FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Victor Hugo’s Fairy
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Photograph: Diane Lély
Outline the story …
Link to the full poem: https://www.poetes.com/hugo/fee_peri.htm
« Si tu me suis, ombre ingénue,
Je puis t'apprendre où va la nue,
Te montrer d'où viennent les eaux;
Viens, sois ma compagne nouvelle,
Si tu veux que je te révèle
Ce que dit la voix des oiseaux. »
La Fée et la Péri
Poem by Victor Hugo, July 1824.
This project should have been my bridal gown. The wedding was scheduled for August 2020, postponed to May 2021 due to the pandemic, and possibly to be postponed again. As our wedding theme is "The Little People of woodsy fairy land", I could not NOT participate. As time passed and the contest finally took place before my Big Day, my fairy-tale wedding dress got a spin-off for the 2021 Foundations Revealed Contest.
This is how Victor Hugo’s Fairy was born.
This Fairy is a Guide to all souls, magicals or mortals. With her shimmering colours, she attracts; with her lanterns, she guides and leads her court where she desires. Both luminous and starry night., it is said that each star under her milky collar is a soul that she has managed to trap.
Outline the construction…
It seems to me, now that my work is finished, that finding a fairy in the forest next to my house would have been more effortless than sewing it....
The hoop petticoat was bought commercially in order to save time and then improved: six larger steel bones replaced the original ones and I added 6 stiff tulle ruffles for more fluff.
The skirt is composed of 50x50 cm soft tulle squares and it took 70 meters in 300 cm width to cover it.
The corset was a real challenge. A pattern created according to my morphology and the arch of my back (4 toiles were necessary) and difficulties with the unexpectedly slightly stretchy double sided duchess satin which therefore slightly creased in some places. I used two layers of coutil.
The challenge was especially to make the collar extending from the corset's bones. The collar's bones were too flexible to keep the fabric taut... a problem which was solved on Sunday, January 31th at 11PM by a single bone joining the two fronts. The plastic rod "bone" was originally holding together a bookcase - on point for a literary theme !
In total, I hand glued nearly 400 Swarovski Elements hotfix crystals.. Butterflies and lanterns were drawn and printed on rhodoid, cut by hand, finally glued to pins. 1200 butterflies will be placed on the of my complete wedding dress.
How gorgeous is that! Well done!
Thanks 🙂
Sorry to hear your wedding could not take place as planned. Hoping it’s not to much more of a wait. This dress however is amazing. The attention to small details mean I keep finding a new favourite bit each time I look at it. Congrats.
Finally we reported it to next year. Great thanks for your comment, I’m very glad that you took care about all the details, as it is the most important thing for me. <3
oh my goodness! so much work! and it is darling! the skirt looks so soft, and the palette is such a surprise! i love the little butterflies and the lamp details. good luck from icarus!
Thank you, as an anecdot, I’ll say that my daughter love it too to hide and fluff. Good luck to you too.
I saw yours and it look amazing, I especially love your wings and how it fit wonderfully. 😀
Oh my goodness- that Backshot and your video just had me blown away! Marvellous!
Thank you! I’ll tell this to the photograph who was very proud to use her new studio. 😀
So incredibly opulent! The hits of neon next to the rich depths of the indigo night tones is a wonderful interplay of colour. The outfit has such a wonderful sense of stature. I’m very much impressed.
Thanks a lot, I admit that I love when many colors shine. I may confess that collar do not help going throught doors. 🙂
I just love this, absolutely stunning
Great thanks ! 😀
Oh my goodness! This is so creative and wonderful and the construction, despite the challenges you describe, looks amazing to me!! I’m not sure how this differs or will be modified for your wedding dress, but I LOVE the idea of this as a wedding dress. Well done!
Side note: I too have had my 2020 wedding postponed to this spring, so I feel your pain. I hope you are able to safely hold yours and not have to reschedule a second time!
Thank you! I’ll keep the skirt and do another corset, to make a surprise to my next-to-be-husband 😀
(but the real fact is that we all need more corsets, more!!! 😉 )
ps: Finally, the wedding will happend in 2022.
This collar is unbelievable! So creative and fun! I love all the details on it! Everything looks so well done. I’m sure your wedding photos will be amazing.
Thanks! I really took pleasure and fun to do it 🙂
STUNNING!
I love everything about this!
Thanks a lot <3
It is truly, incredibly amazing ! I’m so proud of you, you have grown so so much since we’ve met, and your work has really grown to the next level and then some <3
Bon à toi, je sais que je peux répondre en français <3
Merci encore ma belle pour tes encouragements et ton soutien permanent! J'adore t'avoir comme collègue de travail et amie et j'espère que l'on se fera encore plein d'ateliers – thés ensemble <3
Plein de bises ma belle, moi aussi je suis très fière de toi 😉
Wow!! That collar is so friggen cool!
This is fantastic! I love every part, but especially those lanterns!
This dress is enchanting! The way the bodice goes into the collar has turned out so well too! Amazing!
Such a dazzling delight to the eyes!
I love this! Very creative and what a cool wedding dress you’ve made. Best wishes for your wedding!
This is ABSOLUTELY delightful!! The collar and the little lanterns in the back, I just.. T_T It’s so dang cute!!
Magnifique! Cette robe est un vrai chef d’œuvre, j’adore les lanternes autour du col, elles sont vraiment magiques! Bravo!
The detail! The colors! THE TULLE!!! Oh this is beautiful. I’m sorry your wedding hasn’t gone to plan but I’m glad you entered this. Magnificent job.