FiNISHED CONCEPT

This is the final concept piece for this project. 

T E C H N I C A L I T I E S

Since the design of this dress was now some what finalized, it was time to focus on what materials I'd be using.

F O R . T H E . D R E S S

The dress's main feature was going to be the cowl effect at the back, because of this, the dress will need to be made of light weight non stretch fabrics such as cotton, linen, polyester-chiffon, rayon etc.

In order to stay true to the colours of the Pallus Athena painting, the dress will be made up of a patchwork of mainly gold- coloured fabric with some red, black and orange fabric to complement the main colour.

F O R . T H E . N E C K P I E C E

The necklace will be made up of a solid neck cuff and chains of various thicknesses will be attached to it.

To go with the gold colour scheme of the dress, the neckpiece will be made using brass sheet metal with copper accents. The chains will be gold in colour, to match the metal of the necklace and the fabric of the dress.

Not unintentional.

While making a closer observation of the Vivienne Westwood dress I chose earlier, I was paying more attention to the structure of the dress and how the qualities of the printed silk.

As you can see, this dress has a rather traditional shape.

With a few exceptions of course.

Watch elevates this dress's silhouette are:

The strategically placed swag of fabric on the neckline that continues onto the back of the dress.

The small gathering close to the hip-line.

Because of these two little changes this otherwise conventional silhouette becomes dramatically elevated.

The original dress designs were scrapped and I started work on another dress design that would incorporate the strategic draping found in all of Westwood's designs.

The final dress design.

Inspiration from a Stranger's Dress.

During a Christmas party, I had seen a lady wearing a dress attached to a metal collar. 

Thankfully, I found a photo of the exact same dress on the website of Jane Norman. 

Dress with metal halter neck attachment. (source)

 The only part of this dress i found visually interesting was the neck piece. I decided to take inspiration from this idea for my final product.

I started sketching some designs for the neckpiece that would incorporate the opulence of the costume in the "Harlot of Babylon" sequence in Metropolis.

Taken from the "Harlot of Babylon" sequence source

While I wanted it to be clear that this neckpiece was inspired by Metropolis, I didn't want it to rival with the rest of the dress.

Patches and Sketches.

While browsing through some potos of patchwork garments i came across this image:

source

My initial reaction was that of how much this reminded me of the Pallas Athena painting by Gustav Klimt.

I decided my FMP would  be a costume design for a film... Made out of patchwork in the colour scheme of Pallas Athena!

Soon after I started sketching some rough dress designs:

The first few sketches

Thinking about an FMP...

For the first step of the "creation" process I had to think of ways I could join my chosen themes together.

First i chose particular aspects of each topic that I wanted to focus on particularly.

Pallas Athena by Gustav Klimt Source

The patchwork-like quality of her armour gives the impretion of her being a free spirit, even though Athena was a firm hand of justice.

Union Flag Dress by Vivienne Westwood Gold (source)

The way the neck line drapes so elegantly contrasts with the punk-ish quality of the printed silk.

The Whore of Babylon Sequence from Metropolis source

The intricate detailing in this costume will definately be some source of inspration.

Metropolis by Fritz Lang

A scene from Metropolis

Metropolis was first released in 1927 and has since gained a cult following. The filmed is based somewhere in the mid 21st Century, which at the time was considerably far into the future.

An original poster.

The film depicts a distopian mega-city state, were society is divided into two classes, the workers and the thinkers. These groups of people are interdependent, i.e. need each other in order for their state to function. The main characters, Freder (the son of the Master of Metropolis) and Maria (who is a teacher to the children of the workers) try to find a way by which both groups of people could come to work with each other in a more respective manner.

The film itself is more than 70 years old. However, it still remains one of the most iconic films in German Expressionist cinema. 

Even though films are, technically speaking, moving images the fact that this film has remained so popular shows a distinctive amount of permanence. The subject of different groups of people within a society finding it hard to find a way to conform with each other, is still a relevant topic in today's world. Through this timelessness, a particular type of stillness can be seen when observing its impact on popular culture. 

In the Harlot of Babylon Sequence, were the Robot, which has taken the form of Maria, is portraying the infamous Harlot of Babylon. her positioning on top of the mound of the Seven Deadly Sins has an aura of permanence. You'd just think that she is to remain in that same position forever. Like she is just a work of art placed there for viewers to marvel at. It is because of this factor I wish to use Metropolis as a main source of inspiration for my project.

Reference:

Review of Metropolis [online] 
Written by; Roger Ebert
http://www.ebertfest.com/four/metropolis_silent_rev.htm
(accessed January 2014)

Metropolis – A Film Review and Analysis of the Restored Classic

Alexander Mercouris

http://mercouris.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/metropolis-a-film-review-and-analysis-of-the-restored-classic/ 
(accessed January 2014)