I combined art and fashion to bring the beauty of Venice to the Dressmakers Ball in Leicester and to Minerva’s 25th birthday celebration in Manchester.
I grew up surrounded by most things handmade and crafted. I was a creative and curious child. Seeing my mother knitting led me to an interest in fashion at an early age. I then studied textiles at art school and a Masters in fashion illustration in Milan. Sewing is something that I discovered much later. The UK has an incredible sewing community, and it is here that I fell in love with it. For the Dressmakers Ball and Minerva’s 25th birthday party, I wanted to make one of these incredible red-carpet gala dresses. I hit on the idea of combining art and fashion through making an haute-couture outfit. I thought of painting Venice where both the Art Biennale and the masquerade ball take place.
I did some preliminary sketches of Piazza San Marco and Punta della Dogana, two of my favourite places in Venice. The difficult part was to fix my original drawing of Venice to the curved surfaces of the skirt so that the whole scene would work.
First, I drew and hand painted the two halves of the skirt with fabric paint and then sewed them together.
I got the S8743 Simplicity skirt pattern. It is floor length with pleats for extra volume and a big bow tie at the waist. I styled it with a tweed jacket and hand embroidered pearls around the neck to create an elegant look but not overpowering the skirt. I enjoyed every step of the way, and I am delighted to see Venice come to life. Did I just create wearable art? At Minerva’s 25th evening party I was chosen as Patrick Grant choice and was rewarded with a special prize. I am already thinking for my next future project, which scenery shall I paint?
If you wish to see how I made the dress step-by-step, I’ve got a short video in my Instagram feed @ilaria
