Overall, my final major project scopes in on the dominant religion of Ireland, exploring the traditions and rituals, as well as catholic moral laws and testaments. Stemming my collection from my family roots and childhood, created a passionate and personal collection, that tied in my own style and aesthetic as a designer, incorporating a collection of intimates, dresses, robes and jumpsuits. The exploration of a movie from a different time period that explored the beauty in expression and exaggeration, allowed me to learn to do the same throughout my own work, creating a collection I am very proud of.
My design choices connote the destruction of catholic celibacy, yet still odes to the tradition of holy communions and weddings through elegant veils and lace. The lingerie silhouettes and my use of glitzy, ‘comedic’ beading is inspired from my research of the 1940s film “The Ziegfeld follies”, based on camp, exaggerated, technicolour showgirls set in heaven. The flamboyant, heavenly aesthetic of the films costumes and set design inspired me throughout my design process and allowed me to explore an eccentric yet charming concoction of embellished broken rules. The theme of showgirls, dancers and performers mixed with my family heritage re introduced me to Irish dancing. A type of dance I learnt and competed in as a child. This lead on to contribute to my collections research and design. Laced up body suits secured in the same way Irish dancing shoes are, as where mine, laced through loops creating cross like shapes and tied in bows also creating a bondage like suggestion linking back to anti catholic, themes.
Marlene Leonie Ndiforngu | Textiles
