Beasts in the Wardrobe, Bronchitis & bad telly....

Beasts in the Wardrobe is a project I have been working on as part of MSFW. (Melbourne Spring Fashion Week), as part of their curated  And one of those moments where I have thought "oh no...I've bitten off more than I can chew." In large part due to a spectacular bout of bronchitis brought on by my sister sharing her germs with me, thank you sooooo much... who said she never gave me anything nice? 

All of this came about because Madame Virtue had a sale earlier this year & I got to poke around the amazing archive collection. Getting to play in a wardrobe full of designer goodies, exotic jewels, accessories, beautiful fabrics and other gorgeous things got me thinking about dressing up.   

Beast masks at the ready - Sai-Wai Foo

I got all excited about doing an installation at the store - really I wanted to play with all the toys again. Also I was blissfully unaware of just what I would have in the pipeline for this time of year. Currently I am working, pattern-making and making things for upcoming shows as well as, being addicted to Pinter-est, obsessed with Ink Master & Tattoo Nightmares. (yes crap telly I know but what are you supposed to do when I have to wait a week for my Breaking Bad fix?) I say it's all good stuff & it makes me happy :)

 Bunny & the Wolf trying on a few accessories

My terrible viewing habits aside, I am making paper masks of different animals that will sit on full size mannequins. Each creature has a different personality & of course will have an outfit to suit. The show is a collaboration with Madame Virtue's in house stylist Dean we are going to play designer dress ups with my creatures. Can't wait! I have a bear, a wolf, a tiger, a deer and of course a rabbit; all waiting to dress up and hang around the store over MSFW. (Melbourne Spring Fashion Week)

"Come to a dress-up for wild fashion animals, celebrating the fun of occasion dressing and the body as a canvas and an expression of personality.

Sai-Wai Foo, of ‘Pleatybunny by Miss Foo’, has unleashed a preening pack of exotic beasts upon Madam Virtue, where they had free rein of the wardrobe.

Masks and head-dresses fashioned from paper are combined with archival designer pieces, jewels and accessories, where more is definitely better!

Playing with textures, fabrics and the full palette of colours and patterns, this is the ultimate dress-up for all the wild fashion animals!"

Location

Madam Virtue
5 Crossley Street
Melbourne 3000

Dates and times

31/08/2013 to 08/09/2013

Mon: 11am – 6pm 
Tues: 11am – 6pm 
Wed: 11am – 6pm 
Thurs: 11am – 6pm 
Fri: 11am – 7pm 
Sat: 11am – 4pm 
Sun: 11am – 4pm

LOVE LOVE LOVE....

I love group shows especially when they are with a fun group of makers & artisans. Whenever I get an email from Gleaners Inc about taking part in a show I get really excited!

"Take Heart" at Gleaners Inc. show opens the 2nd of August & runs until the 31st of August

a show Craft Victoria's Craft Cubed festival. I took part last year here's the link to that particular blog post.

I've been a bit obsessed with Milagros, reliquaries, ex votos and scared hearts of late. I've been finding pinterest really good for collecting images for ideas my pinterest board for this project and getting the creative juices flowing. 

I think it is the shiny gilded gold foil & over the top decorations, I'm of the more is more school of thought an love the use of gold foiling & precious metals in  iconography - something which seems to re-occur despite the differences in religions and belief systems world-wide. About 10 years ago I went to an amazing gold & silver leaf themed exhibition at the Tokyo museum in Japan. To be honest I think I had a moment of Stendhal syndrome at this particular exhibition. I suppose it would pass for some sort of quasi-religious/transcendental/mythical experience depending on your faith. I've always had a penchant for the glittery & shiny must have been the sheer volume of beautiful, gilded, gorgeousness that got me! Seriously pop something shiny in front of me and I can be utterly distracted.

Here are a few images of my work for the show they are paper assemblages with a bit of a craft/sewing element with the steel pins & also a slightly creepy anatomical/ medical book element too. My thinking is that with a bit of metallic paint & ruffled pleated paper can make anything look pretty. They are shadow box framed and a homage to the sacre coeur images I love.

Pop along and have a look show, there's a few other shows & events as part of the festival so checkout the Craft Vic web page.

Gleaners Inc
2 Ballarat St
Brunswick 3056
Trading hours 
M-F 11-5
Sat 11-4 
Sun 12-4

Another festival that is coming up that I'm involved with is MSFW Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. I'm taking part in an off-site event titled "beasts in the wardrobe", which is being hosted and held in collaboration with the amazing boutique Madame Virtue. 
That is due to start in late August so just stay tuned for the blog post!

 

  Love Miss FOO XXX