Second Tide
Mia French
Cate Raftery
Nessa Keane
Mercy College
This outfit was inspired by the group’s deep appreciation for marine life and a desire to highlight its beauty and fragility. Drawing inspiration from the textures found in the underwater world with a particular focus on jellyfish. The group's outfit was further inspired by the materials they gathered to create their outfit which they sourced from local charity shops, a swap event in their school, their own wardrobes and unwanted items from friends and family.
sligo county council
-
Using the pink dress as a base, they reshaped the neckline by removing the straps. Taking advantage of the layered skirt of the dress the group then restyled the bottom of the skirt by cutting the top layers to create an asymmetrical sihouette. Using strips of fabric from other items the group added a frill to the top layer and hemmed the next layer leaving the tulle layer exposed. They added a burgundy frill to the last layer adding to the texture and layered effect of the outfit embellishing it with lace harvested from the inside of a jacket and a longer layered train at the back. The group experimented with using beetroot to dye the lace before attaching it keeping with beautiful pink and red colour palette of the outfit.
The short corset was made from strips of denim harvested from two different pairs of jeans to create the stripes. The top of it has a deep hem which is handstitched in place on the inside, while the bottom is cut in uneven diagnol lines echoing the asymmetry of the skirt and the bottom of each strip a raw edge, the fraying denim gives a contrasting design feature beside the flowy finish of the dress underneath and the ruched texture at the top of the dress.
-
The outfit is accessorised with an arm piece created from the straps of the dress with leftover scraps of fabric attached resembling jellyfish tentacles. The group also made a headband using a leftover piece from the dress and the jeans to finish off the look. The headband and the armpiece are embellished with buttons, beads and pearl’s from one of their granny’s necklaces.
-
The group researched the impact of polyester production and the significant carbon dioxide emissions - roughly 27.2kg per kg of fabric.
