On the most recent episode of Lifetime’s Project Runway, the designers were taken to the Getty Center in Los Angeles. They were given a tour of the J. Paul Getty Museum as well as the center’s grounds. The designers were then asked to create a look inspired by any part of the center, including paintings, sculpture, and furniture from the museum’s collections, architectural features of the building, or the center’s breathtaking views.
As much as I wanted to jet to Los Angeles and go to the Getty Museum (which opened since my last trip to California, or Jim would have taken me there), I could only look at its collections online. I’d almost decided to work from one of my favorite paintings by Raphael when I saw this wonderful mid-1720s pastel from Italian artist Rosalba Carriera.
A Muse
Pastel on blue paper
From the Getty web site: Famous throughout Europe for her portraits and teste di fantasia (fanciful renderings of beautiful women in allegorical or mythological guise), Rosalba Carriera made the pastel, above, at the ducal court in Modena, Italy.
I’m always talking about my muses, and Carriera’s painting provided another one. I was inspired by the leaves in the woman’s hair, the ethereal fabric of her bodice, and the colors. I wanted to create a very feminine portrayal of nature’s beauty. Did I succeed?
I had this fabric, which was exactly the sage green I was looking for, plus it has a subtle, leafy fern design on it.
I used it to hand-stencil and cut out more than a hundred leaves.
I sewed the leaves onto a stem-green, faux dupioni silk, which I cut into a train. I chose a sheer fabric for the dress with a bold flower design in rich colors of blue, yellow, and green.
The dress has a halter top.
The entire look, with its versatile silhouettes:
I was lucky to book Barbie for this challenge, as she’s the busiest of all the Mattel Top Models. She has to leave now, giving you a look at the dress’s dramatic train as well as the way it leaves her back bare above the waist except for the sheer, flowing tie falling from the neck.
I’m not sure when my final collection will be ready, but when it is, I’ll see you on the runway!
Thank you to everyone who’s commented about my previous designs on LiveJournal, Facebook, and Flickr. If you missed them and are interested, here are the links:
6:11–The Best of the Best
6:10–Around the World in Two Days
6:9–Sequins, Feathers and Fur, Oh My!
6:8–A Fashionable New Beginning
6:7–The Sky’s the Limit
6:6–Lights, Camera, Sew!
6:5–Fashion Headliners
6:4–What a Woman Wants
6:3–Rumble on the Runway
6:2–We Expect Fashion
6:1–The Red Carpet
You are amazing! I can’t believe you cut all those leaves out by hand. Do you work in the fashion industry?? You really should, all your Barbie runway outfits are incredible!
Thank you so much, Camille! Heavens no–what I know about fashion could fit into a thimble. But I love it, and I’ve really enjoyed learning more about fashion and sewing over the past year.
A challenge to sink your teeth into… to make something inspired by a museum, so wonderful. I used to love it in NYC when I had some free time and the inclination and would go sketching at the Met.
(Her hair is neat-as-hell, too!)
Thanks! Museums always inspire me. I’m so glad they exist.
BTW, the earrings that came on this Barbie are turning the plastic green. These are the first ones that I’ve seen that happen to on the Top Models. You have her, too, so I thought you might want to check yours.
Ooo, thanks. I just grabbed her and I’ve got here right here and she’s looking fine. I like those earrings, damn it… I guess I have to remove them, though, huh….
Well, if they’re not staining her, they’re a pain to remove. I’d just keep my eye on them.
haha I just left a comment about what a pain they are!
The blighters won’t come out. What did you use to remove them?
It’s because the stem is looped inside her ear. The first one slipped out pretty easily, but the second one got all bent to hell and back when I finally pulled the thing out WITH MY TEETH.
P.S. Don’t tell my dentist.
Well, if anyone is going to walk in on me and take a picture of me without my permission, now would be opportune, whilst I’m gnawing on a Barbie. : )
Another fantastic effort. I’m manually challenged (if I go near Lego it immediately falls to pieces) so I’m really impressed at all the little fiddley things you do. The stencilling and cutting of the leaves must’ve taken ages, and the final effect is wonderful.
(LOL at you at gnawing on your Barbies’ ears.)
I’m constantly using my teeth on Barbie–for example, she has a certain style of high heels with straps around the ankles that I seem to be able to remove only with my teeth. And I often wonder, if someone were looking through my window at those moments, what they’d think was going on.
Thanks for the praise!
The dress wouldn’t look out of place on Titania in A Mindsummer Night’s Dream. Perhaps you should go into theatrical costume design..?
Midsummer, even.
I don’t think I can design for big people, but costume design must be one of the coolest careers.
Or how fun would it have been to pick the clothes for characters on a show like Dynasty? Dressing Joan Collins would be a lot like dressing a Barbie doll.
Great one, Becky! I especially like the way it looks in the next to the last photo.
Thank you!
Lovely dress. All of your designs would display well in my guest bath. Along with the fun shoes I found this weekend.
Thanks! After seeing your photo, while I was out yesterday I kept looking at all the Christmas ornaments for shoes.
I am always overwhelmed by your designs & especially that you can execute them so perfectly on such a small scale. Hand-cutting 100 leaves, sewing stockings for a Barbie out of tulle, even just the way you’ve braided Barbie’s hair for this shoot are incredible.
Thank you! When I was cutting all those freaking leaves, I decided that I’d definitely more than a little weird. But it’s harmless.
So far.
Wow. Just? Wow. I was wondering what you were doing with those leaves. Just be sure no one follows you with a rake or tries to jump into them. It is fall, you know. 😉
Thanks. And Barbie might like that. You just know there are lots of secrets behind that smile.
I really love that dress with or without the leaves.
Thanks, Lisa. And I still love that user pic. But I’m not watching that movie.
It’s just like Footloose, only AMISH!
How good are you?
You’ve made me a fan of the big flower dress, this is gorgeous!
I thought about you the whole time I was making that dress–wondering if you were going to scold me about the giant flowers. THANKS!
I think that the one thing that I really really love about it is how you used the first bloom to almost give it corset appeal … it gives it a very hourglass look. You pulled of demure and sexy!!
How the hell did I miss this post??!!
(Please send me one of those leaves to flog myself with.)
This is just too gorgeous for words.
Thank you! No flogging necessary.
I have SUCH a surprise coming with my final collection, and I know only a handful of people may get it, but you’re one of them. =)
Can’t wait!