An official project this time.

I finally got my project brief through for next term (which starts on Monday), if I'm honest it really isn't what I wanted. From what we gathered when picking modules we would pretty much be able to make any outfit we wanted as long as there was some form of corset it in. So I spent the summer (minus Ghana) researching fashion history, admittedly not something I even remotely view as a chore. I narrowed it down to an 18th Century pannier, preferably a riding habit, along these lines:

Lots of lovely embroidered buttons and beautiful cuffs.

I loved the skirts as well, not so much the really wide shelf-like, early Marie Antoinette style ones, but the looped up Robe a'la Polonaise:

From what I can tell though, the two aren't usually worn together, so my only worry was choosing between them. But now my brief has come through, and it looks like its out with those plans.

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The Brief.

Students are required to select one well defined character, male or female, from the following range of established characters from narratives covering drama, opera and dance.

Male: Oberon, Mars, Falstaff, Prince Charming, Cyrano, Volpone, Toad of Toad Hall, The Ancient Mariner, Tartuffe, Beowolf.

Female: Titania, Boudica, Coppelia, Olympia, Tosca, Camille, Bride of Frankenstein, Carmen, Valkyrie, Dido.

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This is the main part of it. I'm set on making a female corset, so that cuts out all the male characters.

Titania (Faerie queen from Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream) would obviously be beautiful, and fun to do, but I feel like it is the obvious choice and the one that everyone wants to do, so, not one to be a sheep, that one is out.

I think Bride of Frankenstein is the next obvious choice for everyone after Titania, and I think I do "pretty" better than "monstery" that is out as well.

A couple of the characters are from operas and ballets, but the brief doesn't say if our designs would have to be suitable do play those kind of roles, or if we are just looking at the character in the context of the story. Especially in ballet this makes a big difference, I can't see an arabesque being performed in a crinoline.

Boudica and the Valkyries could be interesting, I'm initially thinking worked leather and fur. I think with the Valkyries being mythical there is a bit more room for interpretation than a person from history. And of course there are wings to play with.

All in all, I think I will have to put my 18th century plans in a little cupboard in my head to use later (the term after maybe), its a pity, but since I have resigned to that, I'm starting to get excited about the new stuff.