The making of aurora – Foundations revealed competition

Aurora - Foundations Revealed competition

The theme for the Foundations Revealed competition this year is Renewal, with a focus on mythology and sustainability.

My first thought was the goddess of dawn, Aurora. I started picturing her in my mind in black and gold, with leaves and branches. It took me some time to decide what I was going to do exactly, so I made a paper mock-up, and a few drawings, you can see below. But I was unhappy with it.

The only thing I was sure about was that I wanted to use only materials I already had, and reuse some from previous projects, and not to buy anything. This will be my vision of sustainability for this project.

At first I wanted to try laser cutting. I have a beautiful ancient gold faux leather and I thought it could be great to laser cut flowers and leaves in it, and to contrast it with a black satin coutil underneath. But unfortunately the laser cutter I wanted to use did not support such materials. And the few tests I made cutting the faux leather by hand were not satisfying at all. So I changed my plans.

Finally I decided to use a black satin coutil I had, and use it as a base for my corset. I hand sewed a lot of ruffled tulle on the hips, as the pattern I was using had beautiful hips curves. It made me think of flowers blossoming. I liked the idea and sticked to it. I used black to represent the darkness of the night. Aurora rises from the dark, renews herself, bathing the earth again in the light. To symbolise the light I decided to use gold. So I hand sewed gold beads around the hips as flower buds.

As I wanted Aurora to be dramatic, I decided to complete the corset with shoulder pads. I had to design the pattern by draping on a mannequin. Then I choose worbla to create it. I had buy worbla months ago to give it a try, so it was the perfect occasion! Worbla could look intimidating, but to be honnest it was really fun to work this material! For those who don’t know about worbla, it is a thermoplastic that comes in plates. With the help of a hot air gun it gets soft and sticky and can be shaped into any form. So I was able to design my shoulder pads and molded it into shape on me.

I choosed to add ruffled tulle to remind of the corset, and decorated the shoulder pads with branches and leaves, also made in worbla. Finally I painted it in metallic black and metallic gold.

So, are you ready to see the result?

I am really happy to participate this year competition. When I saw this year theme, I thought, this is a sign Léa, do it! And I won’t have any regrets because I did it. I think I can say this is my firt entry, and not my last one, as I found it so stimulating. It made me push myself out of my comfort zone, and try new things.

I feel lucky to be part of the Foundations Revealed community because it gives me so many opportunity to learn from awesome designers and discuss with other creatives with a lot of kindness.

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Léa

Léa

CORSETIERE

Hi, I’m Léa, a full-time corsetiere , sometimes model and photographer, most of the time artist dreamer.

I have the chance to live in Finland, surrounded by lakes and mythical forests.

Here on my blog, I share a behind the scenes glimpse into my life, business, and creative process, including new corset designs, scenes from the studio, art and books that inspire me, and my current obsessions. 

You can read more about my on my about page.

Want more? you can find my corsets in my shop!

Léa

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