my eye in an amazing way.
Thank you so much!
The fluidity and luminescence of the skirt portion is exquisite, as is the way in which it seems to pour out of the corset. It is all so very lovely.
Thank you so much!
Holy wow! This is incredible– every inch of it is magnificent! I am especially captivated by the owls (and being a child of the 1980s, they also make me think of Labyrinth)! Phenomenal job!
Thank you so much! Hahaha, I love the Labyrinth so much, your comment makes me so happy!!!
Wow – amazing! Love the incorporation of the symbols and the ethereal look you achieved! Just beautiful!
Thank you so much!
Absolutely stunning! The corset is just so… something indescribable and epic and all the praise words you can imagine. So beautiful. Mighty need to finally read The Starless sea.
Thank you Pentti!!!!Yes, you definitely need to read it, I love it so much!
Aaaah the corset with all the different points, bees and cool lines is just perfect! So cool 😀
Thank you so much!
Oh wow <3 I love the corset with attached skirt, what an amount of work to make that look so smooth. Such a delicate piece with so much love to details. Stunning!
Thank you so much!!! I appreciate your kind comment!
Pure art, as ever. Your creations are so inspiring Carly.
Thank you so much Caroline!!!
Your Mirabel is stunning!! I especially love the owls, it’s such a creative design! The way you weave the imagery through this dress is so remanesent to how the story itself is told that I am in awe