Skirt

11/4/2022

The first major step after drafting the pattern and cutting out all the pieces (6 total) was to hem all of the panels and embroider/ bead the bottom hems with a relatively simple pattern. After this 3 panels were separated out and prepped for painting.

Next step was to draft some practice sketches to warm up for freehand painting. The guillotines were painted on each panel before sewing together for the sake of ease. Each one was hand painted using acrylic paint and fake blood and then hung to dry in my bathroom (hahaha). After the panels dried the entire skirt was sewn together. The main over skirt had 2 separate drawstrings to tie the first half in the front and the second half in the back. This was mostly done because of how much fabric had to be gathered in the final skirt design.

Due to the shape and weight of the over skirt I deiced (somewhat last minute) to make an underskirt as a shaping0 garment so there would be better fullness in the skirt. I made it using my quick and dirty peasant skirt method but added lines of red twill for a pop of color and some extra volume. Midway through working on the skirt I had to give my machine a brake and some maintenance since it was running for a really long time during the duration of this project. That and it had been almost a year since it had last been oiled. Never underestimate the power of a well oiled machine!

After finishing the skirt I decided to take some test shots and see how the movement was. Despite being almost 100% muslin it was extremely heavy still. I was really surprised how close to my original vision the final skirt came out. (Shot out to my wizard shirt making an appearance)

The Guillotine Dress

“The Guillotine Dress” Mixed Media (Cotton muslin, acrylic paint, glass and plastic beads, fake blood, synthetic bone, embroidery thread, synthetic lace, synthetic twill, and silk), 2022, Z. Fondanarosa

Off with their heads and let this lavish beauty belong to those who create it, you may never have immortality no matter how vast your pockets may be.
The idea behind this work was the want of lavishes and how it leads to instability and importance. The bourgeoisie want what they cannot keep and no matter what time will corrode all that they could want. They done deceiver to to much this even within its sweet irony, depicting the tools that the artists wishes to kill them with. This garment was constructed with impermanence in mind. the very nature of muslin as a drafting fabric and not a final fashion fabric was considered in this work. it is defined to deteriorate over time, the weight of itself and its embellishments (mostly that of glass bead work) will inherently destroy itself over time. Elements of folk costume were mixed with the highly contained and stuttered elects of couture fashion with the intention of mixing the peasant with the high end, showing the beauty of both lavish styles. the garment itself was made to invoke the images of the ware being decapitated, there blood falling over there shoulders, invoke with lavish and glittering bead work.

Skirt

The Guillotine Dress

Categories