Dear Fashion, Image and Advertising (Dress 169)

Dear Fashion, Image and Advertising,
After a discussion on the nature of capitalism in Performance Class, going to a lecture on the elements of consumer culture was a no-brainer. The straps (and continuing lines) are thick satin ribbon, the ‘fringe’ ribbons at the base also. There are enamelled black numbers at the base of the dress.
All my love,
IP

Dear Hamletmachine (Dress 168)

Dear Hamletmachine,

Your aesthetic is more capitalist signposts than the mechanical post-industrial feel I thought we were going for. This would have been a nice bridesmaid costume if that had been the case.

The cogs in the middle are real cogs, and the rectangles are open to the skin.

All my love,

IP

Dear Tom 'n Jess (Dress 123)

Dear Tom n' Jess,

You're ridiculously cute you two; both together and apart I'm really very fond of you. You're not one of those icky couples (to be honest, I didn;t know you were dating until a month+ afterwards!) but there is one gorgeous photo of Tom's birthday kiss that's just adorable.

In honour of your sweetness, and Banj's mad photoskills,

XOX
IP

Dear Lucy, (Dress 112)

Dear Lucy,
The first time I met you you were wearing a man's shirt and a pair of tights.
Damn brave.
This one's for you:
(The 'tails' are the back of the dress. cotton.)
All my love,
IP

IP in the paper!

Dearest Lot's Wife,

You (the student paper at my university) were in serious need of some content for the creative writing, and since the lovely Flo is running that ship, she asked me if i'd be interested.

Hells yeah.

Hurrah for Lot's Wife!

All my love,

Dear TINHamlet (Dress 85)

Dear This Is Not Hamlet, What an experiance. A show I really enjoyed being a part of, making something beautiful with gorgeous people of amazing skill and sweetness.
In memory of Yorick, the wax skull Tess (Horatio) brought in, who in the process lost his teeth and got a great many dints:

All my love,

Dear Wine and Cheese (Dresses 67 and 68)

Dear Wine and Cheese
you are the only things i have ingested today. not feeling so good.

All my love,

Dear Ophelia (Dress 62)

Dear Ophelia,
I'm playing you in a production at uni, it's a slightly surreal production (when is Hamlet not?) and I'm really enjoying the rehearsal process- we're on in a week, so I will be really proud of myself if I manage to keep up the daily uploads- I'll still be designing every day, but the show finishes at 9.30 or thereabouts, which means I'll be home really late- and uploading may not happen on the day... We'll see....
We're not using real flowers in my biggest scene, the logistics of winter/isolated performance venue make it impossible, but if we were I would like to make a dress like this one for that scene.

(Dress Specs: Stamped silk-cotton blend.)

All my love,

Dear Suzie (Dress 57)

Dearest Suzie,
Monash University Student Theatre has a yearly artistic development festival (ADDfest). However, being so busy means I have only been able to attend a select few of the offerings -something I really regret, I've missed out on so much more the festival had to offer...- The writing debut of a dear friend of mine Izzy Roberts-Orr, a brilliant professional actor's panel, and tonight a showcase of short performance pieces, new theatrical works written, directed and acted by students, standup comedy and a amazingly gutsy and skilful burlesque performance by one of my classmates. Her costume was so stunning, so seductive whilst covering everything (albeit briefly) to reveal beautiful luxury lingerie. I wanted to design something that balanced those elements. It didn't come out in the drawing so much- I want this to be the underdress (in very stiff fabric with satin fused on top), with a ruched overlay of very fine crushed silk all over (even the crisscross section).

(Better photo tomorrow)

All my love,

IP

Dear Monfash (Dress 50)

Dearest Monfash,
Run by the lovely Benny, you're a record of the interesting, the surprising and the just plain crazy fashion my fellow uni students get away with. Seeing what you pick from the melting pot of clashing styles makes me look more broadly across the campus. I found that the day-to-day fashion which most fascinates me is the more simple, well tailored designs with small pockets of detail or bright colour.

(Dress Specs: Each dark section is a continuation of the light section above it- folded over on the base line, showing the lining,- then it is tacked up, pressed into place, and the next light section is pieced in underneath it. Cotton with satin tartan lining.)
All my love,

Dear Bree (Dress 10)

Dear Bree,
You were wearing a lovely pinafore at uni the other day, and it got me thinking about that lovely cut, and a whole lot of vintage-thrifting-blog-reading got me thinking about oversized bakelite buttons...
Ta Da!

All my love,