Body Improvements: the corsetted body

As a corset designer and maker I usually recommend that clients go for a corset around four inches smaller than their natural waistline. It sounds like a lot, and it is as temporary as your corset wearing but it can dramatically affect the visual effect.

And here I am going to demonstrate the power of the corset. I have a 28" natural waist and here I am wearing one of my own 24" corset mock up's. The back lacing is not completely closed, but it has reduced my waist temporarily to 25", but see how dramatic the waist has become.

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



©Copyright: C.Nicholson, Z Della Rocca, Z Van Spyk
All Rights Reserved
Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited without permission from the copyright holders.

Reine Des Abeilles - behind the scenes video

Sheer beauty: New corset design trends

I am really excited by the new wave of using see through panels in corsets. This is not an innovation by anyone's standards, Thierry Mugler did it in the 1990's with the help of Mr Pearl. Check out this beautiful example:

Thierry Mugler design, Mr Pearl corset

Mr Pearl, legendary corset designer, has often dabbled in creating see through effects in his corsetry, check out this nude corset, so beautiful in it's simplicity:

Kylie in Mr Pearl 'nude' corset

So the concept of using see through elements in corsetry has been around for a while, but recently I have noticed a bit of a trend in modern corsetry for this, and it is genuinely exciting.

Check out some of these stunners :

I love the stylelines of this Royal Black Corset. As you know I am a structure maniac, so this appeals to me on many levels but the purpose of this post I love the contouring and the play of cover and see through is super sexy.

Royal Black Corset

This example from English corset maker Jenni Hampshire, who's trademark lace detailing sits beautifully over a sheer base.

Sparklewren corset

Even Agent Provocateur are in on it, and although I don't strictly class this as a corset the style and detailing is really interesting...

Agent Provocateur

Going to take some inspiration from all of these sexy pretty things, looking forward to sharing my creations with you.

Countryphile Editorial

I can at last share with you all the Countryphile Editorial shots that we did in August, which is very exciting, and finally it has all been handed off and ready to go. Just in time for tomorrows Charity Fashion Show in Brighton, all in aid of raising money for Orphans International.

I asked our photographer for this shoot Gareth Gregg to do a guest blog about this photo shoot from his perspective, but before I present his account, let me first share some of the amazing shots we created together.

The full team:

Photography: Gareth Gregg

Wardrobe: Chrissie Nicholson-Wild

Creative Director, hair and make-up design and location manager: Zoe Della Rocca

Make-up: Sarah Vickery

 Videographer: Ed Beeson

Video Assistant: Zoe Van Spyk

Models: Tarcha Ann Josephine Peters, Damole Egbeyemi, Victoria Bennis, Rebecca Bennis

Horse: Nugget

To commission Gareth Gregg :

Garethgregg@rocketmail.com

07870179714
Sometimes i find that when you have a new shoot on the horizon it takes a bit of time to get inspiration about how it should be put together and what mood and lighting you should use. With this particular shoot that wasn’t a problem. when Chrissie said to me "Think lady of the manor gone feral" it gave all of us plenty of inspiration. 

I think when I look back on the original ideas that came about from the initial talks we had and how they developed into the concept that we used in the end it really shows how creative development is a natural and organic part of any shoot. That’s not to say what we discussed first was wrong or incorrect but it just shows how through discussion ideas are moulded and refined during the lead up to what was the final result. 

One of the most important aspects of putting together a fashion shoot is team work. Your role in the team and how you bring your skills to the table is key, Everyone has their own separate skill set and its important that what you apply compliments everyone else’s ideas. The way we achieved this was through the preparation, We had several meetings to bounce about ideas and the power of websites such as Pinterest really help you compile mood boards that all members of the team can then contribute images to. These aspects really nail the final ideas and make sure they are a success. 

We had settled on a total of two test shoots followed by the main shoot. The initial shoots for me really helped work out different lighting styles and angles. We were blessed with beautiful sunsets during the test shoots which yielded fantastic results. On the main shoot though the weather wasnt as good but that gave me the chance to really introduce some moody lighting techniques in the stables. This moody effect really turned out to be the dominant style and once we introduced some of the outside shots into the final set the juxtaposition worked really well.

