Graduate Collection – ‘Her bones are coral made’

"What would you see if you were snared in the depths?"

My graduate collection is derived from a narrative that explores desire; desire to become a part of the unexplored realms of the deep ocean. I realise my values of slow fashion and craftsmanship through the individuality and explorative nature of the forms and techniques.

With metamorphosis as a stimulus, I set out to depict how the sea could disfigure the human silhouette permanently.  Solidity and permanence became a central aspect of the collection. I generated digital prints to be manipulated by heat, bonding, resin and vacuum forming, using photography that explored “What would you see if you were snared in the depths?”

Directed by my research I chose neoprene, jersey, foam and other discarded fabrics that pay homage to the theme. The collection invites the wearer to escape to an unworldly, alien environment where the wearer is no more than a being of nature.

 

“Full Fathom Five thy mother lies;
Of her bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were her eyes:
Nothing of her that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring her knell
Hark! Now I hear them – Ding-dong, bell.”

Shakespeare’s The Tempest (with gender changed)

  • Please Note: 2 months before my project was due to be completed the University closed due to COVID-19. With no access to workshops and studio, it was not possible to produce a fully-realised collection so my work is represented in the samples you see here.

 

 

“She would have to be able to breath under water – like a mermaid. She would need a frame, a form, that could withstand tremendous presure. There would be a saltiness to her. She would have to be able to open her eyes in deep water – and if she did, what would she see? Not the world as we see it – but what she deep-dives and returns with is a newness and a strangeness that we need.”

Jeanette Winterson ‘Lines on Love’

 

This set of imagery documents the process I went through exploring texture, shape and colour. I used a range of materials from brittle to malleable, transparent to oblique and matte to glossy to research these.

 

Obliterating everything in its path, the desire for the sea.

Feelings of deceit, yet it controls like Satan himself inside of me.

Though I would not liken this feeling to the flames. It is a darkness embodied by someone, I do not know their name.

My soul it caresses, making a mockery of me. Pushing me and pulling me down.

I don’t try to resist. The feeling is too strong but, I wonder what would happen if I claimed this as my own.

 

Through the use of video I captured the movement of fabric samples accompanied by water and direct light. Fashion is not static. It looks and behaves differently according to circumstance, in the wind, rain fog and sunshine.