'Couture Brighton'; the story of a design....

'La Dame aux Camelias' by Aubrey Beardsley

When I was invited to contribute a piece to the 'Couture Brighton' exhibition at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, with the brief to take inspiration from the city as a starting point for my design, I pretty much immediately thought of one of Brighton's more esoteric sons....Aubrey Beardsley.

The plaque outside Beardsley's Brighton birthplace

Born in 1872 at (what is now) 31 Buckingham Rd, Beardsley attended Brighton Grammar School, before going on to Bristol Grammar School (which my father also attended, though not at the same time!).He went on to become one of the most admired and stylistically recognisable of the illustrators associated with the Aesthetic movement

At the age of just 22, Beardsley was a co-founder and  art-editor of The Yellow Book, and the iconic covers often featured his frequently controversial works.

I was clear from the start of the project that I did not want to just recreate one of the gowns from one of Beardsley's illustrations. Rather, I wanted to evoke the feel with a silhouette, a graphic fabric, a detailed embellishment.....and then work in the other influences and muses that have helped to inspire my current collection, ''The Beautiful and the Damned''. 

This is probably best summed up by the couple of sentances I wrote to go on the card accompanying my dressed mannequin....

The decadent and rather sinister aesthetic of Beardsley's intricately clothed women is a starting point for an ensemble that would be entirely appropriate for one of the dangerously sensuous characters he loved to draw.....Salome and Mademoiselle Maupin re-imagined, with a nod to Poiret, Vionnet, and Jeanne Lanvin along the way

Opera coat by Paul Poiret, from the Metroplitan Museum NY

A Vionnet gown

One of my favourite reference books

Original design sketch by Joanne Fleming

   Needing to find a luxurious fabric with a really strong graphic design to evoke the intricate detail of Beardsley's work.....I was fortunate enough to be able to source this gorgeous silk-mix devore velvet from one of my regular suppliers.....

Silk-mix devore velvet

Nude ostrich fringing for the coat collar and cuffs, lined in rose-pink silk satin

The coat was always going to be the 'impact' part of the design, and to acheive the desired silhouette it was going to need to be fastened right up to the neck. Consequently the dress needed to have interest and detail at the hem as well as elsewhere....

Hand painted silk tulle roses and dip-dyed ostrich feathers

Frosted almond silk tulle, layered over pale pink silk satin, with tulle roses. Swarovski crystal and feather embellishment

Silk rouleau loop and tulle rose bodice front detail

Pleated silk tulle edges the deep armscye

I love to incorporate genuinely vintage elements in some of my designs......a piece of antique lace, a length of 1920s lame trim, an art deco clasp.

I found a beautiful Victorian silver-mounted paste buckle, in the Art Nouveau style......very appropriate for a Beardsley inspired piece....

Pre-cleaning

Tarnish removed....

'Aubrey'; silk satin evening dress by Joanne Fleming Design

Ostrich trimmed cuffs

Detail of the beading on the cuff (repeated on the collar), using silver-lined Matsuno beads

Edwardian ostrich feather fan, embellished with Swarovski crystals. Added diamonte chain.

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1920s beaded purse. Chain replaced with beaded handle, and Swarovski crystals added to frame

'Beardsley'; silk velvet and ostrich feather opera coat by Joanne Fleming Design

And here's how it looks at the Museum (apologies for the picture quality!).....

Silk velvet opera coat with ostrich collar by Joanne Fleming Design

Belle epoque inspired silk velvet coat by Joanne Fleming Design

The image you can just see to the left of the case was taken from a shoot by Ellie Harvey.....loosely themed on Beardsley's illustrations for Oscar Wilde's play Salome. I'll be posting the rest of this atmospheric shoot next week...

 

Hair and Make-up; Siwan Hill

Stylist; Lauren De'Ath

Model; Emilia