 I was told once by a local photographer that any team putting together a shoot should strive for it being memorable. You should make sure that the viewer should see the work and remember it. I think we all really achieved this. All aspects were really pushed to the limit. From the key corsetry designs being the base we then introduced the fantastic high end leather work and even real horses hair that was woven into the models own hair to give a striking and unusual effect. All the elements were there and as with anything like this on their own isn't sufficient its only when all of these little touches are brought together that the ideas come to life. 

It was my first time working with animals. I did a little bit of research on the net about how horses behave around studio lights. According to the experts its actually the presence of the objects that freak the horses out as opposed to the flash. it was important that when we worked with nugget that he got used to my big camera being there as well as the additional equipment we had. All in all though he was great and we got some stunning shots. even if we did have to ply him with constant treats! 

Big thanks to all involved. It was a fantastic project that has really given some fantastic results.

Many thanks to Gareth for writing this guest blog, and for being such an awesome person to collaborate with. There are more shots to follow, but I shall save them for another day.

Cxxx

Introducing Zoe Van Spyk

Addition to the Curve Couture team: Take a bow Zoe Van Spyk

Zoe has been diligently interning at Curve Couture studio for about two months and has proved herself invaluable in the run up to Brighton Fashion Week. In fact a corset which she had been working on went in the show, so I hope she is super proud of herself.

I hope that Zoe decides to stay with me a little while longer before she bursts forth and starts her own label, which I am sure is only a matter of time. In the meantime I shall continue to teach her skillz, and as already proved, she is teaching me valued skills in return.

So Zoe, welcome to the creative chaos...

After the fashion show: feelings and thoughts from the Evelina

Please note: This post, was originally written on 21st June, and I have simply copied and pasted rather than re-editing because I simply didn't want to dilute it.

After the massive high of the fashion show I now find myself in the Evelina children's hospital in London waiting for my 3 year old to return from kidney surgery and I am feeling very reflective.(21st June)

I have closed the Curve Couture studio for a whole week, an unprecedented event since I was on maternity leave. Despite the hugely inconvenient timing sometimes life comes first, and this week is no exception.

So while I have a few hours to kill instead of dwelling on the current events, I am writing my blog to bring it up you up to speed with how Brighton Fashion Week went down.

The week long run up to Brighton Fashion Week I spent mostly wired, tired and downright determined to finish what I had started. At the beginning of the week I had all but the men's corsets and breeches and skirts, shorts and bra's finished. It sounds like a lot; and it was. Aside from this I still had three commissions to complete that week...so it was full on stress.

I had some great assistance from Zoe Van Spyk who is cutting her teeth in the workshop whilst she puts a fashion business proposal together, as she is a wonderful fashion designer in her own right and the hugely creative Zoe Della Rocca who came up with the styling for hair and make-up from my original brief. I will be introducing Zoe Della Rocker as a guest blogger very soon for the Countryphile style as she had such a massive creative vision that the peeps at Brighton Fashion Week had to hold us back.

So, we were busy, super fricking busy. The night before the show we were working until the sun came up and after a sleep that was way to short, in my opinion, the time had arrived to shake our tail feathers and show just what Curve Couture is made of.

Well, as it turned out, St Barts in Brighton (a church more renowned for taking the assumed dimensions of Noah's Ark than fashion) was packed. The ornate windows and beautiful brickwork being a great foil for the drama that was the Showreel Show, the first of it's kind in the world where the world of vintage,costume and cosplay strut it's stuff instead of the elitism of a strict catwalk show.

For my part, I didn't get to see the first half as I was too busy backstage dealing with 'on-the-day' problems such as lost bags, shoes that didn't fit and the surprise of a quick change for one of my wonderful male models Joe...as he had been booked back to back on the designers either side of me. Stress. A fashion show, like any event, is full of nerves, stress and high emotions as well as unexpected changes, problems and an aura of excited expectation.

Whet your whistle:

photo by Sarah Olivier, model Ellie Watson

Countryphile meets the catwalk

To buy tickets for the show: http://apptap.co.uk/bfw

Fleurs Du Mal Photoshoot

I am so excited about the results of our Fleurs Du Mal photo shoot from last month.

Crew:

Photography: Lily Moss
Art Direction: Aimée Davies
Hair styling: Alex Graham
Make up: Adam-Thomas Bane
Origami: OrigArti
Styling/Clothing Design: Chrissie Nicholson-Wild/ Curve Couture

Corset culture: Kylie

Today a friend posted a video of Kylie Minogue's 'Get Outta My Way' on my face book wall :check out the gold corset. So I did. It was just the thing I needed today....some inspiration on a magnificent scale. Have a look, it's amazing.

