A Dutch painting comes to life....

In this stills campaign for Phillips music, meticulous attention to detail with hand made jewellery, wigs and truly amazing casting, really helped this painting come to life. Fine cotton french muslin worked well for the blouse and over painting on the cotton velvet with clever lighting helped to complete the illusion.

'The working wardrobe'

 At the 11th hour a fashion designer had dropped out of a 'wearble art' show, due to be showcased in London then toured around European nightclubs.  As I already had a few ideas, I worked them into 'a collection' and was invited aboard.
The idea behind this one was simple. When a light bulb needed changing, the long dress is easily pulled up by a series of cords and held in place by the weights.I was inspired by the construction of camping equipment & utilitarian clothing, but wanted to incorporate these ideas into something more feminine.
There are a complex set of fine gauze panels enabling the wearer to stay cool - in theory, and lots of other, some might say, slightly obsessive details.



If worn in real life, the strings would become entangled, so it would never work as an actual garment unless they were secured in some way, but they looked good swinging about ....
I enjoy finding different ways to ruche and gather fabrics and this was one way to incorporate these ideas into one garment. Its a sampler really - a demonstration of dressmakers tricks and experiments ....just that.
The show was launched at the club 'Heaven' and we were very lucky to have the best DJ at the time, Mark Moore (of S Express) playing our backing tracks.
That night I also bumped into fashion photographer Iain McKell, who invited me to style my costumes for 'The Observer Sunday Magazine...and that moment is when I became a professional 'costume designer' ..

Egg - Guinea Pigs

Egg - Guinea Pigs

Street Clothes for guinea-pigs .....of course ?!
This ridiculous job involved working closely with model makers who made articulated fat suits for human actors,whilst supervising a team of amazing pattern-cutters & seamstresses who created the fat, guinea pig- dimentioned garments...not easy, but the end result was effective and memorable to the public, so the client was very pleased with our efforts.

Trailer for "L'assassinat de Henri IV'

'L'Assassinat de Henri IV' by Jacques Malaterre

Sumptuous costumes, breathtaking locations, taking us from royal palaces in Fontainebleau to gardens in Versailles. The fantastically helpful cast & crew made this my first real job in France an unforgettable and hugely enjoyable experience.
Getting to grips with the vocabulary was the first hurdle. Twisted ruffs, baggy tights and mislaid swords were an occupational hazard in the court of Henri 1V - but the french cast were delightful and took it ( and me) in their stride.

'Block 66' a film written and directed by Patrice Gablin 2011

Recently my interest in history has been rewarded with the research & development of costumes on a WW2 theme, for a short film - 'Block 66' by Patrice Gablin.
Set in a German concentration camp during the war, it is the story of a young woman, desperate to save the life of her unborn child.
To re-create the prisoners clothing, many metres of the blue striped fabric needed to be printed, cut and made up, and the question that constantly nagged away at me as I worked, was...
'who made the real garments, and under what conditions..?'


International premiere  November 26th Paris international Short Film Festival  

Block 66

www.pifff.fr

Tetley's bitter 'Gladiator'

Tetley's bitter commercial, directed by Matthiijs Van Heijningen for MJZ.
Recreating the scene in the film 'Gladiator' where Russell Crowe rallies his troops was no mean feat.
I tracked down the original costumes from the movie at a costume company in Madrid, but our 'Gladiator' hero's Roman attire had to be made-to-measure by an expert armourer in London.
These days its not an easy task sourcing fur, so during the course of my experiments, I found new ways to soften and work with faux fur & leather.
http://youtu.be/-teqMf-Xikg

'La Comtesse de Castiglione' a film by David Lodge

I made this opulent costume for the film 'La Comtesse de Castiglione', a piece of surrealist cinema inspired by the portraits of the real Comtesse by photographers Meyer Freres and Louis Pierson in 1855.

It is my interpretation of a gown that the real princess Virginia Oldoni, designed for herself in1856 for a liason with Napoleon III.
It took me 5 weeks to make, with 30 metres of silk taffeta, 350 pearls and 25 metres of  french lace.
I still have the dress, but these days it resembles a real antique, as it was almost lost when a fire ravaged through my studio in London, just a year after its creation. 
Most of my collection was ruined, but this one mercifully escaped with just a touch of smoke damage.
The film was an immediate success, winning best short film at the Cannes and Melbourne film festivals.

The Observer

Collection of costumes designed on the theory of 'Function over Form'

Photographer Iain McKell for 'The Observer'