Project Selvedge Challenge 4

Challenge 4!

ASSIGNMENT

Basically for this one, we were paired with a dancer and told to choose a song which will inspire a dance from them and a design from us. We had $25 to spend anywhere and could also use leftover fabric from past challenges. Also, we had 2 weeks.

It turned out my dancer; Dana, and I already new each other from mutual acquaintances and being on the same floor in the Dorms Freshman year. So it was great; there was no need for introductions or small "get to know you" talk!

When we first met to brainstorm we were both finding ourselves drawn to Florence and the Machine as an artist choice. Florence is a great inspiration for me because she does the elegant lady-like flowy style but always with an unusual edge. I've got the pretty flowy look down, but need that edge in my work so decided this was perfect. Her music is also very artistic, and always tells a story and evokes a lot of feeling, and has a lot of power in it. Perfect for dancing!

CHOOSING A SONG/VISION

So I was debating for a good few days between Dog Days are Over; a peppy, upbeat, pop song which would probably be a crowd pleaser and easy to recognize

and Hurricane Drunk; a song I was really pulled to initially, but then looked up the lyrics and found it to be very depressing and dark(it's about a break-up and going out and seeing your ex and then drinking yourself to death)

In the end I decided I felt like taking the challenge of something that actually required some creativity to make it work. Hurricane Drunk does have this painful, moody, stormy side(visually giving me ideas of wind-blown, disheveled, unraveled etc). But I started to form this idea in my mind where this character is facing this storm, and it's pushing her down, but she keeps getting back up, she has a boldness and strength, and is a fighter. She's being tossed around by life, but stands there saying "what more could you do to me?". If that makes sense......

INSPIRATION

MATERIALS

I decided to use my purple jersey from the first assignment to make a unitard; I'd dyed it with the dye I used on the linen so it was a muddy purple color, perfect for this.

Then I went and got some "ghoul" fabric which was a gauzy mesh, a few fabric bundles from a thrift store, and some metal chains and black feathers at Joans

I originally was trying to figure out how to do a bodice bustier with the rope-like yarn I found at the thrift store, but it just wasn't really doing much for me

Then I decided I liked the gauze on the bodice and went from the above styling, to the idea on the left which allowed this flowy look and was flattering on Dana, and allowed the chains to be on her shoulders which was where we really liked them best

Oh and below is a picture of the AWESOME dance studio lent to the dancers to practice in for this challenge

 I decided to use the rope as fringe on the back, and ended up figuring out a really basic Macrame design for it, shown best in the photos below

above you can kind of see the gold painted string i had wrapped around the straps, just another touch of that strong, boldness which I was trying to evoke. I also made this one sided wing-like fabric drape beneath her arm, I felt like the asymmetrical placement and style was a little shout out to Florence and would also be great for dancing. And I didn't mention it before but that metal circle in the center of her chest is actually a bike part, so that's a shout out to Found.Foraged.Formed :)

HAIR AND MAKEUP

Carly from Boom Swagger Salon did this incredible hair-do for Dana! I asked for it to be back-combed like crazy with a braid across the fore-head, and it ended up exactly how I imagined. I then had a bunch of dried twigs, leaves, and flowers which I'd collected, to add to her hair with the help of my Aunt Judy who's great with this sort of thing. 

LE FIN

Initially when I heard what this challenge was, I kind of panicked. Dance? Interpreting music? WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY SEWING SKILLS?

But then I started brainstorming and started to have so much fun. In fact this was by far the most enjoyable, fun, creative, and stress-free challenge for me thus far which was pretty nice. I think that it helped to be pushed to have a really clear vision and be able to communicate it well. Because of course working with someone else to complete a vision, you HAVE to communicate your ideas. 

In the end, I really loved what I did. Both me and Dana worked really thoughtfully with the concept of disorientation, vulnerability, weather beaten vs. strength, boldness, hardness, overcoming and power. These elements were included wonderfully in the dance she choreographed, and I think they came across in what I designed with the tattered soft organic qualities mixed with the gold accents, metal chains, and macrame(soft armor)

and also Dana is beautiful :)