 And because I'm so lovely to you all I thought I would share my favourite Kylie corsets with you.

This Mr Pearl number has a special place in my heart because I was asked to re-create it for a friend of mine for her 40th birthday. Mr Pearl is also one of my corset hero's. I think that Mr Pearl has made quite a few of Kylie's tour corsets including a pink version of the showgirl corset. The beauty of the corset is that it is so tight to the body that you can load it with gems and crystals and feathers and it is strong enough to take the load.

Kylie has also had some amazing corsets from other illustrious Haute Couture Designers, this one is from Jean Paul Gaultier...

And finally back to a beautiful gold number by New York based designers The Blonds.

Photoshoot: Rachael-emily and Lisa-Marie

In the last few months I have met some amazing people whilst out and about doing fashion shows and shoots and suchlike.

When I was looking for models for my show at London Alternative Fashion catwalk show I got lots of applications...one of the ladies I picked was Lisa-Marie who I instantly thought would look amazing in my corsets. So when she asked me if she could borrow some clothes for a shoot I was happy to oblige.

Model: Lisa Marie (MM #1464691)
Photographer: Rachael-emily.com
Make-up/Hair: Betty-Lou
Clothing: Curve Couture

Results: 

More Video footage from Alternative Fashion Week

My friend Mike Ashworth, who has been a staunch business mentor and all round top bloke just tweeted a newly found video on youtube of some of my Fleurs Du Mal corset collection,

Enjoy:

Spare time illustration

Original photo of an outfit I made years ago that was too precious for me to sell.

Low-line corset with oil black beading detail and matching peacock skirt with black tulle fan train. This was recently borrowed by model and friend Lisa-Marie for a photo shoot.

This is my favourite photo of the set, photographer: Racheal-Emily

And here is how my illustration is going so far....

Corset D41

I received in the post today some gorgeous white broche, and I am so tempted to make one of my favourite corsets from the Symington collection D41. And for the sake of simply copying information, here is the Museums own card on this corset:

 This is a fascinating corset, it shares some of the classic characteristics of Edwardian era corsets:

• vertical inner bone casings
• longline
• suspenders
• single layer

But the thing that most interests me is the pattern cutting, there is a really fascinating piece that arches from the front hip to the back waist.

My original notes:

Reading it back I can see that I originally thought this piece was stitched on top across all layers, but upon more study of my photo's I can see that it is not, and apart from aesthetic reasons there seems no other purpose to this neat bit of pattern cutting (unless it was economical in terms of laying it on the fabric). If I ever get a moment to myself  I'm going to give this corset a go, it's so fascinating.

Flossing

As my research into historical corsets gets more involved I find myself marvelling at the beauty of flossing.

Flossing is the small embroidered details which hold the corset bones in place within their channels.

These are flossing samplers from the Symington Collection

Flossing is one of the things that is evident in a finely made corset, rather than a mass produced product. This is one of the finest examples of flossig I have ever seen...

I admit that I have never added this, the most simplest of details to my corsets of the past...but I want to make it a feature of my work from now on, so I started last night with some very simple flossing, with the practical purpose of holding the boning in place.

As I get more confident and practised in flossing I intend to make it more elaborate, embroidery is one skill as yet unaquired so this will be good fun.

Snap shots of life

It's been a day of mischief and mayhem. The clock is ticking on me to get my collection ready for Alternative Fashion Week in April, but sometimes it's really important to take time out for other just as important things. So today I've spent some time out with my little boy Riley, which has been great.

So here he is, enjoying the fruits of my labour. He looks rather fetching...maybe I should make baby forage hats. This little nipper never sits still, believe it or not this is the best photo of him today. He's also wearing a fetching jumper designed and made by my mum.

This evening I have got back to the grindstone getting on with my TG corset. I have graded the pattern to my size, slightly adapted the shape more like my sketch and started cording the hip panels. So far I have got through a good six metres of piping and I've just run out so another trip to the shops tomorrow!

This style of cording is similar to the one I employed to make 'The Pretty Housemaid', it's gonna take a while.

Cording...it takes some time...

Corset, final shape

So, I am nearly there with the corset...just in time to go to bed.

