Dried flowers and light

 Some images of experiments of using roses which i dried. I wired them to a mesh base which i tried to shape to the typical large skirts of the early 1800's. I also played with light looking at how the flowers look in the light from different extreme angles.

Exploring

 Some images of my experiments in reponse to the play and space. The first one is a rose made of crepe paper. I also did a carnation to see what they would look like aesthetically. They were a representation of the original which could have a number of connotations depending how i put them into context.












The next image is a sketch of an image that was inspired by the play. At the end of the play Camille's heart is broken, her life and love is shattered. So the shattering rose is a representation of that. Being red it could also eb commenting on the TB she died of and how it shattere her life as well. Some of my inspiration for this also came from Cornelia Parker and her exploding shed.

 This image is an initial sketch of how i could bring the two elements of the play and story together with the Glasshouse. I was inspired by the shape of the crinoline and it's resemblance to architecture and a bell cloche. So i looked at how the glass tiles of the architecture would fit into the crinoline. I also wanted to see what it would sayabout Camille.

 This image is a further development of the previous one. I did some further reserach into the fashion of the early 1800's which is when Camille was around. The dress was based on a design for a wedding dress which is the kind of oppulance that i believe Camille would have had on a daily basis. This images is showing how her life and riches were disintergrating around her. How she is like a hot house plant in her exotic desirability and how in the end her delicate nature was her undoing. The plants are begining to consume her so nature is taking over and death is creeping up on her.


After some more thought and experimentation with dried flowers the body of Camille could be made from dried flowers or flowers in the process of wilting and drying. So again it's telling of her fragitily and decay.

 These are some tulip petals that had molted which i wanted to play with to see how they could be presented. This images shows how they could be used to maybe cover something almost like scales.
The next image is just looking at how they behave when suspended since i suspended them to dry them anyway.

Victorian's science and exotic plant collecting

 The Camellia House where my istallation is being put on was built during the early Victorian era and the story of Camille also took place during the early victorian era. This is a period in history that was full of explorers bringing back new and exotic species of plants which were subjected to rigorous study. I wanted to look at the structure in various flowers in the same way that the victorians did so i cut some roses, carnations and tulips in half. The structure of the rose reminded me of the many layers of Petticoats that the women used to wear before the crinoline was invented.

Whiate Card Model

 Images of my basic white card model just to give me an idea of the space and how everything is going to relate to it. The space gives the audience a number of choices in how they can explore the space because it's divided into the four flower beds. These four flower beds act as screen as well dividing the space and making it full of the potential for discovery. 

The Crinoline and Corset

Crinoline

The original Crinoline was a horse hair mixed with linen fabric that kept it’s stiffness to keep the desired shape of the skirt. This fashion began in the 1830’s and as the decade wore on more and more layers and pleating styles were used to give extra fullness to the skirts. As well as these different techniques more and more petticoats were being worn to support the growth of the skirt making the garment extremely heavy and stiflingly hot in the summer. Soon for fashion and decency it was considered essential to wear a minimum of six petticoats.

These numbers of layer of fabric would have made moving around difficult and restricted due to the sheer weight of the garment.

In 1865 the hooped petticoat was introduced and took on the name Crinoline. This freed up the weighed down women by having such a stiff structure underneath that only one petticoat needed to be worn to protect themselves from the hard structure of the crinoline. Now the frame was lighters gusts of wind were known to catch the crinoline making it essential for the women to wear new long drawers as underwear.

Though this new structure was lighter the women’s movement was still massively restricted. The dresses were so large that no one could get very close to them and being a stiff structure sitting down became impossible. They were known to cause damage and breakages when moving around some shops making them a bit of a hazard. But still the cage crinoline was widely embraced and reached even the lowest of classes.

It was still essentially a cage restricting women.

Corset

After 1840 the corset was made in a new style constructed from seven to thirteen separate pieces. There were gusseted reinforces stitched corsets made of strong white cotton which used vertical rows of whale bone shaped to the natural body. These were still laced at the back.

Now that the evening dresses had such a low cut with the shoulders exposed corsets could no longer have shoulders straps.  With the dress bodices gaining in length and having some of their own inbuilt boning this gave not only extra shape but also helped to stop the body fabric from creasing.

