Niall Casey

“Tell Us a Story”

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Lineup without colour vs with colour 🌈

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FINAL SIX LOOK LINEUP

The Saidbh Collection

My lineup tells the story of Saidbh and my home town Cahersiveen (Cathair Saidbhín). Saidbh was a warrior princess who was cursed by a dark sorcerer of the Tuatha De Danann named Fer Doirich and turned into a deer. If he couldn’t have her no one could. In order to break the curse she would have to set foot inside a fort belonging to Fionn Mac Cumhaill of the Fianna. After many long journeys and turmoil she finally finds the fort and breaks the curse, before falling madly in love with Fionn. Unfortunately the sorcerer returns and turns her back into a deer and this time the curse can not be broken. Saidbh is left only to be heard of in the tales of the seanchaí and Irish folklore.

Look 1: This look represents Saidbh’s simplistic and beautiful life as a princess. Inspired by Moschino’s Fall 2019 collection.

Look 2: Saidbh has been turned into a deer by the dark sorcerer. The gown is long and elegant but the colour is representative of the unknown and the many struggles she will face to break the curse.

Look 3: Saidbh has reached the fort and is ready for transformational change. The gown she wears now is short and has jagged, triangular pieces on the top and bottom parts representing movement and a transformation about to incur. Inspired by Thierry Muglers 1995 - 1996 haute couture.

Look 4: This look shows Saidbh embodying her true warrior princess. She is no longer a deer and has fallen in love with Fionn. The gown is inspired by the work of Bob Mackie and Moschino giving camp realness.

Look 5: Look 5 represents the return of Fer Doirich, the dark sorcerer. The long black gown is contrasting to the rest of the collection and portrays the evil undertone of this character.

Look 6: Saidbh has disappeared from her human reality once again but this time the curse can not be broken. She is left only to be told as a story and folklore. The gold chrome inspired by Thierry Mugler represents how her story will live on forever and she will never be forgotten.

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LINEUP PREP

To prepare for my lineup I decided to make several drafts of what looks I wanted to include. I also considered the order they should be in so the story could be told correctly.

I wanted each look to represent a character or phase in the development of the story. I wanted each look to embody female empowerment and bravery even in times of turmoil.

I sketched out six boxes and began drafting each outfit starting very simply and then gradually adding, replacing and removing things I thought didn’t fit the narrative or aesthetic I wanted.

here are the results:

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RESEARCH

Moschino

Fall 2019 Ready To Wear

According to Jeremy Scott this show was “pure old fashioned escapism”. The show was inspired by game show “The Price is Right”. It wasn’t his first time staging a game show inspired fashion show and was an ode to his Fall 2001 collection. People were gagging as they saw evening bags in the shape of an iron, a bottle of dish soap, and a cash register. “There’s always shit in everyone’s life,” he said. “A little levity, a little bit of fun—there’s nothing wrong with it. I am the king of camp.” That night he most definitely was.

source: vogue.com

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RESEARCH

Bob Mackie

Costume and fashion designer

Bob Mackie is an internationally renowned costume and fashion designer who has dressed some of the most glamorous entertainment icons over the years. Women who wear Mackie dare to be noticed and stand out and that’s what I love about his work. It relates to my project because Saidbh wants to break free from the control of men and live fearlessly as the woman she was meant to be. Some of my favourite Bob Mackie looks are the ones he designed for Cher. The accentuated shoulder silhouettes, use of sequin and all the frills, feathers etc served as great inspiration for my line up.

source: bobmackie.com

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RESEARCH

Thierry Mugler

Fall-Winter 1995-1996 haute couture

The gynoid robots and chrome outfits of this collection are particularly inspiring to me. I wanted to include some sort of gold/chrome outfit in my collection after seeing the work of Mugler. I think chrome can be very impactful as it is not a flat colour and instead moves with the light. Starting with a metal bra, the outfit gradually became an all-in-one made of metal and plexiglass, an invention that has since inspired countless designers from Alexander McQueen to Dolce & Gabbana. I also admired the silhouettes in this collection and how the top of the outfits are exaggerated into triangular jagged shapes.

source: numero.com

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STORY OF SAIDBH

Here is some research into the story of Saidbh and a photo I took of a sign near my house telling the story. Saidbh to me represents a woman who refuses to obey men and seeks her own destiny. I want to channel this in my lineup and tell the story of this Celtic queen.

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Garments Reposition Workshop

After watching Giordana’s workshop I decided to put together six looks repositioning different garments. I even wore a wig and heels lol. I used my mom’s old coats, a dress, mesh top, jeans and a belt. It was interesting to see how you can manipulate garments in different ways and create different shapes etc

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MOSCHINO at Milan Fashion Week Spring 2018 if you want to support this blog consider donating to: ko-fi.com/fashionrunways

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Tell us a story

For my “Tell us a story” project I want to do the story of my town in South Kerry. Cahersiveen in Irish is Cathair Saidbhín which means little Saidbh’s stone ring fort. There is an old Irish story about how the name came about. This is the story I want to tell in my project. Here is the mind map and some collages I started with a few weeks ago.

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Project Statement

-Fashion

-Painting 

-Sculpture

I based my movement Project around the idea of beauty standards and plastic surgery, looking at how people change their appearance to achieve what they consider to be beautiful. 

