Renaissance Dress
This dress was commissioned by someone who had admired my Renaissance-style dress with bows at the Upmarket, but was disappointed to find it had already sold. At the time, I had only recently expanded my historical dress creations beyond the Art Deco period. I've had a lifelong fascination with period dresses—I still fondly remember draping quilts around my waist as a child to mimic elaborate historical gowns. I had also just begun experimenting with paper dyeing techniques to give my creations an authentically aged appearance rather than looking newly made.
I became so inspired while working on this commission that I ultimately created four different variations for the customer to choose from. These skirts begin with the lines—I always look for an interesting line, pattern, or detail that can be used to create the voluminous skirt effect.
Fay Dunawy in The Wicked Lady (1983)
Henrietta of England by Johannes Mytens, c. 1665, Enfield Museum Service, London
Judith Godrèche in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
While I've labeled this a Renaissance dress, I know that it more closely resembles dresses of the 17th century, The Age of Enlightenment. I acknowledge it isn't strictly historically accurate. My creative process is heavily influenced by the stylized costumes from period films rather than pure historical authenticity.
The customer ended up selecting the darker design, which I finished with subtle embellishments. She later sent me a photograph of the piece displayed in its intended space, and I was delighted to see how perfectly it complemented the setting.
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