The Lion The Witch and the Levi Jeans
The 2004 Theatre Design Exhibiton at the Nottingham Trent School of Art and Design was a-wash with a corsets, undergarments and costume. Two designs well worth looking at were the “White Witch†by Lyndsay Sketchley and Kate Vickers “Denim Corsetâ€
“Levi Corsetâ€
My design was inspired by the idea of combining denim with the traditional style of corsetry. I constructed a 19th century corset with a contemporary feel by incorporating the denim as part of the detailing. My idea was to use actual jeans, utilising the pockets, fastenings and the seams.
I inquired to several companies about my design and was successfully sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co. who provided me with the opportunity of incorporating branded jeans into my costume. I used the denim as a skeleton framework over the corset and then continued the denim theme into the skirt. - Kate Vickers
“The White Witchâ€
With the brief requiring a ‘complete look’, I wanted to base my corsetry project around a character with many different facets. The “White Witch†from C.S.Lewis’ “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobeâ€, provided me with endless material and scope.
The character has been portrayed in various forms over the years, many of them fairly traditional for example with a crown of icicles and dresses dripping with jewels. I wanted to get away from this and create a more contemporary “White Witchâ€.
For me the character conjures up images of sharp, stark, crisp lines, with acute angles and diagonals. One of the pivotal images for my design was cracked and shattering ice. A stylised version of this effect later became the textured and decorative design that stretched its way across the corset and skirt.
Hair, make-up and accessories were just as vital as the garment itself, and so I continued the sharp, angular lines throughout these elements. As my ideas combined, a design emerged that fulfilled my original objective and attempted to bring “White Witch†into the 21st Century. - Lyndsey Sketchley
