Ryan Simpson & Ashley Woodward, Blog 5 (Dress Concept 1)

Dress 1, Forgotten Love Letters:

For our first concept, we chose one of our initial concepts titled “Forgotten Love Letters.” Letters and mementos of past relationships initially inspired the concept. The concept itself is an expression of the angst and emotions one feels after experiencing a failed relationship. Old love letters and items can be stored, destroyed, and put out of mind, but the emotional scars and memories are still felt well after the material is lost.

The text element of the design is based on this concept. The title of the concept, “Forgotten Love Letters”, refers to the loss of the material remainders of a lost relationship, however, the phrase “forget me not” refers to the inability of one to move on completely. They may still find themselves held down or restrained by the emotions and angst left behind.

The materials used for the dress consists of tea-dyed paper “letters” and black duck-tape, used to add surface design elements, as well as to illustrate a sense of emotional bondage by its use as straps and a corset. The silhouette of the dress is reminiscent of Victorian and Romantic period dresses, evoking a sense of timeless elegance. The combination of the period elegance, mixed with rough, textured materials will be combined in the hopes of creating a dark, melancholy, yet alluring mood overall.

The print for the dress will be created using combinations of hand writing, tea-dyeing, and the burning of text into paper using a wood burning tool.