One very interesting thing about fashion is the many ways/words we use to describe what we see. When writing its important to paint a picture for the reader of what you're describing, in fashion this is especially true when you're trying to explain to someone what you felt when you saw a certain garment. i chose to "dissect" the article, "Marchesa: Under the Sea" by Eric Wilson of the New York Times blog. In this entry Wilson describes the inspiration that the designers pulled from and how it translated to the runway.
Wilson describes the
trend for the Marchesa Spring 2012 collection as "Under the Sea." Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa noted in their program a number "nautical" inspirations. The 19th- century Ilya Repin painting "Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom" and Ernst Haeckel drawings of tentacles and jellyfish. Wilson speaks specifically about the
silhouette of the dress that opened the show as a tiered dress "made of cascading silver fringe that was breathtaking." He goes on to describe
design details such as: silver fringe, fringe thick as a mop, embroidered sequins, both on the fabric and some underneath layers of fabric, the movement of the dresses and the illusions created by the dresses. Wilson also mentions the "coral-like patterns" created on the models' bodies from the fabric and the embroidered sequins. Much of the
fabric used was sheer tulle, organza and chiffon.
Once I googled these images and took a look at the Marchesa spring collection everything that Wilson spoke about clicked. His descriptions really painted a picture for me. The inspirations go hand in hand with the collection and the description helped me understand what Wilson himself saw as he was watching the show.
Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom
Ernst Haeckel Drawings
Marchesa Spring Collection 2012
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