There was still a massive emphasis on tiny waists and many women went to great lengths such as sleeping in their laced up corsets to get the fashionable shape. With the corsets and bodices getting longer and being combined with the new cage crinoline it would have further restricted their movement. As mentioned before sitting and probably bending over would have been near impossible.  

Fashion1840-1850 continued

Evening dresses

The Bodice

Cut low off the shoulders either square or having a slight dip in the centre. It was often edged with rows of horizontal pleats which curved down to a point at the waist.

A lace tucker was usual and a deep ‘Bertha’ was almost essential. A ‘Bertha’ was a deep falling border made up of one or more lace frills, ribbon or fancy decoration that usually covered the sleeves.

The evening bodice had a pointed waist, boned, which became longer and sharper after 1846.

The Sleeve

The sleeve was short and tight and initialled edged with frill which soon became insignificant being hidden by the deep Bertha and lace frills.

Colours

Delicate tints which were always in harmony became the preference during this period and primary colours were thought to be bad taste. Printed materials with all over patterns though not glaring were common. The new fabrics available presented a host of new pattern usually small floral’s or very narrow stripes.

Outdoor garments

The Shawl

Came in various sizes but most often consisted of very large squares with a richly fringed edge. In the summer figured silks or embroidered organdie and in winter cashmere with woven or printed design. Paisley shawls were also fashionable.

Fashion 1840-1850

The shapes of the dresses from this period were full of angles which pointed to the clinched in waist which was now extremely low. The shoulders drooped and the sleeves were tight and the full skirts almost touched the ground. The Bodice and skirt were usually made as one with a row of hooks and eyes up the back.

A jacket bodice, separate from the skirt was a style adopted from 1846 and The Princess Robe, without a seam at the waist, the skirt being much gored, appeared in 1848 but was very uncommon.

Day dresses

The Bodice

The bodice was tight and fitted to the body shape, long-waisted, and generally carried down to a point in the front. Dresses of light materials were sometimes round-waisted and then worn with a sash tied in front with floating ends.

The bodice was lined and boned in front with three bones spreading up in a fan shape from the pointed waist. Sometimes the lining had its own hooks and eyes under those which fastened the dress. The bodice itself was fastened with hooks and eyes.

Many Bodices were padded with cotton-wool over the bosom and dress protectors of chamois leather were now used to protect the fabric under the armpits.

The corsage was high and closed round the neck, or half high with a ‘V’ opening. All added decorations was usually arranged as to converge from the shoulders down to the pointed waist to emphasise the gothic angle.

The Jacket Bodice

Close-fitting and buttoned down the front from neck to waist and there finished with short basques.  It was worn with a separate skirt which was fastened at the back though some were joined and merely made to look like a separate jacket in front.

The Sleeve

1.       Tight to the wrist and sometime made with a tight short sleeve over the top with a few Macherons on the shoulder.

2.       The Victorian sleeve, same as above but with fullness at the elbow while still tight above and below. Rouching and a few bouffants were common.

3.       A tight sleeve with a small bell shaped fullness just below the elbow became popular in 1848. These sleeves were finished with white washable half sleeves ending in closed cuffs or open frills known as ‘engageants’. These were tied to the arm under the fullness.

The skirt

The skirt was long enough now to just touch the toes of the shoe and was very full with the material being tightly gathered at the waist at first with organ pleating and later with flat pleats.  The skirts were always lined except for some of the one made from lighter summer materials. The bustle at the back and many layers of petticoats gave the skirt its distinctive domed shape.

In this decade some important innovations were made:

1.       A skirt lining made partly or horsehair was used to give stiffness and support the skirts shape. It was known as a Crinoline and was later replaced by a hooped petticoat.

2.       Skirt hems were braided to protect them against wear.

3.       Large pockets were put into dresses instead of placket holes and small pocket watches were hidden in waistbands.

Double skirts were also introduced with the upper layer ending just above the knee. These were most common for summer wear.

Open robes had a pyramidal opening in the front to show off a decorative petticoat underneath. This was a style commonly used for redingotes and pelisse-robes. The shape of the opening was also often imitated by an arrangement of frills and embroidery.

Skirt trimmings

1.       Flounces could be either one or two deep flounces or a series of smaller ones reaching to above the knees. Flounces were sometimes curved upwards at the from to imitate the open robe.

2.       Rows of material were cut on the cross and often scalloped and laid on the dress in tiers. This form of decoration was used with light fabrics towards the end of the decade.