Page 20 - Cake, Croquet & Corsets
P. 20

 I am still feeling utterly speechless to have been invited to help bring to life Maggie Green’s vision for her Rococo-stylized shoot. Having already been in awe of the artistic creations of Synergy’s Design Firm and their creative team, I stumbled all over myself accepting the invite to play on set for this dramatic, over the top dreamy shoot.
Maggie said, “Rococo”. I said, “WHAT?!” And so my research began. This style is characterized by intricate and elaborate details that are traditionally known to stay in the pastel color palette with gorgeous, over the top curved lines. Maggie presented me with a toy box of goodies and core pieces; it was love at first sight!
She was clearly looking to push the envelope of this style while still respecting the original art form of pastels and opulent textures. I was being asked to create a new sense of dramatic ornamentation, while introducing additional deeper color tones with hues of orange and red and dark framing.
Maggie generously scheduled a handful of weeks to prepare. Having already gathered luxurious fabrics of her choosing, she provided a strong foundation and starting point for the gorgeous creations you see here. What adds to the level of Rococo’ness is what you don’t see: panniers and layers of under skirting added the necessary bones to pull off the feminine, curvy, and flirty, overall look of our playful garden goddesses.
We began playing dress up and throwing rules out the window, just as I had done as a five year old girl pretending to be the duchess of somewhere, anywhere. I was immediately brought back to that
moment of seeing myself in the mirror, a Royal Highness. I knew we were onto something when I saw the smile on Maggie’s face as the styles began taking shape.
Maggie’s vision began coming to life as we started with a basic gown and under skirting. We then layered colorful, embroidered fabrics, adding more and more texture, rich colors, and dramatically framed embellishments. As an example, we layered 5 different fabrics to create just one of the skirts worn by our talented models. Each layer brings its own energy and life to the design.
Not only were we looking to include traditional yet ornate accents, we were also striving to add the unexpected to the already complicated and elaborate designs. If you look closely at the details of feathering and dramatic trim pieces of lace and ribbing, you will find surprise elements of nature in most of the designs.
From creation to capture, and the process of post production; costume design is a visual journey that involves so many talented individuals and I’m so grateful to have been counted among them for this project. We hope you enjoy the luxurious details of these Rococo-inspired gowns as much as we enjoyed constructing them.
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