Intimidating Layers, The fabric is inspired by geometric shapes found in architecture. The elements of the burned layers of the dress mimic the way a building looks when it is on fire and where you can see the various layers such as glass from windows and layers inside the walls of the building that give it structure. The overall feeling of the dress is intimidating and suffocating by the wearer who is in a destructive dress with the smell of a burnt synthetic material and both the raw edges of the copper-form and spikes of the sharp glass, making it hard to move or even be comfortable. The way that the dress interacts with others can also be intimidating and fearful when surrounded or close to it.
Materials used: Synthetic woven fabric, heavy weight fusible interfacing, copper-form mesh, and glass textiles
Process
There was no machine-stitching in this look. Each rectangular piece were all individually hand-sewn and all hand-sewn together for the ensemble look. I used a heavy weight fusible interfacing to give it structure. The next step was torching holes into the synthetic material to create the burnt areas and surface texture. During this time, I had taken a Glass Textiles class at MassArt in order to have the proper safety and learn the fundamentals of glass making. I made all the individual glass spikes by pulling hot glass in an organic yet controlled way through torched holes in copper mesh. After being cooled, each glass appliqué was cut from the copper mesh and hand sewn through the mesh onto various torched holes in a gradient way.