I looked at lots of different designers and artists in my research book to inspire me for my process such as Jonathan Yeo, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Comme Des Garcons, Schiaparelli and Thomas Eakins.

I tried to incorporate the elements of all the electives into my designs because my main interest is fashion. I made sure to do life drawings and paintings looking at facial structure and how people may exaggerate their facial features through plastic surgery. Eg The Cat Woman Jocelyn Wildenstein who I looked at. This helped me a lot with my design process.

I made sure that my process included my other electives therefore I looked at my designs in a sculptural way. After doing the sculpture workshop on wearable sculptures and creating some of my own, this inspired me to create pieces that were heavily sculpted and exaggerated to look like wearable art. Heavily inspired by brands such as Comme Des Garcons and Schiaparelli.

Finally I created my six look line up which incorporates elements of my entire process. it was really enjoyable for me to design the line up and create my own collection. It tells an interesting story of modern day beauty standards and plastic surgery extremes. 

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Here is the link for my powerpoint containing my research notebook and ideas development book for my movement project.

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Drag Looks

This semester I did a few drag looks. I wanted to see how much I could change my appearance to a more female look. In the first look I did a bleached brow which is trending in makeup atm. The second look is inspired by the drag queen Crystal Methyd. She completely exaggerates her features and it is similar to some of the plastic surgery addicts I have looked into. I chose to use a different filter in the third look to give a Y2K vibe inspiring the second look in my collection with a miniskirt.

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Final Six Look Line Up

This collection “The Standard collection” shows the story of different women in their quest for the perfect body and to achieve what is deemed the perfect body standard. Thin waist, large hips, big lips, a sculpted face etc.

LOOK 1: At the start we see a nurse who is walking in. I wanted to add a clinical element with the turquoise uniform and hat. She is generally thin and lanky unlike some of the other silhouettes which are purposely exaggerated. The arrows appear in her outfit to add a campy effect and show the longing for change. She is here to help the other women and cut and sculpt as needed to assist in achieving the desired standard. I wanted her to bring a professionalism and poise through her outfit and represent the true medical aspect of plastic surgery.

LOOK 2: This outfit unlike the first represents a more casual queen. She’s strutting in with arrows all over her body, marked up for surgery. Her outfit is Y2K realness, straight off the street and into the clinic. Her waist is synched and her hot pink mini skirt presents a fun and attractive look. She has had some work done already, but her standard has not yet been achieved so she is back for more.

LOOK 3: This queen is dripping in blood. The gown is red and even coagulated looking to represent this. She is in surgery. Arrows all over her body she is being sculpted as she struts down the runway. The arrows inspired by Jonathan Yeo’s paintings cover the entire piece even her glasses. Alexander McQueen inspired shoes this is the most avant garde piece in the line up.

LOOK 4: This lady has achieved her standard but may not be finished yet. A corset style top section and huge busty green skirt covers her bottom half. Inspired totally by Victorian undergarments and silhouettes. The collection is diving deeper into the sculpting process associated with plastic surgery.

LOOK 5: This queen is giving us power stance realness. She is feeling herself. A few weeks out of surgery she’s giving “perfect” silhouette in her pastel pink ostrich feather gown. The collection getting nearer and nearer to climax.

LOOK 6: The final piece. She is dripping in black sequin. Synched waist big hips, big lips, sculpted waist and the same eccentricity seen throughout the collection. I chose black because I wanted to portray a rebirth. Black symbolises death and she has been reborn as a new person. She has achieved the “standard” of beauty set out by society and the collection is completed.

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Colour Scheme

After talking with Mairead today I decided to further develop my line up and come up with a colour scheme. I picked some looks from my favourite drag queen Aquaria and created a mood board of different colours that I liked and want to use in my six look line up. I picked Aquaria because I think she represents the fierce and bold nature of the women who would wear the collection. I think she also conveys a true sense of change and dramatic transformation through her drag which immediately relates me back to my project and how people change their appearance. In this case she isn’t fitting any specific beauty standard. Just a fierce queen who can do whatever they want with their appearance.

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Fashion Workshop

In today’s workshop we focused on mark making for our six look line up. We started off identifying what our collection would be and then identifying how each piece should look with very simple drawings. Then we moved on to adding colour and more details with each draft. It was interesting to see the progression of the garments and how they began to take shape and tell a story. I want my collection to tell a story of plastic surgery and how the silhouette and facial features changed as the collection went on to a more severe look. Still just as beautiful but a different look of course.

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Schiaparelli Spring 2021 Couture

This was one of my favourite recent collections. I really love Daniel Roseberry and his ability to think outside the box for Schiaparelli. I saw Kim Kardashian wearing the green “hulk” outfit and instantly fell in love even though I know everyone wasn’t a fan. Roseberry’s instinct this season was to zap the stuffiness out of haute couture once and for all. Roseberry says that ever since he’s come back from lockdown there’s been a shift for him mentally, a focus and a confidence that’s come from his relationship to his own process and to the atelier. For me this collection embodies female empowerment and even ties into my project looking at body image and muscular, somewhat sculptural pieces. The whole collection begs the question on how fashion will emerge after the pandemic after being in lockdown for so long.

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