Emily Wilding Davidson

Alexander McQueen and Lady Gaga

Thoughts to Title

For me this theme suggests three key directions: the growth and development in feminism, the roles throughout life (growing up), and the evolution of celebrities throughout time. With feminism, I would be able to look at the changes of women’s clothing in the 20^th century and the stereotypes that have either died out or carried on. By studying the roles throughout life, I can focus on uniform and compare today’s school/work uniform to what they were like 20+ years ago. I could also link this to feminism by comparing male and women uniform from the same occupation and also maybe roles – stereotype roles such as male doctor and female nurse. For looking at the evolution of celebrities, I could compare the glamorous Hollywood actress from the 50s to the wacky pop stars of today. From doing this I would be able to see how celebrities have gone from the perfect female/ masculine man who everyone wants to be like, to the controversial celebrities who aren’t afraid to stand out and get both positive and negative reactions.

Growth and Evolution

The exam title I was given is 'Growth and Evolution'. I will have to link this given title to my question of 'what methods are used in fashion and costume to portray personality, individuality and roles?'.

I've done some brainstorming towards the title and what area I could look at. I came up with ideas such as feminism, roles throughout life, and the evolution of celebrities. 

Intentions

I will be constructing two shirts together for it to roughly fit the Hensel twins unique shape. I will then decorate the inside of the shirt by hand painting their organs and covering the lungs and intestines in machine embroidery. I chose to highlight these two features as it shows how they share one thing (intestines) and each have their own of others (a pair of lungs). I will use heavy machine embroidery like Alice kettle to create texture and tone. The outside of the shirt will have a painting of one of their most famous images from Life Magazine. Around the painting, there will be a few images photo transferred onto the shirt with hand embroidered figures surrounding them. I was influenced by Grayson Perry's story telling vases for this idea, as he would incorporate found photographs alongside illustrations. The embroidered figures will be of the Hensel twins from all ages and events. This is because memories form personalities.

Alice Kettle

Grayson Perry