Reine Des Abeilles

The final reveal of results from my first ever shoot as the photographer, I still have a lot to learn but it was a great experience.

Photographer: Chrissie Nicholson-Wild
Model: Natasha Gatward
MUA/wig design: Zoe Della Rocca
Costumier: Zoë Van Spyk and Chrissie Nicholson-Wild



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Reine Des Abeilles - behind the scenes video

Reine des Abeilles photo shoot 21/12/2013

So today we are doing our Reine Des Abeilles shoot at Artista studio in Brighton.

Crew as follows:

Photographer: Chrissie Nicholson-Wild

Videographer: Zoe Van Spyk

Hair/Make-up: Zoe Della Rocca

Model: Natasha Gatward

Wardrobe: Curve Couture

Mentor: Chris Bulezuik from Artista Studio

It is apparent with how the day is proceeding that the process of building the shoot is as much a part of it as the final photographs. We arrived at 10.30 to get fuelled up and set up because we have several tasks to accomplish today.

• video footage of the shoot to make into a capsule 'making of' video
• series of editorial quality beauty photo's
• series of artsy photo's telling the story of our Queen Bee.

I am writing this whilst the hair and make-up are being applied by Zoe Della Rocca and Zoe Van Spyk is doing a bit of filming. I have dressed the set and I'm happily waiting for the model to be ready to dress. Natasha Gatward, our fabulous model is patience personified as we have already stuck a foot high wig on her and proceeding to put wax on her eyebrows and paint her face white. Later on we will be covering her in bee's and lace.

We have a total of two looks to get through today in terms of outfits. An ivory transparent cage corset with skeletal panniers and a blue taffeta corset with transparent panels. This is a continuation of the development of our transparent corset series, which we are super excited about for 2014.

Zoe Della Rocca will be composing a post of her own on the make up look for the shoot, and I must point out that she single handedly designed and made the wig for this shoot. It is the first time she has made a wig (wow!), and I love the way this team works together and works creatively. I feel hugely lucky to have such fine and talented collaborators. The fact that we have worked with each other in the past successfully and harmoniously adds to the easy air of the day, especially as I feel nervous enough already.

For although I have been a party to many a shoot I have never been the photographer. As a novice photographer I found that the hardest thing for me was keeping my energy levels up by the end of the day, and this had a knock on effect in my ability to think and direct the shoot. By 6pm it was time to wrap it all up, for although I enjoyed my day I was truly spent.

You read it first: my photography escapade started here...

Several things....

It's been a month of total craziness.

Today I am taking a breather from the sewing machine to get other important tasks done....like this!

So, catchup...

London Alternative Fashion Week is just over a month away, and as you can guess....I am busy as a bee. I have been constantly sourcing shoes, jewellery and all the other shenanigans that must accompany my creations on the catwalk and it's taking up quite a lot of my research time!

Aside from this I have been designing new costumes, including a samba inspired bikini and wing combo in white and silver to be worn in Las Vegas and a Marie Antoinette belly dance costume for the wonderful dancer Hilde Cannoodt.

Super excited to see the new Elle cover:
How super sexy is the finish of multi colour crystals on nude coloured lace?
Effin super sexy!  

Corsets - the 18th Century

Marie Antoinette by Vigee-Lebrun 1778

So today's corset re-construction is all about the late 18th Century. The time of Madam de Pompadour, Madame du Barry and Marie Antoinette. The fashions of the court were expensive and extravagant. The ideal of the ultra feminine at this time was primarily about showing delicacy and yet contrastingly also fertility.

The corset of the period was the beginning of corset engineering as far as I am concerned. The use of boning started to become very sophisticated as it began to be used with a new understanding of it's influence on the body. Construction-wise the corset, or stays as they were called for this period, is made of stiffened buckram and whalebone that is steamed into the characteristic curved front, usually lined in linen and sometimes covered in beautiful fabrics. Interestingly, men used to make stays as it was thought that only men had strong enough hands to work the stiff materials, whilst women did the dressmaking. 

The shape characteristic for this era had the effect of elongating the front torso, pulling in the back until the shoulder blades would almost touch, which also thrust up the bosom to an almost indecent level and made the waist appear teeny tiny. The illusion of the tiny waist was ever more emphasised by extreme widening of the hips with paniers and voluminous skirts.

The particular corset I am recreating is held at the V&A Museum in London. The top layer is silk damask the inner structure is of stiffened buckram and lined with linen, it is bound with linen tape across the seams and is a fine example of half boned stays. The boning is 'whalebone', a bit of a wordie misnomer as it isn't bone it is the made of baleen the bit of the whales mouth that filters food.

Since I have not seen this corset in the flesh I am using a pattern which is supposed to be of this very corset from Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh and using the visual references from the V&A publication Underwear Fashion in Detail by Eleri Lynn. I have super imposed the pattern onto my size 12 block to work out proportions and am making my mock up to see how the pattern works.

I've always loved the stay corsets, they have such romantic appeal.
It's amazing that these robust and beautiful garments are over 200 years old and made by hand! This is a good point to remember though, that most museum pieces in order to survive would have been worn infrequently or immaculately looked after and reflect mainly the creme de la creme of fashion at the time as working women and those of lesser status would have worn their corsets until they broke due to their expense. The pieces may also either have been ill fitting for the wearer hence their lack of wear, either way it is amazing that they have lasted so long.

More later on how I got on making this corset because I've run out of boning casing......

Madam De Pompadour by Boucher 1750