I tried it on earlier, and I thought I'd share the results.

This is me without corset

 

 

 

 

 

So this is me without a corset on, please ignore the state of my studio (it is always in chaos and I like it like that). I'm not looking bad for 36 years old,  after a baby and a lifetime of doing little exercise and eating whatever the hell I want. I round up these days to about a size 14 (UK) my waist is about 29 1/2 inches, bust 36DD, hips 39 1/2.


So this corset I have sized for myself, as a trial and it is designed specifically to enhance my natural hourglass shape.
I always use myself as a trial figure because I have always been the intended shape of the final corset (that being the hourglass) and I usually wear a size 24" corset comfortably...which is a good sample size for a corset.



Here are two shots of the corset, one front on, one side on so you can see the shape of the corset all round. You can really see how my waist is defined by the corset, both from front and side. The hip sections allow the bum to be contained and lifted by the extremely low cut lacing. Cool. The next time you see this corset it will be on the catwalk. I'm moving on to the next set of designs.

Tired musings...

Today I started work at 7pm. I wish I could spend all day making pretty things but unfortunately it was one of those days when you just have to go and sort stuff out!

I put my french knicker block together, as I really wanted to test the pattern and I have come to the conclusion that I do not really like classic french knickers. They may be flattering on some 6foot lithe model but on my chubby thighs I look like I should be kicking around on a football field! I really wanted to go for a vintage underwear look but to be honest I think modern knicker types are just way more sexy and flattering.

Back to the drawing board...literally.

Aside from that I have been carrying on with my Edwardian style long line corset in peach and black lace. I have put in the lining and will do the busk and boning channels when there is plenty of day light and my eyes don't hurt so much. It's going really well and I've got some fantastic idea's for details. I'm so excited I just want it done so I can sit back and marvel.

Also been playing with some guipure lace and raspberry silk dupion on the mannequin to get the next corset forming in my mind., More on that after a sleep.

Boy I'm tired, goodnight.X

London Alternative Fashion Week

I have recently found out that my entry to submit my work for London Alternative Fashion week was successful, hurrah! AFW ( as I shall henceforth abbreviate it) runs between April 16-20th April 2012, takes place at Spitalfield Market in London and is free to view.

It sounds like a long time, but in terms of making and designing things it is but the mere blink of an eye! Part of my New Years Resolution list is to document my work, by blogging here, much more regularly so I will be attempting to do a post at least every other day to show you what I've been up to, and to show myself what I can actually do if I set all my energy upon the task.

I am giving myself the freedom of writing about my thoughts (work related) my challenges and giving you an insight into my creative process and vision and sometimes you may even find a tutorial.

I would be extremely happy to answer any queries on my work and creative process and just as happy to listen to your comments and suggestions.

So here goes:

Today I have been thinking so hard my eyes hurt. After yesterdays neck corset pattern cutting and construction I had to stop part way through due to lacking the materials necessary to finish it...which was downright infuriating! So today, once returned from the heaving town centre, I got round to finishing off the structure of the neck corset and am now in the process of deciding how to finish it off in terms of detail. I also blocked a high waisted knicker pattern ready to play with tomorrow and am still only half decided upon which corset to make in which particular fabric thus far....creating my own frustrated hindrance. Since my brother reminded me that I in fact have to make an outfit a week to get the catwalk outfits ready whilst also still have to do my regular work and look after my 13 month old son.  Drat his logic!

The Alkonost

When I got this commission I just knew that it was going to be a good one.

Alkonost is a Russian mythical beastie that is half woman and half bird, said to make the most beautiful sounds that could render the listener to lose all memory and desire.
When I talked to my client about this project, and saw how stunning she was I just knew that I was going to make a feather trimmed corset, as talk about wings was discarded on the grounds of them being cumbersome to dance in we finally came to the design of a bolero with feathered arms and collar to hint at folded wings.

This was my original sketches:

  

The corset featured a blue grey centre panel intended to represent the breast of the bird and feathers to be applied around the front panels and suggested towards the back. I didn't want to put feathers on the back because they would most certainly receive a lot of wear.

The corset would be complemented with a feathered bolero and pencil skirt.
I also ended up making a fascinator and some little feather embellishmenst to go over her boots with the left over feathers.

And the final garments look like this...(sadly so far no photo's from the clients)