Life Itself Is An Experiment

http://ourstilettolives.com/life-itself-is-an-experiment/

I really do try to alternate my ready-to-wear and bespoke posts, I promise! I am however feeling too inspired and “frisky” at the moment! Designs are bubbling away in my head at all hours of the day and I find myself eternally sketching and re-sketching! Even my little girl looks at me bewildered, “what you drawing now mum mum?!”

I could never in the past understand why a designer would produce something bordering on unwearable. Now I do! It is for the sheer. adventure and challenge! It’s the pleasure in the experimental process itself, of combining different materials, different techniques and really, on my part, not knowing if it is doable! It’s an addiction! The more I design, the more I push my designs! For me it’s a learning feast as I don’t have the technical training as support. Thank god for our progressive and rich history as I certainly draw a tonne of. inspiration from there, a bit from art and from some amazing designers in this incredibly ingenious industry!

This piece was no doubt an experiment. It was going to be out there but I just had to do it. Life itself is an experiment anyhow, so I thought, why not?! It all began after Han and I went to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition a few months ago! I came home feeling so full of creative energy and so inspired for weeks! Inspired by Jean Paul Gaultier’s weaved masterpieces, plus my love of corsets, my obsession with leather, add this season’s 70s-inspired fringing and colour palette… the piece was born. The entire process was just full of excitement, anticipation, learning and some tedious driving around!

It took me a while to find what I wanted. Finding the specific colour that I had in my head was a challenge and a half, then finding a hide of the right weight was another story altogether. I finally found some amazing olive coloured lamb hides and the feeling of euphoria was like none other! I had them cut into 10mm stripes by a specialist strapping company. I then handed the lot over to my amazing, excitable, as-crazy-as-I-am couturier, Jules, who weaved the busts and side panels and attached them to a classic corset bodice, which she also made. The woman is a genius! I pictured how amazing this piece would look only about a million times while it was getting made. As Jules mentioned in my previous post, my designs tend to evolve. At one stage, we were getting an olive fur skirt made to match, and we were also intertwining some fur through the leather in the shoulder straps. This idea was quickly scrapped in my first fitting for the skirt. I looked like tarzan’s wife was the first thought that came to mind! Not a good look in the 21st century. We also dropped the straps completely.

My fringed corset was finally completed! I popped it on. Whilst in all my imagination I thought I was just going to die of over excitement when the piece was done, instead my mind went wild wondering what I was going to pair my masterpiece with for the photo shoot, just what I was going to wear it with full stop! Sometimes, what one envisages isn’t always what eventuates! Don’t get me wrong, I utterly love the end product! I just have no idea what to do with it … until the morning of the shoot … it all came together in my head …

xox LLT

Creative & Styling: LLT

Photography: Sam Taylor

#weave #leather #corset #fringing #fashion #moda #olive #70s