Undressed

During a break from designing and making I took a trip to Bendigo (about an 1 1/2 hours from Melbourne) to see the ‘Undressed’ exhibition  http://www.bendigoartgallery.com.au/Exhibitions/Current_Exhibitions/Undressed_350_years_of_fashion_in_underwear

 I wasn’t disappointed, in fact ideas exploded each time I moved on to the next exhibit, smiling to myself that as I’ve always said underpinnings are too gorgeous to be worn not being revealed, but deserve to be worn to be seen, using exquisite fabrics and embellishments.

The exhibition for those in Victoria is worth a visit, and for those in Europe get to any costume gallery, they usually have a case of Victorian and Georgian underpinnings  - beautifully made.

Georgian stays

And yes I admit the stays, as they were once called, didn’t help the health of the wearer, but a modern corset is a lot more forgiving and an empowering garment to wear, the posture becomes positive and the ‘lumps and bumps’ are well constrained!

Made to order, do contact me, I trained in corset making as a 

costumer and have now combined these skills with fashion fit. 

Take a look at
www.alexandrazvi.com

I’m about to produce an elegant grey pin-striped under bust corset for a one of my special friends who is celebtated a ‘big’ birthday. I’ll share the photos as her husband is a great fashion photographer, based in Leeds – www.simonmurray.com

These are the fabrics I'll be using
to produce Jam's Birthday outfit

Shaken not stirred

Just spent a lovely morning at the James Bond Style exhibition - 

http://designing007melbourne.com

The gadgets the story boards and most importantly for me, the costumes captured the glamour and the world of James Bond.

Bucket list – work in the costume department of a James bond movie – even better Design the costumes 

I’ve always enjoyed a James Bond movie, but more recently, actually, since living in Australia, the Ex-pat thing has grown within in, and now I love all things Bond. 

Lindy Hemmings' designs

Costumes at the exhibition

So much so I listen and sew to Ian fleming’s Bond books by audio. These are read by the very best of the British acting fraternity, Damien Lewis reading Diamonds are Forever has been a particular favourite!

Kitty and I spending time with 'Daniel'

I organized a  ‘Shaken not Stirred” fancy dress video evening for my theatre friends  - What fun watching Skyfall all dressed up in sequins and drinking Vodka Martini’s 

So viewing the Melbourne Museum exhibition of Bond Style was thoroughly enjoyable. The skill behind these films is inspirational. 

As I said before one for the bucket list – to design for Bond – YES PLEASE!