Amelia Thompson
Grazed Youth
www.grazedyouth.com

This garment was created as part of  my “Dark Romance” Fashion range which  I designed  for a Masquerade Ball called “The Pink and Black Jester Ball”, which was held in November last year.  The Balls theme was “different kinds of love” and I was required to work within a pink, black and cream colour palette.

An early inspiration for me was from the Shakespearean character Orlando, who becomes so infatuated with Rosalind in the play As you like it that he posts love poetry all over the forest for her. This image of obsessive, almost dangerous love inspired me to design a range of garments that played with the idea of a “Dark romance”.

With a love for dark literature, I sourced inspiration from obsessive love, vintage birdcages, love letters and the contrast between different kinds of love; the soft and light kind, the hard and dark, and the all consuming place that this love can take its prey.

Its silhouette is inspired by the high neck ruffles and fans worn by figures such as Queen Elizabeth the 1st in the Elizabethan era. This garment has been created using cream lace, tulle, pearl beads and a light pink brocade fabric. It has an extravagantly high neck and wide, almost regal silhouette across the shoulders, while it only just covers the wearers breasts and reveals a bare back. The garment curves up at the back skimming the shoulder blades and ties in a bow in satin cream ribbon at the nape of the neck, making for a very playful garment.

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