Completed in 2018

 

This one of a kind bespoke creation is meant to evoke the anatomy of roses, sprinkled in the dew of twilight. A garnet changeant silk dupioni base, changeant silk chiffon layered petals finished with hand stitched finish, handmade velvet appliques over passementerie, a glossy red busk and an abundance of Swarovski dew drops and dangles. Each bead is sewn three times with no stitches being visible on the underside.

​

The sepals are draped in two layers, each with garnet changeant silk chiffon on top, and black underneath which gives it a slightly deeper colour than the petals. There's a lot of movement from the bias-cut gossamer pieces, and they flutter beautifully in the breeze. The dewdrops and dangles move from silver shade at the top, to silver night with fancy baroque stones among the sepals. Very swishy, and a delightful frame for the derriere! A velvet modesty panel lays under the plush satin ribbon that gives a little extra contrast.

​

Fine pieces of dupioni needed to be applied in the areas of negative space, the edges of which are covered in very narrow hand-stitched bias silk over which I stitched the herringbone cord. The appliques are affixed to one side, allowing the busk to operate and have closures of their own to keep their edges flush with the corset during wear.

These dainty petals are made of five sheer layers that were carefully rolled in a graduated curve to provide a supportive shape for the beads. The blue net that creates a subtle but wonderful textural detail is just barely visible, however I didn't want it to show on the "underside" of the petals, which meant adding red organza between the chiffon for structure, colour, and to create the effect of obscuring the blue net. The hem was then stitched entirely by hand in a buttonhole stitch.

 

This corset will never be replicated, however future projects may draw inspiration from these elements.