The 'Princess and the Pea' has been selected as a finalist in the Australian Wearable Art Festival 2023. Privileged to reunite with model Bianca Harris who transformed my vision on an incredible 27 metre long runway! Thrilled to be a participant in this outstanding event, and being able to showcase my wearable garments alongside such amazing artists in this significant must-see event held in August on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Princess and the Pea
Materials used - repurposed foil helium balloons, glossy magazine covers, purchased and discontinued fabric, wire, bamboo skewers, florist tape, upholstery and fabric swatches, reclaimed fabrics, found and recycled materials and trims.
Influenced by fairy tale feminist tropes, repurposed foil helium balloons are hand-pieced to re-imagine a ‘Grandmother’s Flower Garden’ inspired couture ballgown. A cloak, four-poster bed headpiece and oversized pearl jewellery bracelet reinterpret the princess and pea narrative. Alas, our modern-day princess doesn’t need a prince to save her, she just needs a good night’s sleep.
Inspiration - My inspiration for this garment is the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea (interpreted with a twist). After sheltering from a storm, the identity of our heroine is unknown (and questioned by the prince and his family, who want him to meet and marry a 'real' princess - hopefully with her consent). Given refuge in a royal castle, she spends the night on an enormous four-poster bed stacked high atop twenty mattresses and twenty featherbeds of eiderdown, all placed on a single pea at the bottom of the bed. In the morning when questioned about her slumber, the princess reveals her true character to her hosts through her inability to sleep and the bruises she received from the hard pea at the bottom of the bed. Her sensitivity reveals her nobility and royal birth, it communicates her compassion making her a suitable companion for the prince.
But perhaps she does not need a prince to rescue her or to prove her identity. She knows her true worth and value - real beauty comes from within. She has nothing to prove. Wealth and status are not the most desirable qualities in a person, but their sensitivity and compassion for others. Or perhaps... she just needed a good night's sleep!
The gown is inspired by traditional English hand pieced patchwork quilts in the grandmother's flower garden design. The hexagon 'fabric' sourced from recycled foil helium balloons, cut and glued to paper foundations, and stitched together to create the floral motifs and patterned cloth of the gown. The lined strapless corset bodice and colourful tulle petticoats give the gown its silhouette.
A satin floor-length pea green cloak with hood that covers the patchwork ballgown underneath, adds to the mystery of her identity. A trailing pea vine motif is free machine embroidered to create the cloaks' textured trim further reinforcing the storybook narrative.
A Victorian inspired four poster bed headpiece, wire wrapped frame, replete with upholstery fabric swatch mattresses, canopy and a tiny pea bead stitched into the bottom of the bed, complete the narrative.
Beautifully worn by model Bianca Harris.
Photo Credit (studio images): : Colin McLellan Photography Photo Credit (catwalk images): : Barry Alsop, Eyes Wide Open Photography
Photo Credit (banner image): Kelcie Bryant-Duguid. Photo Credit (top, middle, bottom studio images): Colin McLellan
2023 Australian Wearable Art Festival, Sunshine Coast QLD