Coccinelle
Year: 2018
Event: World of WearableArt Under the Microscope Section Finalist
Award: Third Place.
Inspiration:
My continued fascination with the shapes, textures, and iridescent metallic colours of insects melded with a desire to create a couture expression rather than a more literal one (as I have previously explored). Thierry Muglers 1997 Insect Collection of haute couture fashion is acknowledged as a major influence on all of my work, and particularly this piece. Effectively a ‘lady beetle’, this translates in French to Coccinelle.
Materials & Techniques:
Lycra, leather, wire, acrylic paint
More Information:
I think I enjoyed making all the spikes for Cordycephila as they re-appeared here – or perhaps it was because I was working on them at the same time. Once again, now in its’ fifth incarnation, the pattern from my TAFE Studio project provided the base for the carapace, and a further pattern-making challenge. Something I discovered at the photo shoot was that the leather bodice was softened by the body heat of the model, and began to distort. After this, I coated the inside with several layers of PVA glue. Coccinelle was retained for 12 months and exhibited at the World of WearableArt Museum.
Photo: World of WearableArt
Photo: World of WearableArt
Bonus Information:
For the second time in my history with the show, WOW contacted me to alter my garment – I had entered it in the Avant Garde section and they wanted to place it into the Under the Microscope section. I agreed to this under the proviso that I had the opportunity to adjust the design to reflect the section theme a little more – I added leggings and long sleeves to cover the skin, and added a section to the headdress to make it more insect-like. Unfortunately, this caused some vision issues for the model, who had to wear it tilted up - though the plastic was clear and covered with only a thin layer of fabric, the stage lighting made it blinding.
Below is a presentation I created about the process of designing and constructing Coccinelle.