Title: "Mexico"
Image by Emily from Norfolk | in fashion, design & create, drawings/design
The main inspiration for my "Mexico" design is the traditional textiles and embroidery of the Huichol Indians, combining geometric patterns and invigorating colours - both design passions of mine. The Huichol Indians also produced beautiful beaded prayer bowls. The use of high volumes of brightly coloured beads in a small space to create mosaic like art inspired my beaded straps and trim on the edge of the top two layers of the skirt.Traditional mexican clothing is often white cotton accented by coloured embroidery, hence my main colour combination of blue and white.I was also inspired by the symmetrical shapes and brilliant colours of traditional Aztec dancing costumes.The structure of the dress is a softly structured bodice, with deeply scooping neck and back, and a full skirt, tied together by a cummerbund-like embroidered waistband.The skirt is made up of three layers of soft fabric, perhaps a silk chiffon or silk charmeuse to have a floaty iridescent quality. The top two layers are a soft white, with scalloped edging trimmed in small glass or plastic beads sewn on in five rows.The bottom layer of the skirt is an azure/cobalt blue colour, graduated from the top down to a slightly softer blue at the bottom, to add to the light, feminine quality of the dress and picking up on the current 'colour bleed' trend. This is about 3" longer than the second white layer, so it peeks out under the decorative trim.At the centre of the design is a heavily embroidered waistband, sewn in a light silk embroidery, so it's soft against skin and not too heavy looking, but brilliant colours and high volume of thread so as to make an impact and tying together the beaded straps and beaded trim on the skirt. The straps are in a gentle triangular shape, constructed of 10 strings of small glass or plastic beads on satin thongs, delicate looking, yet quite supportive.
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