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| "Underneathe My Wing" Gallery Piece by Haana-SikSik. Displayed at Beaverbrook Art Gallery in New Brunswick |
Here's an honest truth about myself: I've never really cared for fashion (Ha!) Strange to those of you that don't know me seeing as I'm pursuing a career as a fashion designer. But to those people that know me, they understand that my love of working with my hands, creating and "fiddling" go far beyond the definition of fashion. For me, it's not about making fashion but rather creating art. I realize that by doing this my selling pieces might be limited while my portfolio grows, but this helps me to create a place of healing while I work intently on hand stitching a collar down.
Funny thing, wearable art, it tends to fall on the expensive side. I've made a handful of couture pieces since I started this fun journey. Most often are inspired by my love of the North, my own culture and the people, environment and wildlife that come with it; and sometimes it's simply for the love of making a beautiful thing.
Two outfits come to mind when I talk of wearable art. One would be the peacock, couture gown that I made to display at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in
Fredericton that showed in the Spring of 2015.
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| The gallery piece used real peacock eye and sword feathers as well as black dyed marabou as detailing. |
When I made this one I knew it had to be top quality. Though visitors would not be touching the showpiece we were instructed that should someone lift it up and look under, it should look just as beautiful on the inside, as it does on the outside. I hand stitched every sword feather down on the bust using a couching stitch (that wasn't so bad) and used a leather needle to sew the eye feathers down down to make a tail for the back. The marabou feathers on the bust took a bit less time than any of the other feathers as they're shorter and fluffier so stitches weren't as noticeable.
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| A not so great photo. The cups and strap boasted both marabou feathers and peacock sword feathers. |
Initially I intended to overlay lace all around the bodice corset, deciding in the midst of working on it that it looked nicer using the overlay on the front to mimic the bodice shape. For continuity I also added a strip of lace around the hem to give it balance, along with a small lace bustle around the waist. I hand stitched the overlay lace on the bodice down using a blanket stitch to finish the edge. I also hand stitched the bustle to the already completed waist band on the skirt so that I could keep the bulk external rather than catching it in the band. This also allowed me to use the remainder of the lace to drape a small bustle, acting as the crown for the tail.
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| Hand stitched overlay lace with hook and eye closures at side seam. |
You might be looking at this gown thinking that it's totally wearable, and you're right it is, but it was my second haute couture garments (or as close to haute couture for my abilities at the time anyway) that I'd made. It was one of the pieces that I knew I'd be challenging myself on and I was happy with the end result.
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| Draped lace bustle that I thought was the perfect finishing touch for the peacock tail |
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| Another not so great photo of the gown immediately after completion from another angle |
While I was studying fashion I decided to challenge myself with each project by trying something new. Whether it was working with a new fabric, or finishing the seams using a new techniques, I wanted to utilize the fact that I had the proper tools to create as well as the advantage of having some of the best instructors around to help me when I was stuck. If I made a mistake, someone usually had a solution to fix it, alter it, or use it to my advantage. This meant that I was much more comfortable to take chances and really "up" my learning game while at it. This was both fun and stressful :)
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| Me on graduation day beside my gallery piece! Smiles all around! |
