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Wild Card Prize - Ambitious cut and construction, beautifully detailed and unique

The Starless Sea: Mirabel

stitch-1

SUBMITTED BY:

Carly Van Groeningen

LINKS:

(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.

COMMENTS

Divider_GoldMoth

35 Comments

  1. Avatar bobbie NELSON on March 11, 2021 at 9:31 pm

    Lovely outfit. Way to go on trying a new skill. Great job.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 13, 2021 at 10:39 am

      Thank you so much!

  2. Avatar Gabrielle Amey on March 12, 2021 at 2:49 am

    I LOVED The Starless Sea and this is such an AMAZING Max dress! It is stunning!

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 13, 2021 at 10:39 am

      Thank you so much!!! So glad to find another lover of this amazing story!!

  3. Avatar Ashley Taylor Anderson on March 12, 2021 at 3:49 am

    Ahhh I loved this book, and this dress is AMAZING. It captures the feeling of the story so well.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 13, 2021 at 10:40 am

      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.

  4. Avatar Kathleen Davies on March 12, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    I am in AWE. Sheer awe. This is what I aspire to do.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 13, 2021 at 10:40 am

      Thank you so much!

  5. Avatar Amanda on March 13, 2021 at 1:28 am

    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.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 13, 2021 at 10:41 am

      Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of the book as much as I did!

  6. Avatar Ali Moore on March 13, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    There’s so much movement in the design that I could feel myself taking flight! Goosebumps

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 14, 2021 at 1:05 am

      Thank you so much!!!

  7. Avatar Rebecca on March 14, 2021 at 12:54 am

    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!

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 14, 2021 at 1:16 am

      Thank you so much Rebecca!!! Good luck to you too, I love your outfit!

  8. Avatar Elain M on March 14, 2021 at 1:53 am

    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!!

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 19, 2021 at 10:19 am

      Thank you so much!!

  9. Avatar Mathilde on March 14, 2021 at 6:15 am

    Those hand painted owls are a dream. So much subtils and delicate details. It’s exquisit

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 19, 2021 at 10:19 am

      Thank you! The owls were a lot of fun to make.

  10. Avatar Sarah Bent on March 14, 2021 at 4:50 pm

    Stunning! Draws my eye in an amazing way.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 19, 2021 at 10:19 am

      Thank you so much!

  11. Avatar Laura Wemyss on March 14, 2021 at 10:11 pm

    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.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 19, 2021 at 10:20 am

      Thank you so much!

  12. Avatar Maeri Certo on March 17, 2021 at 1:32 pm

    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!

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 19, 2021 at 10:21 am

      Thank you so much! Hahaha, I love the Labyrinth so much, your comment makes me so happy!!!

  13. Avatar Whitney Carnahan on March 18, 2021 at 11:20 am

    Wow – amazing! Love the incorporation of the symbols and the ethereal look you achieved! Just beautiful!

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 19, 2021 at 10:21 am

      Thank you so much!

  14. Avatar Pentti Lahti on March 20, 2021 at 10:49 pm

    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.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 24, 2021 at 9:11 am

      Thank you Pentti!!!!Yes, you definitely need to read it, I love it so much!

  15. Avatar Kikkii von Fustian on March 27, 2021 at 8:08 pm

    Aaaah the corset with all the different points, bees and cool lines is just perfect! So cool 😀

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 29, 2021 at 12:14 am

      Thank you so much!

  16. Avatar Damaris Luhn on March 27, 2021 at 11:11 pm

    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!

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 29, 2021 at 12:14 am

      Thank you so much!!! I appreciate your kind comment!

  17. Caroline Woollin Caroline Woollin on March 28, 2021 at 9:19 am

    Pure art, as ever. Your creations are so inspiring Carly.

    • Avatar Carly Van Groeningen on March 29, 2021 at 12:13 am

      Thank you so much Caroline!!!

  18. Avatar Shadoe on March 29, 2021 at 12:51 am

    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

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